Okay, my friend went to take a look at a FD nearby. We finally got the car to turn over and its running fairly lean. Didn't have a lot of time to try to troubleshoot but we'll be going back tomorrow to play around with it. Did take a look in the engine bay and it appears to be missing some kind of piping and the belt for the alternator and air pump, maybe more? Here is some pics, let me know what you guys think:

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l7...9/DSC_0005.jpg
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l7...9/DSC_0006.jpg
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l7...9/DSC_0007.jpg
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l7...9/DSC_0008.jpg
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l7...9/DSC_0009.jpg
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l7...9/DSC_0010.jpg
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l7...9/DSC_0013.jpg
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l7...9/DSC_0015.jpg

 

Those pics are way to big to see anything.

 

i have no clue what im looking at.. maybe a little bit bigger pics would help?

its an fd tho... most fds have a lot of things removed yet still work perfectly fine.. if its running well then its probably deleted..

 

That car needs a lot of help. It is missing the belt for the alternator and airpump. The hoses that you think are missing is because the stock air box is removed. Those would have hoses that led into the stock airbox but the car has non-stock air filters on it.

 

Yeah, sorry about the monstrous pics, my friend took them and I didn't realize how big they were till I posted it. I'll try and get him to get me some smaller ones. Thanks for the info on the missing hoses, I was really wondering about that.

 

Stickied in this main forum is an FAQ thread. In that FAQ thread there is at least one link to information on what to look for when buying an Rx7. I suggest you read it a few times if you are seriously looking for an FD.

Like all things in life, you usually get what you pay for.

 

Resized pics (800x600 or smaller) Thanks for the link adjustment Mahjik. Was in the process of resizing.

From what the owner says, there appears to be backfiring around 4k rpms. Boost is normal otherwise. He suspected a wastegate malfunction. Not really sure what to think yet. Also, took a shot of a fissure in the right intercooler line, difficult to see but its not hard to miss in person. Substantial boost loss from there possibly.

Running some more thorough tests tomorrow, let ya know what happens. If anyone has some ideas for diagnostics, I'd appreciate it.

 

at least the battery is good =D

But cracked hoses too. definitely want to do a hose makeover, and change to silicone hoses.

 

That car looks like it was ridden hard and put away wet....

Beat to **** cars FTL...

 

The Prospective buyer here,

The guy said he had 2 rebuilds, and then another 13b replacement engine. Im not sure whether that makes me feel good or bad.

Engine is prolly in better condition, but someone who needs a rebuild that often... yikes.

Its also been sitting outside for at least a year now. Poor thing.

Funny part was, the guy wanted 18k for it.

 

the current engine isn't even all that great...... I'd give him 10k for it max.

 

Ugh, they body needs serious work too, 10k if the body was in respectable condition. Windshields toast, major paint loss and fading too, interior is mediocre at best (turn signal lever is held together by zip ties, and one of the headlights is shattered. It needs work, but if i can get it for around 6k, ill be all over it.

 

Looks like utter ****, there's quite a bit of ghetto rigging going on under the hood. Also see rust, inconsistent paint colors, poor modifications. That car isn't worth more than 6k IF it runs.

 

Yeah, its ghetto alright. Seems to be the theme for the entire car. A pity really.

Ideally I'd like to turn this car around and make it look respectable.

Dunno how realistic that.

If anyone has something they'd like to see to give a stronger opinion, I'm all ears.

 

did you try to start that car?!
no airpump/alternator belt also means no waterpump

 

The analysis from my end..

picture 1
~the bad..
Grounding strap that's running from the manifold to near the coolant dump tank...
poorly chosen area..
Obviously missing belt for alternator, waterpump and air pump..
~Good
you have a petite AST.. in there..
Efini Y pipe....


Picture 2
EGR is not fully blocked off so resulting in massive vac leak..
That broken rubber cap will cause an awful vac leak if all the factory setup is in there.. even though the air pump is eliminated.. recap that and should give you a little better running..
The vac line right off the UIM that has a bolt in it... looks pretty stock to me... so that should be connecting to something... I think to the second BOV?
Also.. the air pump connector is still on.. so that means it still clicks on when the computer tells it to... Poor deletion of the Air pump..
~nothing good about this photo..
maybe the strut bar? meh..

Picture 3
Change out the clamps... definitely should not be home depot clamps..
not a good idea..
That also looks like a home depot coupler...
no no. not reinforced...
you need reinforced...
~The Good..
Those maybe.. Petite air filters... who knows..

picture 4
The battery has no strap down.. So it must be flopping around
You have aftermarket non flip ups..
They can be good or bad...

~The good
You might have a nice battery tray...
and you might have wires for a sound system already in... that is a circuit breaker that looks like it's feeding something.


picture 5
You got a front mount intercooler or Aftermarket SMIC at least..
the piping reveals this...

picture 6
The coupler shown in picture is torn at the clamp itself.. it looks like there is tear on it. Could be not reinforced couplers....
Again.. no home depot clamps..

picture 7..
Like said.. time to replace hoses.. however... the area down there... looks in ok condition...
throttle cable has a little slack...


Let's get a picture of the whole car now?

 

Good God what has been done to that car is utterly wrong in every respect of the word. please if you do buy do it right. Since the seller said that the engine currently installed is a reman be sure to get a compression check done before buying. and +1 for the price is to high i would offer him 10k max, and tell him that he is lucky to get that.

 

Hopefully you didnt let the car run to long without the water pump belt

 

^ yep dont run it without it :P

BTW 10k is wayyy to expensive !!!!

here's what i get for 10 250$ US ( 12500 CAN$ )

http://www.jdmdirectimport.com/cars/...rx7_black.html

was a deal i think

 

but JDMs are cheapers

 

I would run away from that car but it's not worth the effort. Just walk away at a leisurely pace.

Unless of course you intend to strip the entire engine bay and rebuild it into a proper vehicle. Even with some extensive "fix-up" work there are probably some serious problems that won't be found in time.

 

Don't worry, we didn't run it very long. It took us about two hours to get her to turn over, after that we just idled for about 5 seconds and shut it down, we were more interested in seeing if it even ran...

Edit: I'll get some pics of the rest of it tomorrow Scooby meet in Madison today!

 

A typical example of what I was seeing 9 - 10 years ago when I was out to purchase a FD. So many of the cars I looked at (5 of 6) had just been thrashed and trashed....it was unreal.

I just don't understand the mentality of a car owner like this. I realize few people are as **** as I am about having EVERYTHING be as 'correct' and working and looking as good as new as possible, but good God...I looked at cars that were missing fender liners, missing most interior pieces, missing dash components, cars that'd had ghetto mods for intakes and exhausts, **** held on with plumbers tape (the metal strapping stuff) and literally duct tape in one case, baling wire...unbelievable. WHO does that sort of thing?

 

I agree with the general consenus it is worth maybe only 6000 and that is if it runs good with a clear title. btw how many miles on the chassis i looks like the motor was covered with salt with how much corrosion there is.

John

 

Who does that sort of thing? Sadly, I see a lot of cars like that done by people who think they know how to work on cars or rely too much on forums for their principal form of mechanical knowledge. That wasn't a knock on this forum but some people just shouldn't be allowed work on cars. Some shouldn't be allowed to breed either but that's another story.