The is a list of how much I have spent so far to restore my baby. There is some things I know I am forgetting but let say this I have replaceed everything except my Fuel pump, Stearing colum, Dif, How much have you other Rx7 guys and girls spent?
Rims .............585.00

Tires ..............265.00

Pedals............19.95

Motor...............3150.00 x2

Water pump.....50.00

Air control........125.00

Trans................150.00 x2

clutch ..............150.00 x2

steering wheel ...105.00

Eibachs .............275.00

KYB struts..........150.00

ignighters.............210.00 Lifetime

alt........................79.00 Lifetime

Radiator................225.00 Lifetime

starter ..................75.00 ten years old now.

Coils ....................25.00 x2

Jacobs Wires.........35.00

Moon roof...............75.00

Strut arm assem.....75.00

paint ......................930.00 total

Weld.......................150.00

Chrome ...................150.00

Silicone vacum...........30.00

Air pump....................25.00

Drums ....................... 40.00

Air cleaner .................25.00

K&N ..........................35.00

Billit Oil cap.................40.00

clutch fan.....................150.00

urathane bushings ........95.00

Car .............................1000.00

Idle comp......................75.00

Oil metering pump .........125.00

Choke valve ...................50.00

Drive shaft......................75.00

intereior ........................ 300.00

Hood .............................75.00

charcoal canister.............50.00

Strut mont .....................35.00

Total ...........................12678.95

 

Well lets see. I stole this 84 gsl for $300. The car ran ok but just wasn't making any real power when i test drove it. A rust free car for $300, . . . couldn't let that slip by. First order of business drain and replace all fluids and put new belts on,$40. At the same time buy 3 new lexan wipers and radiator cap,$25. Remember I'm still having power problems so a new set of NGK's go in and anew fuel filter,$32. That helped only a bit, so we test the pump, it's on the weak side of marginal. $35. Still no joy. Starter dies at this time,$75. The car has the factory original exhaust on and and doesn't have any exhaust velocity,so, $256 later it has a 2.25" full length pipe with a single hi-po cat and hi-flo muffler. Helps, but still will hardly get out of it's own way.

Alright, I'm not even gonna discuss taking the carb off and going through it. I'm just gonna say remember the new plugs? I being the King of attention to detail should have caught this but it wasn't till I was reading a link to this forum,( you people are awesome), that I figured it out. Picture the leading wires on the rear rotor and trailing on the front. Yep, bought it that way. Now I know why it was for sale. All told money wise I've got $927 in it.
Ask me how it runs now. Come on ask.

 

