So I found this 1988 rx-7 GTU (<-- N/A obviously) with 190k on it, been sitting in different garages for years, Im waiting on the title before I buy it (a 3rd party has thier name to it so they have to get it first.) During the wait im trying to determine how much of a money hole this thing is going to be. So far, it needs* a new front passenger quarter panel, eventually a paint but ill omit that for now, jumper cabled it up and it fired on the first try, tons of blue/white smoke oil smells like gasoline so Im assuming it needs a rebuild, battery and a head light (it winks now, the drivers side doesnt go up.) the guy wants $400 for it, I thought that was a good price, but how much do you guys think is going to go into this sucker? 5+ years its been garaged, it starts works and runs, so im assuming ignition system and charging system are good cause it ran on a dead batter that had to be jumped, exhaust doesnt leak but if im doing a rebuild might as well do headers/catback system. i saw a rebuild kit for $600, exhaust system i priced out to about $600, tires didnt look dryrotted and drove fine. so after $400 for the car, and $1200 into the engine/exahsut what are some other normal wear and tear problems with these cars? and with someone that has had a similar experiance, with less then $2k for a budget will i have a realiable daily driver?

well you seem to have a budget already, but here's my recent experience



for $250 we brought home an 87 gxl, that had been parked since 97.



we jumped the battery that was in there, took the plugs out cranked it over, put some used plugs in it, and it fired right up. this one has 68k on it, no smoke at all, engine runs great. i "rebuilt" the brake master, as the fluid had turned into this crumbly rusty substance. i had to flush out the cooling system a few times, as it was also full of crap. oil change. ive spent a few evenings resoldering things like the warning light cluster, cpu, logicon, and radio. i also replaced the tires, with some used ones i had lying around, as the ones on there werent round. i have the tools so i set the toe front and rear.



ive put about 300miles on it, total cost is in the $400 range, as i have not replaced a part yet, just registration and fluids.



if yours needs an engine, id run it longer to see how bad it really smokes, plan on $1000-1500 there are things like the clutch, radiator hoses, etc etc that are off when you do the engine, so it makes sense to replace it then



if you're lucky someone at least replaced the shocks, if not thats $350, more if you do springs.



plan on repacking the front wheel bearings, maybe a brake job too.



paint depends....



you CAN go hog wild on these, rebuild everything etc etc and spend 50K, but if you're lazy, and want a challenge like mine where we decided i cant replace any parts, you can do that too.

many ways to skin a FC, go all out replace everything, or try the minimal method.





I would also run the car as is, Oil that smells like gas may not mean it needs a rebuild. Do the de-flood marvel mystery oil treatment, when its cleared out do fresh plugs and a full tune and see what you got, NA cars are very durable and can easily do 200K-300k miles when treated right.

Never heard of this though I know the product. Are you just implying that the car may be flooding a lot from issues with a gunked-up fuel system and making the oil smell of gas? Or is there something else to it?

its the atf trick, but I have always used MMO, clears out the fuel and the carbon.



then do a oil change obviously

Ah I see, plus I imagine it's not corrosive like ATF is. Good stuff

Yes I definatly be doing the MMO treatment, that stuff is awesome!! I was also going to hook the fuel pump up to a bottle of seafoam... I found out yesterday (after a call about when im going to see the title) that the gas that was in her was from 5+ years ago!!!!! lol, it had new NGK plugs in it, so ill have to clean out the fuel system, and let her run for awhile, it was about 5 mins it ran, idled at 2k and some idiot stripped out the idle adjuster screw (screw in the middle of the intake butterfly manifold piece im assuming thats the idle adjuster.) Im defaintly going to take some before and after pics, now it has the GTU badge on it, i read that they have the turbo 2 suspension and bigger brakes is there anything else the GTU has thats different? Lighter chasis or different engine work? It has some mega dark tints on the back windshield and side windows and a 1/4 strip on the windshield it self it looks factory, I cannot wait for her to come to a home where she will be taken care of! This will be my 2nd, the first the driveshaft broke and it blew the tranny in half and the engine stopped turning over, and being in highschool i didnt have the money to fix her up (and the parents didnt approve of a project sitting there for years.) can't wait to start killing some civics cause thats what i used to do!

the 1988 GTU model was similar to the sport model from 86-87.



for 88 the GTU came with the turbo seats, and mirrors. the 4 piston brakes, rear wing, and limited slip diff.



so its pretty cool