cabaynes

iTrader: (4)

i'm impressed to say the least. it makes smile just knowing there are people out there that have that much love for the car. someday when i have more money i would love to do this too... but i think i would have a hard time selling these cars after putting so much time into them! do you have trouble selling them with re-built titles? looks great anyway! and damn, pulling the engine/trans that quick is very fast!

rx7racer11

lookin good... was that a local car to oregon that was wrecked or did it come from somewhere else?

turbojeff

iTrader: (30)

John,

I think you are 100% correct. Many wrecked cars (not all cars, not most cars) can be repaired properly, it is just the cost of repairs exceed the value of the vehicle. Many times cars in that condition are purchased by rebuilders that pretty much just "hack" a car back together. These hack jobs end up back on the street and can generally be loads of trouble due to the poor repairs.

So for cars like this, it is just WHO did the repair and how well did they do it. I'm actually NOT doing the bodywork, I'm just the mechanical R+R guy.

What is important to note with FD front end collisions is that the price of the PARTS far exceeds the labor. This car needed $10-11K worth of NEW parts according to the estimate. Labor was only $4K IIRC. If you just HAD TO HAVE new parts call Ray at Malloy Mazda and got the typical 20-30% off that parts price drops down over $2-3K! Do a little labor yourself and like magic it might make sense to fix it.

I had a complete front end off a white FD (see pics), so I pretty much had all the expensive bodyparts. Some stuff for the FD can be sourced used MUCH cheaper than new. Did you guys know the factory wants almost $400 for the airbox! Stock IC runs $1400! Get my point?

Anyway, thanks for the comments, keep 'em coming. It should be out of the paint shop on Friday, I'll post more pics.

rx7racer11,

I bought the car from rousu in Seattle.

fastcarfreak

thanks for bringing back to life another FD, they are getting rarer and rarer to find nowadays. I hope i never crash my FD, or get in any kind of accident. looking good man.
adam

FormerPorscheGuy

Good job. The pictures are nice and the car looks as if it is coming along well. Keep us updated on how things turn out and when she is back on the road.

rx7racer11

now the question is will it be sold with a clean title

20B Junkie

Wow, nice work!

turbojeff

iTrader: (30)

No, reconstructed title.

rx7racer11

well reconstructed is still a hellaof lot better then salvage

EviLPeNeviL

iTrader: (2)

What is defined/classified as a "reconstruction title"?


-Dan

EviLPeNeviL

iTrader: (2)

What is defined/classified as a "reconstruction title"?

From the looks of that MB FD, it definetly looks to receive a totalled title, no?

-Dan

turbojeff

iTrader: (30)

This stuff varies state by state.

In Oregon when the car is "totalled" it gets a Salvage title. When you put it back together it is called Reconstructed. So all Reconstructed cars had a Salvage title at some point.

The "totalled" term is merely a financial decision by the insurance company. Say that you had an old Integra or something. Someone keyed the entire car, paint job would cost more than the car is worth. The insurance company will "total" it and give it a Salvage title. Really! When you buy it back with the key scratches you'll drive down to the DMV they "inspect it" and give it a Reconstructed title. The inspection is nothing more than a inspection of the VIN.

In Washington they want all the reciepts for the parts used to fix the car. As well as the VIN of car the used parts came from.

rousu

Car history: The car was imported into Canada by Mazda with the minor Canadian adaptations, KM on the speedometer and odo, front running lights, etc. My impression is that it is close to a base model equivalent; though some forgotten soul told me they also had a different suspension tuning, eh. The car was on lease in Vancouver, and the guy had a Porsche he was driving more when he was in country, so he sold the Rx7 to me.
I bought it with 16,000 Km on it a couple years back, and then imported it from Canada to the US. Had to have Mazda certify it met DOT and EPA requirements, notarize the sale, pay import fees at the border, and get state patrol inspection and emissions test, and WA licence. It was a pleasurable drive and mostly low maintenance for the time I had it... Til the drunk hit it while parked at curbside the day after christmas....

I thought about trying to rebuild it here, but I don't have the mechanical skills and connections Jeff does, so I would have had to pay full tilt. As long as you know the repair work was first class, it should be as good as new. The hook is that the salvage title notation tends to limit the resale price to people who are reluctant to trust the quality of the repairs. From meeting Jeff and seeing the work here, I would buy back my old car if I had not already replaced it... Good work.

RotorMotor

iTrader: (5)

so structurally, how would a rebuilt front frame hold up to an impact vs a car thats never been in an accident? it cant be as safe as new??? or can it .....

GoodfellaFD3S

iTrader: (213)

Very, very impressive Jeff.

You have my utmost respect .

SomeGuy_sg

I think i speak for every one when i say :P We love ya , Jeff :P

mr_squiggle_1

The way this one has been done it would be very close if not on par with that of a accident free car. The damaged rails have been replaced with brand new items. It has also been on a chassis straightener so id imagine it would be almost exactly the same.

The way these cars are constructed they don't have rails that run the entire length of the car (like older cars do) these cars are made up of lots of pieces that are tacked together. In the case of an older car you cant simply replace the bit that is damaged like what was done in this case, you have to pull it straight or cut it out and weld on a bit from another car. this is where you get issues of not driving straight and what not that hear about from crashed vehicles, i would imagine that this car would drive and handle the same as any other FD.

This is how i see it, if i am wrong feel free to correct me.

Good work Jeff you have done a very good job, most would not even know that it had been in a crash.

Neil

sevensix

iTrader: (1)

wonder where this car is now and who's driving it, someone on the boards?

silverTRD

iTrader: (38)

damn that thing looks brand new, literally. amazingly stock

RE-Amemiya

Wow, this thread was back from 2003.

NICE work fixing it though.

driFDer

iTrader: (1)

Huh? Fixing the front of the car is probably twice as hard as fixing the back. But you did write this four years ago so maybe you know better by now

turbojeff

iTrader: (30)

Wow you guys dug this thread up from the grave.

Actually it is a lot easier to fix the front of the car. There are more parts to be damaged but most everything unbolts. The rear of the car is all connected together, the floor, roof, 1/4 panels, etc. Not much is removable and the entire car gets twisted much easier. The front of the car has a big hole where the engine resides.

driFDer

iTrader: (1)

Well I meant if I had a choice of a car hit in the front quarter or a car hit in the back quarter lets say. Back quarter panels can sustain more damage then front fenders and a car hit in the quarter panel doesn't get frame damage as easy as a car hit in front. Usually with my experiences with cars hit in the front is that there are usually things wrong with them. The car shakes, the lines don't match up good, the tires have uneven wear, etc. The rear has less parts and doesn't steer the car but you're right not a lot can me replaced with brand new parts in the rear such as the front can. I guess it depends on the damage.

VTECthis

iTrader: (4)

Turbojeff,
I'm interested in that white 94' if you ever consider selling.......been lookin for one for a while. What kinda shape is it in? Does it have a motor?

bajaman

Looks BRAND NEW! Sweet!