Date Type From Done Mileage Cost
7/30/97 Compression test Tested 105869 $28.89
8/18/97 New fuel tank, fuel filter New/Labor $262.15
9/19/97 Install Parts Labor $150.00
RB Complete Exhaust New $620.00
Strut bar, front New $120.00
Shocks pair (Tokico blues) New $85.00
Struts Pair (Tokico blues) New $130.00
Eibach springs F&R New $175.00
Strut bearing caps New $70.00
Right lower control arm New $93.40
Grant GT Steering wheel & adapter New $100.00
Reuplostered seats $120.00
Fenders cut & trimmed $100.00
9/19/97 Tranny lube & rearend new $12.00
9/19/97 Coolant new $10.00
Rear lower bar links pair new $180.00
9/19/97 Rear lower bar links install labor $11.00
9/19/97 Flush & fill radiator, oil and rear labor $44.91
Dyna-Lite Rims 15x7 used $200.00
2/3/98 Kuhmo 225/50/15 tires, 4 New $500.00
2/16/98 Lower bar install labor $64.20
3/13/98 Stock connecting pipe new $54.91
4/23/98 Alignment & bushings New/Labor 106285 $128.35
4/29/98 Tighten rear suspension Labor $51.36
12/7/98 Fuse links, hoses, inter misc Mazdatrix new $120.26
12/13/98 Replaced all lights & fuses Parts America new 106932 $25.74
12/29/98 Replaced faulty tach ThePartsTrader used $20.00
12/30/00 Bought set of stock rims for winter ThePartsTrader used $150.00
1/23/99 Replaced faulty alternator Auto-Zone rebuilt 106932 $130.57
1/29/99 Winter tires - real nice pretty ones Goodyear new 106933 $266.99
2/1/99 Oil Change BBC 106933 $21.20
2/2/99 Sony ES CDX-C780 w/remote Crutchfield new $410.00
2/2/99 Blaupunkt 6.5", 5.25" speakers Crutchfield new $110.00
2/2/99 Installed CD Player and front and rear speakers Labor $100.00
2/10/99 Air filter kit - Bonez Rotary Perf new 107646 $130.00
2/10/99 Installed Bonez filter Labor $50.00
2/20/99 Oil Change Jiffy Lube 107838 $21.19
3/4/99 New brake rotors & bearings (not installed) Rotary Perf new $445.29
3/5/99 wiper blades, cap & rotor Auto-Zone new 108440 $30.77
3/5/99 plug wires, FI cleaner Auto-Zone new 108440 $14.73
3/12/99 Spark plugs NGK-BR8EQ-14 Mazdatrix New $30.72
3/12/99 Headlight rods, Injectors O-rings, grommets, intake gaskets Mazdatrix New $74.12
3/12/99 MSD 6A, 2 Blaster 2 coils Summit Racing new $198.95
3/12/99 RX-7 Side emblems Mazdatrix New $22.12
3/13/99 Dyno session 106.6HP 115.1TQ Kenny Brown Labor $50.00
3/22/99 Installed MSD box and coils in custom mounted bracket Labor $150.00
3/23/99 Autometer A/F gauge Summit Racing new $55.95
4/2/99 Oil change BBC 109,008 $21.20
5/20/99 Oil change BBC 111,389 $21.20
7/7/99 Flexlite FLX-30 Electric fan Summit Racing new $140.95
7/7/99 Installed Fan and wiring Labor $50.00
7/7/99 Morroso Spark plug wires Summit Racing new $29.95
7/20/99 Built and designed custom coldair encloser for air filter new $500.00
7/21/99 Installed air box and all new radiator mounts Labor $100.00
7/30/99 Built and designed custom rear cover area in aluminum Labor $100.00
7/31/99 Installed rear cover and sound dampening material Labor $50.00
9/2/99 Oil change BBC 114,212 $21.20
10/12/99 Dzus fastners and misc Racer Wholesale new $45.55
10/13/99 Radiator cap, water level sensor, dual pully, misc Mazdatrix new $98.00
11/13/99 Kicker 8" Comp VR's w/wiring Car Audio Design new $226.32
11/13/99 Puchased fiberglass rear speaker enclosures for 2 -8's eBay used $150.00
11/14/99 Installed rear speakers into custom fiberglass enclosures Labor $100.00
11/17/99 Soundstream P203, Coustic 6.5" Sound City new $130.90
11/19/99 Installed Amp and front speakers into kickmount pods Labor $100.00
12/31/99 Oil change BBC 117,398 $21.20
1/15/00 Realized winter sucks $-
3/24/00 Oil change BBC 119,445 $23.36
5/5/00 Enkei RS-E 16x7 , Nitto 555R 205/45/16 set of 4 Discount Tire new 121,150 $1,175.24
5/5/00 Installed new rims Labor $50.00
5/17/00 Oil change BBC 121,242 $23.36
4/10/00 Morosso battery box, plastic tubing Summit Racing new $113.48
4/10/00 2Ga power wiring, shrink tubing, misc Parts Express new $42.21
4/12/00 Installed rear mounted battery box and wiring Labor $150.00
7/10/00 Vacuum hose kit, fuel pressure gauge, gauge fittings Summit Racing new $56.00
7/12/00 Cleaned & Calibrated injectors - 588/680cc 656/681cc RC Engineering Labor $59.00
7/12/00 Headlight rods, Injectors O-rings, grommets, intake gaskets Mazdatrix new $149.50
7/12/00 Cleaned & Polished intake, throttle body, many hours labor Labor $150.00
7/18/00 Fuel injection hose Advanced Auto new $6.89
7/19/00 Installed new intake, injectors, fuel hose, gauge. Ect Labor $150.00
7/19/00 painted motor block, engine parts, cleaned, cleaned, cleaned Labor $50.00
7/22/00 Oil change BBC 123,995 $23.36
9/2/00 Car involved in Hit-n-Run / Damaged rear quarter and area 125,000
12/12/00 not much done in the last couple months, waiting for spring
2/7/01 HKS Air flow meter adapter for FC AFM K2 Racing new $25.00
3/13/01 4 Puck Clutch / HD Pressure plate / throwout bearing / seals Mazdatrix new
3/13/01 Clutch Master Cylinder / Slave / Hose Mazdatrix new $467.49

