I have a 79 rx7 with the 12a engine, and my engine is done. so i was talking to people localy. I was told i could do a 350 chevy V8 engine swap, I"ve already pulled the engine out, and there is a lot of room in the engine bay.
I was just wondering if anyone has ever done this swap? and if so they know the mods that have to be done?
OR if someone definently knows this doesn't work and knows some good alternatives to have extremely high HP without costing me my arm and leg that would be great also
THANKS
Kurt
~i'm looking to sell the 12a engine and tranny(Tranny is in excelent condition) engine needs new apex seals, and to be machined.

 

Go check the Performance section, other engines.....

 

This section is rotary related. But personally I have to admit (im sorry) that in the past I looked at doing a V8 swap. The results would be awesome, but you have to realize its not as simple as just throwing a big engine in.

The mounts need to be considered, tranny mounting, if you are doing a manual swap you have to get the shifter in position. Clutch, pressure plate, custom driveshaft, all the engine electronics, exhaust the whole way back, if you are making any amount of torque you need to do a diff swap, aftermarket axle shafts.

Im not saying that you can't do the swap or anything, im just saying if you decide to go that route there is alot of stuff you need to consider and price out. The rotary doesn't put out a ton of torque, so the car isn't designed from the factory to take the lashing of a big V8.

 

I had a 350 in my FB until ~ one month ago. Very easy to do... but if you live in a city that has bad traffic you may hate driving it. Thus the "one month ago". I sold my set up (not my car) to another member... I don't know his name on this forum though.

grannysspeedshop is the place to go for 1st gen swaps.

 

I have a spare 327 and 411 gears out of a camaro slaying around and i was thinking about doing a swap. After i seen the infamous white slime in my oil filler neck (water jackets) ive been thinking of getting rid of the engine and swapping something in different. One i warm up to the boss at the shop i might just have to do this. NOt only would i need a custom drive shaft ect...i would also need an upgraded suspension system. Theres no way that chassie could handle an extra 300-400 pounds.



Hey rotory vs piston, any chance you could kinda send me an overview of how you did it?

 

I'll say this... If I were to do it again knowing what I know now --> then I would,

Buy the complete kit from Grannys.

That's the main thing that will save money and most important to a swap, TIME. Setting up the clutch is a PITA, but once it works it's not to bad. Stiff, but okay if you're not stuck in traffic. And get a holley fuel pump if you're running a carb.

Can't really think of much else due to it being that simple. Gauges, I used all auto-meter so I can't help there.

 

i also have a 350 and 400 tranny that me and my dad may one day put in my car since my engine is ****. but first ill try a rebuild on the 12a before anything

 

Yeah i just visited that site and found out that its only going to cost me like 2 G. Which isnt much at all. Like 4 or 5 months of saving up. But i can do it. Did you buy the rear end as well?

 

yea a rear end swap pretty much has to be done

 

I figured. I was going to start a new post and ask whats the best rear end swap. Can you just swap one out of a small mazda truck?

 

The stock rx-7 rear is very weak in comparison to many others out there. Ford 8.8 is the most popular it seems. The rear from a Mustang is a very nice fit as far as width goes. But I'm not too sure about chevy rear ends. Your going to have to have a custom driveshaft made up so you might as well just stuff a ford rear end in the car and have a driveshaft made up to mate the chevy trans to the ford rear. Any custom driveline shop could do that.

 

Yeah i knew that part. Sorry i feel that im highjacking the thread but what donors are the best. What vehichles. The rear end from a mustang would cost me like 500 bucks, where as a small ford ranger would only cost me about 250. Im kinda looking for someone to tell me the best rear end and best gear ration from (x) vehicle where you can bolt (x) and put (y) yoke on the end with (z) parts to be welded on for stock sway bar and shock mounts.

 

its just ideas not hijacking at all but the rear end i want in is the ford 9

 

Yeah but for a performance one your looking at almost 2 grand.

http://www.metropartsmarket.com/cata...rend-c1s1.html

 

About 1500 bucks and your looking at a Diff that is going to take a **** kicking. Grannys has the ford 9" housing that is fitted for FB's, and it comes with custom length resplined axle shafts. Eventually that will be the kit ill get for my car!

The Ford 9" also has ALOT of different gearing options which is always nice.

 

true. But my buddies ranger did 220 km at 5K in fifth so i think that would be the diff for me.

 

I ran a stock GS rear for ~2 years and then a stock -SE for about 2 or 3 years with the V8. Never had an issue. @ 60mph in 5th it would run ~2300rpm... not bad. I had a t-56 I wanted to put in, but put it in the package with the other stuff I sold.

Remember that how you build the car should reflect how you intend to use the car. There is allot of stuff you can do... but ask yourself first "is there REALLY a need for it?

 

BTW the engine was a crate engine rated @ 325hp and God knows how much torque. The guy I sold it to said he ran a low 13sec pass spinning most of the way.

