dsmdude2003

ok heres my situation, i am currently a dsm guy, but have found a 1986 se for 1200 and its in good condition? now is this a good deal, it is a manual transmission and the guy told me it comes with 146 hp... now i dont know anythign bout these really so help me out, should i buy the car, and what can i do to improve its performance?

flubyux2

hold out for a Turbo II, or just go 3rd gen.

ive got an 88 SE, N/a 5speed... not as good as id liek, i got it cuz i wanted to get into rx7s.

the only NA rx7 i want now, is either a GTU, or GTUs. no se, no Gxl or any of that.

w/ an NA like that, were pretty much limited to about a 220 HP ceiling, unless we turbo it...and even then, its about 8psi, and not worth the hassle.

save urself the trubble, look for a T2 bro. florida has lots of rx7s for cheaper prices than normal.

chris

dsmdude2003

yea if i was goin to go turbo then i would get a eclipse gsx or a 3rd gen rx7, but 2500 is bout the max i cna spend on a car, and if i go turbo then my insurance will be to high for me, considerin i am 16... yea i would luv to have a 3rd gen but i just cant seem to find any for 2500... any help would be great tho... thnx.. do u have any other places i can look to find these... and i guess im not to worried bout havin a 10 sec. car right now, a 14 sec car would be fine for right now... but any advice qould help me a lot considerin i know nuttin bout these cars, and u guys do so i will listen to u...

flubyux2

14 seconds..could be very hard w/o a turbo. youd need to spend 2500 on UPgrades ALONE...

especially for an 86. i have an 88, and 86-88 are the slow years. 89-91 they had lighter rotors, almost 2 lbs lighter which means faster/higher RPM's. they also added a VDI manifold...variable dynamic intake or something. the NA rx7 gained more horsepower in the 89-92 years. not to mention, they came standard w/ 4 piston brakes. (Correct me if im wrong, O' rotary gods) and WAY better styling, thanks to small details, like body colored rub strips, new corner marker lenses, the famous round taillights, new front air dam w/ optional fog lights.

cuz, my buddy has 92 toyota MR2, single turbo w/ some typical upgrades, and turns mid 14s...

dsmdude2003

aight well thnx for all of ur help, this se just got a new paint job and various other engine parts... but it has a 1500dollar stereo alone, but he just wants to get read of it for 1800 but if i dont buy it then he is goin to strip it.. but i figure if i buy it for 1800 then i can spend my extra cash and buy an intake and the apexn1 exhaust and i will be fine for a while until i can save up enough money to buy another car... im just wantin a car that will hang with or beat, my friends chrysler lebaron convertible, its not the turbo version just the regular 3.0 with 140 hp... but i figured with this i would be able to take him... and hes got a pretty hefty system in there too so i think i got him in wieght area... thnx ryan

flubyux2

Go for it dude!

mine whoops on my buddies Turbo lebaron coupe...course, something might be up w/ his turbo...the car sounds like crap.

good luck!

chris

PaulC

DSM I dont want to sound like Im baggin on ya cause I was where you were when I was 16. But get a car thats fun to drive and isnt too powerful. Drive it for a while and just get used to driving. Tinker with it and keep it running right make it look better, little things. Unless you land that dream job ($10/hr isnt that either) your going to find it very difficult to go out with friends and seriously trick out your car. So stick to learning the basics of repair, maintenance, and driving. That is what Im doing with my nephews and my RX7 (sister lives next door, it wasnt intentional just happened). Im teaching them how to work on cars so when they turn 16 in a year or two they will have the basic repair and maintence down. And again no offence cause your probably a nice kid but if you drive like my nephews friends ......... well lets not go there. Just be safe first and get some miles under your belt before you get serious about racing. And then (being a responsible adult here) do your racing on a track. Its legal and more fun cause you can really let loose. And there are people there with tools and sometimes parts to help bail you out
Oh yea 2500 wont even let you think about a 3rd gen unless its a total POS

dsmdude2003

yea i know what u mean... id like to think of myself as a responsible driver, unlike those honda riceboys... but yea i know what u are sayin bout the money situation... i just wanted this car cause its a pretty good deal and its a 5speed and all so i will learn how to drive the manual tranny better.... well thnx for all of ur advice, and wish me luck on gettin this car.. thnx, ryan

PaulC

hope you enjoy your car i know my NA is a great commuter (even if the AC is aneamic). And I belive everyone should have to drive a standard tranny, I honestly think it would make drivers pay more attention to thier driving as apposed to "soccer moms" driving thier big Stationwagon Utility Vehicles in some oblivious state of cellular chat. They tend not to notice the smaller cars on the road. I dont know about where you live but in 2000 30% of all accidents were in school zones where one mom hit another mom doing less than 10mph waiting to pick up junior so he wouldnt have to walk the 400 yards home.

Ok yet another soap box I will get off of before I really let loose (been doing that a lot today)

MaxRX7

get it, rwd is much better than crawling in a fwd