I\'ll be taking the 7 off the road soon for a complete overhaul, rust, paint, engine, the works.
Now a lot of it I\'ll be doing myself, dismantling, stripping sound deadening etc but there are a couple of bits I can\'t do, e.g. Engine rebuild/street port and paint being the prime cases I can currently think of, but I\'ll only be able to pay for one bit at a time, so, what should I do first?
I\'m half tempted to buy an engine from rotechniks or RXMotors or whoever and get them to rebuild and street port it then send it over for me to plug it in myself. Question is, who would be cheaper? I saw on the rxmotors site that a rebuilt EGi engine plus street port will be about £1800, the rotechniks site was a bit vague with the EGi side of things.
Or should I get the rust and paint dealt with first, that will give me time to get the engine done properly then plumbed straight into a ready and waiting shell.
Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
Have you considered saving a bit and transplanting the renesis RX-8 engine? It\'s basically an egi with more power and slightly better economy, I\'ve been thinking about it myself it should in theory be faster than a stock T2! Would be more expensive but you could pick up a an RX-8 donor car for a pretty good price now days, defo worth thinking about in my opinion, get a 6 speed 231ps if your gonna though ;)
That seems very expensive, won\'t be a direct fit, new ECU, maybe an entirely new drivetrain as well as coil pack issues, and I\'d still want it street ported.
I\'m going through the same process as you at the moment and ive basically tackled all rust and paint and just recently pulled the engine!
Wouldn\'t it be easier to sort everything with the engine out already?
well tell a lie I pulled all the body work off and stripped all the wiring from the engine bay removed the engine and gearbox dropped the subframe out had that powder coated painted the transmission tunnel.
I\'m just in the process of sending the engine off too Rx motors for a street port and rebuild!
You should call Hayward, skiff and get some advice on engine options. Is it not better to transplant a turbo unit in there?
Adam , you got any pics of the work , i would love to see it
yeah I\'ll make a project thread soon once it\'s running so as too not jinx anything!
ahhh good man :D
Quote from: B.Martin;817489You should call Hayward, skiff and get some advice on engine options. Is it not better to transplant a turbo unit in there?
If you want to replace the gearbox, driveshafts, etc etc etc.
Surely a ported egi will be so un-economic that paying more on the short term will be better in te future. It might even be cheaper to buy a turbo II? It\'s totally up to you, I\'m just saying what I\'d be asking myself in your position?
Would it really be that uneconomical? It\'s only a street port, not a bridge or peripheral. I think you turbo boys are just scared of an EGi being faster and having no turbo lag lol
Oh no mate, i\'ve no issue with that at all. My fc is totally stock remember :Giggle
But i know my EGI drank fuel so much more than my turbo does and it is quite a lot slower, your also pretty limited with the n/a power wise.
I don\'t think it would really be too much of an issue, I don\'t need to commute, I only really use it for social bits and maybe the odd work job, but seeing as I now live with the missus I don\'t even need to drive to see her anymore.
In fact, the only times I\'ll use her is going to the shops, seeing mates, going to shows, tunnel runs etc, and just driving, so economy will be ok, but I know I\'ve got the poke when I want it. Plus it\'ll be pointless just getting a turbo because then that\'d be another FC off the road instead of in great condition.
N/A FTW. Go for a streetport and run it with some pre-mix, then you\'ll have the power and longevity.
Quote from: Skifledanabit;817527Would it really be that uneconomical? It\'s only a street port, not a bridge or peripheral. I think you turbo boys are just scared of an EGi being faster and having no turbo lag lol
this would not happen, a street port you would be looking at maybe 220FWHP. are the EGI carbd or fuel injected? as to get the best out of the port your going to have to do some faffing around with thos things.
a turbo lump would be easier power for sure but definately more expensive.
i cant honestly see why you are going to take the car off the road now considering the weather is a million times better ATM, save your cash and do the job lot over next winter, whilst the engine is out you can fix the car up
Because I\'d rather do it when it\'s warm and whilst I have time over the summer, if it\'s cold wet etc, I won\'t want to go out in it lol.
