Hey everyone im a new member, iv always loved the RX7 and never dreamed i would be able to own one and now i have so money im really excited about the prospect.
I currently drive a 2000, BMW Z3. I love this car to bits and this is the only thing stopping me buying one tomorrow, because i will have to sell the Zed to afford the RX7.
If i get a maximum of 10k for my Z3 i will have a budget of around 6.5-7k to spend will this get me a decent RX7 or should i spend a little more. I don\'t want to spend the whole 10k because i will need to buy a second car as i wont be able to insure the Rex until im 21 (11 months).
Are there any massive problems that happen on 7\'s (i\'m a vehicle technician so am competent of carrying out my own repairs) that i should be wary of when buying one?
Thanks for reading my long post look forward to getting to know you guys.
I\'v just seen a \'95 red one with 40k on autotrader, completely standard!
Spend your £7k on one with a rebuild already done.
Welcome aboard!
Quote from: DeanoZ3(i\'m a vehicle technician so am competent of carrying out my own repairs)
;) becarfull that dont bite you in the Ass. The Rx7 engine is more of an Engineering task, To rebuild one you must have underpants of steel take the upper inlet off one and you\'ll see what i mean ;)
LOL, TBH there not that bad just not too be underestimated, you\'ll see loads of storys of people rebuilding there cars more than once becouse they missed somthing or nicked a seal, and you will always need a good tuner in your Corner.
:)
If you want some advice !!! do a search on here, read, then read some more then when you think you know what your looking at Read a bit more. Knowing as much about them as poss will save you alot of money in the future.
I would never do one on my own i will always have plenty of people around helping me.
At around what sort of mileage do they need a rebuild? How much to get the pro\'s to do it? I\'ve done a few searches found that hunting revs and overheating are quite common problems nothing major i suppose.
But that sort of money will get me a fairly good rex, yes?
I see The RX8 has its own little section with technical advice does the RX7 just have this section then?
Hello mate, I\'ve recently bought an Rx7 (and very happy with it :) ). If you can afford it I\'d spend a couple of K more to get a good one with extra cooling mods and so on already in place. That said there do seem to be good ones about for your price. Its certainly a buyers market so you should do well.
Quote from: Grizzly;) becarfull that dont bite you in the Ass. The Rx7 engine is more of an Engineering task, To rebuild one you must have underpants of steel take the upper inlet off one and you\'ll see what i mean ;)
LOL, TBH there not that bad just not too be underestimated, you\'ll see loads of storys of people rebuilding there cars more than once becouse they missed somthing or nicked a seal, and you will always need a good tuner in your Corner.
:)
There really not that bad I\'d rather re-build a rotary than a boinger.
Royal, what spec was the one you bought? where from? how much?
Quote from: allstarukThere really not that bad I\'d rather re-build a rotary than a boinger.
Yeh but you ever seen a Boinger with that many Vac pipes? You do have to be handy with the measuring gear :)
As long as you have the right tools and information nothing is that difficult the hardest thing in engineering or technical jobs are diagnosis.
As soon as you can get your head round the twin turbo controll system then a rotary engine is so wasy to work on its un belivable, if you were to buy a single turbo it would be even sweeter.
Allstar are you an Engineer? i was a mechanic for quite a while before becoming a painter and to be honist i found the tight Tolarances and Measurments a bit of a pain, Dont get me wrong i have all the gear and more but there is sooo much stuff to measure it takes an Age and the side seals are not what you would call easy to fit.
I supose Service items are easy to change but unless you want to spend alot of money on new Housings, keeping the old seals and cutting corners you will be spending a few days measuring stuff. Vebuild Vid\'s are a Masive help but as i say a rotary engine is more a Engineering task that a Mechanic.
Also as i say Don\'t underestimate rebuilding one, there are so many things that can btie you in the Wallet, take your time and buy a rebuild vid.
There is a nice single turbo on autotrader, why would they have a single turbo conversion done?
Cause the twin turbos have a tendency to be a little tempremental when boosting up. The rats nest that controls the twins isnt the nicest thing to work on, and if one of those vacum pipes splits etc its a right pain finding out which pipe and then you still have the chance of the turbos not boosting properly.
Single turbos get rid of the rats nest and there is less to go wrong with the turbos.
Many like the twin turbo set up, but you will always get more power out of a good single than you would out of the twins
how much on average does a rebuild by a pro cost?
Depends on what you need to replace but a Basic rebuild starts at about £2500 but on avarage people usaly spend more like High 3s/ low 4\'s.
But take into account there may be Turbo damage or Stuff out of Tolerance so it could be More.
The reason it gets expencive fast is the cost of New parts (Gasket Kit + Apex\'s etc OEM is the best parts of £900, Rotor £350 each, rotor Housing £330 each, End Plates £280 and Center Plate £350 etc) By the time you have Labour on that it add\'s up.
What people tend to do to keep the cost down is rebuild the motor themselfs using Second hand parts (Tim at Rxmotors is very good for these ;)) but even this way your looking at £1500
Welcome aboard Deano!
Have a good read at the tech sections on the forum. Most of the forum is dedicated to the RX7 FD3S (3rd Gen) and the community is more than happy to help and answer problems. You will find alot of info for first time buyers and answers to almost any question that you can think of.
