I've had this car since it was on the showroom and it's been in my garage for five years now with a blown motor. Looking for responsible and expert RX7 tech to rebuild and reshape the car. Any leads? At this point, I'm most interested in a responsible mechanic.

 

Kevin Landers http://www.rotaryresurrection.com

 

^^^^

How did the motor die? If it was a coolant seal, there might not be much salvagable after 5 years.

 

I'm not sure what happened the first time, but I invested $5k in a local shop in Kingsport. They guy used to work at the Mazda Dealership. I gave him $2500 up front and he bought a new motor under the table from somebody in JC took a year to put it in, when I got it back, I drove it for about 10 days and it heated up all along the way and blew up a second time. This time, I took it back and he tried to fix it again (the motor was out of warranty cause he took so long the first time) and he never fixed it again. I paid him $5k and finally just took it home. His wife died, etc., etc., etc., etc., and he never made good on the deal. I took it to the dealer and the motor cranked, but it was only turning about a 3 in compression so I figure I'm back where I started, but I really would like to get this thing back on the street again. It was the first car I ever paid for and I love it too much to part with it.

Sorry for the dribble. You asked, but I just put a lot of miles on the car the first time. THe $5k debacle was a bad decision.

 

Tim,

I appreciate the link to Rotary Resurecttion, but after reading the guys website, he seems like he doesn't have the time, nor needs the business. That's a good thing, but it's also trouble since I've already been burned before.

Might be a good thing he's honest, but it gives me reason to believe that I should look somewhere else. I appreciate the link though and still looking.


He states;
NOT ACCEPTING any new work until
May 1, at which time I will accept 4-5 new jobs.

Please contact me then. In the meantime, I am not maintaining
a "wait list" or "contact me when" list.

I work from home in a residential area so storage and parking space is very limited. Sometimes my work schedule varies and I may be in and out during the day running errands etc. I also watch my young son during the day and afternoon and start work later in the evening. For these and other reasons, all visits and repairs are done on an appointment only basis. Please contact me via email or phone to set this up, and I will forward address and directions information to you via email.

 

Thats one thing about Kevin Landers(RotaryResurrection), he is very honest and straight-forward. Some don't particularly like his here-it-is approach, but the majority respect him for it. I believe his website hasn't been updated in a while . The site may have meant this past May 1st(3 months ago). I would say just contact him and see what response you will get. Then you will know. I don't really know of any other rotary engine builders in East Tennessee. I was told that Charles and Chad (Fire85GSLSE) began to rebuild engines recently. They are located just south of Nashville. You might want to hit them up as well. Hope this helps.

 

In your case, buying yet another motor might be the way to go. If it died from overheating then I'd say a lot of the internals aren't going to be any good. I don't know how mechanically inclined you are but you might want to pull the motor yourself and at least take a look inside to see what you're up against before making the decision.

There's not any other shops that I know of that do rebuilds here. If anything you may be able to find another forum member who can do it in their spare time.

 

I am currently taking work however the busy season is beginning again so expect a 3-4 week turnaround. I havent been able to get the site updated since May so just ignore what it says there.

I am here to help people, and there is really no other place to go locally unless you want to spend twice as much and travel twice as far. By the same token, I am not here to hold hands or engage in politics because I have other things to do. If you know what you want and want to get exactly what you are promised, then come here. I have done work for people all across the country, I currently have an FD here from cincinnati and an FC here from birmingham. The fact that people are willing to travel or pay for transportation should tell you something...but hey, each to their own. It's like they say, you can lead them to water but you can't make them drink.

The shop in Kingsport was called Pro-1, I believe run by a guy named Allen, and I have mopped up his accidents in the past. As an example, I rebuilt an 87 GXL about 5 years ago that the motor was blown up in, he put over 1000 dollars worth of new TPS/coils/etc. on it and couldnt get it to run, and he claimed not to know what was wrong with it. I took one listen and told the owner what the issue was and that they'd have to have it rebuilt.

 

Yeah, Kevin is the man. I wouldn't take mine anywhere else.

 

Sounds like the first thing you need to do is to start reading up on the motors and try to learn a bit yourself if you have the time or desire.

I would not trust anyone that claims they worked at the dealer. I have heard several stories and have one myself about some crap work they have done.

Kevin is close to you and would be your best bet. Like 85rx-7gsl-se said
Charles and I have build several motors and if you were closer we could take a look at it.

Chad