Whats up everyone! I'm getting an 89 gxl tomorrow and I have a lot of questions about it because I grew up around pistons and know nothing about rx7's or rotary's. I wasn't sure if I should post my questions here or in the 2nd gen forum.



BTW, I love the site. Lots of good stuff.



Hopefully I will post pics soon. The rx7 is in pretty good shape but needs paint and doesn't run. I'm buying it for 100 bucks. The guy i'm buying it from thinks it won't start because of a bad fuel pump because he tried to start it 3 monts ago after it had been sitting for 3 YEARS! He said it will turn over and come close to firing up but just wouldn't do it. HELP PLEASE! When I get the car to my house and have time to look at it, I will be able to tell you more.



Also, I need seats for it. There are none in there. Anyone got some for a good price? or should I get racing seats? Also need center console and I think it is the clock that is supposed to be on the top of the dash 'cause it isn't there.



One more thing, the guy i'm getting it from says it is an 89 but I have this gut feeling that it's a later model (86-88). There is nothing wrong with that except for the part where I heard it is harder to do some things like a turbo motor swap (cause mine is n/a). Is there any big differences between the year models where I can really tell?



Sorry for the novel, but any help would be great. I'm sure I have plenty more questions if anyone wants more.



THANKS!!!

 

I'm not an FC expert (or an expert on anything for that matter), but I can say that the motor not starting could be a number of reasons: plugs, compression, etc. A fuel pump is cheap and easy to fix, and that would be awesome if that's the only problem.



I'm really not sure how to tell the difference between the S4 and S5 FCs, but a turbo swap into either one is about the same amount of work!



As far as the parts you need, post in the for sale section that you WTB a set of seats/console/whatever you need. I'm sure someone's bound to have what you need.



Hopefully some others will chime in. Welcome to the forum.

 

Thanks for the help. I'm going to replace the plugs and see if that helps but I went to the auto parts store and they asked me if it was trailing or leading. I have no clue! Whats the difference.



I also want to change the oil but how many quarts does it hold? Anyone heard of Restore. It restores cylinder compression and it works wonders on my civic but with "cylinder" being the keyword, should I not use it?



One last thing, when you say s4 and s5 FC's, i'm guessing that is the body styles, like my years civic is an eg. Is there anywhere that I can find out what the different years are called.



Thanks again!!!

 

Yes, there are two types of FCs, the Series 4 and Series 5. To me, they look the same, so I'm not quite sure there's any difference in appearance. Mechanically, I believe the S4s are carb'd and the S5s fuel injected, but I could be wrong.



There are two spark plugs per rotor on a rotary, a leading and a trailing spark plug. So for each combustion, the leading plug fires and then the trailing plug fires (to make a long story short). If you look at the side of your motor, the driver's side, you will see the spark plugs on the side of the motor. The top spark plug is leading, the bottom is trailing.



I would NOT recommend using any kind of engine restore on the motor, I'm sure other members would agree with me!

 

I would NOT recommend using any kind of engine restore on the motor, I'm sure other members would agree with me!


[/quote]



Definitely! It would also be a very good idea to change your oil right off the bat, especialy since the car has been sitting that long. Good fresh oil is more vital in a rotary than in a piston engine. Splurge on it and go for the good stuff. As far as the plugs go, don't waste your money going cheap on those. Get yourself some NGK plugs. Also, you might want to try to go easy on the starting fluid.

 

would the ATF trick work? you should be able to do a search and find it.







p.s. i dont think i've ever posted, just been reading this site for about a year, lol.

 

the s4s have different front bumpers, tailights and the side moldings are black. look at the plate in the door jamb to see the manufacture date. all fcs are efi. the s4 motor has about 20 less hp than the s5

 

Ok I went today and got a new battery. I put it in and absolutly nothing happened...well, it turned over not even a quarter of way then stopped. When it was turning over, it sounded soooo bad. metal on metal scraping. My friend said it might be the starter b/c now all it does is click. Any more suggestions?



I found out the car is an 88 which I guess means it is a s4. That is too bad that it is down 20hp. oh well, I still think that it is awsome that I have a rotary.



I also bought a factory service manual today on ebay so hopfully that will help me out alot.

 

you're backwards Dysf.



Leading = Lower Trailing = Top