8 Maniac

iTrader: (1)

Well, earlier today a guy who owns a TII who comes by the shop I work at rather often let me test drive his 7. I previously wanted to buy a 7 eventually but after test driving it, I was blown away. It was a ton of fun. That being said, I'm now going to try my best to get one a bit earlier than previously intended. The one I drove had a few mods, all I can remember at the moment is that he had straight exhaust, no emissions systems, aftermarket engine management (haltech) and was running 2 psi over stock. He had also done a very good job of cleaning up under the hood. He had no power steering or a/c but those weren't really problematic.

Now on to the point of starting this thread. Before anyone tells me to go search, I do plan to. While I would love to get this soon, I'm not going to make a hasty decision till I know what I'm getting into. What I would be looking for is a FC TII in decent condition. Working motor/transmission etc with few issues, if any. I would like it to have a half decent interior, though it wouldnt be my main car so it would only need to be comfortable enough for weekend driving. So, in more detail, useable seats and a dash in decent condition and useable gauges but A/C, power steering, sound system etc would not be required, though if working, would be nice. While I would like the interior to be in decent condition, I'd want one with a rather good exterior condition. My plan with the car would be eventually to make it a project car, but one thing I am dead set on is making it look as close to stock and brand new as possible. Larger performance upgrades would be something down the road.

My questions are about maintenance, average costs and overall expectations. I've been browsing the 7 forums trying to find a good average cost but it seems to vary quite a bit. Based on what I described, how much would I expect to pay? Also, I know with age they will have more maintenance requirements, but what would I realistically be looking at for a car in the condition I described? I know it's not the kind of thing that can always be predicted, but assuming most things are in decent working order, should I be prepared for anything major to happen? Or as long as the previous owner maintained it well and I continue, should I be pretty much in the clear? Also, is there anything specific I should watch out for when looking at these?

I posted here because I feel like I need to do a bit more research before posting on the 7 forums, but I know there are quite a few owners and those who are knowledgeable about them on this forum. Just looking for input about the best way to go about this and what I should be aware of. Also just curious about any mods that are considered a "must do" as far as performance goes. I know there are some reliability mods, but anything considered not too expensive but extremely worth it?

Here's a couple examples of what I'd hope to find, though they are probably among the highest quality I'd expect (though second isnt running, but with quality, taking time to fix it might be worth it):

http://www.rx7club.com/showthread.php?t=697424
http://www.rx7club.com/showthread.php?t=745439

Thanks in advance. I dont expect to have all the info I'll need handed to me, but hope this will speed up the process of figuring out everything I need to know. It will be a bit before I can actually afford it anyways, so I will be doing quite a bit of research.

Spinning Sushi

iTrader: (21)

Good old FC's... I miss mine.

8 Maniac

iTrader: (1)

what'd you have? Why'd you decide to sell it? If it was your main car, I can see why. Really hoping I can get one as a weekender.

GiN

I bought my first FC during high school (about 10 years ago) for about $1k. It was a salvaged 86 GXL with about 200K on the odometer. Owning that FC forced me to learn how to wrench on cars for general maintenance because I couldn't afford to take it to a mechanic. Too bad I totalled it in less than two months.

The following year I picked up a red 87 TII that was somewhat rare in that it was a 2+2. When I bought it the car had just under 80K on the odometer, with a near perfect exterior and interior. It even came with the original factory scissor jack and tool bag. At the time, the car was a steal at $2500. It would be my daily driver for the next four years.

While I was actively driving the car, I came across the following problems:

leaking pulsation damper (twice)
leaking oil hoses
leaking brake cylinder
leaking clutch cylinders
leaking radiator (twice)
broken differential mount
disintegrated sway bar bushings and end link bushings
broken engine fan clutch (twice)
broken electric radiator fan (comes on when you turn on AC)
busted oil cooler (one of the lowest impact points of the car)
failed switches on instrument cluster
cracked plastic on center console and radio stack
failed water pump (twice)
failed catalytic converters
failed throttle position sensor
cracked vaccum hoses
coked turbocharger
failed idle control motor
failed egr valve
disintegrated shifter bushings
broken speedometer cable (twice)
broken sunroof motor or switches

I'm assuming all of these are common problems with the car, as it was very easy to find fixes for them on many RX-7 websites.

