Hey all,

Newbie here...here's the dealio and my philosophy so to speak, I'm not asking what this car is worth, as this is a total hypothetical question anyway, and really this is all hypothetical right? I'm asking what you'd pay and feel good about. Ya know, like you got a good deal.

Ok, to the point, there's a '94 FD, touring edition for sale locally that purportedly has around 60k on it, and the motor's out. I don't know why, but I'm sure we can all assume that she done blowed up. So it's being sold as a roller and I'm interested in it as a replacement for my long gone black '94 which I loved so darn much!

I know nothing of the overall condition of the car, but let's assume it's truly a low mileage FD, that's seen little or no hard Midwest winter use. Or said another way, a pretty clean car. No repainting, no hits, straight body, etc.

All this said, what would you pay for a nice clean rolling chassis, complete minus the motor? And the whole motor might be gone, intake, injectors and belt driven accessories (alt, PS pump, AC compressor).

Things I'm wondering about, among others, is how hard would it be to find a core motor to rebuild (prolly not too hard I'm sure) and accessories if needed? And what should I expect to pay for this stuff? And do you guys ship these beer-keg motors much? Just wondering if I have trouble sourcing one local what my options are?

For purposes of this "discussion" let's say that color does not matter (not such a fan of the red AT ALL, sorry to all you red FD owners) and that the car is stick. I would NOT want one with an auto (sure it's not too hard to convert however).

Also, this would be my first build of a rotary...but that's for a different thread huh?

 

A lot of your questions could be answered with a search.

However, do not buy a roller if you think that it is a way to save money. Buy one because you want to have fun with a project. You will almost always end up spending up more than it would cost to buy a running car - and, frankly, most rollers look like ***** so unless you want to spend another $3-$5k on paint and interior you will end up also end up with a crappy looking car that you spent $13k on but only has a resale value of $10k.

 

I agree. A car that has the motor out and is now up for sale didn't just come off the road last week, have the motor pulled, and dude decided to sell. Most times it's sat in the backyard for 3 years with rats building a nest in it, the gas tank rusting out, paint fading away, etc.

That's the real problems. You get the motor in and running, then start finding everything else it needs - that adds up quick.

That all said, price of a roller is hard to say. If it comes with all the engine parts that were pulled that's a big plus. I paid $4000 for a roller with damn near all the engine parts and more, and the car had sat for one year under a cover and still had nice paint, great interior, etc. Ended up putting about $5-6k into the car to get it up to my standards.

Hardest part is taking a car you've NEVER worked on and trying to put it back together. Figuring out how things attach, what this mystery part is, how the wiring harness is supposed to route, that's all a MASSIVE problem if you're a new guy. I know FD's backwards and forwards and I still had a challenge on my hands.

Dale

 

Thanks guys...did a search and came up with not much...so I think what you're saying is that a roller is worth no more than say $5k at best if all parts are present?

And by search, I guess I mean I searched for info on a roller's worth and came up with not much. I'm sure I could find lots of info on motors and parts for sale however.

But I do agree, this car most likely did not just find itself off the road last week. It's someone's project that they lost interest, motivation or money for. I do not know FDs backwards and forwards but do fancy myself as a pretty good mechanic with a good share of engine rebuilds. But the farthest I've gone with my old FD was pulling the turbos; but to me, it's a car, it burns gasoline, I can fix it! I do agree however, it would be much better if the motor was still in it, even if it didn't run.

I bought a FZJ80 Landcruiser a few years ago with the engine out. It's a long story, but I did a bench rebuild and had no issues with missing parts upon reassembly, but I was worried for sure. This however, could be a completely different story-that is car, but no motor!

This guy is asking $6k, which seems high to me given what I've been seeing. But if it's a perfect car otherwise, clean interior, shiny paint, and been sitting in a garage it might be worth it. I've go no problem with the "project" aspect of it. I'd dig that for sure, but I do have some reservations given that the motor's out, etc. This car has a story, and that story I've yet to know ;-)!

Hey Dale, could you share the details in the roller you paid $4k for? '94? miles, etc?

Thanks in advance-Jason

 

Car is worth between $5-7k as a roller depending condition. If it was a R2 mayble a grand more. If the paint is horrible maybe only worth $4k. I am assuming it is clear title. You could throw in a J-spec swap for around $2k or buy a known good long block on the forum for around $3k. Might as well replace the clutch while the engine is out along with all coolant lines/hoses. If you have good mechanical abilities it is a great idea to buy a roller. If you are like most who buy a roller you will turn it into another hacked rx7 struggling to stay on the road more than a day or two at a time.

 

Thank...I'm going to go look at it tonight...I'm finding running FDs for sale locally on CL for $8k to $14k. So to me, unless this thing is almost perfect, and considering the motor is out, and who knows where all the parts are, nuts, bolts, engine mounts, etc this this may or may not be the car for me at the asking price. Feels like $5k tops to me.

But if I did buy it, thanks to a super **** retentive nature and strong desire for things to be "just so" I don't think the end result would be a "hack job." I'd have the time to take my time so to speak.

 

welcome to the community.

since you mention snowmobiles and "seen little or no hard Midwest winter use" i am going to assume the car is in the snowbelt.

as in salt.

as in totally garfed underside.

so my first look at the car would be underneath. if i saw rust and corrosion i would pass and look elsewhere for my FD.

one of the nice things about a roller is that it makes it so much easier to dump alot of the junk that mazda added to the fd.... like PS and AC (since you apparently live up north) and rebuild it right.

good luck,

hc

 

I disagee that AC and PS should be deleted, but agree with the rust. Look it over closely.

What would I pay? I would not pay more for the car than I could safely recoup in parting it out if that ended up being the practical route to take. If you don't know that value, buy a running car.

 

Parted out an 88 Landcruiser a few years ago...that was a lot of work! I killed on it though financially, but when the purchase price of the car was under $150 you typically cannot go wrong!

If I bought this FD, it would be only to make it a runner again, so parting out would not be an end, an option or a route I'd be interested in. Moreover, is it really worth that much in parts with no motor? I guess, but man, parting a car out is like a part-time job that's not too much fun with shipping and all that jazz, more of a PITA than anything. And thankless too!

And yes, rust-belt car. But in defense of Midwest FDs, my first FD, bought around 1999, was a daily-driven car that then became my summer-only ride, and I did a lot of work to it and the undercarriage was pretty clean. At the same time, rust totally sucks! Give me a California car to work on any day over something that every bolt will break on as soon as you try to remove it.

Might start another thread to see what roller experience all you guys have had, lessons learned, et cetera.

And thanks for the welcome, and also for the responses...I'm on the fence about this, I'm sure seeing the car will make or break this but I'd rather make the decision from a rational and analytical frame of mind than from an emotional one.

 

I should clarify...this car may not be a rolling chassis...in fact I don't think it is, I think it's a complete car, just missing the engine.

Sorry...my bad on the vernacular error there...