Just bought at 1982 RX with 78,000 miles on it. Its a nice car to drive on the road but it doesnt have quite enough power for me. I was looking a buyin a 13b T for it and doin a complete swap. Just wonderin how many other people have done this swap? How difficult was it? Would you recommend this swap or something else?

 

Many people have done it.

You should do it.


You will find all the info you need useing the search feature in this section. there have been exelent writeups done over the years.

Check the faq section and do searches for things like "T2 swap" ect ect ect.

Welcome to the forum.

 

Here's a good one:

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...highlight=swap

 

Lots of people have done it. You can also have a 13brew twin turbo put in which is very,very,very,very,very, fun, of course you would want to run it with a single turbo. Like you said I love to drive my 85 but it needed more power, alot more. I dont know how hard it is to do cause I paid a shop to do the conversion. When it gets into fuel injection and computers I figured I would let a guy who does this work every day handle it. Its not cheap and I would imagine that a do it your selfer would be without his car for quite a while. Any way I say go for it, its worth it. This thing rocks.

 

Do it you will not regret the swap. It's pretty straight forward!!

 

As far as I'm concerned, there is no better bang for the buck then a 1st gen (or any old school Mazda) with an injected turbo setup. I did mine over about 6months but that was due to doing it on a budget and collecting parts etc. If I had the funds and everything ready to go I could do it in a week or two.

 

Yes, but you have the experience and know how to do it.

Most people that get involved do not have the mechanical or technical ability to do a conversion. For you and i and alot of people that have the ability it can be done.
Not trying to discourage this guy but alot of them get in over their heads on these swaps and usually abandon the project.
It's not plug and play here like a Supercharger. There are alot more technical things to factor in.

 

I agree with rx-7 doctor.

 

I have over 5 years and about 40K miles on my smog legal,300HP TII swap.Its very drivable and just the right amount of raw HP without being ridiculous.
You need to be sure you make the rest of the car safe and reliable to handle the power.That means brakes,suspension,drivetrain and chassis in good order and/or upgraded appropriately.

The actual swap isnt that difficult,but it requires a fair amount of research and knowledge of the FC engine operating systems if your gonna retain the factory ECU.Get an RX-7 factory service manual for the year engine you get,and read it,learn it,study it......
Knowing what you are doing with the wiring,fuel delivery and ECU control systems is a far cry better than guessing. And seach this site.......the TII swap has been covered and covered again,its by far the most common question.If you have any specific questions along the way,feel free to ask.

Welcome,
Steve

 

You can also do a blowthrough carb. setup on the current 12A that is in the car. A good number of individuals have done this, and have had good results. It can be done for a fairly reasonable amount of money too, depending on what parts you incorporate.

Check for posts by FB II. He has TONS of posts that chronicle his turbo build-up process. Also talk to Robert at Rotary Shack. His name here is 680rwhp12a or something to that effect.

Also, Ty, (84gsNC) has done this, and is currently selling his setup. It is the same as the one that FB II (Zac) ran.

I prefer to go with a blowthrough setup, but it pretty much depends on opinion, and if you want fuel injection or not.

 

wats this blowthrough carb setup??? i never heard of it.

 

that would be putting a turbo on, tuning the carb for boost, and getting a modified carb hat that would mate with the turbo/intercooler piping. you'd also need to do something with timing, such as a locked distributor..

 

o ok, i got it thanks.

 

Its any turbo/carb setup that has the turbo blowing positive pressure through the carb,instead of the engine generating negative mainfold pressure and sucking air through the carb(Natural Aspiration)

Blow through requires some mods to the(any) carb to prevent mixture problems and float bowl issues.It does allow for an intercooler,so it tends to be more popular than draw through turbo setups which put the carb before the turbo and has the turbo injesting and compressing a "wet" intake charge.

Either setup will/does work on a rotary,but neither was used from the factory, so they both require some custom work and plenty of tuning. EFI is more compatible to turbocharging since its "smarter" and dry all the way to the end of the intake tract.

 

Steve pretty much explained it. For more information, check out the first gen. archive, there are some detailed write-ups that chronicle individuals builds. Also, check out posts CREATED by FB II using the advanced search option.

Both blow-through carb. and 13BT swaps require a pretty fair amount of work, and also tuning. Either projects are not "cheap" or beginner projects. My best suggestion to you is to research both topics until your heard hurts. This way you will be fully prepared to tackle the project laid before you.

There are plenty of members here with experience on both topics, so just search and ask via PM. Lots of threads have also been started, so the information is yours for the taking.

Later,
Chris~

 

If you have a second car that you can use as a daily driver while doing the conversion, basic mechancial ability, tools, and desire, you can get it done. I am in the middle of my swap, although it is a classic rotary, the principal is still the same.

The actual engine conversion itself can be done in a couple of weekends. However, as they say, the devil is in the details. researching parts, and locating parts will take forever. Also, as someone said, If you go past 250 to the rear wheels, other parts on the car should be upgraded to match the power level. You will absolutely need better brakes, suspension, and probably, drivetrain parts as well.

I have had alot fun, planning, and working on my project. The reward has been more than just swapping over to turbo. For that reason alone, I would reccommend it as one of those things you should do before you die.