i drove a 1981 gsx in college (bought it for $50.00 from a guy) and it was always loud.. I parked it back in 1999 at my folks house when i got another car. My rx7 was rusting away and had extreme cancer. My sister had an rx7 also that was a 1980 model but she blew the motor in it.

Sometime in 1991, my dad decided to swap motors. He pulled the 81 out of my car and put it in the 1980.

He said it all lined up perfectly, but the exhaust was a bit different and he just fabricated a plate to cover an extra hole in the exhaust. It has started up and ran fine.

The car has sat since.

Fastforward to now. He is giving me the car. I am going to want to change the rear drum brakes to my 81 rear disc brake setup. Is this easier to just swap the entire axle, or just the brake parts themselves?

What should I look for on the motor to ensure it was swapped properly? Should i worry about the exhaust, or just leave it as it is? Is there any difference in a 1980 tranny versus a 1981 tranny?

Any info would be helpful.

 

as far as the brakes go.... the whole axle swap would probably be the easiest. it's been awhile since i poked around on an 80, so i'll leave the other questions up for grabs.

 

I believe that the brake bias is different from drums as opposed to disc. It's very important that you are certain about this one coz I'm not. You dont want to brake going around a turn and have the rears grab stronger than the fronts and send you into terminal oversteer.
Check to see if all the bolts are in and torqued respectively
The 1980 tranny is an inch shorter and has a longer shifter than the 1981.
Keep on doing research so you do the right job once
Hope this helps

 

The emissions systems are totally different. I'm surprised the cat hasn't melted down by now

Trannys are pretty much identical from '79 to '92 on non turbos, the only differences being some gear ratio tweaking over the years and different shifter/trans mount locations, which has nothing to do with the engine.

 

I'm told the brake lines wont bolt directly up to the disc caliper. If not, what parts do i need to purchase?

part numbers?