Voodoods

Hi! I've been getting back into the idea of buying one of these recently and I have a few questions for the owners of 3rd gens.

I have always loved these cars. I used to dream about them in college and swore 'Oh yes, it will be mine....'

I've read Robinette's page and I know the cars can be prone to issues, and I know that site is essentially giving the straight dope to scare off all of the tourists that aren't going to be willing to work with the car. But I'm still here heh.


I've been looking at other cars like the SRT-4 (boy did my wife shame me on that one) and also modding an RX-8 with a turbo. I finally realized what I was really trying to do- home-grow an RX-7...

So what I'm really looking for:

A fun turbo car I can learn to work on (as a hobby really) that I will enjoy driving to work about 50% of the time. I'm not a mechanic, but I'm willing to learn (even bought a book on tuning RX-7s to get some perspective on how hard mods would be). And I'm a computer systems engineer, so taking things apart and making them work again has a certain appeal (puzzles are my thing).

I'm in my 30s and make a pretty good living so I'm not broke and can afford to throw a little cash towards the car (I have 2 other cars so this isn't my primary transportation), but I'm a little concerned regarding reliablity. Robinette etc have sort of scared me lol. Are they really that clunky and break-down prone??

I'd like to know how tempermental they really are if you keep them fairly stock (reliability mods of course) as a commuter and fair-weather thrill ride for work and a weekend at the beach etc. I'm not going to race or drag the thing... not as a sport anyway. Now on the road at 3am when no one is around is a different matter...


I also have Qs on single turbo setups, but I haven't read on that so I'll ask those later.

Anyway, great site, I'm glad you're here. I've been reading off and on for awhile now and I'm getting close to buying one (maybe a year or less?) and I'd appreciate real world analysis of what this car is like 10/12 years later...

John Magnuson

If you're going to keep the car fairly stock and have a budget then I don't think you have too many worries. The key will be finding a used FD that has a minimal number of mods and has been well taken care of. Many are ruined my sloppy modification.

alberto_mg

^^ what he said. i looked for a couple of years before finding one i felt comfortable buying. as for reliability, it depends. i got lucky with my first one buying it with a blown engine and fixing it my way. miscellaneous repairs wound up adding $1k to the cost of ownership, but it was in the shop less than my e36 BMW and is cheaper to fix.

coolvette

Fds are reliable if , they have not been beaten to death.A good 1 or 2 owner car with svc records is a must.Drive any fd that you want to buy for 1 hr,chances are if anything is wrong with the car you will find out. Get a compression test. Remember after 60k miles ,you are on borrowed time.Even the best maintained fd engines and turbos need to be replaced around 80K miles,some people get more,but not many.I disagree with some people here about working on your own car,dont do it.Take it to a rx7 tech and get it fixed right.

RX7SIGN

I looked for mine for a long time do your research and do not rush in to it. I found the perfect Rx7 to me but it certainly wasnt an easy find and still needed work, I would say I got a needle in a haystack (Thanks cuz for helping me). If you want an FD have at least 2 g's on the side that you can play with I would say. Anyways Good luck man if your planning on repping the 7 correctly and taking care of it. The car does require maintence more than others however you will own an amazing car!

tsmysak1

I wouldn't sweat it too much. I worked on boingers for a long time and the same rules apply. The more power the more breakage. The more performance mods the more you can expect to replace expensive parts.

A good race V8 in anything but a Chevy will run you a grand on up. A prostreet motor would be more than double that. So how does an FD compare? Bout the same ballpark. There are alot of options out there and what the others said has proved to be true for me too. I bought a good deal and looked for a while. Had to have a grand on the side to get it back right again.

RX7Wishing

lol

fastcarfreak

Sounds like you would be a good owner for one of our beloved!

Keep reading, and your answers will be answered.

Adam

JConn2299

Voodoods: Your attitude and strategy seem right, so I think you can approach 3rd Gen RX-7 ownership without too many headaches. I would just add one thing.....make sure you live near enough to a rotary engine specialist so you always have a backup. You're close enough to KD Rotary in Pennsylvania to make this feasible. I know of people in Maryland who take their cars up to KD. You want to talk to Dave. It's worth a drive up there to see his shop and talk to him. Tell him the same thing you wrote here. Ask his advice. If he knows of a decent car for sale and he recommends you buy it, I'd do it.

I use my car as you plan to and it hasn't failed me yet, nor has it cost me any major money.

maxcooper

You sound like you are going into this with your eyes open, and from your description of yourself you sound like the perfect FD owner (tech-minded, problem solver, enough budget to not foolishly cut corners on maintenance, etc.). If you keep it relatively stock, though, you really won't have much to fix. Go find one; the FD is just right for you.

-Max

gotorx7

First time I've seen a Single referred to as "Fairly Stock"

If you do as you say you'll have loads of fun and not too many headaches, I should think.

Good luck with finding the right car, don't rush it!

Nihilanthic

I'm only 20 but the sheer volume of work I've done on all four of the cars I have (hey, parts cars count!) and the fact that I'm willing to do work myself and get my hands dirty is the only reason I'm willing to touch a FD, now that I know what I'm getting into.

Well, that and I'll be able to take advantage of my parents insurance because I'm part of their plan so I dont pay out my *** to the insurance company, I pay them much less and I plan on just keeping it reliable, not modding it up much besides reliability and groundwork for future ones until I save up for a future rebuild and get some real income. (I work full time :P) BTW, what does it cost to insure a FD anyway?

These cars seem to require a special person to make it shine, but then again its a very special kind of car.

