The decision has been made. The white '83 is getting a 20B!

This thread will detail the build. Enjoy!

 

Firstly, check out some history on the car itself. https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showthread.php?t=539579

Nice improvement, wouldn't you say? I traded my 13B powered GLC sport for it. Fair trade? Fair enough because I get to keep the nice running 12A to throw in something else (keep an eye out for that project coming up next).

For those too lazy to check out that other thread, here is a picture of the car:


and here is the 20B.

 

I will definitely be keeping an eye on this, particularly for the exhaust

 

The engine bay after all the work. Purty.


But still kinda stock looking.


It seems I can't upload any pictures at this time (server errors) so enjoy some more older pictures.

This is right after I got it.


Here is the header I built for another project. I think with a few tweaks it will fit the RX-7 chassis. The middle and rear pipes are almost perfectly equal length. The front is a couple inches longer but what'r yah gonna do? All Racing Beat thickwall pipe.


The header during construction. Like the b&w? lol That's before I figured out how to get color out of a black and white camera.


Walbro 255lph inline. It's plenty quiet enough for me. I don't know what all the fuss is over the intake pumps when I can't even hear this one when the engine's running. Zoom!


Rusty GSL-SE tank.


Eek!


I'll have to pull the send/return unit from this tank and drop it into my '83 GSL tank. The only tricky part is the sump cup. I don't know what to do.

 

Ah, it's letting me upload some pictures now.

The 12A is now out and waiting to go into something.


Something else appears to be missing.


Oh, there it is. But why is it out?


Why indeed.

 

How much offset do you pick up by reversing the crossmember? Are the holes on a square pattern? It never even occured to me to flip it.... Good eye.

 

The holes are offset. See the middle hole? It represents the center of the suspension arm.

I can't remember how much extra room I gained. A few inches. It should be enough to clear the R5 oil pan.

 

Very nice! Good idea flipping the crossmember around. Looking forward to seeing what all is involved on this install.

 

I am on the wrong coast....


Nice build-up thread. It seems like you have some interesting ideas up your sleeve too!

Subscribed to thread!

 

I'm glad there's some interest.

Did you guys notice I cut the ends off the crossmember? It seemed like the only way. I used the spot welded tabs as a cutting guide so the cuts were as straight as possible. The holes for the suspension arms should still line up correctly. This would not be true if I simply flipped the crossmember. I just have to remove the motor mount pedestals and tack the crossmember back together.

There is a chance the upper edge will contact the oil pan. If so I'll just trim the edge.

 

I would weld fill the holes and redrill them. If cutting the tabs off and welding them back on, bolt it to the body and tack it together, then finish it on the bench.

 

Looks like a very interesting project Will you just weld fresh mounts for the side mounts for the new engine ? Are you using the stock gearbox as well ??

Shaun

 

I think that's what the guy in Aus did on Rotary20B's white '83. I considered that too but discovered that simply reversing it and redrilling was not an option for me. My oil pan is a little larger than a GSL-SE pan and I want to keep the extra capacity, so I needed the extra rearward space that only cutting and reversing can afford. The curve would be too far forward otherwise. Plus there's no guarantees that a GSL-SE pan would work any better - it has a straight edge at the back while the R5 has a curved edge that matches the curve of the crossmember pretty well. Presicely what I had in mind.

 

Here's where I got the idea. It's that Australian one. Mine should be further back when done.

 

I'll be watching this thread for sure, can't wait to see it done! Looks good so far!

 

cant wait to see the end result of this project

 

Thanks.

Remember that black and white header pic above? Here's another one of the header in the old project, only this time I coaxed a color picture out of the camera.

 

What series 20B engine do you have?

 

#756

 

nice are you going to drive this in the street ...

 

Holy ****, I didn't think my engine bay could take a 20B... this might cloud my idea of dropping a Renesis with a turbo in favor of the 20B XD.

 

Wheres the Turbo(s) ?


I recommend no less than either an HKS T51R SPL or a Greddy T88-38GK.

I also recommend and HKS Dog Box, Ford 8.8 Rear, Helmet, Fire retardant suit, Roll cage and in the event of flight, a parachute and an ejector seat.

 

If I know Jeff like I think I do, this 20B will stay NA. That's the beauty of a Jeff20B buildup thread. Everything he does is based on his mechanical skill and leftover old school parts, rather than the depth of his pocketbook. I love a good thread by Jeff b/c I know that if I had just the skill that he does, it would be possible to recreate what he's showing us. It's not always about strapping on turbos, injectors, and engine management with him.

Keep up the great work Jeff!

 

Is it an A, B, C, or D series engine? The marking should be right before the numbers. You're gonna want to know this as it will affect your engine rebuild strategy. If it's an A or B series you run the risk of cracking the rotor housings (they were redesigned for the last of the B series and the C and Ds). If it's a C or D series, you're good to go.

 

Looking good Jeff

Thanks for taking the time to document all the work.

Me too subscribe to this thread!!