Guest Anonymous Posted September 6, 2001 Share Posted September 6, 2001 After looking through the Granny's 3rd Gen RX-7 swap, I'm intrigued... I have always liked the 3rd gen's handling, brakes, aerodynamics, everything but that finiky rotary... The swap of a SBC into the 3rd gen appears easier than the Z (I'm not much of a fabricator)... There'd also be MUCH less I'd need to upgrade.. suspension and brakes are already great on the RX. I can easily run wide tires. Good stereo (not that matters much) And, they're easy to find! but, the insurance would be more, people EXPECT a rx-7 to be fast, and it's going to be ~300lbs heavier. But I am seeing many upsides to that swap.. I know you're a biased bunch but that most of you also have a level head. A guy here at work has a '94 RX with a blown motor that he'll sell cheap, too.. What do ya think? Oh, emissions testing is a non-issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted September 6, 2001 Share Posted September 6, 2001 From the reading I've done and the posts here by someone awhile ago that DID this swap I'd say it's MORE difficult than the Z swap. The Z swap, honestly, isn't that hard to do. The SBC really fits pretty well in the Z and except for teething issues that you'll find in any swap I think mine has gone very well. I will grant you that a 25+ year old car needs upgrades more so than a 7 year old car but them's the breaks. Hrm, as for that RX7 - a new motor can be gotten and installed for around $4K if the numbers I heard being tossed around last night at the Mazda club meeting were correct. Unfortunatly it seemed like an awfully high number of people knew what this cost Most agreed that my high boost is putting me on the edge too I'd suggest you dig up the posts by the guy who did this swap here in the forums. Contact him and see what he says. He had a really high powered rotary motor that he realized wouldn't last and so went SBC. If you think Z purists are a PITA wait till you find a Rotary purist - whew! The rotary really is a pretty neat high revving motor though and if you go ahead with this V8 swap consider a really high winding motor like a SBC 302 or 327 - it would be sweet! Keep the weight down with as much aluminum as you can and have a ball. Keep us posted on it too and I might also be willing to buy some parts from the blown up car (lol). P.s. Scotie - there were SEVERAL turbo Miatas there and I took pics for ya'! MANY were running the MiataLink stuff and swore by it. [ September 06, 2001: Message edited by: BLKMGK ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted September 7, 2001 Share Posted September 7, 2001 I can't remember his name right now..Alfonso??? has a 2nd Gen RX7 with a 327, T5, and solid axle. I met him last month or so and it was a total sleeper! I'm sure the 3rd gen RX7 will accept the SBC no probs. Owen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted September 7, 2001 Share Posted September 7, 2001 Tom Colsher did a very sano swap on his Gen II RX7--he posted here for a while, and I even bought a Taurus fan from him, but I don't know his member # for a search He has a good website and I have to tell you that the swap is NOT easier---in fact one of his main gripes was that Granny's did not tell him everything...$$$$ Just some food for thought. I have nothing against any performance swap, more power to ya, but be forewarned.... Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted September 7, 2001 Share Posted September 7, 2001 I'm pretty sure we also had a FD3 guy post here about his RX7. If no one can find it head over to RX7forums.com and do a search. Grannies or maybe V8 ought to find it - I hope. they got hacked awhile ago and some things got lost so hopefully that wasn't one of them (sigh). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeromio Posted September 7, 2001 Share Posted September 7, 2001 Well, this will be redundant because surely you will have already found http://engineswaps.com/, which is the website for Granny's. It is a much more difficult swap, no doubt about it. But they seem to have it pretty well documented. It is also a much more expensive swap if you can't do the fab yourself. They sell a kit for about $1500. That includes all the engine mounting stuff. That does not include all the incidental stuff that I for instance, have budgeted $800 for for my Z car. Sweet cars though. Of course, my preference, if I had one, would be to keep the turbo rotary ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottie-GNZ Posted September 7, 2001 Share Posted September 7, 2001 I am with Jim on this one. Research that swap carefully and make sure you understand ALL the costs. If you try to save a few $$$ on the engine, the swap WILL end up slower than a slightly tweaked Rotary-powered car. Do not underestimate the power of that turbo Rotary, 275hp at the wheel, stock. One other thing, I believe you would also be stuck with a 4.10: final drive but Jim can confirm that. Jim, Z-Gad came over last night and we went and checked a gorgeous 300+hp Miata. This guy has a ton of $$$ in this car but it is well set up. He got to ride in the "Patrick" car and believe he was duly impressed despite it running way too rich with the 600cc injs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fl327 Posted September 14, 2001 Share Posted September 14, 2001 i like the idea of a first gen rx7 with a v8 in it, i think they have a kit for that, dont know if they still make it, but those cars swing em like mini 5.0s, imagine if it had a 302, very sinister...sinister indeed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottie-GNZ Posted September 14, 2001 Share Posted September 14, 2001 Fairlady, this one is for you, if you have an interest in 1st-gen RX-7s. Has a lot of neat links to hybrid RX-7s and many other hybrids. Look at the RX7Liter Specifications page as it list every mod and the cost. http://home.att.net/~rx7liter/index.