BTW still have the TII 2+2 after all this time. Engine went bad after having it sit for two years without cranking.

CyberPitz

I received mine for $3,250, which was an 88 TII, mostly stock except a cone intake, died black interior, 3" exhaust, and still has all the goodies like power steering and such. Only problem is there is a bra on the front, along with the primered *sp* bumper under. Car is still running good, though lowering on compression, still boost hard, pulls fast, and works well. I plan on rebuilding the engine with a street port, so that hopefully it can start matching the 8's speed :p

*Edit* lemme scour the 7club for the thread where I bought it from.

8 Maniac

iTrader: (1)

Nice. While it seems like a lot of trouble, but it also sounds like fun. Where most of the fixes cheap (assuming you did the labor) or were they a pain? Worth it?

CyberPitz

Those are the issues I've ran into my car, really. most of those are just wear and tear items, which coming up on a 20 year old car...can't really blame em.

I can't find the thread where I bought the car, but here are some pictures of when I bought it/cleaned it.





Not too shabby for $3,250 I thought.

8 Maniac

iTrader: (1)

Random question, mostly out of curiosity. What's the highest I could expect an n/a to put out with just stuff like street porting and such? I'd still go for the TII but just to settle my curiosity wondering what I could from n/a without getting too ridiculous (dont need bridge port or pp...)

CyberPitz

Most people claim around 170whp, unless they go standalone with custom intake...you may hit 180.

Taken from this thread.http://www.rx7club.com/showthread.ph...reetport+na+hp

8 Maniac

iTrader: (1)

well that pretty much settles that I'd be in the market for a turbo. It seems (at least from replies in this thread) I might be able to get it for a bit less than I originally expected which is nice, can throw it at mods!

SleepeR1st

iTrader: (2)

You mint want to consider getting an FC with a mint exterior/interior but a blown motor. You would not need to do any body work, but you would gain the experience and appreciation of rebuilding your own motor. I'm very excited to start tooling away at my motor but i feel at ease because the rest of the car is perfect, and i know i won't have to fix any other issues.

CyberPitz

That's very true. If you want to get more familiar with those engines, and want to rebuild, I say find a shell with great ext. and int. But, its' always cheaper to find one that's all completed and ready to go. Sad, but true on these older cars.

8 Maniac

iTrader: (1)

yeah, with limited funds, my choices are limited. Though starting with a fresh engine would be nice.

8 Maniac

iTrader: (1)

bump! any other opinions, recommendations, warnings, ideas etc?

superglue

Saw this one on craigs list from a local tuner shop about a year ago. I think they were asking $20K though. Cut the price in half and I would have jumped on it

JRichter

Can't tell you much except I miss my FC...

Mine was NA so different but I will highlight some of my issues from GiN's accurate list:

Plus extreme electrical problems once I unknowingly cut the wires connecting the Bose stereo.

'89 GXL, 250k miles original engine build, original trans, 3 clutches, I believe I blew a seal leading to a slow, powerless death before the car was parked permanently. No money back then so I sold it for $100 after I payed to park it for years.

m477

Nothing against the FC, but as a complement to the 8 I'd rather have a first gen. Especially an '84-85 GSL-SE. The first gen was smaller and much lighter, it's like a Miata coupe with a rotary. The FC is a bit too similar to the 8 in that both are a more of a GT car in comparison.

