kevin7

I have a 85 gsl-se, how about putting a 400 small block in it? how hard.. anybody going to shoot me if I do this? lol :smiley_12 i really wanna stick with the rotary but this seem like a pain in the *** to make huge power outta.. the 400 small block has 550 hp and a turbo 400 tranny + ford 9'' rear end... was going to build a full roll cage for it to, seeeming i'm a fabricator and dads a machinist, kinda thought it would be rude no to... if anybody know some body that has done this before let me know thanks

hammmy

http://www.grannysspeedshop.com/

Oh, and yes, you are probably gonna get flamed hardcore.

-dave

kevin7

hmmm thanks for the link gonna have to look into that

old_skool

isnt that what building a car is all about? doing things that arent done to often? standing away from the crowd and all that good stuff? i say go for it, who cares what every one else is doing? it is your car after all. build it how you want.

Naegleria_Fowleri

Yes, you are crazy. An rx-7 doesn't need to make a lot of power to be fast, the greatness of having a lightweight car. Also, it isn't unreasonable to get a lot of power out of a rotary engine at all. Putting a 400 small block in it will throw the entire cars balance out of whack, weigh it down, and make it not nearly as fun to drive through the twisties. That is just my opinion, but then again I wouldn't buy a car originally powered by a rotary engine and place a piston engine in it to begin with regardless of the benifits. Its part of the cars heritage.

That goes without saying that there are tons of people out there who have done piston engine swaps and made terrifyingly fast cars, and I'm not going to be one of those guys flaming you about it. Just keep in mind that it is one of the few cars to ever come with a rotary engine.

kevin7

haha yeah I thought I was gonna get flammed hard... but yeah I just want the second i put it to the floor i'm outta sight haha after the tires stop spinning. oh yeah anybody looking for a street ported 13b 6 port, racing beat header gsl-se engine? let me know

tasty danish

iTrader: (5)

first off, there is a forum for engine conversions, go there so you don't start a retarded flame war.

i know i don't want to start a dispute, but you're just straight wrong with this reponse.
do some reading, v8's don't change the weight at all.
i'm pro rotary, but if you're going to argue against a v8 swap, at least have your facts straight, and stop promoting that stupid weight myth.

/soapbox.

FB II

damn, i guess my tire smokin 12a is secretly a v8. this type of swap is cool in some aspects. simply put, yes, it can get the job done. i researched it quite a bit and it's more of a hassle to swap in even a 302 and setup the mounts and linkage than it is to setup a blow thru turbo on your current engine. it's all a matter of opinion and likes. all the v8 swaps i see people do seem to take forever, yet the people doing them praise how it's such a great, quick, simple swap... i don't get it. i turbocharged another local 12a here in ONE DAY. in one day we double'd his power. you claim you "want to stay rotary"... well, do some good ol' research

but trust me, you do not need a v8 to instantly smoke the tires in any gear and just dust someone. my car does it everyday and it's just a measily little 0 banger w/ a snail

LokiRx7.1

iTrader: (1)

I hate to say this, but i will..... An LS1 or an LT1 wont affect the weight much. however a pushrod 400 small block is cast iron, as well as the heads, the intake, the exhaust manifolds, etc. even if he has aluminum heads, steel headers, aluminum intake, its still a cast iron block, steel crank..... I can pick up my 12A it takes two people to lift it with the tranny.

It takes four people STRAINING to lift a 400, and six to lift it with a tranny. How can a 400 C.I. motor weigh similiar to a 67 C.I. motor? unless its ALL aluminum, like an LS1

Brismo7

iTrader: (2)

well, if i were to do it all over again, and had all the parts in front of me. i'd guesstimate i could prolly do the 302 FB in a weekend. if not two weekends. so 4 days total. most everything lines up. just a couple places you need to bash in with a hammer. and i'm not trying to start a pissing contest, just a "what i think".

also a great place to check out if your serious about the V8 conversion is www.torquecentral.com .

http://www.putfile.com/brismo7 here are some pics of mine.

~Steve

theNeanderthol

iTrader: (1)

Well you do have a pretty sweet little motor there Kevin7. I wont put down the swap, it sounds like a sick motor, but the super flat torque and high hp of a really hopped up rotary would be a shame to miss out on!! Come into the light! Use your creating capabilities with US! I'd bet if you ported your 13b correctly (your dad's a machinist, right?) and put a correctly setup turbo on there or a nice big supercharger, (a rotary will handle forced induction out the wazoo), and some way to cool the induction charge (alcohol injection or NOS) you will make the 550 hp goal easily. Robert has a 12a (the smaller version of your motor) that puts almost 700 ponies to the real wheels!

