Importing An Fd Rx-7.

[KezR33]

Hey guys,

Just curious how rare and difficult these cars are to obtain. If one were looking for a RX-7 (series 6+) with no major modifications, and in decent condition how difficult would it be to find? Also, how much would one expect to pay. They seem to average around $25,000 here in Australia.

Cheers.

[Chris Rogers]

would be S7. S6 was sold here.

[KezR33]

Ah okay. I was reading through wiki and read that Australia had some RX7s. How do the S7/8 get here then? I thought we couldn't import cars that were Australian delivered.

[Nee-san]

Just like chris said, series 6 was sold here, 7 and 8 were not.

[Chris Rogers]

Ah okay. I was reading through wiki and read that Australia had some RX7s. How do the S7/8 get here then? I thought we couldn't import cars that were Australian delivered.

or sold between certain dates. hence the reason you cannont comply 91 GTRs.

s6 rx7 was sold here. there are a few grey s6 running around but not many.

[Alkatraz]

Kez,

If you are in WA, I will be putting my series 8 on the market in a few months, once my new 370gt gets a little closer to our shores.

Car is basically stock, Cusco Zero 1 Coilovers are the only major mod apart from a panasonic touchscreen Sat Nav/Ipod/DVD player and small amp and sub in the boot, turbo timer and alarm. It is in very good condition mechanically the only issue is the dodgy Mazda paint that they put on is starting to look a little rough around the edges if you look closely. Still has about 2-2.5 years warrenty on it from the Importer i got it from here in WA, send me a pm if you are interested, i havent really thought too much about selling it yet, been more focused on sourcing the 370gt.

I had basically decided to spend $10,000 - $15,000 on it to turn it into the monster that it should have been out of the factory, if Mazda hadnt needed to stick to a budget and make some money on them, but the Missus cant drive it and it does guzzle fuel like a muthaf'er around town. I'm pretty certain that I am going to be pretty devasted once it is gone, the 370gt is going to the a hell of a lot more luxurious but i dont think I will be as confident flicking through round-abouts at 100kph as in the mazda. I used to live in Kalgoorlie and it was great fun seeing v8's try to keep up and dissapearing into the distance as soon as their was any sort of bend in the road. Nothing funier than seeing someone shit themselves in the rear view mirror when they realise than they shouldnt have followed me into a round-about at 100.

Al

[sinistaGTR]

Be prepared to rebuild a S8 even if its super clean when you bring it in, I was looking for one before i bought my gtr and just found that after about 60000kms its literally a matter of time before a rebuild due to the seals deteriating. Buying one in aus with a rebuilt motor for a little bit more is a near safer option than buying a good standard one then spending 8-10k on a rebuild. The thing that kills them is the heat, the stock twins are terrible and often blow. Good mods to look for are; aftermarket radiator, metal air/water seperator, V mount intercoolers are also good as they provide better air flow to the radiator than a front mount. These mods provide reliability for the 13b. Dont be scared of buying one but do your research into the rx7, like HEAPS of research, there very different to mod to piston turbo cars.

[KezR33]

Yeah I'm aware of the rebuild issue, but my understanding is they're a lot cheaper to rebuild than a piston engine anyway.

I've heard all sort of stories, from people rebuilding them every 20,000ks to people have clocked over 300,000km on their old rotary without an issue.

I understand they have their drawbacks, reliability and fuel consumption being two primary ones, but RX-7 itself is a phenomenal car. They rival Silvia's in weight and balance, yet can compete with the 2JZ in outright power. Plus they look and sound amazing. Damn, I sound like a fanboy already.

[KezR33]

Kez,

If you are in WA, I will be putting my series 8 on the market in a few months, once my new 370gt gets a little closer to our shores.

Car is basically stock, Cusco Zero 1 Coilovers are the only major mod apart from a panasonic touchscreen Sat Nav/Ipod/DVD player and small amp and sub in the boot, turbo timer and alarm. It is in very good condition mechanically the only issue is the dodgy Mazda paint that they put on is starting to look a little rough around the edges if you look closely. Still has about 2-2.5 years warrenty on it from the Importer i got it from here in WA, send me a pm if you are interested, i havent really thought too much about selling it yet, been more focused on sourcing the 370gt.

I had basically decided to spend $10,000 - $15,000 on it to turn it into the monster that it should have been out of the factory, if Mazda hadnt needed to stick to a budget and make some money on them, but the Missus cant drive it and it does guzzle fuel like a muthaf'er around town. I'm pretty certain that I am going to be pretty devasted once it is gone, the 370gt is going to the a hell of a lot more luxurious but i dont think I will be as confident flicking through round-abouts at 100kph as in the mazda. I used to live in Kalgoorlie and it was great fun seeing v8's try to keep up and dissapearing into the distance as soon as their was any sort of bend in the road. Nothing funier than seeing someone shit themselves in the rear view mirror when they realise than they shouldnt have followed me into a round-about at 100.

