STOLEN: My 1993 Mazda RX-7

speedjunkie · Postby **speedjunkie** » Sat Oct 04, 2008 9:14

Great to hear you got it back man. I didn't really know anyone from Charlotte, I never made it out there. I was closer to the east side of the state. Yeah come on down if it's still running. Or we'll be up there sometime again too probably. I think Mike B is trying to put together another cruise before winter.

Ranger · Postby **Ranger** » Sat Oct 04, 2008 9:14

Well my intuition was right. I saw it last night...it's not in terrible condition, but it's certainly seen better days. The interior was filthy; the thieves had definitely been smoking in it because I found a few old packs of cigarettes. They scraped the Mazda badges off and there are scratches all around where the badges were. The hood doesn't close right, I think they tried to modify it somehow so that it would let more air in. And it doesn't start.

It could possibly just be flooded, but my guess is they blew an apex seal or two. It just cranks endlessly and there's a strong smell of gas when it cranks. These guys had balls though...they were treating it as if it was their car, driving it around like they weren't even going to get in trouble. They even did work on it! They rigged up some kind of crazy overflow tank for the coolant, and I found directions for installing a new thermostat in the car. I didn't think to check the oil but the coolant in that rigged up overflow tank looked milky. They were definitely running it hard and probably just left it where it was when it didn't start. Anyway...all the documents were still in the car; title, registration, and probably bill of sale (I haven't checked yet). My insurance company is going to come pick it up today and tow it to their salvage yard, where an appraiser will come assess any damages done. I am assuming that since he will know nothing about the car, they're going to have me take it to a shop and find out how much it costs, but we'll see. My local insurance agent is a great guy and I'm sure he'll help me out. Hopefully I will be able to get a new engine / turbos / whatever out of the deal, plus some to repair the damaged areas around where the badges were. I'm just glad I got the car back! I'm so lucky...I would have sworn it was being parted out or on its way to Mexico. Well, I'm trying to make the best of it...the way I see it, this is just a great opportunity to redo the FMIC and radiator to run cooler at higher altitude. And maybe build a 20b

speedjunkie wrote:Great to hear you got it back man. I didn't really know anyone from Charlotte, I never made it out there. I was closer to the east side of the state. Yeah come on down if it's still running. Or we'll be up there sometime again too probably. I think Mike B is trying to put together another cruise before winter.

Sweet, I will definitely come cruise with you guys if I ever get it running again. I might sell it if I can't get anything from my insurance company. How much do you think I should ask for it with a blown motor? Was thinking around $10k since it is really clean and has a bunch of other stuff done to it...exhaust, PFC, FMIC, better radiator, etc...

Low Impedance · Postby **Low Impedance** » Sat Oct 04, 2008 9:14

i might want the REW remains for a NA project

Ranger · Postby **Ranger** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 9:14

Well, I just heard back from Precision...they were able to confirm the engine will need a rebuild. Like I thought, the car had been badly overheated (probably multiple times). They put coolant in and it basically went straight to the combustion chambers. They said it likely has blown oil control seals and the seals between the rotor housings are probably done for too. They haven't torn down the engine just yet, so I'm not sure about the condition of the rotors or the housings. They're going to send some info to the insurance company later today...hopefully the car will be up and running again with a rebuilt motor by the end of November.

GTConversion · Postby **GTConversion** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 9:14

Freakin' animals man, doing something like that to a perfectly good car..

Huzer21 · Postby **Huzer21** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 9:14

That really sucks. Sorry to hear about that. Hopefully, you're rebuilt soon!

Ranger · Postby **Ranger** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 9:14

Yeah, hopefully this process with my insurance won't take long and the rebuild will go quickly. Then I can start bringing it to meets

tbot · Postby **tbot** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 9:14

well look at it this way ranger, u get a rebuilt motor out of all of it...right?!?!

goldrocket · Postby **goldrocket** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 9:14

Sounds like it's time for some street porting.....

supernatural006 · Postby **supernatural006** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 9:14

Sorry to hear about the car but glad they will have it up and running again.

firestoned · Postby **firestoned** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 9:14

supernatural006 wrote:I'll keep an eye out for it also, and pass this on to my friends as well.

woah...thats a delayed comment

supernatural006 · Postby **supernatural006** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 9:14

firestoned wrote:woah...thats a delayed comment

my fault, didn't see the 2nd page.

Ranger · Postby **Ranger** » Tue Oct 28, 2008 9:14

goldrocket wrote:Sounds like it's time for some street porting.....

I agree

I'll have to see if I can fit it into the budget or not. The insurance company is sending someone down to Precision today to talk with them about how much I should be compensated. So we'll see...

Yes, I am getting a new motor out of the deal, but it's kind of pointless because the car already had a just-broken-in motor

Oh well, the way I look at it, it's just a good opportunity to fix the cooling issues the car has.

Ranger · Postby **Ranger** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 9:14

Well the insurance company is now wanting to total my car...Precision told them something like $5400 for a mazda remanufactured engine and labor...which according to the insurance is 55% of the car's value. Supposedly this is "borderline" for them and they may not total it. Personally I think $5400 is way high...anyone else agree? Precision is probably just taking advantage of the fact that an insurance company is going to be paying for this, and they are trying to get as much money out of it as they can. I'm going to have another shop look at it for a second estimate, because if they total it I will be around $5000 out of pocket from what I paid for the car...and I can't let that happen.

goldrocket · Postby **goldrocket** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 9:14

Here's a list of engine builders who can beat that price with a streetport:
http://www.rotarypowerusa.com/services.htm

http://www.yawpower.com/engines.html

http://www.atkinsrotary.com/index.php?pag=9

http://www.banzai-racing.com/engines_main.htm

And of course Mazdatrix.com, for soem reason their site is down at the moment. These guys have all been around for a while. I got mine from Rotary Wharehouse and I am very pleased, but they are not longer around. All of these companies can beat $5400 delivered with a streetport. And beat it by a more than $1000 for your year engine.

STOLEN: My 1993 Mazda RX-7

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