Low Compression Engine
 

I am taking 2 cars and making one. First thing to go is the running engine from car 2 that has low compression. It runs good when cold but wont idle when warm. Can someone give me an idea of what the engine might be worth. I see cores required for reman engines run $1000 so I was thinking maybe $750 for someone that wants to try and rebuild a motor? If that is too high, I am willing to negotiate. Located just outside of Kansas City.

4-port or 6-port? I’m local and interested.

It is a 6 port, manual transmission.

Mazda charges $1,000 for a core, which is a valid data point, but most already have a core to offer Mazda if they are getting a reman from them.

I'll offer my perspective, though it isn't of benefit to your price point. I've bought several low compression cores for $100-200. The condition of hard parts is a high risk used rotary engines, 13B-MSP's in particular once they show compression loss or concerns with overheating. A single rotor housing requiring replacement is a $900 affair, which challenges the value for those seeking a suitable rebuild base while looking at a worn core of unknown internal condition.

Thank you for you perspective. All good and valid points. When I thought about selling this core I looked around and could not find any used ones for sale to gauge it off from. I did find a rebuilder offering $300 and they would pay for shipping so assumed a complete engine should be worth more, just not sure how much. Somewhere between $300 and $750 I guess. The other option is to tear it down and sell the hard parts that are still good if any. Easie to ship that way.

I am also seriously contemplating just getting a reman using this as the core and selling the running car that I was going to swap the motor out of. All depends on whether or not I get a good enough offer on this before heading in a different direction.

Thanks for your input.

You could cover a good chunk of the cost of a reman by selling a good running rx-8.