Some of you may recall, awhile ago I was ready to give up on my 2nd gen. The injectors were clogged, an appex seal was bad, my transmission synchros were shot, the differential was whining, and the power steering rack was shot.

I was ready to cut my losses until, . . I saw an add for a street ported rebuild for a great price posted by Kevin Landers at Rotary Resurrection. I called him up and talked it over with him. He was a straight shooter, he didn't try and push any other parts or services while talking about the engine.

Talking with him later, I mentioned that I needed a bunch of other stuff too to make the car work. Transmission, differential, power steering rack, etc etc. I told him that a third party suggested that I ask him to see if he was interested in installing all of that stuff. Kevin was interested and quoted me an unbelievable price to swap out all of those parts. His prices for parts were in line with market value, and his labor was more than fair.

I live in the South Michigan area and Kevin is down in Eastern Tennessee. I ended up renting a trailer from U-Haul (the only rental company I could find that would rent the trailer one way out of state without getting a truck too) and hauling my car down to him. The trip was almost 600 miles!

Kevin kept me informed through emails and phone calls of how it was going. I requested a lot of extras, I wanted new shifter bushings, throw-out bearing, my injectors sent out to be cleaned, we swapped some parts that I had with some he had, I wanted the 6-ports to be functional, etc etc the list went on and on.

The first trans that he put in he wasn't happy with the way it shifted, so he swapped it with another one FOR FREE! Most people wouldn't have informed me being four states away and would have tried to talk their way out of it when I came back to pick it up.

Kevin was able to do everything! The six ports are now working off of the air pump. He had to swap out my new but not working fan clutch with one he knew worked well, he chased my 3800ish hesitation and wired a bunch of grounds, he did all of the oil changes during the break in time, he put miles on it to get it ready for me to pick up, he even detailed the car for me!

IF YOU ARE ANYWHERE NEAR KEVIN AND YOU NEED SOMETHING FOR YOUR 2ND GEN CALL HIM. I'm 600 miles away and am very glad that I did. If it wasn't for him there would be a 7 in a junk yard.

Here's his info;
Rotary Resurrection
Kevin Landers
Specializing in 1986 - 91 RX-7
Parts & Repairs

hypntyz@charter.net
www.rotaryresurrection.com.

-john norton

 

Kevin is a really valuable resource on fc3s_org yahoo group as well. He knows his ****.

Thanks for posting this though, I love it when people get the credit they deserve.

 

Kevin Rocks, I've talked to him a couple times but I still havn't met him and I'm a state away.

 

Indeed Kevin is a great person, and always willing to help other FC owners. I have bought things off of him before, and I highly recommend him for parts or services.

 

Thanks for the recommendations guys. I appreciate it. Im no guru or anything, but I have a fair amount of experience and can do about anything with a 2nd gen so anyone needing services can contact me for a quote and details. I keep a lot of parts on hand as well and sometimes even sell whole FC's local.

Ive also been rebuilding engines lately and it can be done anywhere from ~$800 up depending on the year, condition(damage) and requirements.

hypntyz@charter.net

 

IM also looking for core motors if anyone has a few blown up they need rid of for pretty cheap let me know.

 

I just think it's great Kevin is doing so well. It always seems like most rotary mechanics simply want to ignore the 2nd gen NA. If you want them to fix something or whatever they always seem bothered like they could be doing something else. By Kevin jumping in with both feet he has started a good business from what was just his hobby. We have a local guy who snaps up all of the local "junked" 2nd gens from auctions, etc. but instead of helping the rotary community he charges dealer like prices and since there isn't anyone else local people pay ungodly amounts of money for just normal used parts.
So Kevin!

 

Yeah Im getting my 2nd gen oil cooler from him for my 1st gen cosmo project. Everytime I sent an email he gave me a response the very same day He's been great so far, lets hope I get eveything in good condition...

PS Im considering offering some of my 1st gen expertise to people Im in about the same boat as Kevin. I dont know a whole lot about a 13b EFI, but the 12A I have been in and out of every single nut and bolt!

 

I started into 2nd gens because a) I owed one, then two, then... b) I figured them out pretty quick and thought they were really simple c) they were EVERYWHERE around here for real cheap when not running, yet they were popular among young people when running right d) there are so many of them everywhere that people need alot of parts e) til a year ago NO ONE around here(save knoxville) knew JACK about a rotary. Now there are 2 other shops but they dont deal like I do

Its just like when I went to buy an engine stand and hoist last month. I tell teh guy I need the lightest duty set he has. HE tells me he only sells one hoist rated at 3 tons, so I say Ill take it. FOr stands, he has 3 varieties. One 750lb, one 100lb, and one 1 ton I think. ANyway he's like what are you working on, cause I wouldnt recommend that 750 for anythig but a 4cyl. I tell him mazda rotary engine, and he just looks at me. HE's like yeah but how many cyliders? I was like ROTARY ENGINE, no cylinders, weighs 250 fully assembled w/ accessories. He's like yeah but is it a 4 cylinder or what cause... I was like "yeah its a 4 cyl, give me the 750lb one" just to get it done.

 

I thought you put a four cylinder in my car? Are you telling me you didn't?



Just Kidding!

 

I also highly recommend Kevin.I bought my 88 10th A.E. about 4 months ago on ebay.I got a great price on the car because the guy thought the engine was bad.The mazda dealership that had the car in tx.sayed that the compression was bad in the rear.It didn't take Kevin but less than a day to get the car going.He resnaked my wiring harness and changed all the fluids.and even droped the car off to me at work.I still have a lot to do to the car and Kevin has been very helpful with all my Questions.So if your just getting started with your rotory and need help in any way Kevin as a great asset to the fc3 community.

 

hey kevin... looks like you are doing well for yourself. CONGRATZ!!

peace

 

yeah, and his car is badass, to boot.

 

Kevin,

Now that's one funny story! I've heard it all before..."How come you have 2 radiators?" I think is the most popular.


...and back on topic...I dealt with Kevin when I lived in the states and had my n/a FC(and I STILL have it by the way) and was considering buying a wing from him. He offered to drive 1/2 of the way there! Right there should tell you something about him

Van