Hey all let me just start out by saying u guys rock, there is so much info on this site. Im new to rx7's. I drive a s13 (240sx) with a sr swap and some pretty decent mods for right now... But ive been lookin into the possibility of maybe gettin into a fd. as of right now i have around 8k in the bank, which i know isnt really enough to buy a badass rx7 like most of u have, which brings me to my question. If i were to buy just a "shell" how much do u think it would run me to get a motor and tranny... Ive tried lookin but prices are all over the place. and is droppin a motor into a rx as easy as lets say swappin a sr into a 240?... im not up to speed with the whole rotary thing yet, but im still researching. any help u guys can give would be greatly appreciated! THX ALOT

-Kevin

 

Kevin,
For starters your going to get directed to the stickies with the noob questions and FAQ. Most all of your questions can be answered there and you will indeed be told to use the "SEARCH" feature. The mechanicals of engine replacement and such are no different than any other car basic tools and common sense will work fine. When asking questions you'll need to provide specific information to your car (mods, setup and such) with what you've saved you should be able to pick up a car with a blown motor. The second step is having enough money in the bank to rebuild/replace the motor and repairs. Best of luck in your search. PS the latest engine swap going is the Blue Oval 80's model 351 ! ! ! ! !

 

Just my oppinion, but you can see my other thread, i just got my fd ...I looked for about 4 months but I got a steal on that car new engine and paint, for 1500 more than u got in the bank. I can imagine buying a shell would cosume alot of your time...

 

kevin,
are you looking into selling the s13? I'd be looking into buying it if you are

 

I kinda wish I bought just a shell, that way when everything was put in, I would know it was put in right. Your best off buying a shell imo, take the shell to rx7store.net(ohio) for the install/tuning. If you plan on modding it to all hell, buy a shell!

 

buy the shell. a lot of the rx7 you will find for sale will be a lot more than you got in the bank or theyll have some issues thatll cost quite a bit. or maybe both. ouch.

 

thx for all the replies, you guys are helping alot, but after searching im begining to realize a nice fd is way more than i have to spend (14-20k) So im thinking of definatly goin with a nice shell that i could maybe get for like 3 or 4k and then add a remand drivetrain or sumthin along those lines... I am being reasonable with this goal or am i just uhhh "full of ****" thx again!


Kevin

PS. Nopi I have a few s13's if ur really interested LMK, my aim is Jacobs7697 or e-mail me THX

 

YES! I can see we are going to be good friends CantGoStraight. Rock on my man.

 

in your case man, these guys are right. ressurection is the way to go. Bring one back to life, I like that. You could get a shell for cheap and put and engine in for another 3500. You would know what is going on and understand the car better, instead of trying to re-engineer the car. Build it up. I personally like the helicopter swap as an upgrade myself.

 

Hell yea that's what I'm talking about ....why go turbo when you can go turbine ! ! ! Never considered a hellicopter engine ! ! ! ! Priceless

 

Yeah, but it's not all roses. FD parts are very expensive from Mazda, and a longblock in unknown condition will cost a few grand. Broken/lost interior parts are a huge $$ or pain, and so is exterior bodywork (ask TurboJeff). Most guys who restore a shell, as far as I can remember, end up spending the same amount as if they bought it that way to begin with.

So buying and building from a shell will not save you money, unless you can get a steal for the price of a shell, or you have the required parts laying around. And that sometimes happens if the seller doesn't know how to fix it, or they based their estimates on dealer price quotes. (Which can be a good bargaining chip - get a dealer price for a new engine and turbos, subtract that off the price of a non-running car, and then do that work at an independent rotary shop.) But it has to be the right car.

Dave

 

Right again. Dave is a good source of level headed thinking and truth. You will have to get the right price and everything else included to do what I claimed, I like the fact because then you would know what is going on more itimately with every aspect of the car. Do it right! That is if you are going to take on this job yourself. Even if you did spend as much as people who bought one for more, you would have built it exactly how you wanted. so there are pros and cons for both situations. Good luck.

 

Kevin,

The was a member who provided several pages of pictures of his FD as it was being completely rebuilt (body and all). I can't rember his name but it was a yellow FD that required a new front end (from firewall to nose) and all new wiring, lines etc...

If you do a search you might find it. It should give you some good insight intgo buying a shell and building from there.

Super77

 

That member would be turbojeff.

As well, a local guy on here (zkeller) is rebuilding a car from a shell. I think he planned to resell it and make a few grand. He might give some insight into where that few grand came from (he rebuilt the engine himself, swapped the dashes, changed 5th synchro, etc). It might simply have been savings due to DIY labor.

Dave