I have a chance to pick up a 93 Silver with these mods:

Silver with black leather. interior is in beautiful shape.

Touring package

R1 Lip

74K on the ODO.

500 miles on a newly rebuilt street port (done by rotary power)

Tdo6 single turbo upgrade no more than 8K on it

HKS Waste gate and BOV

Aftermarket full exhaust

After market SMIC

Greddy elbow with 2 additional injectors and a Greddy Rebic fuel management system for the additional injectors.

18 C 5 Racing Hart (apparently cant get them any more) some road rash on the rims. Pirelli Pzeros all around with at least 60% tread

Stock brakes with stock slotted rotor

after market suspension (unknow brand)

fludidyne radiator

a **** load of greddy gauges on the inside.

Greddy Turbo Timer

Alpine sound system with subwoofer and amp.

the paint is really clean, has a clean carfax, and no accidents.

The car is not tuned at this point and is running really rich, (guy is afraid he will blow up the motor again!!)

So anybody want to venture what I should be paying for this 3rd gen?

I would like to make a decision here real soon, and would like some input from some members who have picked up cars like this before.

Thanks again

David

 

anyone?

 

You're in California and this car has engine modifications that are not SMOG legal in California. I wouldn't even consider making an offer for this car unless you are certain that you know a way to get it to pass smog at the time you change title and then again every other year.

 

What's worth to ya? $18-22K is my guess. If you tried to buy a stock FD and bought the same mods you'd probably spend more than that.

Also, there is another guy on the forum that bought a fully modded single turbo FD3S with a newly rebuilt ported motor for $20k... And that was a smokin' deal.

 

I talked the guy down to 19k. However, here is my dilemma.

the car has had 5 owners. this is a little worriesome. I know these cars are not reliable, and it will not be my daily driver, but I am afraid, this one has sold 5 times becuase it is more of a dud than another might be.

The guy who is selling has had it in the shop most of the 2.5 years he has owned it. Registration proves that.

He has blown the motor, twice in under 6 thousand miles.

He will be selling the car to me in a rich tuned state, because he is afraid it will blow again. He wont put it on a dyno.

I am thinking with some patience and a couple thousand dollars I can get this car to a reliable (for a 3rd gen) state.

Am I crazy?

Should I pass on this one?

What do you the pros think?

 

It's possible that the car has had 5 idiot owners including the current one. Blowing the engine twice in 6K and being iffy about the engine in it now is NOT a good sign. If I were you, I'd pass.

 

Have you test driven the car?? I think it's pretty important for you to do that and get a real good feel for engine performance in city driving scenerio.

 

If that list is 100%, then it might not be an issue.

Note, Everybody. THERE IS NO ECU UPGRADE.

The Rebic:

The Rebic IV is designed to help add additional fuel to any force induction system. Install additional injector(s) on your charge pipe or intake and program the Rebic IV to contorl the new dutty cycle This unit works independently form any other system, this means it can supplement your main system (factory, stand-alone, even carburetors.) Control 1 to 8 sub-injectors, by tuning in a fuel map from three adjustable parameters: Boost, RPM, and Injector Duty Cycle.


What do you want to bet they tried to use this, and couldn't tune it straight?


If you get this car, you will need to spend some more money. I would at least talk to a good RX-7 tuner about the car (maybe try Steve Khan at www.gothamracing.com), before making a decision. The condition it is in now is more indicative of people who didn't know what they were doing, more than anything else.

 

Definitely get it taken somewhere for a compression test.

Make sure you have a list of all the mods.

 

if you get a bad feeling about it, it'd be wise to pass it up

 

The amount of work and $$ it will take to get it running correctly makes $19K way too much IMO. You will definitely need a proper compression test before anything to get an idea of the condition of the engine internals. Even if the test gives good numbers, you'll need a PFC to control the fuel/ignition properly, especially with a single turbo. And you must get it tuned by someone with good experience w/the PFC (more $$), otherwise you won't get it near its potential, and live with the possibility of another engine pop. And then you'll have to deal with emissions every two years, which will be a major PITA.

I'm really talkin' ya into this, aren't I?

 

you are right about the no ECU upgrade. But if the Greddy can be tuned. This should not be an issue. This is a big "IF" someone around here can tune it.

I also agree that the cars condition is probably a direct result of people who had no clue about how to handle it.

I also do think I am going to be spending some more cash to dial it in. The question is how much?

If I can put the car right mechanically for 2K than I would be willing to do it.

When the guy got the first rebuild from rotary power, it was installed, and immediatedly started pinging. He got the engine rebuilt under warranty and took it to SP (Sidepex) where it was installed, and left richly tuned.