Al

Sounds like an awesome car mate, but I'm in Victoria and not off my P's for a while which is why I'm considering importing as I have time to wait.

[CT9W]

Truly epic car. Brought in an S6 about 5 years ago and sold it to a dude from QLD - he flew over one night to check it out, left a deposit and organised a truck to ship it a few days later after sending through a bank cheque. This was a 94 model with just over 40,000km on it, and the engine was fine. Sweet sweet rotary goodness.

[sinistaGTR]

Yeah I'm aware of the rebuild issue, but my understanding is they're a lot cheaper to rebuild than a piston engine anyway.

I've heard all sort of stories, from people rebuilding them every 20,000ks to people have clocked over 300,000km on their old rotary without an issue.

I understand they have their drawbacks, reliability and fuel consumption being two primary ones, but RX-7 itself is a phenomenal car. They rival Silvia's in weight and balance, yet can compete with the 2JZ in outright power. Plus they look and sound amazing. Damn, I sound like a fanboy already.

Yes they are cheaper than a piston engine but its still about 8k for someone decent to rebuild them. I did a LOT of research and spoke to many rotary specialists, your honestly better off buying one thats been built with a fresh motor with receipts from a reputable workshop, you will save yourself a lot of time and money. Basically I could get a good stock series 8 for 23-25k (in Aus and imported), I could get a mint Series 8 with a rebuilt motor and bigger turbo for 30k that had 16k worth of receipts for the engine build, turbo upgrade and a lot of the reliability mods such as bigger radiator etc.

Im not trying to turn you off them at all as they are a wicked car (i always wanted a gtr and mine come up at a good price), just research and speak to people that deal with them rather than the stories you have heard, jump on the rotary forums and ask about. I just found anything over 60000kms with a stock motor and it was when it needed a rebuild not if it would need one, the standard seals just let go.

[KezR33]

Thanks for the advice. Did a search and came up with half a dozen forums, which is the primary Australian RX-7/Mazda/Rotor forum that I should jump on?

Cheers.

[Birds]

Been considering these lately too...the engine rebuilds are the only thing turning me off them. Such a shame because the engines feel so nice and smooth to rev. Some very nice and clean 2001 examples came up on J-spec a while ago, estimated cost ready to drive on the road was about 21k. They've certainly come down in price since the Australian dollar is doing well against the yen.

[iamhe77]

then all you need to do is find a 20b

[alr33x]

dcups is up forsale in perth.

get on it.

[xALmoN]

apex seals out.

[Birds]

http://www.j-specimports.com.au/yahoo/2002-Mazda-Rx-7-e103895991.html

Cheap Spirit R...

[PM-R33]

I have always had a bit of a soft spot for the series 8 RX7, very well balanced cars. I think one day I might buy one as a bit of a project car. Wouldn't mind seeing what the rotors are all about

[hksgtrpwr]

Great cars to drive I just wish they required less maintenance like a piston engine does, looks and balance are flawless.

[Beer Baron]

yeah they are awesome and yes they are a bit fragile. the turbos on the S8 are actually very good and make an easy 250kw with basic mods. the factory radiator is already V mount of sorts and actually works pretty well. Personally I bought a Series 8 2001 RZ in japan. it had about 30,000kms but engine was already a little tired so I had a full rebuild done on it in japan at a japanese rotary specialist (amazing work, speed and price). it was fantastic. was putting out around 250kw with just a conservative ECU re-tune, little bit of boost and a nice (LOUD!) exhaust. was such a fun car to drive, amazingly well balanced. makes even a hack driver into some kind of drifting virtuoso. I wouldn't hesitate to own one again but it would have to be another RZ (bit hard as they only made 150 of them) or a spirit R (bit easier as they number in the thousands). I sold my RZ for very low 30K range which was a steal. it had an engine with only a handful of km on it, all the original RZ gear (carbon kevlar recaros, BBS wheels, bilstein suspension etc) along with book and receipts for all the work done.

great car but you need to be prepared to spend the money up front to buy a good one, and then spend the money maintaining it and most likely rebuilding it. if you're after a 'bargain' or a 'cheap one' then they are not the car for you. it will just bring heart ache. if you're buying an FD you should be looking at the top end of the market as tha's where the cars worth buying are. or buy a cheaper one and rebuild immediately.