The 20B Rotary
 

Been doing some research. To save the life of my rx-7. I was thinking about rebuilding my 12A. I've heard of several rotary's being rebuilt twice and still in good running condition. So whatever I bought, I could probably just rebuild it .. or rebuild it again :D

But then I've been reading some stuff about the 13B motor .. seemed alright .. just some different purchasing of upgrades here and there .. figured the rebuild would be better anyway.

BUT THEN ... I saw a 20B rotary. Actual pics :D, twin turbo-ed and everything.

I'm sorry, but this motor looks phat. A bigger displacement, more rotors(?) I believe, and I've seen the motor sit in a 1st gen.

Just curious on how the trouble would be to get performance parts for this? I'm pretty sure the aftermarket exhaust is the same like the RB headers and Bonze cat pipe and muffler, but what about the clutches and the brakes? Or anything else related to a rare motor like.

I also wonder if Mazda still produces that motor. About 2 or 3 years ago I knew then they still manufactured the 2nd gen motor. But who knows ...

Any Thoughts?

If you are new to Rx7s, then I'm sorry but I would not recommend you attempting a 20B swap. Not that I'm doubting your ability, I just see it as a very impractical swap. It requires lots of custom fabrication, and expensive parts. The 20B engines are very, very expensive, and also difficult to find. Granted, your car WILL be very unique when finished, but I'd say you'll be looking at close to $10,000, probably more, for a setup like you're talking about. When it comes down to it, a nice Turbo 12A or 13B is much more realistic, and affordable. And in a car as small as a first gen, you can still have plenty of fun with a Turbo 2 Rotor. It doesn't take much to get these tiny cars moving. :bigthumb:

You had better have a lot of fab skills and tons and tons of money to throw at this project.

Everything involved will be a pain in the ass, hard to find, and expensive.....



:)

--Alex

that blows ... it really does. Let me tell ya.

Fabrication? Dunno what you mean. If you don't mind explaining it.

I'll look for a 20B motor and see what required parts I'll need. If it's like $10K like you said, I will just rebuild my 12A. I believe I could do that for no more than $2K around here.

Like welding, being able to make your own motor and tranny mounts, moving the trans and shifter backwards, relocate the radiator ect..............

Not a wise move, especially for someone who just got their first rx-7. I have been working on cars for some time and I have my own 3 car workshop but for the amount of headache and patience needed to put a 20b into your fb, not to mention all the custom work and a huge sum of money...even I won't be attempting that anytime soon. Not that I couldn't do it but shit thats a huge headache to deal with.

Oooh Ok .. yeah that is a lot of work :( I wasn't going to do that myself though. But I'm pretty sure it will be pricey just to do that.

Oh and if you ever want to get it running you will probably have to import the entire front half of a JDM car that came with a 20B (ie Cosmo) for the ecu and all the wiring.

Or maybe a standalone ecu like a Haltech but that costs big bucks too




$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$rebuild your 12A$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$



--Alex

Pettite racing charges around $35,000 to put a 20B in a 3rd Gen

damn, that's a little steep for a used car. I'd rather get the RX-8 .. lol

Thats just the conversion cost. On top of the price for a third gen 7..........

lol.

All this is why we don't ALL have 20B in our FBs ;)

don't know that one. "FB" ..?

I see now you're new. Here's my welcome to the forum.

The VIN number of RX7s from 1981 through 1985 have the body code FB33, which we use to refer to them as FBs. 79(78 really) through 80 are SA22C (Hence, SA). 86-9(1 or 2, I'm not sure) is FC34, or FC. Finally, every RX 7 past whatever the last year of the FC was is labeled as FD35, or FD.

Same as saying 1st Gen, 2nd Gen, and 3rd Gen, but shorter.

Aaaahh, Ok Then. That's cool. I was wondering what that FB33 was on one of those lables on my car. There were like about 10 different model #'s for one car. Kind of got lost.

Now try looking at how many Mustang or Civic body codes there are. Thank god for the simple RX 7 ;)

I'd say if you want something sweet and fast, then just get a turboII. It'll cost around 4k, but well worth the trouble and still very fast n' fun. An FB is what you own! lol...


20B...wow...you have big dreams :D

Hey, that's a WET DREAM, lol

I would pay 10 000 dollars for a 20B FB or SA... :)

The dollar has sunk to a record low level in comparison to the Norwegian kroner, so 10 000 dollars really aint that much. Here in Norway, the normal price for a good Turbo II starts at about 12 000 dollars, so if somebody where to sell a decent 20B FB here for 10 000 dollars, i bet you could get it sold in notime!

I want to take the long route tough, i currently have a 13B 4 port in mine, so the next step will be to turbo it, and then a 13BRE and finally, the ultimate dream, a 20B.

Sorry for the threadjacking, but how much do you guys have to pay for a 20B? Here, you can get a good one for about 3000 dollars and up.

^^^^WOW! somebody else is still awake, oh wait, he's in Norway:D


What time is it over there?

12 o clock!

Ya for the price of a 20B swap you midst well buy a FD...alot nicer car for that motor to be in anyway!

Im still a fan of the 12A bridgeported with turbo.

if I had a 20B to put it I'd get it in there can't be much worse than when I put a 400 smallblock in a '76 TR7........that was a 10 second street monster with no nitrous.

If you really want a 20b... might I suggest perusing the 20b Forum a bit? Those are really the guys to answer your Q's about it.