I bought my '93 FD a couple years back. It was seriously neglected and within no time probably headed for the junkyard. The car was on it's fourth motor when I bought it, paint in pretty bad shape, needed turbos, interior a wreck, and all the previous owners were young kids that ragged the hell outta it and cared nothing about the car. Mommy and Daddys money bought them a sports car. So I thought I'd do my part to salvage one of the cars that I had always loved and I thought one day would be a rare sports car (bad idea to pick this one though). So after I bought the car (for 11,500) I refinanced and fixed the turbos (so I thought).
I friend of mine talked to a guy that worked at the shop I had the turbos done at. The guy said that I paid for new turbo cartridges but got used ones off the back shelf. Great. Meanwhile, about three months later, the fourth engine lets go. So lets buy an engine that will last this time - 3mm apex seals, micron-tapered and polished the eccentric shaft, rotor bob-weight and computer dynamic balance engine, ceramic and MOS2 coatings to rotors, low compression dishing, eccentric shaft oil jets, and stage one street port ($4200 from Hayes Rotary - a company which later I find out has a history of building bad motors - we'll see). I make a huge mistake and take the car to a shop that tells me they've worked on several FD's and that they use to own and race a 3rd gen. So I buy it. When my new motor arrives, after two months, it's another three months in the shop. What's going on? Excuses, and finally the words "we can't figure this thing out". Great so I pay for the parts bought, labor to remove the engine, new water pump, radiator and oil cooler flush service, and a bunch of other **** they decided to buy - price at that shop including the $4200 motor - $8000. So I take the car to Mazda dealer, after the rotory tech looks at the motor I hear the words "Holy ****!" and "I can't believe this thing was actually running!" yes it was running barely with the wiring harness switched to the coils, my leading became my trailing and vice versa. The shop had broken the oil level sensor, knock sensor, crank angle sensor, they were very careless when removing the wiring harness and snapped all the britle wires, vacuum lines in all the wrong locations, you get the picture. So after mazda I get the bill - $4300!!!!!! So after turbos, and my new motor (which still doesn't run right), I'm $15,000 in the hole with a car that looks and runs like complete ***, not to mention out of the two years I've owned my car I've actually driven it for around six months. So over to another Mazda dealer that says they will have to check all the other dealers work - I'm also on my second alternator and second battery from M2 (at $270) a pop, that eventually goes again (switched to an Optima yellow top) the bill at this Mazda $1100. So right now, I'm like $17,000 in the hole with this piece of crap car. But I love it, and I'll never sell it. So thats how I figure for $17,000 I coulda dropped in a 3-rotor. It's hard to come up with that kinda money on an Air Force E-4 income, believe me. But
It's the price you pay when you marry an RX-7, you have a commitment to the car. Through sickness and health, for rich or for poor, I'm there for my RX. I think I might also have a serious mental disorder. Ok, I had to get that off my chest, therapy's over. Thanks for taking an hour out of your day to read my story!

Crazy_Jake

 

and to think, it would all be ok if the original owners had just taken proper care of it, and if the shops knew what the hell they were doing.

 

yoru turbo problems would have been easily fixed with a single turbo.

no boost problems, no vacuum hoses, copmletely absolutely new turbo.

cooler running engine,

 

Yeah and as jimlab would probably say, a v8 would have fixed both your turbo and motor problems..

 

Damn, that really sucks, but it sounds like you really love your car, so whatever you do dont give up on her. I notice you're in San Antonio as well...Have you talked to Tito at Alamo Rotary? Where are you stationed? I leave for basic at Lackland this month. Maybe I could check out your car sometime before I go. Laters.
http://www.AlamoRotary.com/

 

Guess who did my turbos. I'm saying no names though.
I haven't confronted the man about the situation either.

 

Yeah, I thought of that also after I spent the money.
If I just had a time machine...a time machine or $100,000 to blow.

 

Hehehe lemme be the first to break it to you and say that there's no way in hell that you can get a tri rotor + an install for $17K. And if you can...hook me up! It will cost you at least a total of $30K. Not trying to make you feel bad; at any rate, you should feel better knowing that you couldn't have gotten a tri with all that blown money. yay. Sorry to hear your loss though man. But the concensus here is right. The FD is a love-hate relationship. This is just a test to see how much you love her .

 

Crazy Jake...

I feel for you man. I am glad you are going to keep it, and save a RX7. I have a 7 that needs love too.

I am going to restore it fully too.

One word of advice though. Work on the car yourself! Learn about it, and you will never have to have some hack job shop "that has worked on an FD before" touch your car again.

You WILL have busted knuckles and a lot of frustration at times, but at least it will get done correctly, and it won't cost you an arm and a leg.

Later,
Patrick

 

Crazy Jake, I feel your pain dude, even thought I would of punch some sob at the bad shop just to get rid of my flame > ha.

 

SOrry to hear about your FD.

I had the same experience with my FC years ago.
I ended fixing everything on my own.

I also bought a Hayes Rotary like the one you described. They actually built an alright motor (I inspected it after I overheated one Texas summer - totally my fault since my water temp gauge failed).
Though, their porting is questionable (ol' school box exhaust porting).

If the car came with some goodies (upgraded fuel system, FMIC) anr you have some shop buddies, you could've bought and installed a 3-rotor for less than $30k.
-3 rotor long block: $2600
-ECU/coils/ignitors: $1800
-Subframe/spindles: $2100 (after returning core)
-Downpipe re-fitting: $300
-Car w/ goodies: $12000
-Lots of labor/Doan's back pills/foul language/sweat/oil stains

J

 

poor FD

 

I won't pay that shop, if I were you.

 

You're right about that. I bought all the shop manuals for her and since I'm in the military I have access to an auto hobby shop on base. I think I'll try to get stationed in Japan, ship over my RX, an go work part time for RE Amemiya.

 

Yeah after I found out all the **** they broke (I forgot they broke the TPS mount on the throttle body also, new TB ) , I thought about taking them to court but thats just more money for lawyers and **** I don't have.
So suck it up and go on I guess. You live and learn, and I learned a very expensive lesson. Do your research! Ask many questions! Don't trust anyone! Not when it comes to your FD!