I don't want to make this too long, but I do want to cover everything...

I flew from the Bay Area California to Bellingham, Washington to see a 1990 GTUs. Found on craigslist advertised as just a 90 rx7, but from the pictures I knew what it was. Manufactured in 7/89, serial number 80001. I attached a few pics that the dealer sent to me. Cosmetically it looked good and the dealer told me it was perfect mechanically.

When I got there they couldn't get it to run, it would start, but stall almost immediately. After messing with it quite a bit, they finally got it to run by disconnecting the SAFC from the ECU, but it idled really rough and low, stalled a few times too. But despite that it drove good. I had already flown there and he dropped the price from 3500 to 3100, plus it was a rare 90 GTUs. I hoped that the problem was minor and bought it right there.

I stayed an extra night so I could take it to a rotary shop to have it looked it. The next morning I drove it to Atkins Rotary whom I had heard and read about a while back, even bought their overhauling VHS from back in the days (dunno where that is anymore). Literally a few blocks away from them the car's coolant alarm went off. I pulled over and let the car cool down, it didn't overheat just yet.

I don't even know where to begin, Dan, Justin, and everyone else at Atkins is just awesome and they are all truly great people. They shared some of the BBQ with me, gave me some useful tips/advice, gave me some suggestions about my car, Dan checked a few things for me and told me I might have a problem with no fan shroud, but it didn't seem like too big of a deal at the time since I hadn't seen my car overheat or the temp going above halfway (which he also told me is a wee bit too high). He told me to be careful and watch the temp and gave me his cell humber in a case of an emergency. It really was fun while it lasted, but I had to go and Dan sent me off with a couple parting gifts one of which was a jug of coolant which came in REALLY handy.

I drove off thinking it was going to be a straight shot home. After about 50-70 miles, by that time I had stopped paying attention to the temp, the coolant alarm went off again and the temp gauge maxed out! I pulled over immediately and turned off the car. Man it looked bad under the hood and HOT. I called Dan and told me to go see Lopi (sp?) at Auto Import Repair just a few exits away from where I was at.

Lopis, apparently, is the only Rotary expert in his area. Him and Les are really cool people. He took a look at my car, told me my idling issue might be the TPS being off, the engine still looked ok (no pressure build up in the hoses), and that my biggest problem is not having a fan shroud to direct cool air to the radiator. He basically told me if I tried to go home, the car would be toast and I would be stuck. He couldn't help with with any repairs because he didn't have the part and plus he was very busy, actually at the time, it was pulling an engine to rebuild from another rx7. But he was kind enough to let me stay and keep my car there until I find help.

Again I called Dan and he contacted one of his buddies, Nochi (sp?), Boost Lee here on the forums. Told me he might have one or he might be able to pull one off an S4 in the morning, but would also have to mod it a bit.

 

Your dream sounds more like a nightmare :o

 

So you're stranded with 'Lopis' in Wahsington still? Sorry for the bad luck. But thats a beautiful car, especially for $3100. Great find, and keep us updated

 

Finally, Boost contacted me and he had one from an S4. He drove all the way down to meet me and even told me he could help me install it. By that time Auto Import had closed. Talk about a life saver. Boost is a very cool guy to say the least, laid back, knowledgeable as well, and creative. It was impromptu and the tools were a little less than perfect for the job, but somehow he got everything to work and fit. He spent a lot of time and great deal of energy, cutting the shroud to fit and getting it to screw on as best as he could and refilling my coolant. On top of that he also gave me some pointers and things to look out for. With the fix, I was able to drive straight home right after, 12 hours straight, and the car didn't give me ANY troubles. Boost, again, is one very cool guy and he has a VERY nice ride too!

It was really a great experience, though at moments it was frustrating and scary. Dan was really the key to all of this, without his orchestration, none of it would have been possible and when he wasn't available, Justin was there and he was just as helpful and courteous. They were both extremely patient with me, stuck with me, and answered all of my annoying questions and what not. I feel very fortunate to have met everyone from this trip. I still can't believe I made it home.

I'm going to try to keep this car for as long as I can and learn as much as I can, before i move on to maybe a TII or even an FD. Thank you all for reading...I also want to apologize if I missed anything...I'm very tired right now...

 

That story was a nice read - we rotards have to stick together!

 

OP rules. sweet story. if that was me, i would have taken the GTUs back to the dealer and made them give me some money back.

lets give it up for atkins!!!

 

looks like u need a fan shroud for yrou clutch fan.. I have one to sell you 30.00 shipped (sorry it is large, and in perfect condition)

good luck on the car

 

^Boost lee gave him one already haha.

Great story.

 

welcome to the club. Where in the bay are you? Add another GTUs to the Yay area!!