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted September 14, 2001 Share Posted September 14, 2001 Guys, thanks for the replies.. I'm doint more research on it, and they have recently come out with more and more parts for the swap... I do like the rotary, but they just don't last long, and the 3rd gen 13b's are a REAL PITA to work on, and are vacuum nightmares! I'm putting a SBC in SOMEthing... A 4.10 final drive doesn't bother me much, since I'll be using a T56... Plus, to get 500 hp that will last in a RX, it costs BIG $$$, probably more than the SBC swap! It just seems that the money I can save on the radiator, brakes, new rear diff, etc... would offset the higher cost of the swap kit... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted September 14, 2001 Share Posted September 14, 2001 Umm, you'll save money on brakes maybe but the diff and rear axles are not super strong. The radiator will not be big enough either. A 4.10 rear and a T56 means you'll be starting off in 2nd most of the time too. This isn't as simple as you may think and if there's one thing i've heard more than once about Granny's it's that they don't tell you everything about the swap and what it will cost. Be careful and go slow! Oh yeah - 500HP out of a SBC isn't cheap either. It won't cost what a rotary hop-up would but it won't be cheap either. Ask yourself if a 2500lb car REALLY needs 500 or more HP. That could easily end up a 10second car.... Scottie, didn't get back to you sooner as didn't see the post. Did you take pics? I've got some to share with you, lot's of turbo Miatas out here it seems! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted September 14, 2001 Share Posted September 14, 2001 Eskimo1, Food for thought....I have personally driven a 1st gen RX7 with over 1000HP under the hood. Very potent. Here is what it had: Twin Turbo Chevy V6 -fuel injected, prepared by Lingenfelter. Corvette ZF 6 speed Narrowed 9" rear (tubbed wells) 345 mm wide 17" rear tires. Full cage and nitrous. This thing could break the tires loose at 120km/hr in third , but had such a lumpy cam that without the fans boosting, it was a dog to drive Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted September 14, 2001 Share Posted September 14, 2001 BLKMGK.. EXACTLY!! What I am aiming to build is something extremely sick... it isn't cheap, but it's not THAT hard either... I've built up and driven my former roomie's 500hp SupraTT, which was an 11 second car, and got used to it.. I really do want something that's 10 second capable. I wanna be just like Scottie I saw a 2nd Gen RX-7 here at work today with some VERY nice wheels on it, and she looked MEAN!! This isn't going to be a budget swap by any means.. I figure if I spend 25k on the car, but get the performance of a 75k car, then it's all worth it. Ever since I saw Darius's Z race the Yamaha R1, I knew that was what I had to build... A light blower on a Z06 vette motor would be sooo sweet!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted September 14, 2001 Share Posted September 14, 2001 I'm not sue what compression is on the Z06 but from what I've read they really seem to be tweaking it pretty good to get that power. Adding a blower on top might prove to be more trouble than some would think. The latest versions of that sucker are running sodium filled valves and tons of other small tweaks to get every last pony. I'm not sure just how "restrictive those parts really are. Are the Z06 folks finding much more power or is it like the Honda guys having to buy $600 headers to get15HP? Truthfully, if 10s are your goal you don't need to have a truly sick 500HP V8. Setup a decent crate motor, say the hopped up ZZ4 motor, and slap a shot of NOS on it. That 350horse motor could hit 500 pretty quickly A pofessionally "built" motor for say 400-450horse could run around $4-5K with injection pushing that upwards. A blower or NOS would push that into the sicko' zone too. Lastly, talk to Scottie about his car. I've seen it run on the street and it's darned near out of control when the boost hits. It is also capable of decent MPG driving around which will become a consideration quickly if you want to drive any distance. Presently my car is sucking gas like mad and a 10gallon cell doesn't get you but so far in my case. His drivetrain isn't super radical and not super expensive.. Anyway, you've got options galore if you really want 10s. I think 'll start out happy getting into the 11's with a car that doesn't break all the time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeromio Posted September 14, 2001 Share Posted September 14, 2001 If you're starting from scratch (as in, choosing a car and a powerplant), you gotta consider the cheapest source of go-power: less weight. That 500hp Supra was no doubt crazy fast. But those things are heavy. You wouldn't need nearly as much power from a 3rd gen Rx7 to duplicate that Supra's performance (esp. with the lighter rotary), and you'd need even less power in a 240 (3500 > 3000 > 2500). As to the blown LS1 idea, ATI has apparently just recently come out with an LS1 package and there's at least one guy on that forum who is very happy with it. He's up in the mountains, so it's difficult to draw HP comparisons, but it was alot more power. There are alot of "free" mods for the LS1 in the FBody to remove factory restrictions. But it's a tight fit in that car. As far as I have read, the Z06, esp the 2002 version, represents sort of a culmination of tuner style upgrades - hollow valves, ported heads, different intake, significantly revised exhaust, optimized fuel maps. I can't see anyone wringing any more power out of that motor, NA, short of boring and stroking. But yes, there are single, double turbo and blower kits available. The ECU on the LS1 is very powerful and alot of tweaking can be done with it. It also seems to be able to handle boost without any specific mods. It adapts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-Gad Posted September 15, 2001 Share Posted September 15, 2001 Referring to the ride in the "Patrick" car...I was elated in the performance Now I can't wait to drive one of my own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-Gad Posted September 15, 2001 Share Posted September 15, 2001 Referring to the ride in the "Patrick" car...I was elated in the performance Now I can't wait to drive one of my own. Scottie, isn't a buddy of yours doing a GN swap into an RX7? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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