The +'s for this car is it is local. This is going to save at least 2K off of the price that I would have to spend to fly out and see another car, and then arrange shipping. (I did find another one in Alabama but the guy wants 24K. This one is done, and dialed in) again though. I have to fly out there check it out, and pay a grand for shipping. I would be into this car for 26K without even putting a cent into additional mods.

What do you guys think? a Haltech, and a good tune would put this car on the right track?

 

It appears to me by your responses that you are ignoring the cautious advice you are getting and instead speculating on "what might be" and "low ball" future costs.

Until you start exhibiting some degree of rational thinking I'll be surprised if you get any more responses to this thread!

 

This does not have to turn into a flame session. I truly do appreciate the advice, even the cautious advice, this is why I am asking on the forum. I am looking for answers from both sides. Even If I have to throw it out there to elicit the response. If you don't like my approach to decison making, Sorry, but this is how I am working through making the decision.

Am I rationalizing a bit ? Probably , but again, what I am also trying to do is throw both sides of the issue out for discussion on the forum. That is what the forum is for, is it not?

I realize that the car will cost at least 2k additional if the motor is okay. This will be for a PFC/Haltech and tuning. This is the lowest amount I will have to put into it to get it up and running correctly. It will probably be 6K plus if I end up on the high end to get it up and running.

So I guess the real question is weather the car is worth 25K or not? 19K plus the possible 6K? is this more rational thinking for you? Based on the mods above, and the fact that it will cost me, possibly 6K more, is it worth it?

Also, I am not worried about the smog. Thats why I never asked about it in the first place.

Thanks again.

David

 

I actually will be getting the compression test (paid for by him) and I asked Sidepex to create a complete mods list for me when they go through the car for the check up.

 

Would you mind explaining why you are not worried about the smog?

There are two components to the smog test in California. Sniffing the emissions, which you might be able to pass with the proper tuning and adding ethanol to your fuel and the visual inspection to determine if the modifications to your car all have CARB approvals. The modifications you listed for this car do not have CARB approval!

Take a look at this thread and then respond:

https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showth...hreadid=210004

 

Like I said in the beginning, this is not a discussion about smogging the car. It's not an issue, and this is why I did not bring it up. If it was an issue, I would not even be looking at the car. additionally, I will be doing nothing illegal to smog the car either, so go away nark

 

Like I said, based upon what you'll have to spend and do in order to have any semblance of peace of mind (plus other stuff like the rashed wheels, etc.), $19K for that car is too much.

Cool that you don't have to worry about smog. Most of us out here do.

 

When you say "I will be doing nothing illegal to smog the car" you have destroyed your credibility! I will go away now.

 

Kento,

Thanks for your response. I wish I could talk this guy down to 17K, it may worth it then. Your right around the block, come by and see the car......

 

My family lives in a state that does not have smog laws. I will be registering it that state. I will not be here long enough for the smog to be an issue.

So I think your jealous, or as I said in the last post, A NARK!!! bye

 

OK. Your best bet is to ask and find out who the nearest tuner with a good rep is. Ask in the local/cali forum, or ask here in another thread, kind of like "Who would you go to in SoCal to tune your FD". Then get in touch with him first. See what type of ECU he works with (Halltech/APEX). Chances are this will be the guy you are dealing with, so he will know how much he will be charging you...

 

If you don't live in California and if the car will not be operated in California then this is a misunderstanding and you should change your location in your screen name block from "Southern California" to where ever you actually live.

On the other hand, if you will be the owner of this car, and you actually live in California, and the car will be operated in California, then registering this car in another state is illegal PERIOD! Sorry to have to tell you this.

Look, I don't really care if what you are doing is illegal. I personally think the whole smog requirement is just a way for the government to extract fees from car owners and it does little to reduce smog. If you have a hook-up then congratulations.

All I'm trying to do is set the record straight so that the people reading this thread don't get the wild idea that there is a legal way for California residents to avoid smogging their cars in areas where it is required. I know too many people who have purchased modified cars only to find out later that they can't get it smogged unless they take it back to stock conditions.

 

I just got off of the phone with Sidepex. They are the guys who swapped the engine for him. Alex at Sidepex, explained to me that he thought the waterjacket was bad on one housing the first time around, and that this was what caused the problem.

So I will not know if this is still the problem until the engine is fully boosted, and put through the paces. The engine is going to have to be fully tuned and tested before I will buy the car.

He also explained that he did not know if an upgraded fuel pump is being used or not. I will have to check this one out.

I am looking at 1K to 1.5K to properly dyno tune, and then I get to figure out if the engine is bad. I don't think so. Until I can know for sure about the engine. I am not going to fork over the cash.

David

 

Nark