SaturnHKS

Well, right now I have $400 towards the beast I'm saving up for, an RX3 coupe. It's pretty damn good for a 14 year old, and I'm getting a job this summer so that's more income. Now, I know that $400 isn't a lot, but how much should I have before I start asking around and such? I'm going to start going to salvage yards pretty soon, maybe looking for a decent specimen. I've never even seen one up close, and I'm in Wisconsin, so I bet they'll be VERY hard to come by.

Any help would be appreciated.

EScalade

I cant help much cos im in New Zealand but can I just say its great to see a 14 year old with your interest in the older RX's... its people like you who will keep these old beasts alive. Have a chat to Kick, hees an onto it fella.

Good luck with your hunting!!

Rotortuner

Ya its cool we have some more younger people wanting to get into the older stuff. Im 19 now and i have driven a 74 REPU since i was 16. Now i own another REPU, 2 RX7's (that dont run), and 2 RX-3's. I have built three motors one of which was a PP12a, now im working on my second. I hope you have as much fun as i have had so far. The rx'3s are a great little car, and can be very competetive in street racing, drag racing, auto X, road racing etc. actually RX-3's have extensive race history in all forms. they are very lightweight the lightest rotary vehicle aside from the r100 that was made. Strip em down some and they are at 1950 lbs. Streight rust free rx-3s are hard to find. One of mine has a lot of rust but is workable and the other does not have much rust but has a lot of bondo in it. I picked each of mine up for a $1000 each. one looked better but did not run the other looks like a junker but ran. Dont get me wrong you can always find deals but they are few and far between these days. I would keep my eyes open in local papers and have friends looking for them, you would be surpised what people see in fields back yards and barns. If you cant find a good local one for cheap. then to buy one off e bay or somehwere in another state, the good ones usualy run about 2500=4k in good runing condition and depending on how streight they are. If you have any more questions let me know i would be happy to help, and good luck with finding a car.

CJG

jrios

again, its great to see someone starting with the old school rotaries to keep it alive..i guess that u would have to save up depending in what condition u want to find it..i wold try to save up as much as possible and when i got to about 2000 start looking around, but keep saving up as u look..id say 2000 cuz u might want something thats in descent shape since ure 14 and dont have a high income job to rebuild a car..hopefully u can get more opinions about the savings from this guys though..but hey good luck finding it though, oh and show us some pix when u get one

Wankelguy

$2000-$2500 is a reasonable amount these days. I bought a '74 RX3 a few years back for $40. It had a factory rebuilt '74 12A (largest stock ports!) in it. But the body had these giant spreading rust spots in the faded yellow paint, so I called it "the giraffe". I was all set to start repairing the rust and repainting the car when I got a phone call early one morning from a guy who said "Frank (a mutual rotorhead friend) said that you are building an RX3 and the body is all rusted out. I've got a '72 body that is pretty rust free, and it has been seam-welded for rigidity 'cause I was going to build it for SCCA Pro-rally. You can have it if you want it, it's sitting on a trailer right now, just come pick it up and you can return the trailer when you get a chance."
Well, the windshield was broken, and a goat had jumped up on the top when the car had sat out in a barnyard, plus there was no nose and the fenders and hood were pretty bent. But the body was rust-free and didn't cost me a dime!
Right about that same time, I saw that a local junkyard was going out of business and they were having a "$25 for all you can carry" day. I went down there and scored two nice fenders, a trunk lid, a perfect grille, and a hood off an 808, as well as a bunch of RX4 stuff, and some RX2 parts, including a cherry hood! I had to carry all that stuff ten feet by myself without using any rope or other contrivances to aid in carrying. You could use things found in the junkyard, though, so I had some parts attached by some battery cables and wire that I found. It was difficult, but I managed to carry all that stuff ten feet and only dropped an RX4 grille that I had balanced on my head and tied down with a scarf (it was COLD). The junkyard guy laughed so hard, he said "go ahead and take the grille, you earned it!" So I scored all the body parts I needed for $25!
Ten years ago, nobody gave a damn about these cars and they could be had practically for free. Things sure have changed.

Jesuscookies

iTrader: (1)

Dude,

That was funny story

And you are so right, that people did not give a **** about these cars 10 years ago. Back in 91, I had a 71 RX 2, cherry paint job, old school hayashi rims, 13b street port, with the racing beat modded holly, and exhaust set up.

When I, eventually, tried to sell it I could not get anywhere near what I put into it. I eventually had to give it away for 2K after trying to sell it for 6 months.

Today, if you can find a RX 2, or RX 3, with those types of mods, they are selling for 5K (if your lucky) to 8K.

SaturnHKS,

the Old School 3's are a little easier to find on the west coast, but don't be discouraged. If you can get 3K together, you should be able to get a running RX 3 delivered to your door. Save more you will get a little better.

David

SaturnHKS

Damn, you're lucky. I wish I could get a deal like that...

Anyways, with my upcoming job, since I'm finally old enough, I should have a decent income, instead of the $5 I get from mowing the occasional lawn...

Kick

I believe I could get a free one. Need to give the old man a call and see if I can still get it from him. Don't have a place to put it right now, but I could find room.

You see my dad was working on this guys E-type Jag back in 2000. We went out to the guy's dads place to pick it up. It was a little work cause it was in the back of his dad's field, along with 7 to 8 minis, some other UK type cars, and this Rx3 just sitting. I didn't really think too much of the Rx3 tell a week or two later. I still have the guys # and even still know were he lives. I beating I could almost get it for free, cause when we were out there. His dad was glad to see him doing something with his cars, glad to have him starting to get them out of there.

There is also a guy close to were I live that has 2 Rx3s, don't know how much he wants for them now. But about 3 years ago he wanted 1500 for both. I was thinking, man that is a lot, but after seeing what they can go for now. That really wants a bad deal I think.


Wankelguy, that is a very neat story. Sounds like you have been very lucky with these cars, they must really love you. heh
That would have been some site to see you with all those parts.
BTW, how nice is that Rx2 hood..

Wankelguy

It's real nice, though the original red paint is oxidized. You wanna buy it?

And yes, I've been very lucky getting old rotary cars for next to nothing. I'm not sure whether it's a blessing or a curse, though.

rxrotary2_7

$5 a LAWN!!! damn you need to up your prices kid! the average lawn job by a local kid in my neighborhood is $35 a week. lawn services are obviously more, but you might as well just ask for a can of Pepsi when you are done!
good to see you have some interest at such a young age. good luck with your quest, and keep us posted.

John McBeth

iTrader: (1)

Forget mowing lawns! (unless your in to landscaping). The hardest and most expensive part of any resto job is the paint and body work. My suggestion is to find a bodyshop that would be willing to take on a bright young kid who would apprentice there in exchange for cleanup work around the shop. What you could learn about cars would be priceless. Also you would have a place to work on the car and a whole lotta of friends to help out. You might have to search for a while until someone would agree, but don't be afraid of the word "NO". Some person will agree somewhere! The car itself will probably be the least expensive part. The work that goes into it will be the killer, if you have to pay someone else to do it. Remember, it must have a good body. You have to have a solid foundation to build on, the mechanicals are always secondary.
Amazed and pleased to see so many younger people getting into old school Rotaries. Go Figure!

RotaryRevn

Click on this link every Saturday (recycler online gets updated Saturday). This link will show any old school rotaries for sale on the recycler.

http://recycler.com/asp/AdResults.as...It%21&iSC=5000

SaturnHKS

Thanks for the link, but that's all in Cali. I mean I'd like to get something a little closer, but Cali is always an option.