hi there,
I have just recently 18 and i was looking to buy a rx7 fd with my savings, i am aware that i CANNOT afford that so I've been looking at rolling shells, I've found a few that i can just about afford, (around 5k and my budget is around 6k) which isn't good, my now question is, ill need an engine and transmission but I don't have very much money, i don't want to upset anyone but buying a rotary is too expensive for me, i was wondering if anyone has any good recommendations of (once again sorry for this) but a piston engine and for as cheap as possible, once i build up some more funds id like to swap it out to a 13b so its more so a temporary engine so i can at-least drive it and use it (and not sell organs for insurance in the uk) so its not about being fast or loud for a while, its just so i can at least drive it until i can afford a nice clean 13b. ONCE AGAIN its just so i can get it running as soon as possible and as cheaply as possible and then work my way through upgrading it over time. thank you for any one who responds and doesn't get angry.

 

the trouble is that the FD uses a power plant frame instead of a normal transmission mount, which means that you're kind of stuck with the stock trans (or expensive fab parts)
the cheapest way might just be to rebuild the FD engine and maybe just not run it with a turbo or something. every other engine needs a lot of fab work to get in the car, and that can be expensive

i ran across this one too, a 4G6 Mitsubishi engine was offered in a Mazda with an R box, so you could bolt one of those to the FD drivetrain
https://projectzerog.com/rx7transmissions.shtml

 

Thank you so much man.

 

Here in USA LS V8 is the cheapest swap option, bit it will still cost about double what sourcing rotary parts would.

I recommend getting a sh1tbox daily and saving $ for your dream project.

If building a swapped FD is your dream, go for it.

But dint try to do it because you think ots cheaper or easier than pitting the parts that came 8n the car stock.

 

welcome to the board.

i don't really have an awful lot different to say than what's already been said, so here are my 2 cents. i understand your plight, but i think the part you overlooked is that you're basically now doing a drivetrain swap - and those are NEVER as cheap as they might seem. your least expensive option seems likely to be putting the proper parts back in the car over time (no fab, likely little to no REAL wiring, etc.) . if you're really hard-pressed for something to drive, then use some of your money and get a halfway decent car that you know should sell for close to what you get it for, then just save for the Rx-7 at your leisure.

 

I recommend that you DON'T DO ANY OF THIS.
This is going to cost as much as buying a running FD and leave you will a much shittier car in the end.
Buy a decent running MX-5. Or an MR-2.

 

This^^

Focus on uni or getting a trade or career that will allow you to earn a good salary. Then think about pissing away money on cars. Being broke sucks.

 

As others have stated, buying what a $5k FD is at this time and building on it will be a setback for you in life. You'll end up taking shortcuts to do things cheaper and it will just cost more in the end. Heed the wise words of the folks here and get something else to start with or wait and save.

You're 18, spend time working on the things that will put you ahead of others by 25, if you've done that you should be able to buy what you want in the 30-35 range if you've lived within your means and saved money for it. Do some career exploration and then enroll if whatever post-secondary education will propel you in your field of interest, be it trade school, technical education, or college.

 

Or, just buy a clean NA FC. I am pretty sure they sold them in the UK. You should be able to find one for much less than 5,000 GBP. It will be way more reliable and cheaper to run than a turbo FC or an FD.
Back in the day, I bought an NA FC with a blown coolant seal for $400, tore down and repaired the engine myself (with no experience whatsoever), and drove it all through college and then some.
So I know what it's like owning an RX-7 with zero budget.

This is basically how I bought my FD, too, but it at least had a good engine. Also, FDs are much easier to find (and used to be much cheaper) here in Japan.

 

I also did the same thing with my first motorcycle, because I didn't have enough money to buy a clean one.
I started with a frame and a motor because it was cheap, but after spending a bunch of time and money putting it together (including buying a second parts bike), I ended up with what could only be described as a "rat rod."
I should have just bought a reasonably nice bike to begin with.

 

just thought it bears repeating ....

 

Honestly finding a rolling shell for 5k is very rare nowdays unless its completely gutted or has a rebuild title.Normal rolling shells sell for like 15-20k where im from.Even buying a shell for that price will take you years to finish and by then you will realize the amount of money you spent and if you waited you could of bought a nice clean running fd.I wouldnt recommend swapping anything unless you have lots of money to blow because everything costs money.Its cheaper to rebuild a 13b then swap another motor in.its not simple as you think lots of fab work.Seems like your very eager to own a fd which would be exciting for the first month and then the reality would set in and you would be like what the heck did i buy.
Heres what i would do if i was in your situation.
(Not financial advice)
but.. i would open an account on crypto.com
And Buy a token called (gala) which is 5 cents right now.its all time high was 1.10 during the bullrun everything is down 80-95% of.Next year will be another bullrun in the crypto space.if you have 1000 bucks to spare you can buy 20,000 tokens and just hold it.the prediction is gala will hit 2-5 dollars next bull run so if you have 20,000 x even 2 dollars you can make 40k and theres your dream fd.Crypto is very volatile but also very rewarding and now its time to buy because everything is cheap.thats just my opinion 1000 is nothing if it will make you x amount pf money in a year or 2.Def do your own research if your interested but crypto has def paid out for me.Reaearch the project and you will see the potential and if not i would just recommend working/saving money then buy ur dream fd

 

it’s hard to read something like this, reminds me of all the mistakes and bad choices I made in my younger days …

but won’t deny you from making your own, and this has a 99.999% of being one

but there’s still a 0.001% chance …


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