ddub

So I just found out my grandfather put money in a CD for me 20 months ago and it matures on Aug 2nd. I'm going to be cashing it and getting about 1200 dollars instead of rolling it back over for another 20 months. Now the question is, what should I do? I'm going to spend it completely on my rx7 because I have no bills right now (still live with parents), nothing needs to be fixed on the 7 and most of the tune-ups I've already done periodically since I've gotten it, and nothing else to really spend it on. I've come up with some ideas:

1. Pull the motor myself and have a local shop do a large streetport for me (no rebuild) and put on a lightweight flywheel while I'm at it. This would pretty much take care of all the money after labor, parts, etc.

2. Pull the motor myself, port it myself, rebuild it myself, and put on a LW flywheel myself. This one I was originally going to do because of cost, but now that I have the money do I really trust myself enough to do this? I'm almost positive I could rebuild and port it myself if I take my time, but just like anything something *could* go wrong and I'd be fucked whereas a shop would have to fix it.

3. Pull the motor myself, port it myself (no rebuild), put a LW flywheel on, and use the rest of the money to go towards my future 6port turbo job.

4. All the money towards my 6port turbo job (already have the turbo and a couple other parts, just need some ss braided lines, intercooler, piping, flanges, custom downpipe, bov, etc). The job would be done by me and the intercooler piping and downpipe would be custom made by me and my friend.

5. Cosmetics, like paint, fixing a couple dents, etc.


FYI, as far as rebuilding goes I don't *need* one really in any way. My car runs great, strong, pulls hard, no smoking at all, no leaks, no symptoms, just general maintenance things come up that is normal with any used car. My car is exhibiting all the signs of a strong motor and has supposedly been rebuilt (according to who I bought the car from) by atkins rotary but I am really not sure if that is true or not. Has 150k on the clock currently, so it does seem like it's running extremely well for a 150k engine, but who knows. I did a compression test a long time ago and got about 105 on the front rotor and 95ish on the rear with a piston compression tester but it was having some leaking problems. I just did another compression test recently with the same tester that is now having even more leaking problems and could only get about 95 on front 90 on rear, but I have no idea if that is because of the leaking or if my compression really did fall that much in about 3 months. It's my philosophy that compression is really only something to be worried about once the engine is exhibiting signs of it going bad. I mean, if it's running good and strong, no smoke, no problems, then I shouldn't worry, right? Give me your input.


Those are the ideas I have so far, I'm kind of leaning towards number 3. Paint and such is really last on my list, but it's an option

If you've got any other ideas or suggestions I'd be glad to hear it, anything at all that you dont see listed but think it would be good. I also have some other funds of my own that will be going to a wideband 02 and data logger for logging a/f ratios and tuning purposes, so whatever route I go I'll be able to tune properly. Thanks for any help/input, I'd appreciate it.

DEZERTE

What i realized, is that I could do mods on my NA til im blue in the face, and still get spanked by lightly modded T2's.. so what I would do with it, is put it towards your turbo project ... Thats just me though.

PS. I definetly wouldnt do any more performance mods until the turbo add-on is complete, I dont believe anything will yield better results than that for as much as your going to spend (i believe you said 700$ for the add on?)

razorback

give it to me

or rebuld it with a bigger port

ddub

That's true, but with a streetport it'd help with the turbo job a lot, more power all over, and the LW flywheel would be great fun too. So I'm wondering whether to turbo first, or port. I'm gonna get the port and LW flywheel eventually anyways, so it's just a decision of what I want first.


PS-
I was hoping to do it for around 700, yes, but I wouldn't be surprised if it ran a little more. So far I'm at 150 bucks and that was with a good condition s5 turbo with wastegate and everything, 2 550cc injectors, and a spare oil pan. Sure it might yield the most gains, but with a large streetport and some exhaust port work, I could spool the turbo up even faster and gain even more power. Like I said, the port work is definately something I am going to do, it's just hard for me to decide what to do first.

ddub

You think I should rebuild? I'm really debating on whether I should or not. It isn't needed, but it would ensure not having to do it later, that's for sure.

DEZERTE

Yeah.. Id still go with the turbo first though. just 'cause.

DEZERTE

you just run it til it quits, or blow it with the turbo, so you can break in the new engine with the turbo on it already.

ddub

Well that's the other thing. If I did the turbo first and eventually burnt my engine out and did a port and a rebuild, I would not break the motor in with the turbo. I'd want to do the full break-in procedure running no boost at all to ensure a better and kinder break-in job.

Syonyk

Put it in the bank for the next catastrophic failure?

-=Russ=-

ddub

Oh yah and I have the option of some supporting mods with the turbo as well, to make sure everything is running better. I'd probably want to get a koyo radiator when going turbo, and I just bought an 85 psi oil pressure regulator for higher pressure (which I thought I should have when going turbo).

ddub

Haha, I could... but if I'm always planning on something going wrong then I'd never be modding my FC, would I? You can't always plan for the worst to happen, sometimes you just gotta roll with the punches and hope for the best. If something happens then oh well, you deal with it and move on. I have a second vehicle to drive if anything really bad happens to my rx7. I drive both of them pretty much equally right now depending on my mood and where I'm going, so if it really comes down to it and something happens to the rx7 and I dont have the money to fix it right away, I can park it for a while and drive my other car full time.

razorback

how many miles are on the motor?

and if you do go the turbo route down the road woudlnt you want a good strong fresh motor so you can enjoy it for a while?