It may be best to spend your hard earned on a club members car. Its true it\'s a buyers market at the moment, and there are a stack of well priced high end / clean cars for sale. This will save potential probs, as chances are the car will be well known and you can speak to an enthusiast before you buy. If you buy via eBay or the auto trader it may be more of a gamble, there are still a few imported cars on the cheap (and for good reason) and sold on to those unaware of the potential re-build costs.
It may also be helpful to find your local specialist (check the adverts at the top of the page). Even a mechanic may need the advise of someone in the know!
Dont let it put you off, take your time, find the right one, and enjoy!!!
Chris :)
Thanks for your kind words Chris, i will be sure to check out everything before i go ahead with the sale of the Z3 as im sure the ownership of a ReX will be a beautiful but expenensive thing.
Sorry to hijack but if you are looking for a single turbo with a rebuild 20k ago let me know.
Welcome to the dark side:Viking
Why are you selling? I can feel the darkside taking over the longer i spend in this forum.
Welcome Deano,
Like alot of people have said use the forum to get as much info as you feel you need, there are so many guys (and a couple of them female thingies :Giggle ) with alot of knowledge so ask away, have you had a look at the vendors sites at the top of the page give them a call I\'m sure they\'d be only to willing to answer your questions. Have you been out in an RX before as once you get the taste thats it.
Hope you have a good time and get what your after mate
Jase:driving
It may be worth inquiring about meets in your area?? Its always nice to chat to the guys who own the cars and have a look around without some sales man looking over your shoulder.
Selling for a couple of resons, mostly becuase i have overstretched myself finanically and the wife wants a new bathroom and other things are dictating that i need to be a bit more sensible.
Also i have just started a rep job and i am driving so much the last thing i want to do when i relax is to jump into another car no matter how exciting the drive. So it isn\'t getting the attention she deserves.
Details are here
http://www.mazdarotaryclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26558&highlight=single+turbo
That looks like a well looked after motor, unfortunately im not ready to buy just yet because the z3 is still sat on the drive.
Have the mahority of owners on here got imports? is it much more on insurance?
there are few genuine uk spec cars around, so most are imports. i dont know about insurance i aint a good person to talk to as i was 20 with no NCB when i insured mine 4 months ago, lol
You\'d have a job finding a UK rx7 mate, I think they only sold 140 of them? Besides imports are usually a LOT less rusty due to not spending many winters on the UK salt gritted roads. Insurance is usually more for an import, but shop around and you\'ll find a reasonable deal eventually.
Quote from: royalYou\'d have a job finding a UK rx7 mate, I think they only sold 140 of them? Besides imports are usually a LOT less rusty due to not spending many winters on the UK salt gritted roads. Insurance is usually more for an import, but shop around and you\'ll find a reasonable deal eventually.
Untrue, when i was looking around for my RX i came across plenty ok UK ones but didnt want them.
There are more imports out there and thats why the majority of people go towards them as they are spec\'d up already ie bodykits etc from Japan.
The UK ones were slower bp wise, but came with a load of extras that not all the imports came with, ie sunroof cruise control etc.
Insurance is cheaper for UK as its not a grey import, but as people have said shop around and you can get good deals :cheers
Oh? I stand corrected :) I\'m sure it was on here that I read that?? Still the rust issues stands, and I wouldn\'t want a car that had been on the UK roads for 10 winters or more. You\'d have to find one that was really well cared for.
Yep....
I remember reading there is less than 40 genuine UK cars left, there must be Hundreds of Jap Fd\'s here now, you can tell the Uk FD by the Fog lights next to the rear Number plate (the Jap ones don\'t have this) also the UK cars are Spec\'s up (they have every thing fitted but Climate Control was one of the few options)
Well my mate has a UK Fd with the usaly PFC,IC,Extended port etc running 330hp and he pays £170 less than me and hes a year younger, but both with the same No claims etc. I think it will vary a bit with diffrent insurance companys but i saved nearly 3k on the buying price and the UK car is showing signs of rust so i\'m happy with my Import.
Quote from: AshRXUntrue, when i was looking around for my RX i came across plenty ok UK ones but didnt want them.
Well yes and No, when i was looking i saw the same ones coming up alot in diffrent places, i went to see them knowing the storys of Rx7 Rot and all i can say i know where they go ;)
BUT!! don\'t forget the UK car was the best part of 30k new so they had good homes for quite along time, that why 80% of genuine UK cars will come with a A4 binder full of Recipts and bills, the jap cars are bought as seen in alot of cases.
Don\'t get me wrong if i had the choice of a Uk Fd in the same condition as a Good Jap example i\'d all day go with the Uk car, not just becouse its Diffrent but if i kept it a while i\'d save £200 a year which would cover my Single turbo ;)
Ok looks like im going import then, i wont be insuring the car until im 21 anyway so i dont think insurance will be a massive problem.
Quote from: DeanoZ3Ok looks like im going import then, i wont be insuring the car until im 21 anyway so i dont think insurance will be a massive problem.
Your right there - amazing what a difference one more year makes.
9 months and counting :(
Although - listening to radio1 this morning. An insurance company offering discounts of up to 40% for young drivers who dont go out between 10pm - 6am. If its a weekend car then might be worth a look for the short term.