Hi guys. My name's Thad.I doubt anyone will see this but its here for the record. I've been a long time FD enthusiast but figured I'd probably either never have one or get one as my mid life crisis car after I've settled down. well i recently turned 30 and despite still living like a college student i had some money fall into my lap and some life changing events have driven me to start shopping. I'm going to look at a couple FDs tomorrow with high hopes. I am a regular auto x driver and occasional track day /rally x driver. well my Subaru Impreza that did double duty as my track toy/rally x car recently got totaled. I was quick to find a new chassis to reshell that project but i figured this time i'll let it be a single duty car since it always felt awkward unless it was sliding sideways down a dirt road, so the new car is going to have a NASA/Rally America spec cage and will be entered in CRS events. that leaves the spot of track toy/fun car open. for years I've driven mostly FWD and AWD but some of the most fun I've had on tarmac has been in miatas. I may be mistaken, but I think the FD would be a good fit, i'm excited to start down a new path.

 

Well, I did it. Bought a black 94 R2 with 156k. got a good price since She needs some work. drove back home about 160 miles. first 100 or so miles were without incident, then when i was getting close, the add coolant light came on along with a delightful shrieking buzz. i pulled off the freeway to inspect. the overflow was full and blowing steam.i waited for it to be cool enough to pull the cap then added about a half gallon of water. let the engine idle till it was no burping big bubbles then set off again. made it about another 30 miles down the road then repeated the coolant ritual. I kept a careful eye on the temp needle the whole time and it never budged that is until i got of the freeway to drive the last mile to my house. as i pulled onto my street the needle pegged full hot. well now I get to do some tests and see if its FUBARed.

 

Did a coolant system pressure test, held 15 psi for 10+ minutes, retested at 17 psi to be sure. No external leaks, pulled plugs to do compression test, front rotor had drops of water on the plugs. no surprise on the compression test, two out of three pulses were low. So i'll start shopping for a low mileage replacement. in the mean time, she still runs and as long as i don't take long trips or stay in boost too long i should be able to make this motor last a little bit longer. looks like I'll be learning to rebuild sooner than i thought.

 

Good to hear you got that FD! RX7's are totally scarce in Maui, so I was lucky enough to find my remarkable FC... I think the only other RX7 I seen is a FD this guy races at our local track. I hope to get mines up n up to compete with him someday! Good luck with yours though, sounds like a speed bump causing you to slow down for now, but when you find a replacement it should e amazing!

 

Hope you can join the rotary club soon broseph. That sucks about your Subaru though. At least you're getting it fixed up

 

Congrats and welcome. I think getting the engine rebuilt is the best reliability mod there is - you never know what a used engine has been through. Start up a build thread!

 

congratz with the rx7 hope you have good luck with your FD

 

yea, enjoy it!

 

thanks guys, I appreciate the encouragement. I think a trip to the junkyard is in order, when I get some time I'll go pull apart an FC motor to familiarize myself with the 13b.

 

I was like that too! I've been lurking the message boards for a good while. I'm trying to learn as much as I can before purchasing my first RX7 lol.