My EGi is fuel injected, Plus I\'m going to have money soon which may not be there in the winter lol.
if you are getting the money now then i suggest sort the engine first and enjoy this year in it
The problem is, no more friendly mot tester and without him, no mot due to slight rusting lol
If the engine is still running fine thenI\'d sort the bodywork out before it rusts anymore.
Although if you no longer have your "friendly" MOT tester then how will you pass emissions testing on a streetported engine?
Certainly friendly emissions testers look the other way for emissions since they\'re not exactly central to vehicle safety however structural rust is harder to overlook.
Good question, I\'ve just spoken to Carl at Hayward, he\'s advised me to pop down there just to check my engine over just to see if it does need a rebuild or not. I think after that, I can make a more educated decision as to which direction to go.
Good idea.
Well you got to tell us it needs an MOT soon to help you make a better decision, as whichever work you do doesn\'t matter if you haven\'t got an MOT does it.
Quote from: Skifledanabit;817598Good question, I\'ve just spoken to Carl at Hayward, he\'s advised me to pop down there just to check my engine over just to see if it does need a rebuild or not. I think after that, I can make a more educated decision as to which direction to go.
There you go; you see ;)
Right, so, went to see Carl yesterday, so far, it doesn\'t seem too bad. Although my rear oil seal is on its way out, multiple oil leaks, apart from that, the exhaust is far too restrictive and the spark plugs are mullered.
He came up with an idea. Now, if I were to go ahead, he\'d rebuild the engine, streetport the first 4 ports and bridge the last 2 giving me better higher end power, he would also experiment with RX8 rotors, giving me 10:1 compression as well as lighter inertial energy due to the 8 rotors being lighter than my S4 ones (another bit of news, seems like my 7 is an 88 model sold in 89, therefore it\'s an S4). He would also get a new 3" SS twin exhaust from the headers back.
The main problem is, this will cost just shy of £3k, that\'s over twice what I paid for the car, and that\'s before we even start addressing the rust and respray etc.
So, overall, I\'m looking at at least £5k to get my car back to a decent condition, but not how I\'d want it, I\'m talking about powder coating chassis parts, reconditioning calipers/cylinders/suspension/wheels/etc, plus replacing bushes, nuts, bolts, so on and so forth.
In the end, this may end up costing upwards of £7k to get it exactly how I want it and even then, it\'s not garunteed that more parts won\'t fail on me.
So let\'s see what I can get with the initial £3k...
Facelift Honda Accord Type-R
Lexus IS300 2JZ, no sh*t
pretty good condition FD
great condition TII
Mitsubishi Evo I-IV
Nissan Silvia
The list goes on and on...
But I know, that if I do sell up, I will always be thinking, I miss my FC. Plus, I know where I stand with it at the moment, I know what\'s wrong, I know what\'s right. If I get another vehicle, I\'ll be in the dark again. That, and aside from the older skylines and datsuns and classic jap motors, I think the FC along with the FB are two of the rarest motors out in the show scene at the moment, and I love that, being one of the two, three or four others or even the only one at a show, or tunnel run.
I know this will take a lot of thought and some hard decisions, I love my FC, I\'ve put time, money, effort and stress into it. But do the pros outweigh the cons?
Quote from: Skifledanabit;820296But do the pros outweigh the cons?
It\'s a very hard question to ask. However, I would say, if you love something, you don\'t consider the cost of getting it. You pay every penny to get it as you only live ones.
Cheers:cheers
Mir
I know, thats why I\'m not just saying ahh screw it and selling up. but head over heart, the missus will just get even more annoyed at me, the parents have also said basically the same thing, is it really worth it.
I really do love my 7, but i really cannot justify the money it will take to get her sorted to the standard that I\'d want, throw in the runabout I\'d need to buy whilst its off the road.
But, as i said before, i will forever be wishing i\'d spent the money (no matter how much) to sort her out.
Quote from: Skifledanabit;820299I really do love my 7, but i really cannot justify the money it will take to get her sorted to the standard that I\'d want.
It looks like you have already made up your mind :(
It\'s more the fact that I don\'t have that kind of money, I will do, but I can only do one bit at a time.
