tomorrow im picking up an 86 rx7 not sure of the trim yet, the motor was over heated, and burned the water seals. the rest of the car is in great shape, i would like to know what from this car can be carried over to my 85 gs. i know i can use the fuse block under the hood, and i think the oil cooler as well. any help would be great.

 

Tranny, if you want to swap out the tailshafts. Engine if you want to rebuild and source the correct mounting parts, then the choice of going carb or FI.

If the body and interior of the FC is in great shape, why not replace/rebuild the engine? I have an 87 as my DD, they are good for that, but the fun factor, imho, lies with the 1st gens

 

you know that actually hadnt crossed my mind. i saw the car and just thought "parts". i guess ill know which way i want to go with the 2nd once i get it home. how can i really be sure of the problems this motor has. what should i look for to tell if its the seal or something less, or worse.

 

1st thing i would do is a ghetto compression test and check the plugs for signs of coolant on them. Remove the radiator cap, check the coolant level, fill if needed, then start the engine, allow it to warm up, keeping the 3rd eye on the temp gauge and look for'champange bubbles in the filler neck. If you have coolant on the plugs or bubbles in the cooling system, blown coolant o-rings.

At operating temps, you should see coolant flow through the radiator. If not, then test/replace the thermostat and check the waterpump.

 

take the alternator and do the upgrade, well worth the time

 

noob question: but what gains do you see in this "mod"

i vote just rebuild the motor. if its already sort of screwed then just tear it apart and maybe a small streetport etc. and use it as a dd

 

1st gen alts put out 55 amps, 2nd gens put out 70 or 80, depending on model year. It is a good upgrade.

 

oh i see.

is it just bolt in and work or what?

 

The S4 alt is a direct swap. The S5 and S6 alts require a little bit of wiring.

Attached is the best alt wiring diagram I have found to date. No idea who made it, but kudo to him.

 

Yea,Id keep the FC intact.
There arent enough easily swappable parts to justify crippling the FC.Its not gonna be stripped bare by the time your done,......unless you decide to sell parts to FC guys.If its a 5 lug car,then that might be an option since most of the running gear and underpinnings are desireable for the base model guys.

Easy 2nd to 1st gen stuff is......
Seats
Oil cooler
Tranny (hardly an upgrade)
Underhood fuse box
Alternator
Leading coil for direct fire setup
5 lug big front brakes,with the correct adaptor kit

 

Don't mean to steal the thread but thought it is relevant to the topic. For the swap, does one have to change the accelerator cable from a 1st gen to the 2nd?

 

2nd gen accel cable hooks up to the 1st gen firewall and gas pedal,no problem.

N/A and TII's use different cables.

 

So if I am swapping a 2nd gen n/a into a first gen, the accel cable for the 2nd gen n/a is needed correct since its longer?

 

thanks for the intrest guys, i have decided to rebuild the 2nd gen, but for now, the alt is the s4 type and i will be swapping temp like. thanks for the diagram. also the car is a four lug. darn, but the patern is just a little differand than the 85, i would have liked those wheels on my car.

 

1st gen cable will work with the NA FC, not the turbo which needs a much longer cable.


FC 4 lug pattern is the same as the 1st gen SE pattern. Both are 114.3X4.

 

well im parting or trading the 2nd after all, but can someone elaborate on the leading coil direct fire ignition, i have no idea how this is done. ive already done the s4 alt swap worked out really well.

 

I believe sim_rx3 off www.ausrotary.com made that!