Mike, from what I have read/heard, the JDM Engines that are for sale are in
most cases ONLY good for rebuilding, that is, for the engine core itself. Just in case you didn't know, JDM stands for Japanese Domestic Market...They ship the engines over here, usually from wrecked cars...Don't go to the Dealership for a replacement engine. I bought my car that had just had an engine placed into it from Mazda. The invoice was over $4000.00 and the only things that are BRAND NEW are the Engine Block and Rotors, all the Gaskets, the Spark Plugs, and all the Clutch components, water pump and a few miscellaneous Hoses and Tubes and such. Basically taking a new core with all of the internal parts new/rebuilt and they will MOST LIKELY take ALL of your old parts off of the engine and put them back on...injectors...sensors...relays...turbos...wiring...exhaust manifold...and so on... An honest opinion... If you have another vehicle that you can drive and don't mind having the RX-7 sit for a while...PART THE CAR OUT...You can make quite a few bucks off of the body and interior alone...Just look at some online retailers that sell Used/Recycled Mazda Parts and then go ahead and ask 25% less, and your parts will definitely go. I am fixing some minor body damage on my '88 Non-Turbo on the driver's side door and having it repainted by one of the guys in the paint booth at work...and then selling the thing...of course yours has a blown motor
but you can still get some money out of the car...My pops kept telling me...if rotary engines were "so great" then every automobile manufacturer would have a rotary of their own...The upkeep on these things if something breaks is pretty expensive. My engine now has just under 9,000 miles on it, and I will be taking a loss selling the car, but if I were you, go buy something that is worth the money, with a "real engine" in it...Just my opinion, but I bought the car from my friend's dad, and the car looks good and it's cool to know that an '88 can outrun some brand new base model hondas and the like, but if it ever breaks, as it has with yours...ouch...I have researched what a blowm apex seal would cost to replace...about $400 for a kit on eBay is the cheapest I have seen. Definitely not fun... If you want to keep the car for its looks, which I have thought about also, but just don't have the time/resources for the job, read up on the internet about converting the vehicle to a small block V8 motor. Seen some really cool sites on this, but of course that's for someone who knows what they are doing, and again have the time/tools/resources for the job...not me. If you do decide to sell your car for parts, which may take some time, but the parts will sell, the interior will most likely go first. Sometimes you will find ads in forums such as this one where people are looking for the whole car with a blown engine, planning to drop their own rebuilt engine into the car, or sometimes they are looking for an engine block to rebuild... Just think of the money it will cost to fix the car and compare it to whether or not the car is really worth it...Kelly Blue Book value is around $3000 for a '88 Turbo RX-7. Fixing the engine would be pretty costly, but your cheapest alternative, compared to dropping a new block into the car, which can easily shoot over the $2500 mark, even when going to a rotarty specialist shop. Don't learn about this car the hard way! I paid way too much for the car to begin with, and as small parts wear out under normal driving conditions...that can get VERY costly as I have come to find out first hand. The rotary appeals to me because it is so different, knowing that only a very small amount of other drivers share the road in a rotary, and I really like the styling on the car also. I like the car very much, but it is just TOO expensive to maintain. IF you can find a place to rebuild your engine, or if you have the knowledge to do this yourself, and do decide on this instead, go for it, because you can turn around and sell your vehicle for much more than it is worth, since the car only has 50,000 miles on the chassis, and will have a "brand new" engine. I've seen 1988 RX-7 GXL cars with relatively low mileage (95,000-125,000) sell for $5000. There was a base model 1986 parked around the corner from my house for three months with low compression...the guy sold the car to someone who knew nothing about the car for $2800. I test drove the car, just to see how it would match up against mine...That RX-7 was on its last life line...I don't know how much you would be able to get out of the car...It depends where you live...But if you rebuild the engine, and the transmission and body are in good shape, you might be looking at around $6500 on a good day, but more like $4500-5500 if you want the car to sell quicker. Hey, you got the car for free...take what money you can make and get something better. My sister drives a 1990 stock 300ZX Automatic Transmission. The car has 222 hp and 198 ft-lbs. of torque. She found the car for $3250. It used to be another girl's college ride and has 198,000 miles on the car, BUT with ALL service records from the Nissan Dealer where her dad ALWAYS took the car for anthing. Wish I hadn't bought the RX-7 yet :/ Well I am wandering off subject. In my opinion, either sell the car for parts, but rebuilding the engine could prove to be more profitable...sort of like a short term investment with a BIG payout in the end!