Logitikes

So i recently found a t2 that has a blown engine. Heres the link. http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/tor/cto/2785643229.html I called the dude not knowing it was blown expecting to meet up with him to see the car. He gives me the bad news about the engine and now im kinda shooked about whether i should buy it or not. Its going to be my first car, and i do have some skills for fixing cars since ive been doing my apprenticeship for mechanics. My question is, is it worth buying it? The seller seems like a good guy, talked with him for a good 30 minutes about him, the car, and me buying the car. He says the car is in mint condition in terms of body wise, it has a 91 t2 transmission in it, and a alot of goodies, including 2 t2 engines(all listed in the link). But for being my first car, is it worth it? Its 3 grand for a blown turbo2 but according to him the car's body is mint. Anyways im planning to go down to see his car this saturday and i wanted some advice. Thanks for the helppp!!!!

R.P.M.

iTrader: (3)

I know the guy selling the car too. Good guy.

Its really up to you if you want to spend more money on it to get it running.

To me the car would be worth it, I rebuild Rotaries in my sleep and have been working on these cars forever.

If you have lots of time on your hands and like working on cars and have more money to put into the car, then I'd say go for it.

Terrh

iTrader: (7)

$3500 seems steep for a non running TII.

Logitikes

Yeah i thought someone on this forum might know him. He seemed pretty cool about the car too, he offered to help me if i were to buy it from him.

Actually the price is 3000, but i dont know alot about pricing a tii and 3000 is kinda pricey for a blown tii.

MORE ADVICE IS APPRECIATED!!!!

schaft

iTrader: (1)

I paid 3 grand for my running s5 gtu with the turbo swap, so that still seems a little high for a blown motor try and talk him down quite a bit

Logitikes

lol im chinese, im definitely talk him down. JK, nah but the price isnt the biggest issue, what im trying to ask is if this car is too much for me to handle. Having to buy a car and have it sitting in my garage untill i swap a new engine in it? Its going to be my first car, and to make it worse, i might have to move houses soon... Im so confused right now lol.

schaft

iTrader: (1)

Look into either buying a new motor or have that one rebuilt...figure in time and a few broken parta from removal/instillation then look at ur price. If you buy a spare block it could be less then a day to replace it if you have the.tools and know how. But we cant really tell you if its to much for you to handle, my first car I was looking to find one that needed all this done just so I could learn to do it, only one with in range that was even worth saving came running so I got it instead. Just ask yourself a few questions. Do you have a way to get around till this is done? Are you motivated to finish what you start? Do you have the extra cash to pay for rebuild or spare motor? If mostly yes then go for it.

CS13B

iTrader: (11)

You should ask 2Fierce how this is going for him

orion84gsl

iTrader: (5)

Do up a budget for yourself, including the price of the car and repairs, what tools you'll need and a hundred bucks to replace various fasteners. Ok, now double it and you might be in the ballpark of what this will likely end up costing. Even the best planned projects wind up with a wrench being thrown into the works somehow. If what you are looking for is a project car, then by all means buy it and consider it simply that, a project with no deadline and no max dollar amount. If you are looking for a fun car to get you around with a set budget, keep looking.

IPWinsor

iTrader: (2)

Having spent most of last summer looking at every T2 that was for sale in Ontario, I can tell you the clean T2s that are for sale are very hard to come by.

I am a bit put off the the seller does not mention the blown motor in the ad, nor does he mention the mileage. That said, If you have seen the car and it is truely clean (as in, does not need a paint job right now to keep it from deteriorating), it may be worth looking into. When i say clean, i mean no rust in the wheel wells, the sun roof, floor pans, spare tire well, or around the windshield; all the usual problem areas. Also, is this the original paint?

If its all of the above, bargain hard. The ad reads like he has to sell the car soon due to the move, and this is a really bad time of the year to be selling a sports car. If you get it for $2k or less, take it, as long as you have $4k to $5k to spend at a shop to get it a new motor. You can probably make a few bucks selling some of the spare parts that come with it.

Good luck.

Logitikes

im going to see the car this saturday. and yeah i agree with everythign you said ipwinsor. i found it strange that he didnt mention the blown engine too. He told me that the car is clean and the only rust spot is on the sun roof. but yeah ill report back after i see the car. But is it wise for me to do a rebuild or put in a new motor for this car since its going to be my first rotary, im 18, and my first car?