ok, So its been WAY to much, with the cost of the car $13,000
for sale for $1500

 

What have you all lost your minds! My wife has access to the computer! Stop it!

(In the background you’ll hear)
Yes dear they are just joking; these cars are real cheap to keep. I’ve never spent that kind of cash on any of my toy cars.

 

Let's see...

Car: $750
Battery: $50
Radiator: $125
Clutch: $125

This was all fine and good.... for stock. I don't count the cost of tires, because I change tires at least once a year, which is more often than some RX-7 owners change their oil. I'm on my third set now. I got bored so I started to do some mild mods...

MSD setup: $250
Used engine: $200 (included tranny and new clutch)
Header: $130
Gasket kit: $90
Porting: Free
Race Readies: $50 (for pair, only one used)
Energy Suspension rear bushings: $60 (only lower links installed)
DOT-R tires on 13x7 rims: $200 (includes special lug bolts)
Electric fan setup: $150 (way too much for what I got)

Beating Preludes, Neons, Civics, and various sport sedans: Priceless

So that's, uh, $1050 for the car including immediate maintenance, and $1130 for mods, and you could probably subtract the $125 clutch from that because clutches are just maintenance wear items, and the used engine came with one anyway. After 30k of use it was worn out and slipping a little...

You know, it's kinda sick that I've burnt out one clutch, scorched through three sets of tires, devoured more spark plugs than I care to count, but my front brake pads are still the same ones that were on the car when I bought it at 89k. It's at 129,7k now, and the pads aren't even half worn yet. Sick!!!

 

:p

I hate to think about this subject.

Actually, since we do all the work ourselves, I probably only have about $20,000 in my car, not counting spare parts (I have an extra engine, 2 trannies, 2 rear ends, brakes, body parts, etc). My guess is it would've cost $35,000 to have it built by somebody else (still not counting spares).

But, it's worth every penny!

 

Well, Shoot-fire, Trailhands....

Ain't able to list all the upgrades, and refurbishments, on my two 7's....Suffice to say I've got a very tolerant, lovely, and understanding wife. So instead of car money, let's talk "Garage expenditures."

New air compressor....$400
New air tools...$400-$500
Air hose...$60
Wrenches....$300
Pliers...$150
Screwdrivers, hand and electric....$175
Ratchets....$250
Sockets....$250
Nuts & Bolts....$100
Floor Jack, bottle jack, and Stands....$250
Creeper....$30
Garage lighting, work lights....$150
Tool boxes....$250
Vise, electric drills, bench grinder....$200
Taps and Dies....$150
Battery Charger, timing light, test tools....$300
Heat, fans, stereo...$200
Work bench, seats, shelves...$300
Specialty tools....$200
Oil....by the case, always 3 cases on hand
Oil filters...by the six pack
Brake fluid...by the quart
MMO...by the gallon
Coolant...Always 6 gallons on hand
Floor-dri...Always two 50 lb. bags on hand
Lubricants, grease, penetrant, WD-40, etc.....Cheez, $150?
Brake-Parts cleaner....by the case
Buffer, waxes, rain-X, Armor-All....Maybe $75
Torches...$75
One Bad, Nasty-*** Garage Cat to Guard 7th Heaven Garage,and the corncrib.... Feed, Collar, burial services for hapless victims...$ 10 a week...
Soda, coffee, cigarettes....$50 a week