Trust me, this is really hard, hearts and mind fighting to the death.
Quote from: Skifledanabit;820301It\'s more the fact that I don\'t have that kind of money, I will do, but I can only do one bit at a time.
Trust me, this is really hard, hearts and mind fighting to the death.
I hope mate you find a way to keep it.
Mir:Thumbs-up
Hard question mate, are you not better off just looking around and buying a FC thats in better condition already?
^^^^ thats always one option
I can never throw a load of money into a car , its just not "in me" to do it .. its a car at the end of the day :(
The FC is slightly different , but even with having the money , i wouldnt spent £500 on a ecu and £300 on tuning etc...
so in my shoes , there is NO way i would spend 7k on a FC
You could BUY a monster FC for that , and import it and insure it
ALTHOUGH
if you are set for having the car you want .. how much of the money can you save with you doing a lot of the work
can you take the engine out and get it to carl and save a few ££ in labour
can you strip all the shell etc.. , you get the experience and save a lot of money
or , take it over a 5 yr plan , work out what you need to do first and at what stage and let everything else come later
get it all welded and sprayed first .. then next year look at the suspension and changing all the nuts and bolts for nice shiney new ones
get the part polished / chromed / powder coated as you need them and spread the cost
just my £0.02p worth , but we all appreciate i hate spending money ;)
Me again...
What are you hoping to achieve from all this
Do you want the perfect FC ( cant think if you have a TII or EGI )
Is it power you want , or a daily drive , or what ?
are you sure this is the right way forward with YOUR car
can you not buy another one for example a TII with a bad clutch , or knackered gearbox ( < whistles innocently > ) and spend the money getting that to pristine condition
whats your aim .. what do you see your self driving ?
id rather be street porting a TII and getting it ecu\'d up and mapped - should see you with 250 at the wheels ( why not street port something with more power to start with )
like i said .. what do you want acheive ?
I dunno I think the main question is what time scale your giving yourself to get it to the standard you want. Im in a similar boat. I could spend ££££\'s on it to get it back to new but with the tweaks I want but I too can\'t afford it. So over the last 5 years or so I\'ve been doing it slowly. I reckon it\'ll take me that time again to do the rest if I ever do. Luckily I can garage mine and sorn it if need be now (not that I ever had, Its been able to go on the road ever day I\'ve owned it!). When times get hard I can just leave it in the garage until the time is right again. Then just keep tucking a little £ away until I\'ve enough for the next bit.
Ade
I am in much the same boat myself.
I will be rebuilding the engine and sorting out the underside of the car, but the newer shell will be getting a full respray and I want to get my wheels refurbed too.
Plus finish off sorting the suspension, redo all the wiring, and some new cosmetic bits.
It gets pricey quick !! I suspect it\'s at least 4K for me and that\'s with doing a lot of work myself, but I reckon the end result will be a cracker and well worth the money spent.
bear in mind that if you go down the route of another car- you\'ll probably be getting the same body work, parts failures and similar to factor in - maybe just not straight away. This is often overlooked in comparisons ;)
BTW - Rotechniks can sell you a crated Renesis engine (brand new) and RX Motors have already fitted one to an FC, plus Carl has a lot of experience with Renesis too - so don\'t rule out a \'super EGI\' - 240bhp plus in an EGI would be quite compelling....
If you think you are going to have issues with emissions I have an electric air pump in the garage :) crazy massive flow lol its from a Vauxhall V6 but its a GM unit as fitted to many american cars to get them past the emissions.
if i were to go ahead, I\'ll set up a savings account for the engine and just start doing what I can do to the body first, then, when I have saved enough to pay for what I can\'t do, get it done.
May be the best way forward.
what about getting an rx8?
same if not more power than you\'ll have with ported egi lump
better fuel economy
better low down torque
less rust
better chassis
4 seats
lots of mod cons
lsd
they\'re pretty good bang for buck these days too.
What is it you actually want from the car?
There is a T2 that\'s conveniently just popped up in the for sale section, looks okay ;)
http://mazdarotaryclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75085
:)