So this is where my RX8 journey starts
 

Great website with very helpful threads. I followed the engine removal one and had a stripped long block in about 5 hours.

My first experience with this car was when the owner had it sitting in his drive and said he bought it not running last spring with 94k on the clock. I replaced the MAF and a couple of VSV's and got it to run. Motor started when cold, but had a little miss at idle. Would not start when hot. He let it sit since then and owed me some money for some other work.

I really got hooked when I first drove this car and its kind of like a soft spot in my heart for a homeless dog on the side of the road, covered in fleas, blind in one eye, missing a leg, and suffering kidney failure. I just couldn't let it sit any longer.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...28238bda4.jpeg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...cdd30a47a.jpeg


My next step is to decide between rebuilding on my own or finding a shop. Your opinion is highly valued.

It's basically difficult to beat the pricing on a Mazda reman. They use a lot of new parts and the build quality has been pretty good the last while as I haven't seen too many complaints

For about 3K it's not much more than the parts to do it properly