Buggy

iTrader: (8)

To be completely honest here, I think I would look at another car if I was in your shoes. Rx-7's are great cars, but we have to face facts. They are now +20 years old and require constant attention. I bought an extremely clean '88 TII with only 55k on the clock. It was immaculate inside and out, but after a summer of driving things started to break. In the add he says it is all original. That means there are a lot of unseen things that will pop up even after the car is running and back on the road. Add to that the cost of insurance, and the cost of PREMIUM fuel for it, it won't be an economical vehicle for a first car. If money is no object though I guess you don't have to worry. I'd get a cheap reliable vehicle to start, and then down the road pick up an Rx-7 as a toy. Just my 2 cents....

misterstyx69

iTrader: (142)

If this is your first Car..NO.
Honestly,if you buy this car you may never drive it!.You'd be sinking money into it all the time.
it's a Project if it has a blown engine,it doesn't RUN..it's a Lawn ornament until you fix it!
..
My $.02 is to just get a cheap reliable go-getter like a Honda.Cavalier..something like that,and drive it around while you contemplate taking a Space up in the garage with a RX7.
Then if your heart is set on one,you always have the Honda-Lier to go get parts!

CS13B

iTrader: (11)

I'd hate to agree with these nay-sayers here cause I too like learning from my own mistakes rather than someone elses If you ENJOY working on the car in the driveway until 2am on a school night and you have the mechanical know-how or another beater car to use as this one sits in the garage waiting for parts then I'd say go for it as long as it's clean and you can haggle the price down blah blah blah.
But my other suggestion if you REALLY want an Rx as your first car (pretty badass, lemme tell ya!) go for a clean N/A. Cheaper to buy, cheaper to maintain, easier to diagnose and fix for a noob, cheaper on gas (regular vs. premium). But buggy's point is spot on, my convertible had 66,000km and a service history that would take weeks to read, but once I bought it I was paying for parts like they were a government-mandated life-tax. Not only to repair but to mod too since you're undoubtedly going to catch that bug more or less immediately. My last point is that an N/A is still fast enough to have fun in, but not so fast as get yourself into some serious trouble unless you're a complete idiot with it. At least, that's the way I've always justified being slower than my friends' station wagons.

Cooley

3 g is a lot of money for a car with a blown engine. must keep in mind you have to either rebuild or swap another engine. you can expect to pay 1500 g for another engine plus labor. An engine rebuild might cost you 3000 I'm guessing (about 1000 for the parts, plus the cost to pull the engine rebuild it and put it back in) if you pay someone to do it

I paid over 4 g for my car. Found out the engine was blown 3 days later. Just giving you a warning it is a very expensive repair

Buggy

iTrader: (8)

Going with a NA Rx-7 would be a better choice if you have to have an Rx-7. My first Rx-7 was a '88 GXL. Very nice car and even with a pile of miles on it still worked well. It got decent mileage and I daily drove it for 2 summers. It will still break though, and unless you want it to rot I'd look into a second vehicle for winter. It sucks to see something you've worked on sooo hard to make it awesome just rot away before your eyes. Also Rx-7's don't like cold weather. They tend to do strange things when it gets cold. I'm not sure why, but they do.

Logitikes

the thing is that right now in my life, i dont actually need my own car. we have a family car which is a civic and i can drive it when ever i need to. i get a ride to work everyday since i work right next to my bro, so having the rx7 sit for a bit isnt going to be a problem. but my question is, do you guys think that buying a blown rx7 would be a good idea since its going to be my first car and ive never worked on a rotary before. i was planning to buy the car if the body is mint and either drop in a s5 tii motor or see if the motor that comes with the car can be rebuilt. my main concern is that i dont know how to do any of this lol. has anyone ever rebuilt their first rotary at like 18 before? i need some advice right now about how to approach this car... but yeah thanks for all the advice so far, KEEP EM COMING!

01Racing

Some simple facts abouts rebuilding/restoring a car:

** Most rebuilds/restorations are finished by the 3rd owner after it became a "project" car.

** Just like governments, most budgets are set way too low and you can usually count on 25-35% in cost overruns

** The car usually does not run well for about 6 months after until you finally sort out all the issues.

So in my humble opinion STAY AWAY!

Bwek

iTrader: (4)

Unless you have space like a garage where you can work on the car DO NOT BUY IT,

The best 2 days of an Rx7 owners life are the day he buys it and the day he sells it

It takes alot of know how to properly rebuild the motor and when its out of the car you'll find stuff you want to fix, but then can't find the parts to fix it or the part is extremely expensive.

