Crossroads With My Car - Please Read B - 4 Polling

[klorocks]

OK, Here I am at the fork. I need your help to drift through it safely.

Ive had my car for 8 wonderful years and have proceeded to beat it up more than I should have. She is slowly dying. In the past month, i have put over $2000 into maintanance. IE tires, struts, brakes, rotors, vaccuum prob, rack and pinion, cat, sensors, plugs, wires, smog prep., and she still needs work. Paint, seats, interrior, cracked dash, body work, and a body kit that i have, but needs to still be put on ( very mild, before i get one of theese:flamer), headlight motors suck, and wont point the right way due to accidents, and ....uh, well i have the longest list of mods i want, but cant afford.

Now ive put so much into this car, its hard to let her go, or even think of that subject for that matter. But here i am thinking of this, all because i drove my friends 98 240.

Here Goes

Ive been in a minor accident recently and here is what i am thinking of doing with that money, and the $ IF i sell my ride, and body kit if i sell it, and spend a little bank funds

By the way, I think the last poll post is out, i want a new car, but vote for it if you think i should keepSo, What Would You Do?????

[s14sr20det]

and you need 2 threads right ?

[MaineExport]

Well, as much as I'd love to see you go with an s14.... if I had a choice and money wasn't a consideration.... I'd buy a newer RX-7 anyday!!! They are jut straight-up sweeeeet.

[bp2ooo]

buy a 97,98. Less maintence. Not saying older cars cannot be reliable but they will nickle and dime you for ever. My winter car is a 91 integra, and in a couple of months, i have had an alternator go out, ball joint break(snaping and axel). I hope i dont need to fix anything else but the clutch which i know is gone, but trying to make it till the warm weather in the spring/summer. Hopefully if you buy a newer car you wont have to worry about emissions/starters/oil pump/seals/gaskets/ect ect. Be aware depending what you want to do to your car. 1997-1998 are obd 2, so for emmissions they hook it up to a computer. If you do a swap, you wont pass. What mods do you intend to put on your car? Chris

[Lepchitz1]

rx7 dude...

[klorocks]

Well, as much as I'd love to see you go with an s14.... if I had a choice and money wasn't a consideration.... I'd buy a newer RX-7 anyday!!! They are jut straight-up sweeeeet.

My only concern here is reliability. I have heard that the RX-7 rotory engines don't last long over 100,000 mi, and my chances of getting one under 100,000mi is a very long shot

[klorocks]

buy a 97,98. 1997-1998 are obd 2, so for emmissions they hook it up to a computer. If you do a swap, you wont pass. What mods do you intend to put on your car? Chris

This or the 300zx is what im leaning towards. What am I going to do to it. Not much under the hood. Maybe some wheels, front spoiler, suspension, sound system, and an APC sticker

[klorocks]

WHO VOTED FOR THE HONDA???

Hey Lepchitz1, I love your car. It is sxsy. I saw a 97 today for 9,000 black on black, want it so bad, but talked to my insurance co today, and they say it take up to 45 days to get a confirmation that the other driver in my accident was uninsured, so i wont get cut a check for a month or so, WEAK.

[Phax]

I gotta agree with the guy who brought up the rotary reliability issues. I've had friends blow apex seals out of those things on a regular basis. If you can resist the urge to turn up the boost, and can find a low mileage 13B rotary... go for it. Good luck though. RX-7 owners are kind of fanatical, and swoop up all the good cars as soon as they go up for sale. =)

[Just another 240]

well 100,000mi the apex seal goes, change it and u mite have another 100,000mi more to go... don't know if it's true...i see u live in ca, there's gotta be alot of rotary specialist around u.

[nametakennow]

Jeez... I don't know. It's between the S14, new 300ZX, and RX7. The rotary reliability... hmm... kinda makes me want to say ZX... good luck.

[MaineExport]

I still say go with the RX-7. Reliability opinions go both ways. I know owners who have had very good experiences with them, and some not so good. The biggest difference is usually how well the vehicle was maintained, and how hard it was driven. No engine is going to be reliable past 100,000 if it was beaten on.... except maybe the Toyota 22R and 22R-e.... they LOVE abuse!

You may get a bunk engine no matter what you buy... so that's not much of an issue. Regardless of what you buy, you should thoroughly inspect the entire car including the engine. Bring it to a shop you trust.

[Tino]

man If you could get a nice rx-7, go for it I say.

[klorocks]

Apex seal,.. hmm is that much of a cash issue?Meaning, can it be done under $200-300?

And thanks for the replies guys, id still like to see a few more votes.

BTW the only prob with the 300zx is that it would have to be twin turbo, and those are hard to find here in caly at a reasonable price, or find at all. My limit will be $10,000, don't want to finance anymore than I should

[klorocks]

*BUMP*

[Nismo1182]

I still say go with the RX-7. Reliability opinions go both ways. I know owners who have had very good experiences with them, and some not so good. The biggest difference is usually how well the vehicle was maintained, and how hard it was driven. No engine is going to be reliable past 100,000 if it was beaten on.... except maybe the Toyota 22R and 22R-e.... they LOVE abuse!

You may get a bunk engine no matter what you buy... so that's not much of an issue. Regardless of what you buy, you should thoroughly inspect the entire car including the engine. Bring it to a shop you trust.

Yup, your right on the rotaries and any other normal motor for that fact (except 22R which like you said love to be abused) I rather have an unboosted RX7 since the stress wont be as severe as a boosted one, plus street port is awsome sound to hear So is 10k+ rpms

[Nismo1182]

Apex seal,.. hmm is that much of a cash issue?Meaning, can it be done under $200-300?

And thanks for the replies guys, id still like to see a few more votes.

BTW the only prob with the 300zx is that it would have to be twin turbo, and those are hard to find here in caly at a reasonable price, or find at all. My limit will be $10,000, don't want to finance anymore than I should

I dont know about 200-300 bucks since ive never worked on a rotary, but i do know it requires the engine to be pulled out and taken apart to change those seals on the rotor tips.

[klorocks]

All right, gonna start searching next week....dont know if anyone cares or not but Im gonna stick with Nissan. Gonna do a Ka-T s14. Just wondering, Think i should Go with a cheaper 95-96 and do the turbo right away on a higher milage car, or get a low miles 97-98 and wait a while (3 months topps) to do the turbo?

Annnd, uhh...any thoughts on a good place to do a turbo setup would be appreciated.

Thanks if anyone replies

[Shawn Watson]

if you want reliability and cheap maintanence go with the newer 240SX. The RX-7's are notoriously under cooled. This causes detonation and just a tiny bit of detonation will kill the apex seals requiring a rebuild. There is no way it can be done for $2-$300. Look through autotrader.com and see how many 80k mile RX-7's are listed with new motors. The FC3 (87-92) RX7's are a little more reliable especially in non-turbo form.

The 300ZX are a good bit more reliable but still are expensive to work on (i just spent $800 for the 60k mile maitenence). They also have a very tight engine bay. They are worth it though.

[TrueSlide]

I say get another s13, perfect car for throwing around!!! You should know that, all good decisions in cars though, good luck.