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Found a potential project FD and coming here for your help!
Hello!
My name is Alex and I live in northeast PA.
A month or so ago I stumbled upon a 1994 RX7 that was parked in the woods. The car was parked because it went on a date with a guard rail and the engine is shot.
I found this gem of a forum and look forward to your opinion on whether this car can be saved. Just tell me where I should make such a post and I’ll be on my way!
If it is just sheet metal damage, many of the panels are still available new. If you would happen to have photos of the damage(s), we may be better able to help you assess what remedial action will be needed to fix it.
I am in the Allentown/Lehigh area (when not at school). let me know if I can be of any help. We have a decent amount of third gens around here so there are others that also may be of assistance.
I think it’s going to need a new front and rear bumper as well as front right fender, door, and quarter panel. Probably a ton of little stuff, too.
what do you think? He said it was probably running on 1 rotor… and was overheating He replaced the back rear wheel…. I’m assuming because it got messed up from the accident. Rear window was smashed recently from a falling branch. A little mold, but nothing too bad.
I think the bodywork may be the least of your worries in this case.
You could either replace or repair the rear quarter panel and the door. The hatch glass will be a problem, as it is very difficult to get a hold of. Can't get them new around here and people will only sell them with the hatch. (look for people parting out nasty RHD examples). That engine has probably been sitting with the same coolant for who knows how long, so the water seals and perhaps even the groove that they are retained in have failed. You are probably better off pulling it and selling it to fund a new engine (I did this a couple of years ago with my car as it made way more sense).
If it's been sitting outside for many years, it is not unlikely to assume that at one point it was home to several mice. Mine came out of a garage after 16 years of ownership and I soon realized that I had mice droppings and the like in it. I ended up having to rip every single interior piece out of the car and sanitize everything. Much of the stock sound-deadening mat had been chewed up, but they left my wires alone. While I hope it isn't as severe, be prepared to have to rip everything out of the interior and clean everything. The AC duct blend doors have this foam on them to help seal that disintegrate over time and the whole thing has to come apart too. (see my build thread for photos of carnage in what was advertised as a "cream puff" by the previous owner https://www.rx7club.com/build-thread...build-1161055/) This stuff would cost me way more money to fix if I were trying to keep it "near stock and OEM"
I guess it really boils down to what you want to with it and how exactly you want to build it. Do you want a mildly modified "oem like" example, a single turbo rocketship or a gutted and caged road race vehicle? These will all have differing requirements with respect to how things are done.
I think if you are willing to go through the trouble, it may be worthwhile, but you are probably best served looking for a nicer one that just has a broken engine, or if you are so inclined, bad paint.
If you are willing to or already enjoy the process, you will manage. Large-scale stuff like this requires proper planning and management (and a lot of monies). You'll probably still want to rip your hair out and set the car on fire some days, but it comes with the territory.
I think the bodywork may be the least of your worries in this case.
You could either replace or repair the rear quarter panel and the door. The hatch glass will be a problem, as it is very difficult to get a hold of. Can't get them new around here and people will only sell them with the hatch. (look for people parting out nasty RHD examples). That engine has probably been sitting with the same coolant for who knows how long, so the water seals and perhaps even the groove that they are retained in have failed. You are probably better off pulling it and selling it to fund a new engine (I did this a couple of years ago with my car as it made way more sense).
If it's been sitting outside for many years, it is not unlikely to assume that at one point it was home to several mice. Mine came out of a garage after 16 years of ownership and I soon realized that I had mice droppings and the like in it. I ended up having to rip every single interior piece out of the car and sanitize everything. Much of the stock sound-deadening mat had been chewed up, but they left my wires alone. While I hope it isn't as severe, be prepared to have to rip everything out of the interior and clean everything. The AC duct blend doors have this foam on them to help seal that disintegrate over time and the whole thing has to come apart too. (see my build thread for photos of carnage in what was advertised as a "cream puff" by the previous owner https://www.rx7club.com/build-thread...build-1161055/) This stuff would cost me way more money to fix if I were trying to keep it "near stock and OEM"
I guess it really boils down to what you want to with it and how exactly you want to build it. Do you want a mildly modified "oem like" example, a single turbo rocketship or a gutted and caged road race vehicle? These will all have differing requirements with respect to how things are done.
I think if you are willing to go through the trouble, it may be worthwhile, but you are probably best served looking for a nicer one that just has a broken engine, or if you are so inclined, bad paint.
If you are willing to or already enjoy the process, you will manage. Large-scale stuff like this requires proper planning and management (and a lot of monies). You'll probably still want to rip your hair out and set the car on fire some days, but it comes with the territory.
Hope that helps.
Wow man, thanks for the write up!
I wouldn’t plan on keeping it like a show car. I’d probably go with a single turbo street build sort of thing.
I don’t mind a long project, in fact, that’s what I’m kind of looking for. I feel I can do a lot of the work myself, but wiring is definitely not my thing. I would plan on taking it all apart anyways since there’s some mold starting to grow on the interior. I was able to find the major parts like the fenders for sale, but I’m worried about the small stuff like for the headlights and power windows.
Thanks again! Hoping the owner gets back to me soon.
Edit: I almost forgot to ask, how much would you pay for something like this? Thanks!
Welcome to the forum! That car is worth saving and restoring! Great find! Do you know any more of the car's history?
This guy is the second owner. I believe he said he bought it from a dealer in Virginia. It was, and still is, his dream car. Probably explains why he is still holding on to it.
The owner messaged me last night. I’m hoping we can make a deal. I originally planned on giving him what’s it’s worth in scrap, but he’s quite knowledgeable on FD’s, so I’m curious what he wants for it. I will definitely start a thread if things work out. I’ll keep you all updated!
Edit: I almost forgot to ask, how much would you pay for something like this? Thanks!
I'm a little unsure of what examples like this go for these days. A lot of them end up getting parted out because of how much money can be made doing it. I would take note of every major/costly thing that will need to be done, how much it would theoretically cost you to address and compare with other examples (non running w/ body damage) and go from there to determine what you are willing to pay for it. If I had bought this, I would have cleaned everything and sold the interior and all other unneeded stuff (to offset costs, usually to the tune of thousands of $), added safety equipment, and condemned it to a life of wheel-to-wheel and time trial action. Seems like salvage title rollers go for $18k and up these days, although this one is a bit different with the respect to the fact that it's going to need more than an engine and bodywork.
I'd personally start at somewhere around 12-14k and work down from there (there is still quite a bit of money in this in its current condition), but be warned unless you are doing the vast majority of the work yourself, do not be surprised if you end up throwing another $30k or more at this. The single conversion alone can set you back $8-12k or more depending on how you do things. You can bring that number down by being open to working with either lightly used or in need of refurbishment parts when applicable. I was initially reluctant to go that way but it was the only way I was going to be able to do what I wanted with the car with the (monetary) resources I have/had.
Walk at any price more than $15k. If all else fails you can part it out and make your money back plus a little if it’s not eaten up by rust or mice.
To get it running you’re looking at about $8k on the cheap side using a new OEM short block from Mazda. To get it running, make it nice (body and paint), and get a few mods you’re looking at $30k on top of purchase. If you want to do a single turbo build with modern parts make it $40k on top of purchase.