I feel BLESSED that the prices on them are within my range ate my age, and that I dont have to wait until I get my degree to have my fun! But, that means I get to sit and watch the people with more money to blow take their FDs to higher and higher levels while I'm stuck on my stock twins smugly reminding myself that I'm going to last longer before I need a rebuild :P

Of course, the alternative would be another F-body or a SRT-4 *ugh*.

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

I think you'd like this car. I didn't know how to work on mine, but when I got it I started with things nice and slow. (First day, I removed the airbox and checked the filter. Next weekend, I pulled the throttle elbow and changed the spark plugs). The guidance on this site (and a working search function) have gotten me there. As long as you are ok with doing preventative maintenance, and researching problems as soon as they appear, I think the car will be running strong. Mine has not yet had an unplanned day in the garage after 2 years as a non-daily driver. If you're going to keep the car mostly stock for reliability purposes, although the stock turbo control system can occasionally give fits when it's not running right. I consider that challenge all part of the car's charm.

Dave

turbodrx7

iTrader: (43)

Yes, The fd sounds like a car for you. When i first got my FD i knew a little about them. Couldnt really take big stuff off and get it back on. So we did the spark plugs. A radiator after it blew up then my motor popped. So then i took on the challange. Pulled the motor. dropped a new motor in and on i went. Not to difficult. Then i got in an accident that totalled my FD. So then i figured what the hell? why not buy another fd that needs an engine and put my motor in it. So that i did. It took me 1 week 3 days. To lift a motor, move that car out of the garage, bring the wrecked one in, lift that motor, then drop it in the other one and get everything back together. I was there for 3-5 hrs a day 4 times a week. Its actually very fun to work on the car. I waited until i got the change to start putting everything back on. Its just an addictive habbit. And you sound as if you would enjoy it. If you dont mind me asking, where are you located?

neit_jnf

iTrader: (17)

take your time and find a low mile, never wrecked, stock one like I did. Do the reliability mods first and all the maintenance (fluids, filters, sparkplugs, belts, etc). If you keep it that way, running stock boost, it'll last given you never overheat it or detonate and do the maintenance frequently.

I got addicted to working on the car though, so I keep spending money on not-needed upgrades just to keep working on it

mecman

iTrader: (11)

Voodoods-

I agree witht the others. You seem to understand the risks and benefits. I think you would do well with this car. I was like you and took a long time to find one. I read everything I could on this forum and Rob Robinette's site. I even purchased a book on RX7s. The one I found was totally stock and only owned by two owners. The last owner had it for less than 12 months. He was an 18 years old (his mother bought him the car!)but he needed a larger car for college. I could tell he knew nothing about it. I slowly took a couple years to get it back in shape by doing the reliability mods and fixing the little things he had no clue what to do.

I have since started down the modification path but pretty conservative compared to most. My boost is set at 12 PSI so I think I get modest performance and reliability. The car drives better than the day I purchased it.

Nihilanthic

Hey, I got a question for everyone.

These things get a lot of attention, right? Should I wait until Im in a house to get one or could I park it in an apartment complex (with STOCK rims, thanks...) and not have **** stolen? lol.

saburo

iTrader: (1)

finding the best base car is always a plus, saves much money later down the road.

ObjectZero

in NC it shouldn't be so bad. Can you get a garage space at your apartment complex? that would be ideal.

Nihilanthic

They dont have em. I'm also in a pretty cheap one (especially the plumbing LOL) to save money and because its literally a second from the beltline.

But well, would one with stock rims attract too much attention? I see guys bringing in EXPENSIVE ******* SUVS and Benzes (guess how they got em ) and theyre generally unmolested.

The one thing that pisses me the **** off though is some bitch scratched up the gas door (not even locking or latched) on the camaro I'm helping my old man fix up... and siphoned gas out of it. What kind of a **** scratches up the fuel door and steals gas? It was ******* 87 octane anyway, I hope he blew his ******* engine out.

Its mostly college kids here, a few families are here too, not a bad area at all. Just very, very unexcpetional. Cary is one way, downtown Raleigh is the other... so heh. I'd much rather be out in the country or in some Raleigh suburb than anywhere near Cary, UGH.

(For those that dont live here, Carys full of the snootiest little ***** who cant drive the speed limit I've EVER been though. ALL my friends get pulled there all the time, the cops suck, yet I never ever get pulled and I drive like a bat out of hell.)

KungFuMonkey

I lived in cary for 10 years and I've never gotten a ticket there. the only ticket I've ever gotten was pulling out of my high school in raleigh. I live in NYC now and park my FD on the street!!!! I check on it every so often through my apartment window.

NeoTuri

iTrader: (2)

House or apartment, you should look into getting some garage space if possible. The less people who know where your car is, the better.

KaiFD3S

iTrader: (37)

take your time they are great cars, I have modded mine preety good and I even said I was going to leave it stock...so long for that idea, it took me about 6 months to find mine and I got lucky with a good one..Funny thing is that the car was also originally purchased in 1994 on my B-day, weird, guess the car was meant for me....

Voodoods

Thanks for all of the info - You've all helped me put my mind at ease. If you do happen to blow an engine, are parts still available? I've seen 'ready-made' small block v-8s and such... are there similar rotary engines?

I'll have to start looking when I feel just a little more comfortable financially - just bought a house heh.

And to those who asked, I'm in western Md, USA

Thanks again!

apex_sideway

http://members.ij.net/mrmazda/rx7reliability.html

Read this, and you'll find if this car is for you or not . . .