Those '90s airbags are no joke. They'll trash you. Only good if you're in a major accident.

Yup, you have to go to 3rd gen 7s to get mid-engine. That's a huge price difference.

 

This

I seriously dont understand people who buy FCs and FDs just drop in a V8. That defeats the whole purpose of owning a rotary powerd car. Just get one and do a triple rotary swap.

 

I guess the easiest answer is RXs are great hamdling small cars and rotaries pieces of ****. If you think theres a 'point' to owning a rotary powered car youre either a glutton for punishment or jsut have never had the pleasure of owning one for a while

 

I guess im a little of both. Ive driven am and loved them but ive never owned one. And i am a glutton for punishment. If i wasnt i would have got a desk job instead of joining the automotive field.

 

Where are you going to find a 3 rotor in the states? You can find a chevy sitting on any redneck's front porch.

 

http://www.srmotorsports.com/Used_Mazda_Parts.html

 

Get a Porsche 928 S or GTS instead.

 

So true.

My brother has had his rx7 for a year and its spent more time sitting at Menlo Mazda than being driven. Its a 94 twin turbo with 80K completely stock and was owned by an old white guy.

2 months after we bought it, the seals went bad, it started drinking coolant, burning and leaking oil, and one of the turbos just stopped working.

So maybe we just bought an abused RX7, but 3 months after the dealership completely rebuilt the motor, gave it two brand new turbos, and installed a Koyo radiator, the car took a s*** on us again. Turbos not kicking in and its still drinking coolant.

It sat at Menlo Mazda for another 4-5 months until they finally got some RX7 specialist from another dealership to fix everything.

It is finally running good now, but after all that we've been through I feel like anything could go wrong at any moment with these rotaries.

 

rotary rx7s are just a pain in the *** and sound like lawn mowers/weed wackers

 

That's what happens to a 3rd gen at 80k if it's driven like it was meant to be. I knew one old fart that putted around that got to 130k. He sold it and it died shortly after.

I would never take a 3rd gen to a dealer. My buddy was one of the few mazda mechanics that knew how to work on them. He got tired of dealing with Mazda's bull**** and started his own shop. Mazda dealers had no clue how to work on the 3rd gens when they were sold here. That plus the 93's engine fires killed them in the states. The engine fires were also the reason for some of the first engine swaps. You could get a slightly crispy rolling chassis pretty easy.

Your brother should find a good rx7 mechanic if he keeps the car.

 

well then shine on you crazy diamond!

 

My bro definately plans to keep the car. We found a place in San Bruno called The Shop. Two of their mechanics have RX7s, one has a FC with a LS1, and the other has a rotary FD but is building a LS1 to swap in. Hopefully these guys know what they are doing.

Anyone have any experience with "The Shop" in San Bruno?

 

Rotaries are the Alfa Romeos of Japanese imports. Can't trust them to drive farther than the nearest mechanic, yet have a die hard cult following. It's the price of being different.

Rotaries are fun, but V8 RX-7s has to be more funner!!!! For anyone that thinks it's pure blasphemy, just remember the LS1 only weighs a scant 50lbs more than the 13B-REW. There isn't one good reason why a V8 swap ruins that car

 

also if you move the battery to the rear you have an effective weight transfer of 40lbs (-20lbs front / +20lbs rear) so the balance remains basically the same

 

hey lets be fair, rotaries get horrible mileage, have a flat powerband, don't make exceptional power.........but can be fairly reliable........

they just can't handle forced induction or anything aggressive, lol, kinda defeating the purpose. +1 for ls1, is there a weight difference between that and rotary?