**I never raced my car**

 

I just want a street unit that can blow away my friends, something to envy. Something to snap your neck. Heck im runing low 16's with my car as of now. But 13's should be very easy to achieve with 300 hp. with 200 hp i should be able to do that, with a good set of tires. Im more looking into auto x and road races.

The engine i want to put in is about 300 hp, the trany is good for up to 500. So the stock rear end will do for now but i think i would rather be safe then sorry. I think im going to go to pickapart and get a rear end. The ranger rear end looks almost the same width. If its a little wider thats fine. Aslong as the brakes and hubs dont stick outside of the wheel wells. There is alot of time and effort to put into this car and im willing to do it if i had a little more money. Life is kinda just begging for me, being 18 and just out of school. So in a while, after money becomes more abundant il work on the car, till then il prolly just do the little things to make it a decent ride. Hey you never know, if i find money quickly i might just throw a supercharger on that kit Or maybe my brother will sell me his bigblock 427 with over 700 hp. I cant really rely on anything so im not going to put my mind to anything just yet. Hopefully i can just get some easy stuff done and have fun doing it. Thanks for the info. oh and btw....did we get the answers that the thread starter was looking for?

 

yea thats exactly what i want, is something that i know has some get up, but i want to keep it street legal and run 12's and with a rotary and the emission laws its gunna be hard, there is a couple guys here that i have seen at street legal nights at the track that are running pretty low for a street legal rotary

 

Niceness. Im kind of a piston kinda guy, i like rotories but ....well lets just say i like my motors like i like my women, fast, hot and low matenance

 

I'am learnign alot to do with Drag racing right now, Iam just started racing my high schools cars and i had this 350 before but now i want to put it to work and picked up a trubo 400 tranny and just all these ideas get me excited, and my dad is willing to help me do it. my mom does not like the idea of that much hp in a light car, but they are easing me into high hp cars, my dd has a 67 chevelle ss with 396 under the hood ( just over 400 hp). I just picked up a new oil pan for it so i can race it. My parents are letting me use there car that they restored before i was born to pretty much race and get used to cars with alot fo hp. they want to sell it but i will not allow them because if they get rid of it they will never own another, especially trying to find a 67 here in canada

 

yeah no kidding, I once had a chevelle beaumont 4 door 283 car. That was rare and i only let it go for 800 IDIOT. Matching numbers. But what do i know. Um i see why your getting exciting. I think im more excited than you. Im totally going to get the kit then worry about the engine and a trany.

 

Here is mine:
http://community.webshots.com/album/548953406otkXTN
85 w/350/700r4

All the info you need is here:
www.grannysspeedshop.com

You will notice a 350 setup only weights in at 75-125 LBS more than the heavy rotary and the stock rear end is capable of handling 500HP.

Buy the complete kit from Grannys and bolt it in. No mods, just bolt it up! Wiring will be the most time consuming.

 

I jusy installed a LT-1 350 in my 1982 RX-7. The most time consuming part for me was relocating my radiator. I also had clearance issues since I converted my car to rack and pinion steering..issues you wont have. Expect a couple long days to install a chevy 350 depending a lot of your ability and determination. You should have a saws- all and a nice load leveler for your engine lift. The load leveler allows you to tilt and move the engine back and forth within the engine bay with greater control than just moving the entire engine lift. No special tools are needed. The kits are now on sale at Grannys..bought mine at full price last week! I was happy with the grannys mountin kit..everything was well made and fit properly. The wiring can be time consuming,you should have a FSM and schematic if you attempt this. My V8 is fuel injected so you may have less wiring if you decide to go carburated. Last if your doing a chevy swap the chevy driveshaft is only slightly larger than a mazda unit. You can easily buy a chevy driveshaft from a junk yard..mine was 50.00. When looking at the chevy shaft youll notice near the transmission end its slightly smaller in diameter. Cut it there where its smallest..leaving yoursself about 4 inches of "tube" before the u joint. Then slip that inside the trannys splined output. Bolt on your mazda shaft to the rear axle. Jack the car up under the rear axle ..compressing the rear springs until the entire car begins to lift up. Support the car with jack stands leaving the rear axle compressed. Get under the car and pull the chevy part you cut earlier out of the tranny 1 inch. Now hold the mazda shaft next to the chevy part and mark the mazda shaft. Now double check your measurements. Cut the mazda shaft. Youll notice the maxda shaft slides nicely just inside the chevy shaft. Take both parts back off the car making sure you have good visible marks. On the chevy side wrap duct tape around the shaft so the mazda part slides on with some resistance..the tape keeps it centered. Now you weld the two pieces together...theres a slight gap between the two pipes that you'll fill with weld. If you weld carefully your shaft will be very close to being balanced. Now have your shaft balanced at a drivetrain shop and you build your own driveshaft cheap. I only spent 50.00 on my used driveshaft..havnt had it balanced yet,will wait and see if its needed.