chen26

Hey guys,

So i'm planning on buying an rx7 FD, hopefully sometime in the next couple of months. This will be my first car, and i was wondering if i might be getting in over my head. I don't really have any other cars i'd want to get instead, so i was wondering how hard the rotary engine is to work with.

Also, I'm gonna be living in Boston, and won't have a garage to work in , so i was wondering how you guys that live in the city do work on your cars?

I don't really know what i'm doing, or where to start, so i thought this forum would be a nice starting point. Any thoughts or general advice/help would be great!

Thanks!

RXinator

Ah the innocence of youth, advice from an old mechanic is buy new if possible. If you are a novice but want to do your own work buy simple vehicles. RX's are not simple, look at the posts. They have gremlins in the switches & computer that controls the engine. They are fuel injected. The engines are rotary, most mechanics don't even try to understand them. They have seals in the engine that can cause mysterious problems. If you can't afford new my advice is stick to simple. Get a toyota or honda or similar car, with manual windows, standard carburator, 5 speed manual. They run forever, rarely have spectacular failures & you can do most repairs yourself. My daughter does brakes, tune up & other repairs, started with a Honda & now owns a Passat. I know boring advice, but I talk to women about car repairs alot & 75% get ripped off every time they break down. Find a good mechanic that will give advice & make friends. Save your money to travel & go to school, forget buying that flashy car until you can afford a new one & don't care about the bills to repair it. Last piece of advice, don't go to dealerships for service. They have very high overhead & charge you book rates for repairs, a 30 minute fix will be charged at 3 hours if that's what the book says. Look for a funky shop with a mechanic that loves cars & is honest you'll save thousands. ............rxinator

chen26

they don't sell brand new rx7's anymore though ...or do they?

its the only car i've wanted for a while now...but a lot of people are telling me the car is too much of a hassle to work on. I don't NEED a car, i WANT one...and this is the only one i really want other than some $50k+ cars that are out of my range right now.

RXinator

They do have RX8s, but no convertibles. Miatas are also woth looking at. but I don't fit, too long. Manual vert top is a drag. They're not quite as heavy as an RX7, but well designed & fun to drive, The RX8's are every bit as great as the 7's if you can deal with a hard top & like the new look. Shop hard if you go for one, I was offered low $20K to over $30K to buy a new one. ................RXinator

ecko

iTrader: (57)

i no i dont really no much bout them even tho i drive one cuz my freind is real handy with the rotary so he helps me out.....from what i seen they are not easy at all to work on unless u have experience.Or if u no someone who is good with them like me then your good to go.

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

Read this:
https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/faq-3rd-gen-other-useful-links-68640/

Focus on the FAQ questions, then skim over the links and read into them.

helghast7

iTrader: (6)

the main thing is....do you want it for the looks or the engine design?

if you want it for the engine, then i suggest locating a good FC to start off with, there cheap, easier to work with and compared to the FD's they are of a lower maintenance....yet still sporty enough to have a blast in.

if you want it only for looks..then i dont really suggest getting this car, its too much of a hastle for just the way it looks.....if your looking for something of a similar design, i suggest the s2000, though i hate honda, i have reviewed the specs and looked at the body lines for a couple of hours and it is a very similar to the FD chassis...hell the dimensions are literally off by an inch in each way...with the same 50/50 weight distribution...

or perhaps the miata, or the RX8

but no matter what in the end the decision is up to you alone, dont let anyone change yout mind...just read all the cars think it through all the way...then act.

oh and if you do get one and it just so happens to be a black or MB touring pack...and you dont want it, as long as its stick, ill buy it off you......hehe

vijju

My name is Doug and I live just outside Baltimore, MD. I bought my '93 FD in
Jan., '94 and therefore have had it almost 15 years, so I have some experience
with these cars. I'd recommend getting a '94 or a '95 FD, as these have r134
A/C systems and my old r12 A/C has been an ongoing pain.

Also, unless you're very mechanically inclined and really know FD's, I'd find a
mechanic/shop that is experienced with these cars and have them check over
any car you're looking at, especially regarding the engine and turbos.

I was about to get rid of my FD about 6 years ago, due to the incompetence or
lack of FD experience of all mechanics I'd tried. Then I bought a book called "RX-7
Performance," which is full of useful into, including the names of expert repair
shops. This book mentioned KD Rotary (KDR) in PA, and the owner, Dave remade
my car from a messed-over lemon to a high-powered screamer of sorts. I kept the stock engine/sequential turbos, as the stock setup is very driveable and has decent low-end torque. There's nothing wrong with a completely stock car, but the heat of
the engine/turbo combination tends to "cook" the engines. Throwing out the
stock air plenum box and the "down pipe" (pre-catalytic converter) makes the
engine run much cooler and it should last longer, along with the turbos. I also
got a new computer (Apexi FC Commander), bigger intercooler and bigger fuel pump, among other things, but my car is not "radical." All the improvements are
incremental mods.

As far as owning an FD and being "over your head," my FD was my only car for
about a year and a half and for the couple of years the only thing I had to do was replace the soft rubber engine hoses (the pressurized turbocharged air blew big holes in them) along with the hose clamps and I also had to put 4 good snowtires on the car in the winter, as the performance-oriented tires (Bridgestone Expedia) that came on it were TOTALLY UNDRIVABLE in the snow.

I also own an antique Corvetee, but the RX-7 is more fun than anything I've ever owned - it's the lightness of the car, the handling and the extra power the incremental mods (I guess I have about 350 hp, measured at the flywheel). The car has been a maintenace challenge, but only until I found out about Dave Barninger at KDR. Since then it's run like a champ, but then I'm willing to drive
the 160 miles each way to Dave's shop. Hope you've got somebody closer up in Boston.

Hope this helps. I don't log onto this site very often, so if I can help you any
more you can write me at douggers@verizon.net

Doug