I am currently 2-3 months from buying my next toy. It will be a c6 z06 or an FD. I've had a z06 before and i know exactly what i will get with that car. I really love FD's and would like to buy one modded already but here is my issue. I have never driven or ridden in a FD...hell I've never been around one period.

Has anyone dealt with this before? Know anyone in s.w. MO that would give me a ride? 2nd. Most of the cars i see on here are states away from me I get worried buying a heavily modded car and not having a good shop around me. (fyi my back ground is chevy small blocks. I've built and tuned ls1's and was familiar with HP tuners)

Just looking to hear some opinions on what the more experienced owners would do or approach this.

 

You almost have to be passionate about these cars. They are old, frequent maintenance is key, and be prepared to open your pocket book. Once you get past that, they are beautiful and amazing to drive.

 

I've been reading and watching for a while I feel my budget to buy should get me a sorted car (not a project or half build). I'd like to find a ported rebuilt engine, single turbo or more modded from there, I am looking for the deep mods and not bolt on's.

There is a nice FD in FL for sale now but I want to hear more about what i am looking for and what kinda issues I have to look for and mods to anticipate. what is the dark side that people don't like talking about? Is 10-15k miles on a rebuild were it needs it again? Just how much can you drive a moderate to heavily modded fd? Do you reach a point were you have a reliable build?

If i was starting from stock i would not worry, but picking up a built car I feel my lack of knowledge can get me a poorly thought out build.

I point back to the Chevy's i've built. Forged rotating assy, heads, exhaust, forced induction of choice, clutch parts, axles, fuel system and tune and your good to go for a while depending how bad you beat on it.

 

I can only speak for my experience, as i've never had an FD more built than mine. I have full bolt ons with the stock twins, a power fc (ecu), upgraded secondary injectors. My car has been very reliable. However, with less than 80k miles and some previous track use, i've gone through the rear suspension, the entire coolant system, replacing broken interior pieces, among other things and mods to my liking. All that stuff adds up quick. And the motor was already rebuilt before I got it.

I drive my car a few times a week. Its also made an 8hr round trip no problem. Its not very comfortable lol but it ran just fine. Probably 8k miles over the last year.

Engine life span depends on a lot of things. Over heating, botched tunes, fueling problems, etc will kill one quickly. More aggressive ported engines will have a shorter life. These cars were doing 70-80k miles or more completely stock with casual owners from what i remember. Taking heat away from the engine, proper lubing, and religious maintenance they will last a long time. The factory turbo system is kinda complicated and has some common failures, a car with a single turbo setup will negate that.

The biggest things I can thing of are, have a compression test done. Do some research on the engine builder, turbo setup, etc to see if it matches up with what others are doing. If you're not sure about what youre doing with tuning, make sure someone nearby will work with the ECU in the car, some will have their favorites, some they deal with, and others they flat out refuse to touch.

I'm sure others who have more experience and been around longer will have more help and thoughts to give you.

 

AE_Racer, thanks for the info. I'd like to hear from others as well. I just want to get as much information as possible before pulling the trigger.

 

Nope

A heavily modified FD is not for people in your position.

Best bet is to buy a non running one and learn how to work on and build it all by yourself OR move to where there is a shop that specializes in modified rotaries and become a patron.

Alternately, you could buy an really nice LS swapped FD and have a competent local shop work out the bugs left over and keep it running.

 

As for what is a "reliable" build on a heavily modified FD and whether it is even possible

Yes, it Is possible and the formula is one that is favored by the track rats.
For engine it will be a big port and a big turbo, but kept at low boost for engine and drivetrain reliability.

Its the same idea of using a massive 7 liter V8 and only making 500hp.
Using big ports, big turbo and low boost making 350-450hp when it could be turned up to 600hp helps keep the rotary less stressed.

Is it going to last 100,000miles without going to the shop evrr and start everytime and run like a watch even after sitting for months?
NOPE.
Not that kind of reliability.
But with proper maintenance it could be driven very very hard or tracked and last 30-50,000miles with just oil changes, spark plugs and plenty of time looking over components to make sure its all bolted up right still.

 

If you aren't able to do much work on a car other than changing fluids, the FD RX7 will cost you a small fortune. The C6 Z06 is more bang for the buck, dollar for dollar.
Since you know how to work on cars, owning a FD is going to be more enjoyable in the long run. Be prepared to do more preventative maintenance than a LS requires.

 

1. This car will not be for daily driving. 2. From my experience you don't get your money back from mods, leverage to the buyer and i have time to find what i want.

Lastly i am looking for experience on driving well modded fd.

When you get to the level of mods I am talking about how, just how is it to run out on the town for the weekend? Do you have to worry about driving issues, starting, breaking down ect.. is it good to fire and up go our for a hard drive, take to the track or go for a back road cruise.

Just how much is the hustle to keep the car up above a normal similarly modded car. I know what it took my other builds just never been around a rotary.

 

Kick the tires, light the fires - - just like every other sports car.
Its as reliable as the builder/tuner/driver makes it.
Mazda built a great car, but the rotary requires you to be a bit more mindful than a mass produced V8.

 

Yeah, problem is it is super rare in the US to find a heavily modded FD that is well sorted and the owner wants to sell.

It is much more common in Japan where there are more rotary shops and they will take on old customer cars they built and know inside out or their shop demo cars and sell those.
You dont get your money back from mods as you say, but the flipside is most mods are poorly done.

So, you can get a gently neglected but stock FD (usually much better starting point than loved but *typically poorly* modified FD) and build it yourself with used/new parts from others abandoned or parted out builds.

