AL.

hello,
my friend just got two rx-7's (i think both are 83's).
anyway, the one with the nice body has a messed up engine. (he drove it 1.5 miles to my house, so it runs).
the other 7 has a messed up body and no keys, but the engine's good.

so, what should i do. (vote, but i'd appricate detailed answers even more).

i really don't have much tools, skills, time and space, so me personally swaping the engines is out of the question, unless it's ridiculously easier than it looks.
also, roughly how much would a rebuild cost and a swap? (i would think the swap would be cheaper than a regular psiton engine)

GSL-SE

never mind

i was gonna say to do it urself but i guesse i sould have read the whole text

AL.

GSL-SE, honestly, if i had the room, i would rent some tools, ask you guys for help and give it a try.
but with my bike and a lot of crap in the garage, plus the fact the there are already 7 cars in my house (w/o one the the rx7's) makes a swap almost impossible.

just for future reference, has a ford 302 swap been done to a first gen? any info, problem area's?

rx7passion

screw the 302 swap, just get ahold of a good motor, on the parts trader or on here. way cheaper, with exhaust and a a good carb a 12a will be way faster and cheaper than a 302 swap

Kerry

A 302 fits very well in a first gen, I've got one in my 82. Look at www.grannysspeedshop.com. But if you don't have the resources for a simple engine exchange, don't even consider a Ford swap. There is an incredible amount of fabrication to be done. I agree 50% with rx7passion... rotary would be way cheaper, but faster? That depends on a lot of variables.

Kerry

AL.

rx7passion, i agree and dissagree.
i would be better off with just the 12a, but if i had a 302 already, the 12a will never be as fast.
sure, a worked 12a will be faster than a 302 off a old vic, and a h.o. 302 will easily pull 300rwhp and 300rwftp with under $1000 of mods. (or i could just shoot it with a 200 bottle, but i'm not a n2o fan)

but that's neither here or there now.
any kind of swap is long away for me.

edit;
Kerry, you snuck that post in while i was typing.
thanks for the link.
how's the 302 rx7 handle?
what tranny and driveshaft/rear end mods have to be done?

Kerry

Custom driveshaft, GSL-SE diff with 3.63 gears from a Mazda 626. I'm not a racer, so I expect the diff to last forever. See the post "Redeeming Myself" for a description of how it drives.

Kerry

AL.

done did. more questions there.
more questions here;
what's a custom cut drive shaft run for?

anyway, i think i'm going to start calling up shops tomorrow. i get the felling that i'm going to be quoted for over $2k here in ny.

anyone in LI/nyc looking for parts/project car(s)?

rx7passion

ok just for the sake of conversation what do you think a 302 swap from start to finish would cost, no performance goodies but just getting the motor into the car and getting it to run good.
AL. you say 2k for a 302 or am i mistaken.. rebuild a 12a for a combo port, street ported primarys and BP secondarys. hell thats close to 220fwhp toss a 100 shot on there and thats 320hp.
a 12a can have plenty done to it IMO a 302's mods are about the same for a 12a with a good port job.

Kerry

AL, if you're going to have to pay someone to do a swap, you'll have more invested in it than it's worth. A lot more. The driveshaft should be between $100 and $200. That's one of the easiest things. Judging by the questions you're asking, I think a Ford swap is probably not your best option. I'd suggest finding someone to play musical engines with your rotaries. rx7passion, I agree with you. Dollar for dollar, the first 200 to 300 HP is going to cost about the same either way. A 300HP rotary is going to have a totally different "feel" than a 300HP 5.0. It's just a matter of preference.

Kerry

Serzy

If it does come to parting out I might be interested in some stuff... mainly Rear Disc Break w/ LSD

I am out in Suffolk County.

Felix Wankel

83 rear ends have the somewhat undesirable small bearings.

AL.

no, no.
302 swap is just for future reference, like when i have my own place.

neither of the cars are mine, and i told the guy he's probably best off just selling them. (i don't think he can get more than $1000 for the barely running one)

$2,000 for a 302 is alot. unless you're talking about a create engine @ +350hp

if either car gets parted out i will post here.

riffraff

if you are looking for a piston engine, you should be easily able to find one for 500. the only thing that would cost you would be the custom fabrication and what not that would be necessary. plus i would imagine that you would need a new tranny, driveshaft, and all those goodies. so overall, it could get expensive.

my two cents, would be to find a way to do the swap. i am in the same situation that you are in right now. one good body with a bad motor, and a bad body with everything else good. i am in the process of a complete tear down and rebuild.. i have no experience doing this, but do have the tools and space necessary. so things are getting interesting, but i still think dooable.

look into your possibilities before simply parting out these cars. remember that they are old, and becoming increasingly harder to come by.

AL.

riffraff, if insurance in ny weren't so expensive i'd keep the cars and keep one (running).
but that's not the case, so i can only afford one car at a time for the next 4 years.

JIMMY54

iTrader: (2)

what ever you think is best

AL.

wow, the body looks great, but last night i didn't notice how messed the interior was.
maybe cleaning it up will help a bit.

Serzy, i'm in north central suffolk. port jeff. where are you?

Winnipeg85GSL

Kerry, did you buy the kit from GSS? I am undicided whether to modify my 12A ( 103000 KM) (60000Miles), go to a T2 engine, or 351W which is the same block as the 302. I was reading on the site that if you buy the kit there isnt TONS of mofifications that you have to do except flip a crossmember, get a driveshaft/gears etc and maybe move the firewall back a bit with a sledge. My dad has all the equipment and space including a motor jack tranny jack and a hydraulic hoist. Was the swap hard for you to do??

Edit: Oh ya what did you do about the gauges.

Kerry

I bought Granny's kit, but decided to make my own pieces to make it look a little cleaner. Stock gauges work, just use the stock senders. Unless you want a hood scoop, I wouldn't recommend a 351W, hieght is pretty tight. The swap is not hard, but time consuming, due to all the small odds and ends.

Kerry

AL.

lol
the car is still sitting on my grass.
i haven't started it in a month.