LokiRx7.1

iTrader: (1)

Sorry didnt mean to flame, just talking about physics. But the 400 small block is an excellent engine.

jason_child

not to mention the huge backhand im goin have to give you if you go through with this!!!!!!!!! put a god damn s5 turbo motor in there buy one with low comp rebuild port the **** out of it bigger injectors bigger turbo standalone fmic and bamn ul havee some ****** great hp not to mention it will handle great as well, and kevin if u have a nose happy car i give u two days before death

kevin7

well Jason I haven't got that Jsec site off you yet...it's been since august since I have my fb! lol and I say 5 days before death lol Like I said I wanna stay with a rotary and for sure with a turbo... I haven't found a motor for my car yet it is starting to **** me off and finding parts is really stupid if you don't know any hook ups... so if anyone has seen a turbo s5 motor like i was lookin for lol tell me

-Kevin

Midwest 7's

iTrader: (4)

please, please, if you want to do a v8 conversion dont do it to a se.

aussiesmg

iTrader: (1)

I think it comes down to what you want it to acheive, but anytime 550 hp meets 2400 lb car its a good equation............

Dont expect it be beat a well sorted 12a turbo at the autocross though.

kevin7

why is every one about the 12a motor 13b is bigger lol this is probley a dumb question

FB II

12a pwnz joo!

Eriks85Rx7

cause everybody has a 12A.

kevin7

if I get a 5s turbo motor how much power am I looking at if I boost it up a little and put a light street port on the motor? or is it bad to port a rotary turbo motor?

aussiesmg

iTrader: (1)

Lower mass so they rev higher and less stressful on components. Rotors are narrower by 10mm so they and everything else are lighter.

We aren't talking big blocks here, just driveability.

kevin7

well I wanna stay with the 13b it would be weird to put a 12a in a gsl-se

bad 83

iTrader: (3)

I just want to say that I picked a complete '80 for a hundred bucks back last spring. The motor is locked up and missing the carb. I have a '84 302 and OD trans sitting in my garage waiting for transplant into something. The plan was to put the 302 into a '67 Mustang if I ever get my hands on another one. I have seriosly considered putting that drivetrain into the parts car and making a drag car out of it. BUT, every time I get behind the wheel of my '83 GSL, I just kcant bring myself to bastardizing the '80 RX7. Do what ever you can afford, I keep telling myself. I mean, not everyone has a unlimited budget. Right? I have a baby due in July, and I want have the time or the funds to get a screeming 13b motor like I want. So, in the mean time the 302 swap may be more feesable for me. So, what I am getting at is everyone has a unique situation that determins what they can do. Well, I hope we can all just get along!!!!!That's all I got to say about that!!!!

tasty danish

iTrader: (5)

well first, an lt1 is cast iron too (some had aluminium heads). and i've seen weight results from and fc swap and it weighed a total of 100lbs more than the stock 13b.
it doesn't take 4 people straining to pick up a 400sbc.
me and my stepdad can, and have done so many times. we had a 400 in his corvette that when we were building we would pick up. when we swapped it to a 454, me and him could carry the bare 454 block with the crank in it by ourselves.
rotaries aren't all that light of an engine. also, one thing you may not have thought of, is that those 400 cubic inches, are 400 cubic inches of big honkin holes punched in the block= saved weight. v8s are lighter than most would think, most of the block is hollow. a rotary is pretty solid by comparison. true, an old school sbc will add some weight, but we're talking maybe 200lbs.
no ac, remove the tar, relocate the battery, BAM, you're pretty close to square.

at any rate it won't "weigh the car down and make it sluggish to drive."
for instance, a gs with a v8 swap now weighs say (worst case) 300lbs heavier which puts it right on par with a gsl-se. and we all know how much those suck...


next thing you know people are going to try and say that roll cages, turbos, and intercoolers will kill your handling.
i'm not pro v8 swap really, rotaries are too cool, but some myth debunking is needed.

d0ntdreamit

the V8 will raise the center of gravity of the car. Granny or Torque told me that the v-8 is lighter (given all the add ons that a rotary has), and takes up less room. I doubt that.

In addition, I wonder about the drivability? Lots of times you see these cool cars in magazines and on TV, but they are barily drivable. E.g. the Fast and Furious black Dodge Charger with the blower sticking out of the hood. Car sure looked cool!!!

The v-8 conversion is $5000.