Hey all, I am looking at buying an RX-7, however the engine has been rebuilt by the person who is selling it. My question is if this is a bad idea or not. Both of the RX-7s I am interested in my area have been rebuilt by the owner. Is there any way to determine the quality of the rebuild based on the test drive besides checking compression? Is it generally a bad idea to buy cars with engines that aren’t rebuilt by reputable sources? Thanks in advance.

 

I'm not profession and not the most knowledgeable by any means, but I would assume if everything looks solid, there's no leaks, it drives well, cold and hot starts fine, I would buy it...pending the compression test checks out. Its not a very hard engine to build, but I would be extra cautious of a "home build". As long as the price is right and the test checks out, I wouldn't have a problem buying.

 

Could actually be a good thing. If someone cares enough about their car and knows enough to rebuild it, it could be in great shape.

It could also be a complete hack job.

 

It's a toss up and I'd say it's based on the owner and how the motor performs. I started rebuilding my own engines (it's not that hard) after wasting thousands on motors built by "professionals" that were absolutely trash.

Personally, doing my own rebuilds allows me to get MUCH higher quality parts and replacement items for less than it would cost to pay another shop for their time. Nobody is going to put as much care into your rebuild as you will...

 

the trouble is that very few sources are actually reputable, over the years we have seen some astonishingly bad work from reputable shops, as well as some really great work.

the fact is that these engines are pretty simple (i build my own too), and there is strong tradition of people buying these cars needing engines and building it themselves, its fun, you should do it.