When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Hey there! New to the forums here and just had a few quick questions :'D.
I have a 10AE 88' FC3S that has around 88,000 miles on the original engine. I've taken it into a shop that's worked on Rotaries before and they're recommending the RX7W Stage 2 Rebuilt Rotary Engine 88-13b2 + replacing the Catalytic Convertor for a job of around ~$9,000. I'm realizing that I probably also need to get a new turbo since the one on the car currently is the original and probably not that optimal.. Basically doing a full restore on this car after it's sat for 5 years since I first bought it and it's gonna be a LOT of work. Wondering if anybody here has recommendations or could point me in the right direction on Turbo / Suspension / Wheel / Engine setups (if that engine I mentioned above as the replacement is actually good). Or if anyone has any general suggestions with how best to restore my entire project that'd be super appreciated too! My goal for this build is just to restore it to near OEM and then tastefully mod it to be a clean show / daily car.
Really appreciate any and all help! I'm coming from the ft86club forums where I had a 13' track BRZ. Somewhat familiar with cars but obviously rotaries and early 90s/80s JDMs are a whole beast of their own.
I'm also located in Ventura County // near Los Angeles if anyone has any better shop recommendations or places that are pristine when it comes to working on RX7's!
if your plan is to restore the car, then i would first advise you not to drop $9,000 with a shop that "worked on rotaries before." i think you should do a compression test on the engine, then see where you stand before going for a rebuild. if it's fine, do fresh fluids, fix any leaks - make sure your MOP is doing what it should, then move on to other areas. if the engine does need to be rebuilt, you're in southern CA, you have many great options somewhat local to you. they may not be cheaper, but i'm willing to bet they'd be much better at giving the engine the attention you both need.
for the turbo, you can pull it and check it out. they are prone to cracking on the turbine housing, but if you find cracks, it doesn't necessarily mean it needs to be replaced. if it functions otherwise, i would say do new gaskets and call it good. an exhaust system is probably a good idea though, but i don't know how that works in CA (legally) these days.
you'll want to go through the suspension and brakes, upgrade bushings where you can, but keep in mind it's not advised to use upgraded bushings everywhere. some components are better just replacing with new OEM parts.
you also mentioned wheels, and i would say just clean/refresh the OEM ones and put some good quality tires on them.
Talk to Lucky 7 racing for engine builds, bnr supercars for their hybrid turbos. Depending on how you want to deal with smog, you have to choose between: your stock ecu, rtek, apexi power fc, other ems.
Just for price comparison, pineapple racing sells new fd engines for 5.5k. 9k seems unreasonable. There is no “Stage 2”. I always see this as a red flag as it doesn’t say what type of porting, oil mods, etc.
For internal engine parts, check out rotary aviation apex seals, Atkins rotary, pineapple racing, goopy apex seals.
If keeping the suspension simple (rubber bushings instead of heim), I’d recommend installing a energy suspension polyurethane suspension master kit.
The dealer I was looking to buy a new engine from was this place ~ https://www.rx7world.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=1819 . I can't seem to really find any other places that have FC3S engines for sale. Do you know if rx7world is reputable at all?
never heard of them, but that's neither here nor there. all i can say is you will need to vet them like any other company you might want to do business with.
however, once again, given your location, you may want to take a look at the resources you have around you. you have Racing Beat, Mazdatrix, Kyle Mohan. a couple posts above, DR Knight suggested Lucky 7 Racing. i would suggest looking closer to home before you decide to fan out. if it gets to that point, then you can look at places like Pineapple, Banzai or Defined Autoworks. the ones i mentioned are, by no means, the only choices out there, but just off the top of my head. there is also a list of vendors on the forum that may be useful. my point is do your due diligence.
Totally, really appreciate you listing off a few of those! I actually hit up lucky 7 racing a while back ~ Will contact them again and see what their current workload is looking like.. Also gonna contact racingbeatLLC.
09-19-21, 10:13 PM
