Ok Im new so forgive me if any of this is "dumb." Ive been casually looking at FD's in my area and found one that the owner says he did a full year 2000 conversion? It includes a full JDM genuine Mazda kit, not fiberglass he says, and also a yr. 2000 engine and tranny swap that he claims puts out 280hp stock. I guess he picked up the engine and tranny while overseas. Does all this make since? If so, would it be a good purchase,or would buying tuning parts for this engine be to much of a pain? Thanks in advance!!!

 

The 2000 (actually 99+) body pieces update the look of the car, whether you prefer that or not to the original 93-95 body is up to you.

The only REAL differences between the more recent JDM engines and the 93-95 engines are the change to the y-pipe (easily done for $225 on a 93-95) and the revised twin turbos.

The mods sound legit, but that doesn't mean you should necessarily pay more for the car just because it has them. As with any FD, the condition of the car is the most important buying consideration.

 

This car sounds familiar... By chance is it located in the Sacramento area and it's painted yellow or green or some other loud color? I remember someone posting the link to the website a while back and the car had a salvage title.

 

Yeah Im not sure where it is but its bright yellow, which I wanted anyways, and yeah it has a salvage title which normally is a little scary but this thing seems VERY clean. I dunno I was just curious and the price seemed fair for the money put into it. I probably wanted to eventually get a kit thats a little more interesting but that conversion is pretty smooth looking. I dunno...must be a reason it hasnt sold yet lol.

 

Oh by the way...If by some chance you have a link to that other post I would love to see it. I tried searching under everything I can think of but cant find it. Thanks again.

 

how much is he askin for it?

 

well I think its down to $14,500 right now. The thing looks like it just rolled of the showroom floor (as they say) and he has some decent electronics on board. I know around here in Cali they go for that if not more with really nothing interesting done at all.

 

The most "interesting" part of you looking at the car, should be to take it to a reputable body shop to see if the frame got tweaked...
<- that car has a seriously tweaked frame, and I am purposefully destroying it by cutting it into 4 pieces, because I don't want someone like you looking for a "Steal" of an RX-7 to kill himself in a banked turn cause the frame welds didn't hold...

If it was an engine fire, and he replaced everything, that's cool, especially if it was done well, but don't buy wrecked FD's they're tough enough to keep on the road without major structual issues !

 

$14,500 for a salvage title? I don't think so, not even with our inflated prices....

 

If the guy put in a "99 j-spec transmission and motor" for any significant amount of money to achieve 280 hp, he's a f-ing moron.

 

I'd steer clear of that car. Even if the JDM engine had some major performance advantages, it would take some very trained eyes to be able to distinguish the difference just by looking under the hood (and even that would be no guarantee).

A word of note: the FD isn't like some other Japanese cars where the later JDMs have significant engine performance upgrades that the aftermarket can manufacture. Fact is, even the chassis doesn't have that many differences. With all the "JDM"/"J-spec" hype that goes on with the current import modding craze, the term gets tossed around a lot.

 

What are you talking about salvage title tweaked frame no good.
you must have NO idea how easily a modern car bends it's frame. not to mention a salvage title is given to any car an ins company totals and sells on the auction lot to salvage yards. all slavage means, is that the work to get the car on the road again is more that 70% of the book value of the car. frames these days are designed to bend> they do so easily to absorb the energy.
hell take a trip to the local body shop and see if they ever do work on cars that don't need a little straightening of the frame. it's pretty rare.

these days cars are totaled over all the air bag prices.
more and more cars have minir accidents and are totaled because teh bags and laybor are too high in addition to a new fender and bumper.

take the car to a body shop and have them look it over. it's pretty easy for a trained eye to see a crappy rebuild vs a good rebuild.

 

Yes, and the salvage title could mean the car has flood damage, or anything else. The point is, you don't know what happened to the car to earn a salvage title. The point is, a car with a salvage title is considered to be worth a lot less than a car without one. Period.

 

Don't forget the "black box" in lieu of the rat's nest.

 

True, but that won't work with an American ecu, so I was assuming that the car in question was just using a "JDM" motor with the American twin-turbo control system.

I wish we COULD just use the little black box....

 

Ask why the car has a salvage title.

If it were me tho, I'd walk away after I hear that. I don't like knowing a car has been thru hell and back and then had the wheels driven off it.

 

10-4. I'll ask some questions first but I will probably stear clear. As far as the American ECU goes he picked up a matching Japanese ECU while he was at it. I agree with the fact that if there was any chassis damage I dont want to mess with it. I dont need that in the back of my head everytime I want to put it thru its paces. Thanks again for the input.

 

only time i would buy a salvage title is that it was hit anywhere from behind.

 

Guys, I purchased a salvage title black 1993 R1 about two months ago. It is true you don't know why a car earned a salvage title, unless you can get a copy of the Insurance report. It will clearly state whay the car was totaled. Mine was a theft recovery and had a blown engine. Between that and carfax my car is clean. It is no different than any of you that currently have a blown engine. Since I bought if with a salvage title I got it for a lot less. I personally would not purchase a salvage vehicle unless I could see the Insurance report and verify the reason it was totaled. Now my Fd has a rebuilt title but I think in my case it was worth it. I saved a lot of money. In a nut shell you just have to be informed and do your research.

 

Got my 95 FD with a salvaged title. No proof of the damage it sustained from behind can be seen at all. It runs and drives great, considering it has 97K original miles. Got it alot cheaper and considering I don't plan to ever get rid of it, the "hit" I would take buying a wrecked car and trying to resell isn't something I'll ever see. I'm very happy with it. Better than the last one: I bought a 94 300GT VR-4 in '00. Paid $20k, exactly book, and the guy didn't tell me it was flood salvaged. I totalled it 1 week later on black ice and my insurance gave me $10K. I had to come up with the other half to pay off the loan. Always make sure you are aware of it's Carfax and if the repairs were done well and you understand if you DO want to resell that you'll probably take a hit.... it might be worth buying, for the right price.

 

I couldn't resist...