 

So... your low coolant alarm went off because you don't have a fan shroud?

Something isn't making sense here. Your fan shroud will make little difference in cooling unless you are standing still. You need to find out where your coolant leak is.

 

Glad you made it home ok, also it was no problem in helping you out as we all need that from time to time.....


Dan

 

you have an Ebay store???? brb.

BTW, it's great to see others helping those in need like this case. Makes me realize not all of our society has deteriorated completely and there are still good people out there.
with that said^^: NEVER EVER EVER go to the Stealership. EVER!!!! I recommend OAKTREE MAZDA (depending on where you live) for parts but I would never let them touch my car, again. AND that's the dealership I DO like!!!!

 

Get rid of that foam air-filter. Those things are worthless!

 

The car is missing the plastic ducting pieces near the hood latch, which results in the ram air being able to bypass the radiator. Also, the fan shroud probably does aid airflow through the radiator at higher vehicle speeds. If you look at Formula cars and aircraft, you will see that there is usually ducting at both the front and rear of the heat exchangers.

That's a myth due to:
1) People not replacing them at the proper interval or attempting to wash them, and then complaining when they start to disintegrate.
2) A bogus air filter infomercial that Apexi vendors disguised as a "test" for an automotive magazine

However, I do think that a good pleated gauze filter is a little better.

 

You think this is because of the venturi effect?

Ahh... well. Aaron Cake usually tells people they are junk-o-la... and most people usually agree...

I always thought the particle size allowed through the foam was greater than the size allowed through the gauze/K&N type filter. Good to know otherwise though.

 

I actually like the local dealership. The people there are very nice and friendly. I was talking about my car and he said that they won't even work on RX-7's there due to the time and specialized knowledge involved. When I asked him about RX-8's he just rolled his eyes. That makes me glad I don't have an RX-8 that I have to take there for warranty stuff.

 

Remember it is a LOW COOLANT alarm, not a high temp alarm.

Exactly, couldn't have said it better myself.

except that I personally believe that the HKS they used in the test was a HK knock off... or a improperly installed one. I still don't recommend that type of foam filter though just because people don't change them when they are dirty or they try and clean them.

 

Yes, it uses Bernoulli's principle, but in an opposite manner. A Venturi tube has a restriction in the center which decreases pressure and increases velocity at the center. A heat exchanger duct has a restriction at the inlet and outlet which increases pressure and decreases velocity at the center where the heat exchanger core is mounted.

It depends on the composition of the filter and whether or not it is oiled. The original poster's car appears to have the HKS kit, which is probably the best foam filter kit available for the FC RX-7. People have been using the HKS kit for years with no problem just as long as the filter is replaced at regular intervals.

If you are concerned with keeping every little bit of dirt out of your engine, then a high-quality paper filter is your best bet. I have not seen any proof that this makes the engine last any longer vs. other filter types, but to each his own.

 

jonesfromindia

I just couldn't pass up a true hardtop 90 GTUs

SpooledupRacing

if I can't find one locally I'll definitely take yours, the one I have now is a modified S4's which is working fine, but it's loose since only some of the screw holes line up and not all of them...

Hey Phoenix7, I'm originally from San Francisco but I live in Hayward now...I think I read somewhere that there are weekly meets in Union City....I'll have to check that out...

Here I thought I could just get the car and start upgrading the suspension, but now it looks more like I really need to get the cooling system down. I will definitely get a better intake filter and work on the other components.

Also, do you guys recommend getting an E-fan? Which ones are good?

 

He had no undertray or fan shroud. Which I'm asusming was the cause of him overheating and pushing out all the coolant. Now that I think about it, his radiator cap seemed kind of weak (allowing overflow into the bottle), but since his fan clutch was locked/seized (broken) it probably did the job of keeping him cool (after the shroud was installed) with the engine at speed at the expense of power. I did inform him of the fan clutch being frozen and its potential effects.

 

Well, to me, "fan shroud" = the shroud around the clutch fan, not the front plastic ducts.

I can see the missing plastic being a problem, I just find it hard to believe that the lack of a fan shroud could cause the car to overheat enough to blow out all the coolant and turn on the buzzer.

 

Welcome to the bay.. Great story and what a nice FC

 

Welcome the guy? Lool looks like he has been a member since '01!

 

Awesome story. Seeing people actually help is where it's at. It's just too bad this area isn't more populated with these types of people :p

 

didn't you get the memo DL?????There is a secret GTUs club that only the elite FC owners belong to. seriously, i didn't notice but I was welcoming him to the GTUs club (so far I know of 5 including his in the area) 1 black, 1red, 2 white( one in SJ and one in Oaktown), and his.