1986 RX7 Engine Swap

[DanTheMan311Fan]

Hi everyone! I'm kinda new to the whole forum scene, usually I have too many friends that are more than willing to offer up some advice, but they have no idea about this and neither do I.
I'm posting to find out if the 350 gm crate motor I have will fit into my 3rd gen RX7 body I have, and if so, how much is the conversion kit (if it exists) how much work should I expect, and how much will it cost? Thanks in advance for your posts!


Dan

[Egg Nog]

There are quite a few V8 swap kits available for your car. Which particular model is it? I'm confused because you say 1986 in the title yet say "3rd Generation RX-7", which was a 1993+ model.

Welcome to UCP

[DanTheMan311Fan]

Thanks for the welcome. Oh whoops, I meant 2nd gen. I missed =P. Im not quite sure what model it is. It has a sunroof, the hood scoop, dual exhaust. These may be something that came with all, but I'm not to keen on RX7 history. I appreciate the help though. Could you maybe send a few links pretaining to swap kits my way? Thanks again!

[Egg Nog]

Granny's Speed Shop should be able to set you up with everything you need for the conversion.

Around a year ago I looked into buying a V8 RX-7. It was very poorly done and in terrible shape, but it sure went like hell. A real conversion kit will make things a lot easier and the final product will be better.

You'll need a transmission for the project, so you'll probably want to go with a T56. T5s are prone to failure when matched with a torquey enough engine.

http://www.grannysspeedshop.com/

[TheOne]

here's 1 http://members.tripod.com/~grannys/rx7.html

i believe most of the 350's(sbc 350), cept for the first i think, just look at that site and you'll get some more info, and welcome to the forum.

(ahh shit, egg came first)

[DanTheMan311Fan]

Great, thanks for the link. I have a turbo 400 waiting to back up the 350 so no worries can't afford any more parts than I already have, haha. Thanks a bunch!

[DanTheMan311Fan]

Thanks for the input "TheOne" any advice is more than I have now!

[Juggs]

we swapped a 350 into an older body style rx 7 back when i was in auto tech at school

[DanTheMan311Fan]

Really? How easy was it? What parts did you need? Was there any cutting or welding involved? Thanks!

Dan

[KnifeEdge_2K1]

i dunno where but some magazine had this challenge where you build a race car for 2005 dollars (year 2005), this is the budget for the entire project, the winner was an 87 rx7 with a swapped in ford v8 and did like 11.26 in the quarter mile

[KnifeEdge_2K1]

here's 1 http://members.tripod.com/~grannys/rx7.html

i believe most of the 350's(sbc 350), cept for the first i think, just look at that site and you'll get some more info, and welcome to the forum.

(ahh shit, egg came first)

dude i love your sigs man

[johnnynumfiv]

i dunno where but some magazine had this challenge where you build a race car for 2005 dollars (year 2005), this is the budget for the entire project, the winner was an 87 rx7 with a swapped in ford v8 and did like 11.26 in the quarter mile

Grassroots motorsports, great magazine. Here's a link with the results.
overall: http://grmotorsports.com/challenge/2005overall.htm
drags: http://grmotorsports.com/challenge/2005drag.htm

[crashandburn]

plz help im in auto mechanics training right now year one i just bought a 87 rx7 i love the rotary motor unfortunately i have almost no knowledge of these and we will learn only the basics i have a leaky radiator however before i replace it the engine seems to be putting some compression into the radiator when i crank the motor it spits out the seem and when it gets warm it gets hot very fast and gushes out the tiny whole so im wondering if its something in the motor or just the radiator. also motor runs perfect except the teenagers bad wiring lol. so any help whats so ever will be awesome

[Matra et Alpine]

You're best taking a tech q like that to an RX7 specific forum.
Join an RX7 club and they will help loads.
Also, if "no knowledge" then a dodgy engine in a sportscar is not a great way to start out. THis is likely going to be expensive and frustrating for you.
Sell it, get a simple 4 pot banger and learn.
THEN try the complex stuff.

PS. ALL cooling systems pressurise from the water pump and the expansion from heat. So it MAY just be the radiator and yo might be luck, replace it and see.
However, it coudl equally be a dozen other things that "forum chat" won't really help you as you're only starting out on auto mechanic. Get your course tutors to agree for it to be a clas project

[ozzycarnut]

rotaries can be handful if you dont know what you are doing, however they can be great fun if you get all of their issues sorted, but then again, they can be, as above mentioned, a pain in the butt. my mate has a series 1 rx7 and an rx4, he has a thing for rotaries that i do not understand, a 'woftam' from my point of view if you like. both cars have the 13b with the rx4 having a bit of port work to give it a bit of extra oomph. both cars go ok, but really, they are pieces of shit compared to say an evo / wrx. for the same sort of dough, i would rather look at a bullet proof japanese 4cyl (civic type r, silvia, 200sx, or an evo / wrx if the budget allows). they are easy to work on, parts are readily available and they wont cost a fortune if you break something. if you insist on staying loyal to rotaries, i would be taking it into a rotary specialist, ask heaps of questions, watch what the guy does etc.