You get the value of "not getting your money back from mods" and you know the mods are done right and how to service/repair said mods. Plus the real rotary knowledge.

 

Even a well sorted example will still give you problems here and there. It's up to you if you like the car enough to want to put up with it. Don't know if you are tall or fat but it would be a good idea to find one to at least sit in and make sure you are comfortable in the car.

 

Man, I sound like such a downer.
To put some perspective on why I believe its going to be so hard to just find a heavily modified FD for sale that is well done-

15,000 or so FDs were imported to the US, last count I believe it was around 8,000 FDs still registered in US.

Compare that to 95,000 of just the Z06 model of Corvettes built. There are many more Z06s to choose from as well as so many more people familiar with working on them- not to mention the 100s of thousands of regular 'Vettes that are pretty much the same car or the millions of "LS" engines put in cars, vans, trucks, SUVs over the years that are basically the same engines.

Im sure you can find your ideal FD eventually, but you will likely get burned a few times in the process with some lemon FDs and that would sour anyone on the experience.

You could go to a big rotary meet where there is driving like 7 Stock or the Tail of the Dragon meet to get some rides in FDs and get a feel for the experience.

The modded rotary experience is pretty awesome and I do recommend seeking some out to experience for yourself!

 

Your posts sum up the "essence of truth" when buying an FD pretty well. I look at it 4 ways:

1. A solid car to enjoy - buy it as close to stock as possible and keep it maintained in stock form or pay out the *** to have/do things right
2. A mild project - buy someone else's modded FD that runs but needs a little sorting or updating
3. Huge project - buying someone else's mess at the point where a part out or repairing the issues will be profitable, part out is usually the way to go here
4. Race Car - A bare rolling chassis that will never be restored because it is juts not feasible, usually bought form someone who has parted out someone's mess and gotten the car back to a "fresh" starting point where nothing needs to be sorted out to start building from scratch

Rotary FD's are not cheap, when compared to other cars or LS swapped variants they will always be more expensive to put together and maintain, however they are more fun and great performers.

My rules:

• Buy a car with a complete black or red interior in the best condition you can
• Give preference to '94+ cars, they are "better" but do not make '93 cars inferior
• Avoid vehicles with an aftermarket alarm or visible wiring messes
• Always plan for an engine and always plan for a new wiring harness with that engine
• Plan your mods and buy parts together instead of in pieces
• Learn about what parts are no longer available
• Be ready to part out or lose money if you need to sell anything that is not sorted out

 

I think I’m with Blue TII...I’m not sure the FD is a good choice for you.
You want to buy a car that’s already highly modified because you think it makes economic sense. But you’re a novice with a rotary. So you won’t really be able to know if those modifications are chosen well and of any quality...or in the case of things like porting, done properly.
And wanting a high hp highly modified car you're still concerned about longevity, reliability and level of maintenance.

The LHD FD is a 25+ year old car. The C6 is, at most, 13. And it sounds like your more focused on hp than performance. Probably should stay with the C6.

 

Thanks to everyone who replied. Ill figure out a way to see one of these in person without a plan ticket. I've been watching the regional forums but nothing much going on in Missouri.
I have seen a lot of positive reviews for "The Rotary Doctor" I might holler at them.

I am not looking at just horse power, If i was the fd would not be in my list. I like working on cars I just don't want to start from scratch there are certain mods I am looking for.

If anyone knows some good people or shops around Missouri let me know, I'd like to visit with them.

Again Thanks to the community for the input.

 

I believe there is a MO owner with the username Jacob Owens perhaps he could give you a ride. I am in MO too, but about 200 miles from Springfield. I would be willing to take you for a ride on a sunny day.....however mine is no longer a rotary.

 

Meet a great bunch of people from MO at deals gap this year most of them r stl area I think but if u hit up Phalanx Performance(rotary shop) on ig I bet he can put in touch with someone closer to u

 

there are just no shortcuts with the FD.

 

Something like this will probably suit your need, look for something built by reputable shop, so you can go to them to ask questions if needed. You'll have to wait for the right one to pop up tho, as they don't come around often.

 

That is a nice FD, likely what laylowllama wants to buy.

 

FD with 1,000 miles on new rebiult engine and 200 miles on new turbo kit sounds like something someone just got running and wants to off load before it blows again- not a proven, well sorted and reliable car.

I mean, its literally only done 200 miles on a new turbo kit- so only 200 miles on its new dyno tune?

Could be awesome. Could be a disaster.

But yeah, need more history than what was in the for sale thread.

 

What's the difference if the OP buy a roller and put a new engine and a new turbo kit in? They still have to roll over whatever miles mark that starts from zero, still gonna be running on a new tune

Not saying he'll hit a jackpot with a well modded FD that he can beat on from day 1, but if everything is near new and the car was built by a reputable shop it *should* be a very good starting point. I mean, we've gotta buy the motor and turbo kit from somewhere.

I wouldn't assume people selling their car because they anticipate it to blow, 1000 miles is like 2 years of driving for me lol. Some people just enjoy the building process and lose interest of it shortly after, it's like playing with LEGO. I've been around car scene long enough to see this happen all the time, these are usually the best deal to have if you do your research and pick the right one.

Any FD on the market can be awesome or disaster regardless of modded or not, you gotta assess your risk as a buyer.

 

or plan on going through the car regardless

 

That's unavoidable when buying a used performance car, or any used car. More through assessment before buying will hopefully result in less surprises after, but it's a risk regardless since we can't buy an FD new.