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Login to post Forums » Grassroots Motorsports » So I picked up a new car yesterday

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Nov. 22, 2009 11:12 a.m. dyintorace Dork

After much soul searching, I realized that swapping an LS1/T56 into the now engine-less RX-7 T-II would take me an eternity. Between my meager mechanical skills and a general lack of time (between my wife, my kids and traveling for work), I ballparked it would take me at least a year. While I enjoy wrenching, doing so in 1 or 2 hour spurts is frustrating and adds exponentially to a build.

So, I found a swapped 1987 RX-7 T-II with an LS1 and T56 in it. After researching the car's build and talking with the owner/builder extensively, I took the plunge. The deal ended up working out quite well, as I gave him cash + the LS1/T56 combo I was planning to use. He is going to put the motor and transmission into a 1999 Miata he is buying today.

I drove the car 7.5 hours home yesterday from near Myrtle Beach, SC. It runs incredibly well. The only "issue" I have so far is the noise from the solid diff mounts. Not a problem, but they definitely make for a louder than stock ride!

Knowing this crowd, I'm sure there will be some "checkbook mechanic" comments, but I'm prepared for them. At the end of the day, my goal is to get on track for HPDE's, NASA TT, and auto-x. This purchase will allow me to do so much sooner rather than later.

Here is the car:

Here are the details from the for sale thread:

Drivetrain:
2002 LS1 with approximately 67k on it
All seals and gaskets were replaced 6k ago
stock 241 heads
LS6 intake manifold
Jantzer ported TB
Grannys mount kit
Cartek custom grind cam 230/234 598/603 on a 113lsa
patriot gold dual valve springs
titanium retainers and locks
Thunder racing hardened pushrods
LS2 timing chain
slp 25% underdrive crank pulley
JTR 1 7/8 longtube headers ceramic coated
custom 2.5" dual exhaust with x-pipe and magnaflow mufflers and tips
exhaust has stainless v-bands(comes apart in 3 sections)all madrel bent tubing
Centerforce Billet flywheel
Ram dual friction and hd pressure plate
2002 T56 no grinds at all
willwood 1" bore clutch master cylinder
Pro 5.0 short shifter
Steeda triax shiftter handle with cobra leather shift knob
walbro 255 fuel pump
single -6 fuel line from rear to front
inline 10 micron filter
aeromotive A1000 fpr
K&N air filter
Ron davis radiator
flex-a-lite e-fan
lots of heat shielded wiring
Odyssey PC680 battery in custom mount
PCM tuned by Nic D in Mesa,AZ
405 RWHP/362RWTQ

chassis/suspension
seam welded chassis
6 point weld in cage with harness bar(comes with door bars and swing out kit)
energy suspension control arm and sway bar bushings
1 year old tie rod ends
K-sport GR pro coilovers
poly rear diff mount
matdatrix competition front diff mount
mazdatrix rear cambers adjusters( both sides and subframe)
DTSS eliminator bushings
manual steering rack
3.5 year old paint(titanium gray) has some dings,small scratches and chips
fenders are rolled

Interior
Corbeau non-reclineable seats with sliders
Autometer sport compact II full electric gauges(tach,speedo,fuel level,water temp,oil pressure)
Speedo,tach, and fuel level are just sitting in the old cluster hole as of right now
oil pressure and water temp are in a 2 gauge A-pillar pod
carpet is decent
A-pillar plastics are cracked
missing ds door triangle
door vents are cracked
No stereo installed at all
logicon needs to be repaired or replaced
S5 radio surround, center vents, and shifter surround
New dimister vents,defroster triangles, and idiot cluster surround plastics

rims/tires
front enkei rpfl 17x8+35 with toyo proxes 245/40/17
rear enkei rpf1 17x10+18 with summitomo htrz 275/40/17
Nov. 22, 2009 11:20 a.m. mad_machine SuperDork

Looks nice. I see nothing wrong with buying a finished project if you have the money but no time.. as long as you get out there and ENJOY it the way you want to
Nov. 22, 2009 11:21 a.m. ValuePack HalfDork

Oh, MAN. I am in love.
Nov. 22, 2009 11:27 a.m. drmike New Reader

THAT = awesome. Enjoy!
Nov. 22, 2009 11:36 a.m. minimac Dork

If you're happy and the seller is happy, it sounds like win-win. What's the problem? As an aside, what can of mileage get you get on the ride home?
Nov. 22, 2009 11:42 a.m. dyintorace Dork

Thanks for the compliments! It is what I would describe as quick.

minimac wrote:

If you're happy and the seller is happy, it sounds like win-win. What's the problem? As an aside, what can of mileage get you get on the ride home?

I unfortunately only thought about that after the fact, but rough math this morning indicates ~28mpg! Hard to believe, but the double overdrive transmission really helps. The PO averaged 20 around town.
Nov. 22, 2009 11:43 a.m. TJ HalfDork

Not sure how anyone (other than maybe a diehard rotorhead) could complain about that car or your purchase of it.

Have fun and enjoy it - it looks nice. I know what you mean about dreams being grander than fabrication skills, time, and money. I like wrenching on stuff when I can, but if I could buy a car instead of build it and the price was right I'd buy it too.

