TrevultaSpeed

Hey there.

Well first ill let u know alittle more about myself. Im 17, and i already finished my 1973 Ford Mustang 351 Cleveland project ( www.cardomain.com/id/metal351 *pics outa date a bit* ). It was my first car/project, and i love it. Its pretty quick and turns alot of heads. But the major downside to having a muscle car is the driveability.... It guzzles gas, the brakes suck, not entirely comfortable, and its scary to leave it in a parking lot all day , especially since it doesnt have an alarm .



Well right now im driving my dads 1998 Honda Civic EX ( www.cardomain.com/id/trevultaspeed ) as a daily driver... i had thought about purchasing it from him over time.. but i really cant afford it, or at least do the mods id like to if i were to be the owner (JDM B18c swap, tein basic dampers, rota's , etc...).



So i figured if i wanna buy a car for my daily driver, i might as well spend less, and go with something that suites me alittle better (FR car). And lately ive been looking at all sorts of imports i love (everything from silvias to truenos). And ive been intreagued *cant spell!!!* by the rotary motor. ive been studying how it works and id love to work on one myself. so id like to save up and maybe try purchasing an FC Turbo II. But i have some questions about them....



Since it would be my daily driver that i will work on ( i just cant stand driving a stock car, gotta do somethin to it!!! need more power :-p) , i was wondering what kinda reliabilty issues the turbo 13b may have... cause ive talked to a few car people, nobody that really knows rotary motors tho, and they all say that the rotaries are very unreliable and not good as daily drivers... is this true? i hear theyre okay as long as u keep up with the TONS of maintainence needed . what are some common problems to look out for in buying a used turbo II?



I love the body styles of all 3 generations of Rx-7, and the FC seems to be the best buy for me. What do you think the average price of a decent condition FC Turbo II would be in say, the SO-CAL area? I live in San Bernardino, CA. If i could, id sell the civic and make it much easier to buy one haha, but its my dads car so im just gunna have to save up... and i cant let myself sell my mustang its just too much fun!



Im used to the comfort of the civic, so hopefully the FC will be pretty comfortable so i dont feel like im hopping in the mustang every day . and the sound of a turbo rotary!!!!! so nice!



Sorry if these are annyoing questions that u have to deal with all the time , i just like to do as much research as i can before i get too interested in something. Thanks for the help!

rotarychainsaw

Welcome



Start reading. You'll find that running a motor lean (especially rotary) will be the beginning of the end.

rfreeman27

I dont see why rotarys have such a bad wrap. If you take care of them, and have some knowledge of the way they work, they can be solid motors.



I have never been stuck or stranded in eother of my third gens. And one gets beaten pretty hard too

BrandonDrecksage

well, since ur buying a used car u never know. Some people beat the **** out of the car and don't take care of it. So the reliability is a guess. I bought a 91 fc n/a which are supposed to be a lil more reliable, but have have constant issues. Been stranded a few times. but nothing major. ur probably better off buying one with a blown engine for real cheap, then getting a rebuild, so you know the condition of the car. as far as comfortable, i'm 6'2"...250lbs and i'm more comfortable in my fc then i was in my bigger camaro. but the suspension is pretty hard, but i like that. so, if u bought one with a blown engine, and rebuilt it, then u would be good

TrevultaSpeed

how much do the full rebuilds usually cost? since this would be my daily driver, i dont really want to pile tons of money into it. just want something fun to drive, that later on when hopefully im making better money, i can make it pretty quick. but im still really iffy about doing a rotary, although i love em. plus i like the FC bodystyle better than the 240sx's hehe.



thing is, if i were to get a piston engine car, id be much more comfortable with workin on it , and its reliability... so who here has an FC as their daily driver, and what problems have u encountered? think its worth goin for on my part? or should i just try and get a 240sx, 3rd gen supra, or another FR piston car? thanks for the help, wish i could try driving an FC to see how i like it first :-D

racerxtreme7

i have an 87 tii, i bought it last sept with a blown engine had it rebuilt when i got it and ive had no engine problems. The car is in mint shape repainted 3rd gen red 3" racing beat exhaust, fuel cut off defense, intake, jspec intake mainfold, jspec turbo, all came with the car after the rebuild the bill was 4.5k which isn't bad for what i got. I haven't really had any major problems since i've had it, i mean somethings go bad since it is an older car but i haven't had anything big. I use my tii as a daily driver and i have no complaints, the +'s out do the -'s handling balance speed looks its got everything you could ever want. Gas is a killer tii suspension is ruff but i wouldn't want it any other way, in fact im saving up for a new springs struts etc,,the car does require lots of maintainence but the faster the car the more work it requires. My cars not finished yet or i would post pic's but i wouldn't be surprised if you got an fc and wanted to sell the stang. Rotary engines are very simple its an amazing set up you'll enjoy it here.

BrandonDrecksage

i've seen rebuilds for around 3000 for someone doing it to your car, if u do the work urself, u can get a kit for 1000 from atkins rotary....if its gonna be ur daily driver and u can't rebuild it, i wouldn't get it..but if ur gonna rebuild it, get one, because they are insanely fun to drive, i get a nice smile on my face whenever i turn the key (if the engine starts )....but i need a rebuild

Gen2RXSeven

for the rebuild on my 12a (if I don't need rotor housings, or don't want any porting done) would run me $1,100. but I know I'll need housings and want it atleast mild street port so its $300 extra for housings and $300 extra for porting.



thats in SW Fla. by a little rotary shop. not sure what the average runs, but I was told that this shop did someones 13b-rew for 1900 with porting.