Mazda Rotary Club

Hi,

I\'ve started looking at getting an RX7. Had a look at a red 94 type R yesterday. It looked nice but needed a couple of cosmetic items to get it spot on. The split rims needed the rims polishing and re-lacquered. On the rear arch near the radio antenna the lacquer has some kind of spots on it.

Mechanically the rear suspension seems a bit noisy, kind of banging over bumps and it\'s not really low. Fitted with a fully adjustable koni coilovers from what I could see.

The car has done just under 50,000miles and it hasn\'t been re-built. It started from hot OK, didn\'t see it from cold. The idle was reasonably smooth, just a bit lumpy.

The car has been serviced by WGT and I would get it checked over by them before parting with any hard earned. Seller seemed a very nice genuine guy, reckon he would take £6K for it.

Engine wise it\'s standard, just a SS exhaust. It felt quick but not fast, but my present car is BMW 328 with a supercharger fitted, making about 290 crank HP. Had a quick race just for technical reasons of course and we were about even (up to to 120+).

The question is what do you think of the above. I know I\'d have to spend some money to get the suspension changed, could do the wheels myself but it takes forever and the paintwork isn\'t bad really. The only thing that cocerns me is the engine.

Do you think I\'m better spending a bit more on a properly sorted car with a fresh rebuild, maybe ported and some engine goodies so it really moves.

Thanks
Lynchy

I think if you can you should look for one with a rebuilt engine, this way you know there hopefully won\'t be any suprises around the corner.  If you decided to go for one without a rebuild then defo get a compression test so you can sort of gauge how low it wil last.

I would always say to the people who want to go single turbo to sell there twin and buy a single turbo conversion import rather than change theres this will probably cost less in the long run.

If you want less drastic engine mods then most are pretty easy to fit.  You will need to make sure it has a decent ECU to make sure the engine copes with any mods (you dont want to blow it up)

Thanks for the reply. A couple more questions too.

How much will the compression test tell you. What I mean is, if the compression is good WILL the engine last say 20K or is it more like it SHOULD last. How reliable an indicator is it? There is another chap selling a 95 type r with over 60,000 miles but with a recent rebuild and ported from WGT who\'s looking for about £8K. Do you think that would be a better buy?

Does the single turbo conversion hurt the driveability? Will I lose the low rev pull and does it make it very laggy?

Thanks

The compression test will give you an idea of what state the engine is in, but it will never be able to tell you exactly if the car will last another 20k or 20.  

The one with the rebuilt and ported engine sounds good and if the work has been done by WGT then it should be to a high standard.

I can\'t comment on FD turbo lag as I never have been in a single FD.  One thing I will say is that they can have different set-ups so not all have 4000 rpm of turbo lag.

If you think the rear suspension is noisy, ie bangs and crashes over bumps it will probably be the pillow ball joints in the top and botton arms. This causes play in all directions of movement and can be felt if you get hold  of the wheel and wobble it. Anything more than about 1mm and you have noisy suspension and need those joints replacing. There are at least 4 in each side that can go, and at around £50 each to buy + labour its not a cheap job so its worth checking before you buy the car. Hope this helps.

yeah as above the 8k one maybe sounds more tempting as you maybe looking at ~3k on a rebuild on the 6k one anyway & even a compression test will only show certain things & not a guarantee sumin wont go wrong. OK now i\'ll take me scare mongering hat off as either way once you get a well running RX7 you\'ll be a happy bunny & if you were looking at a single or well modified one i\'m sure the beama would be more comprehensively spanked lol as the early cars you\'ll be looking at ~255bhp in such a relatively unmodified state but new ECU &/or a few tweaks later & you\'ll be up around 300 & much more competitive specially in the case of the ported type beasty.

Anyway back on track since both those your talking of here have been with WGT they should be well cared for but Pip @ WGT is a friendly chap & very knowledgeable so best bet is to have a word with him about the respective cars, dunno if he\'d check OK with owner first or wotever but if they have nothing to hide &/or otherwise Pip should be able to tell you a lot about the cars good, bad or otherwise.......

Maybe worth having a play in the differing cars to get a better idea of the pros cons etc at least from a performance point of view
Should be good thou mate either way but rarely cheap (http://smilies.jeeptalk.org/otn/realhappy/op485.gif) lol
Si

I would definately want one with a rebuilt engine from someone who knows what they are doing (like Pip) as these cars generally wear the tips out at 50k, but even with a lower mileage car you just can\'t know the condition. Personally I looked for one with a blown engine, got it for £2600 and then spent around £5k with WGT for all the best bits - so I now have a reliable 340bhp ish car for 7.5k and I know it wont blow up any time soon.

Aye go for the rebuild one, more expensive than 6k but if you need to rebuild the engine it\'ll work out more expensive than the 8k car;)

Thanks guys for the feedback, it seems a rebuilt model is a better prospect. I\'m not able to see the car at the moment because I\'m working away, hopefully it\'s still available when I get back.

I really need to get in a single turbo car to see how it goes. Any recommendations for people I should be speaking to to source such a car?

Thsanks

You can speak to any of the main import dealers or specialists on here,

//www.powervehicles.co.uk
//www.neweraimports.com
//www.dragonperformance.co.uk
//www.linney.org
//www.rotaryimports.com
//www.jimmys-rx7.co.uk

Best to find someone on here close to you and see if they wouldn\'t mind taking you for a drive.

Here is a single for sale.

http://www.mazdarotaryclub.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8275

Gman,

thanks, you\'re a gent.

I\'ve had a look at the single turbo for sale in the Private adds. It looks very nice. Unfortunately I\'m away on business and can\'t get down to see it for a little while, plus it\'s miles away. It\'s more than I had planned to spend, but does looks very nice. From those specs it would give my BMW a proper spanking, just the ticket.

To be honest I\'m kind of tempted to buy a private car rather than a fresh import and one with a rebuilt engine would be very nice.

Thanks.

You can pick up a private sales car with a rebuild from 8k - 10k seriously speaking.

Just as a note, you could rebuild the engine yourself for around £500-£700 - if (when) mine goes this will be the path that I take :)

It depends if you have space somewhere to do it and are keen to learn.

Dave

QuoteOriginally posted by ds2000
Just as a note, you could rebuild the engine yourself for around £500-£700 - if (when) mine goes this will be the path that I take :)

It depends if you have space somewhere to do it and are keen to learn.

Dave

I\'d say more like £800-£1000 for an FD, as you end up having to replace a few things you didn\'t even think about, like stationary gear bearings and OMP feed lines etc etc etc...:rolleyes:, the later price would include a good 2nd hand rotor and housing.

But yeah good idea, but it takes only a certain type of person to wish that kind of pain and torment upon them! ;) However once it\'s working again you\'ll be :bandit

Paul:)

I shudder to think of the torment something like that must cause

Doing my Prelude bushing was bad enough, smashed knuckles, removing subframes etc but when it was all done it was :cool ;)

You\'ve got pretty good bragging rights down the pub for a bit as well :bandit

i once changed my pants by myself
Si (not very good at this bragging thing...)

Where\'s the best place to source the rebuild kits and how difficult is it? Are we talking a weekend or alot more.

I\'ve learnt a bit messing about on my present car but don\'t feel quite ready to tackle an engine rebuild, but dad\'s a mechanic and is connected with a mazda dealer. He\'s gonna have a chat with a couple of people he knows to get some more info.