thats just my thinking.

ddub

"FYI, as far as rebuilding goes I don't *need* one really in any way. My car runs great, strong, pulls hard, no smoking at all, no leaks, no symptoms, just general maintenance things come up that is normal with any used car. My car is exhibiting all the signs of a strong motor and has supposedly been rebuilt (according to who I bought the car from) by atkins rotary but I am really not sure if that is true or not. Has 150k on the clock currently, so it does seem like it's running extremely well for a 150k engine, but who knows. I did a compression test a long time ago and got about 105 on the front rotor and 95ish on the rear with a piston compression tester but it was having some leaking problems. I just did another compression test recently with the same tester that is now having even more leaking problems and could only get about 95 on front 90 on rear, but I have no idea if that is because of the leaking or if my compression really did fall that much in about 3 months. It's my philosophy that compression is really only something to be worried about once the engine is exhibiting signs of it going bad. I mean, if it's running good and strong, no smoke, no problems, then I shouldn't worry, right? Give me your input."

SonicRaT

iTrader: (6)

Rebuild first, then turbo shortly afterwards. It's the cheaper path as to sending a seal out the *** and ruining the rotor/housing/possibly turbo/etc.

gergrx7

oh well at 150k i woud rebuild + port. you dont haev to do a full rebuild but if you see parts that are worn get new ones. youll need at least all the basic parts. and do it your self.

ddub

If I was going to rebuild I'd get an atkins rebuild kit with 3mm apex seals and then basic component for everything else. I'd just get a basic rebuild kit since my engine is in pretty good condition as it is. While it was out I'd definately port the hell out of my exhaust and do a large streetport on the intake ports. When doing this I'd do the flywheel no matter what, since the engines going to be out I might as well, much easier. So I'd need the rebuild kit, special tools needed for the flywheel job, special engine stand adapter thing, templates, rebuild video, etc. I think in the end the rebuild kit, tools, templates, video, flywheel, etc would be close to 1000 or so, depending. Plus I'd already have the wideband and data logger to tune my freshly ported motor.

And again, it'd work out well with the break-in procedure since I want to break it in with no boost anyways.


This is good, leaning more towards the rebuild along with port now, and probably doing it all myself. Thanks for your input guys, keep the suggestions coming if there's anything else I've overlooked that you think would be beneficial or have another idea.

Madrx7racer

if it ain't broke....don't fix it........roll it over another 20 months and get more money to finish the Turbo project.....and if you don't want to do it then you can sell your car AND have the money to buy an actual TII......or save it some more and have even more money for when you want to move out.......don't blow it all on the car.....think ahead man....

ddub

As I learned thanks to my MacroEconomics course at college, rolling it over may yield a greater amount of money, but not necessarily a greater amount of wealth. We are in a time of recession and thus bond prices and yielding interest rates are low, therefore the interest rate I will obtain on the CD will not yield much of a profit. Furthermore, this interest rate will remain fixed for the 20 months even if market interest rates rise to a higher level, unfortunately.

In addition, 1200 dollars now might be "worth" more than the amount (say 1400 or so) that will yield after another 20 months. With inflation, increase in interest rates, and other market activity, my 1400 dollars 20 months from now might actually be worth less than 1200 dollars in todays money terms. Therefore it is my belief that rolling it over in the account again will not be the best option. Furthermore, if I roll it over I will then have to pay fixed taxes on the interest I earn. Taxes + inflation + probably rising interest rates = lower wealth than if I sold it now. This is all my interpretation after reading the financial statement of my account and checking future market interest rates.


On another note, I love my car and do not want to sell it just to get a TII. I would much rather have a turbo'd 6port, sounds much more fun to me. Sure I could be like all the sheep out there and drop in a turbo motor or sell it for a TII, but why be like everyone else? My car means more to me than that. And I dont see it as "wasting" my money on the car. These are things I want to do and will do eventually. If I had bills to pay, lived on my own, or had other financial problems I wouldn't even think twice about putting it into some other kind of account or something for the future. But I dont, so I'm spending it on something I will enjoy. I have another 3 or 4 years until I'm done with my Masters in business and move out of my parents house (yes I'm going to live with them all through college most likely) so I still have a ways to go before I have to start saving and planning more towards the future.

My .02

SonicRaT

iTrader: (6)

lol, that's one hell of way to say you want to spend the money now

DEZERTE

my rebuild SP engine has 10k miles on it, would it be ok if i turbo;d it now? its freshly broken in, but there was no boost introduced..

ddub

Thanks

Money now > money later, maybe that's a simpler way to put it

ddub

Yep, from what RETed has said before, after 2k your break-in for an n/a is done, but a turbo'd motor isn't fully ready to be pushed to the limits until 10k, something like that. So you're golden.

nonameo

Actually, I would fix up the body of your car. It will improve the way you feel overall. (IMO anyways... I like having a clean looking car.)

87base RX-7

well u could save it till u have 4 grand or so and get a camden sc kit?

ddub

I agree with that, but there's nothing majorly wrong. I just recently bought a ding king too in hopes to fix a couple dents. Paint is ok, not great, not bad. I've done an s5 bumper conversion, s5 tail lights, s5 moldings, and am in the process of converting my whole interior to black (almost done just need the black door panels) so I think I'm pretty good feeling about it for now. That's kind of why I wanted to go more for performance since I've done cosmetics lately.

If someone can convince me otherwise, though, I'd think about it