rick bailey

im trying to decide if it would be better to buy this fd that is stock base model 93 with a brand new rebuilt motor done by JR rotory or this rx7 that has 10k on rebuilt motor and turbos this i think reliability mods but still uses the stock intercooler but not sure the rad? what do u guys suggest

FormerPorscheGuy

Depends on the overall condition and the price, but in general, buying an FD with a rebuild is better.

apneablue

I would go with the brand new motor if the car is in good shape...If it is in fact new, then if something goes wrong the builder "should" take care of it.

CCarlisi

A couple of my friends believe the OEM motors last longer than rebuilds because they start with 100% new parts, they're balanced and everything has been heat cycled together.

Personally, I would rather buy a car with a low mileage rebuilt motor in it.

rick bailey

so your saying i should go with the car with 10k on the engine

alberto_mg

I had to face this decision a few months ago.

First, I would make both buyers prove their claims with receipts. Some people say 10k on a rebuilt motor, but might just be jerking your chain. If they don't have receipts then find another car.

Second, search around on this forum for "reman" and you'll get lots of info about the pros and cons of remanufactured motors from Mazda vs. a rebuilt motor from a professional Rotary specialist.

To summarize it for you - most remanufactured motors use some new parts and reuse some of the original parts. Malloy Mazda reman motors are better than the rest b/c Ray Crowe of Malloy does such high volume that they give him the best motors with the most new parts. Even so Malloy's motors have about 90% new parts.

I would trust the one that JR did for motor health over a factory Mazda reman.

Third, try and determine which car is in better shape for the price - turbos, tires, suspension, reliability upgrades, paint, interior etc. The stock intercooler and radiator is OK for a relatively stock car. However, in that case the first thing I would do is upgrade the radiator to preserve the life of the engine.

Hope that helps.

fwiw - I wound up getting a car with a blown engine b/c I would rather have the peace of mind that I did it right myself.

rick bailey

thanks guys

rick bailey

well the motor was rebuilt by pettit and soposibly has new stuff like houseings

kyle@insight

I've put a lot of thought into this as well and for a while, was 100% convinced that I was going to buy an FD with a new motor until lately. A good friend of mine sent me a link to a very clean white 94 on Ebay that I still regret not biding on.

I talked to him at the next auto-x and he said he saw I didnt bid and wondered why, I explained it was because it didn't have a new motor. That's when he made a very good point and said he'd rather have a factory motor personally. He explained he'd rather KNOW what was in there and know where it came from than to have it be somewhat questionable.

What he means is, he'd rather have a well cared for low mileage factory motor than deal with a car that might have a decent motor, but ol' jim bob did the install under the shade tree. I share his opinion.

So now, I'm on a quest for a bone 100% stock FD with low miles, all maintenance records, and the factory motor. The only way I would buy a car with a new motor would be if it came from somewhere like KD or a shop with the same reputation, and it was installed by them. The only way I'd be convinced is if he showed me every receipt for every bit of work and it specifically said the motor was put in by them. On top of that I'd want to talk to the shop and see copies of any records of the car they may have to make sure they match up.

That's just my opinion for whatever it's worth. Chose wisely so that you can spend more time driving than more time fixing someone elses mistakes. Keep in mind, that if you own the car for any long period of time you're going to replace a motor, regardless of wether or not it had one when you bought it. I'd just rather be the one overseeing it than the guy who was wanting to sell it once the repairs were completed.