JRichter

Is that the Clubsport rear and sides? Lol. I've got these on my Forza FC...

xsnipersgox

heh, i am planning on getting one of these or a 86 for fun project cars.. wonder which one will be better =/

re-rx7

I own a fc3s with alot of mods (see sig). Very enjoyable.....just know what you are getting into. Standalone should be your first priority along w/ basic maintenance.

the s4 (86-88) model had the plastic radio trim and was more likely to crack than the later s5(89-91). Also the Fpd (fuel pulsation damper) was more likely to go out on the earlier models. The front bumper and taillights are also different on the two. The engine were slightly diffferent w/ the s4 you had a twin scroll turbo that made 180 hp vs the s5's 200. The s5 ran higher compression rotors vs the s4's lower compression rotors. The s5 also benefited from improved dowel pin reinforcement on the rear iron as well as, electrical omp pump vs the s4's mechanical pump. However the best thing to do is pre-mix imo. The injectors were also different on the two. They were all 550cc but the s4 used low impedance and the s5 used high impedance injectors. The I/M were also a lil different in the runner size and height.

the s5's w/g was also quite a bit better than the s4's.

8 Maniac

iTrader: (1)

While I do see what you're saying, part of my choice is looks. I love the FD's and FC's. For a while I was only interested in the FD but the FC really grew on me and I'd love to have one. I'd be lying if I said this was a strictly performance based choice.

yeah, I'd be trying to find an S5 if possible. It wouldn't be my daily driver, so if worst comes to worst, then I don't have it as a weekend car for a while, just my 8. I would be sure, if not done already, to get through all the reliability type things off the bat.

rotarygod

Having owned 2 FC RX-7's and currently owning an FB RX-7, my personal choice between the 2 is the FC. I can't understand why people prefer the FB. It has a solid rear axle, the rear end geometry is so flawed that it binds and causes the car to be very rear end happy. It's not a good handling car unless you really do some work to it. These negative attributes are actually what makes it feel like a little go cart though. Keep in mind that mine is the GSL-SE, is modified, is ported, has a standalone ecu, turbo II drivetrain, etc, and I still prefer the 2nd gen. They are 2 very different vehicles.

The FC is a much more refined vehicle. Going from an FB to an FC is a very dramatic change. The FB is much closer to the old RX-2 and RX-3 than it is the FC. The interior is nicer, it handles better, and it feels better. It takes very little effort to make an FC handle very well. New struts, springs, sway bars, end links, and rear steer eliminators and that car will damn near hold it's own against any other sports car in a corner. The FC can definitely out handle it's power level.

I'd actually like to sell my FB and get my friend's FC. It's an '89 Turbo II that has about 65,000 original miles on it. The car needs paint but is straight, still passes inspection easily, handles beautifully, stops on a dime, still has working a/c, has abs (which is rare on FC's), has an interior is near perfect shape aside from seat wear and is an all around good car. It's got a few of the typical FC interior button and switch quirks but with the amount of spare parts that I've got it really isn't an issue.

Between the FB and FC, as long as the FC you are looking at is a good car, I'd take it first. They were actually quite realiable too. It's very common to see the nonturbos go 200K+ miles if taken care of and the TII versions could easily exceed the 150K mile mark as well. The biggest problem facing old RX-7's is not the vehicle but rather it's owners. If you find one that wasn't owned by a complete moron and appears to be in good shape, it's probably still a good car.

re-rx7

Good post rotary god. Yes, mine has abs also pretty rare. Yes the fc's are pretty reliable and tend to be very capable cars.

8 Maniac

iTrader: (1)

Now here's another tough question. I love my 8, a lot. But I also love the 7. If faced with the choice of selling the 8 to get an FC or FD and using the extra for mods... which would you guys choose? While I do love my 8, I wouldnt mind the performance of the 7s. The 7s do have (for now) easier potential for straight line speed. If I were to get an FC and put the extra into mods I have no doubt I could make it faster than my 8, even with nitrous. The FD is best as far as looks I believe. I'd say it's even with the 8 though I probably like the 8 better. But between the 7s, I think it's hard to beat. Though it would cost more so I'd have less to put into mods, and there's a chance a good portion of it would be reliability mods (if I remember correctly, there were quite a few issues for the FD in that regard). Chances are I wont be trading the 8 in, but there's always a chance... just wondering what others would do given the choice?

Yes, I do realize this is the 8 forums and most people who go the 8, probably could have bought a 7 if they wanted... but still looking for opinions and reasons anyways. I often like to toy with ideas and think them through, even if I know the end result.

xsnipersgox

8 will turn heads, 7 will only turn heads of those that knows it.