Congrats!
Nov. 22, 2009 11:47 a.m. vazbmw Reader

no "checkbook mechanic"-comments here. That was a well played strategy. Great looking car Well done

the only negative comment I have is: "more photos please" : )
Nov. 22, 2009 11:56 a.m. Drewsifer New Reader

Is it just me, or does it look like the car is leaning rather far forward?
Nov. 22, 2009 11:59 a.m. MrJoshua SuperDork

28mpg with 405 wheel horsepower! I should build one of those.
Nov. 22, 2009 12:05 p.m. dyintorace Dork

TJ wrote:

Not sure how anyone (other than maybe a diehard rotorhead) could complain about that car or your purchase of it.

Have fun and enjoy it - it looks nice. I know what you mean about dreams being grander than fabrication skills, time, and money. I like wrenching on stuff when I can, but if I could buy a car instead of build it and the price was right I'd buy it too.

Congrats!

Thanks. The notion of building one still interests me, but will probably wait until my kids are old enough to help me with the project.

vazbmw wrote:

the only negative comment I have is: "more photos please" : )

Here are the PO's build photos. Many in here: http://s78.photobucket.com/albums/j102/nolanj79/?start=all
Nov. 22, 2009 12:08 p.m. dyintorace Dork

Drewsifer wrote:

Is it just me, or does it look like the car is leaning rather far forward?

It may be a little bit of an illusion, as my driveway slopes down in the direction of the nose of the car.
Nov. 22, 2009 12:35 p.m. ReverendDexter HalfDork

Jealous.

I had an FC for about 6 weeks, and I sold it to a buddy. I don't think I really gave it a fair chance.

If you don't mind us asking, about how much did you get it for? I'm assuming somewhere on the higher end of the $5-10k range?
Nov. 22, 2009 12:59 p.m. Osterkraut Dork

Hot damn, finally!

And you still have some interior pieces to fiddle with to get your mechanic's bug out. Or, you know, boost...
Nov. 22, 2009 1:13 p.m. amg_rx7 Reader

nice buy. congrats and good luck with the car.
Nov. 22, 2009 1:22 p.m. dyintorace Dork

ReverendDexter wrote:

If you don't mind us asking, about how much did you get it for? I'm assuming somewhere on the higher end of the $5-10k range?

Including cash + my LS1/T56 combo, it added up to a little more than $10k. Which, when I sat down and figured out the parts/labor I needed to finish my project, is about the number I came up with.

Osterkraut wrote:

And you still have some interior pieces to fiddle with to get your mechanic's bug out. Or, you know, boost...

The scary thing is that the PO has a close friend with the identical motor build plus heads in a C5 and he's at 480rwhp.

amg_rx7 wrote:

nice buy. congrats and good luck with the car.

Thanks!
Nov. 22, 2009 1:56 p.m. AngryCorvair SuperDork

dude, that's a good looking car. nice score.

[goodfellas guy] now go home and get your berkeleying checkbook! [/goodfellas guy]
Nov. 22, 2009 2:47 p.m. Greg Voth Reader

I can relate with the buy vs build. You end up spending way more time money and energy building it than you thought. The biggest thing is time. You can go enjoy some events NOW instead of bench racing the next three years.

I am supposed to go pick up a 5.0 1st gen soon that needs some wiring and plumbing work. It should cost about a 1/3rd of what I would have spent on the build. Hopefully it will see the 2010 Challenge.
Nov. 22, 2009 3:23 p.m. Rangeball Reader

Cheater! Congrats! Now I am definitely going to make it to Gainesville to check this thing out.

Might shoot you a call as we are going to be in town for the game on Saturday.
Nov. 22, 2009 3:26 p.m. MrJoshua SuperDork

Just came back from visiting his new acquisition, and yeah, its quick. Heck of a score.
Nov. 22, 2009 3:56 p.m. dyintorace Dork

Rangeball wrote:

Cheater! Congrats! Now I am definitely going to make it to Gainesville to check this thing out.

Might shoot you a call as we are going to be in town for the game on Saturday.

I was going to send you a note tonight to give you the news. We're here all weekend. Give me a call when you know what your schedule is!
Nov. 22, 2009 5:04 p.m. M2Pilot New Reader

mad_machine wrote:

Looks nice. I see nothing wrong with buying a finished project if you have the money but no time.. as long as you get out there and ENJOY it the way you want to

+ a whole bunch, a bit of envy here.
Nov. 22, 2009 5:41 p.m. aussiesmg SuperDork

Nice score mate.....I have no issue, family and work come first.. and oh... you will get some wrench time on it as you race it
Nov. 22, 2009 6:36 p.m. docwyte Reader

Very nice! Does it blow ice cold air too?
Nov. 22, 2009 6:58 p.m. dyintorace Dork

aussiesmg wrote:

Nice score mate.....I have no issue, family and work come first.. and oh... you will get some wrench time on it as you race it

Thanks and I agree 100%.

docwyte wrote:

Very nice! Does it blow ice cold air too?

That is one thing is does not do, at least currently. Given my location, I plan on putting it back in. I'm willing to suffer the weight penalty of the components in order to have A/C!

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