Crew...Wife, 3 Sons....Priceless
Vehicles: '94 MX-6, '90 Honda Accord, '89 Mazda GXL, '85 GSL, '84, and '85 GSL-SE, and one '67 MG midget

Discounts: Turned wrench for Shell Station 5 years, Now working part-time for Sear Hardware

Fun & Satisfaction....Yooooo, Betcha!

A tip of the Stetson,
Denny, from the 'ol corncrib...

 

'84 GSLSE runs like crap $500
+ TSP & O2 sensor $300
+ Lots of reading and advice from this board (thanks!)
= Runs like HELL on wheels.

+ '65 MG Miget (not exactly bolt on)
= ???? More to come!!!

 

Is that good or bad?????? :p

 

Denny, I only dream of a fully pimped-out garage like yours...

Right now I live downtown and park my silver steed in an underground parking garage, where I work on my car, wash my car and occasionally do burnouts the whole length of the place (slick cement floor - FUN ).

My friends laugh at me since my room is so full of car tools, parts, etc., that all floorspace and shelving is entirely obscured!!

All of you with decked out garages are lucky boys and girls...

And I don't even want to add up what I've spent so far, sometimes it seems like tuition comes secondary to my rotary pursuits. And saving.... what's that? I cannot be held financially responsible for my actions when Mazda releases a new one next year

 

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by Rotary-MG
= Runs like HELL on wheels.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


The entire character of the car changed from extremely bad to awesome with just those new parts. I took a risk buying a cheap -SE knowing that it bucked like a one legged horse. But my amaturish knowledge of rotaries paid off. The prior owner wouldn't have sold the car so cheap if he'd only known how little it took to fix it. For once I feel like all this time spent on this hobby paid off for me. Sometimes the biggest impacts aren't all about money, but time/effort/homework/bloody knuckles!

Many of you guys on this board know that money is often the limiting factor, myself included. So we do what we can to get the most bang for the buck. We turn our own wrenches, and work on older cars, get creative, bend a few laws, and sometimes challenge Physics.

Money spent is easy to quantify.
Time is the difficult one to answer.
We'll eventually end up with more money than time.

 

Rotary-MG,

That's great news that you go the car running so well! Wasn't sure what side of hell you were running on, mine has wavered between happy hell and what the hell.

"We'll eventually end up with more money than time."

Do you have any ideal on what time we see the money? I feel like I’m running out of time.............

 

P.O.S.
Even as a stiff, I'm sure our bodies would be worth something to someone. Either as scientific experiments, crash test dummies, organ donors, or food for worms.

$/t

$ = numerator (money)
t = denomenator (time)

if t=0 then it won't matter how much $ you have, since you'll have zero time to enjoy it. Usually true at the end of your life.

Theoretically, it is possible to die in debt, therefore have negative net worth vs. zero time, and blowing my theory out of the water.

But I'm not going to wait that long to find time and money to work on my car(s)!!!

 

I Bought The Car For 1,200 $
Moonroof 47.00 $
Door panels / Tail lights 42.00 $
LSD Disk Brake Rear End 110.00 $
Mariah Mode Four 550.00 $
Panther 15x7 Wheels 711.00 $
Need To Install The Mariah,Waiting For Wheels(ups) Then Tires

 

For those of you that want decked out garages, you can get a lift for under 3 grand.

When I get the townhouse off my mother when she retires, first thing that happens is a garage will be built, screw the front yard, it's gravel driveway anyhow, not like I can grow grass there. Hopefully I can swing a 12 Foot ceiling. If that happens, it's lift time. I'm sick of jacks and ramps.

 

12 000 USD - you can change for FD!!