Ive had 3 Rx7s a 91,86 and 89 all were a pain in the *** to fix. but i always had a garage or a shop where I could fix it, if i had to pay someone or a shop $60-90 an hour to fix it it would've never seen the road.

everything you want for it will be in Cali there is pretty much no aftermarket support up here
everything Ive had for my cars came from word of mouth or luck.

If you can't drive the car be very prepared to put thousands into the car to be road worthy. I bought My 89 from a guy in niagara the car Sat for 10 years but had a new reman motor before it sat. Before I put it on the road I had to replace the gas tank(couldn't find a used S5 so i had to buy new $500 @ my cost working there) replaced the fuel lines, all the brake lines from the brake master to the back of the car, Clutch master and slave and every bolt I touched on the suspension broke I Installed a poly kit so i replaced every bolt on the suspension

and even after all that the car never idled properly and had electrical issues

For your personal first car, The car i recommend is a Civic, parts are plentiful and cheap, easy to work on and mod

after you are very comfortable with that car then i'd say go for a car that is tougher to maintain and repair

I recently sold my 89 after getting it track prepped lol, I do plan on buying another Fc but it'll from the southern states and a sunday driver nothing more

Buggy

iTrader: (8)

Everyone thinks that the rotary engine is complicated to build, but it really isn't. It's fairly straight forward and there is lots of information out there to help. The big problem is the factory electronics and fuel injection system. I'm a licenced technician and it even baffles me sometimes trying to figure out what's going on. Because of it's age, the FI system is needlessly complex and you have virtually no diagnostic aids to help figure out the issue. A really good understanding of electrical is a must. So really it's your call. If you think you are up to the task, do lots of research, talk to people who have built engines before, and plan what you want to do. Also, it helps to set some sort of a deadline to shoot for. That way it keeps you motivated.

pd_day

iTrader: (6)

The engine is only 1 of your 99 problems you'll have with a car with a bum motor. We can all Re+Re a motor in 1 day, but it's the other things.
Other things I guarantee you have to fix include:

- Suspension components
- Brake components
- Fuel components (Clean injectors / new fuel lines / Pulsation dampener / fuel filter)
- Cooling components (If previous owner tried to use stop leak, you are going to have fun)
- Electrical components (Brittle connectors / frayed wires)
- Exhaust might be rotted

This is just to put the car back together, now to troubleshooting for idle/vacuum/boost/hesitation issues.


I thought about the car you are looking for, but I don't think I can devote an estimated 400 hours (sourcing parts, driving to get it, installing it) and another $5000 (not including price of car) at it.

If it was turn key with a flawless body, I would of paid $5000.

IPWinsor

iTrader: (2)

Probably good advice there, pd_day.

For not much more than the cost of buyin this T2 and getting it back in running shape, Logitikes could probably buy Nova7's FD that he is selling. https://www.rx7club.com/canadian-sale-wanted-classifieds-120/94-fd-base-model-979104/

Either way, this is not a great time of the year to see a great selection of RX7's for sale; wait until April; they will start coming out of the woodwork. There are a few FC NAs on Kijiji right now, BTW.

2Fierce

iTrader: (7)

ask 2fierce?

2fierce bought a 128i, that guys a douche. he hasn't worked on his car since last, last winter.

in all seriousness, you want to buy a car to work on? come over and take mine.

I'll tell you everything it needs. No lies, no surprises, no BS.


edit: but if you want my advice, don't bother buying/modding cars

You wanna be a professional race car driver? Formula ford then move to europe.

You want to go fast? Spend $ on driving schools.

You wanna park at tims till 3am and say "sick, bro" - buy a civic

You wanna enjoy an rx7? Make enough so that $ isn't an issue, and then go buy a 930 911
ps: if you make more, call up Rauh Welt - and you won't care about rxwhatever's

/end rant

Logitikes

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm rwb's.... lol but yeah im going over to see the guys car tommorow, hope the car is in a good of a condition that he said it is.

Logitikes

well, went over, took a look at the car, and its pretty clean. theres some random rust spots the size of a dime, the front bumper has a small dent on the front corner of it, the doors/door frame is clean, underbody has very little rust (small dime sized patches of rust on surface), and in general a pretty clean car. Tried to offer him 2500 for the car with the parts but i dont think he budged. Im thinking that if the car is still available next week, ill send him 2500 cash for it, and start reading up on rotary ressurections for rebuilds, emission removal, etc. any advice u guys can give me?