I don't know if this will offend the rotary nuts here but I'm considering a V8 powered 1st gen RX7 project and was wondering if anyone here had any experience with this type of a project?

Thanks
JP

 

Uh oh LOL

I considered it with my swap, but I changed my mind. Several times during my process I considered it again and again...

This subject has literally been beat to death. But they make some nice kits to do it...

try www.grannysspeedshop.com , kerry & winnipegsl here have a v8 1st gens...

 

Whoops, sorry if this subject has been discussed before. Thanks for the info.

 

Also there is a forum at www.v8rx7.com

 

Thanks for posting that link, Felix! I've been wishing for that for the past 2 years!
Redvalkyrie... It's a sweet combination, at least with a Ford. If you have previously done any swaps, you'll find it pretty simple. The major stuff all falls into place.

Kerry

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! Now they all do have a place to go that will appreciate their heresy...

 

Why are you always such a baby?

 

I happen to agree. An rx-7 with a V8 is not an RX-7. You destroy the weight distribution, handling characteristics and replace the one thing that makes a an RX-7 so unique, it's power plant.

Any joe smoe with a welder and a grinder can rig a V-8 in a 7. They do it to all sorts of other things like VW's and pintos.

If you notice, this website has sections for RX-7's and other rotary powered vehicles. That's just my feeling. No pistons no problems.

 

And when's the last time you built or drove one again?

 

motors are easy, the car itself is what matters
dont even start a debate on v8 rexes
do a search and im sure you'll find that v8 rexes do just fine
i hope you arent referring to kerry as just your average joe welder.... cause youve never met him

edit:dont wanna start a flame war so i edited that ****...

 

Haha, I wouldn't. It would be a waste of my time. I woulf prefer to buy a V-6 MX-6 for the same money. I would get a faster car with better handling and a better interior and look. There's a critical limit between being dumb and being creative. As a matter of fact, some guy has been trying to sell a V8 powered 7 in the local recycler for 3 months. At 1500 you'd think someone would be interested. But I guess not.

I feel anyone who thinks a V8 in a 7 is a good idea is not really in tune with the whole idea of "R" X-7. If my 7 didn't have a rotary, I would have junked it long ago. You need to have a reason to keep a 20 year old car alive, especially with today's emission standards.

 

what about a mazda V6 with some nice mods? would that be an easier swap?

*Puts on Flame suit*

Jeff

 

Let me put it a subtler way. I am not saying you or anyone is not a clever, master mechanic. The fact that you can put a V-8 is a very serious achievement in and of itself.

This is how I feel. When someone puts a piston engine in an RX it's a slap in the face. Its saying, Hey rotaries suck, so I put a piston engine in. It's saying, Hey I wanted more power or Hey I wanted more reliability.

If you want to impress rotary enthusiasts, then put a rotary in something else. I personnally would love to see a 13B in a Miata, that would be sweet.

I have seen a few VW bugs with rotaries raced offroad.

It's like going to a Chevy convention and sporting your '67 Camero with a Ford V8.

Rotaries represent a different way of doing something that bucks the mainstream. In this case it happened to be a great idea.

 

why is it that most of the forum noobs remind me of hitler youth....
yes wankels are cool, can be reliable, and have plenty of power, but we dont all have 13bt's laying around like most people have 302's and 350's laying around.
it all comes down to price in my book. i could throw a sweet 13bt in my project car, but im gonna setlle with a slightly modified 12a for now. maybe someday i'll have the cash to throw something in better but for now it'll do. if i had about 1500 laying around for a motor swap id have to say id go 302 though.
the rx-7 is about having fun in the car you drive not the fact that its got a wankel under the hood.

now onto that mx-6 comment-
what are you nuts? v-6 mx-6? first off, probes have the same motors but better suspension setup because ford jipped mazda on that deal. and its fwd! dude dont say a fwd anything is better than a rwd anything on the rex board whiel im still alive and postin or im gonna tell you whats up. same price? what? j-spec mx-6 motors are like 3g's after shipping and then you have a motor with a shade over 200hp thats a pain to install. and the nicer interior part is crappolla. have you ever been in the falling apart plastic interior of most mx-6's and/or probes? must stop typing since it will do no good

the wankel youth will keep growing no matter what i post

gamble

 

as much as i love rotary engines, if i had to money, and the time.. i would put a 350 under the hood. ive gotten into drag racing, instead of the SCCA stuff that most people do with their rx-7's. im afraid to drag my car too much and **** it up, while not making it under 15's. but for 1500, i could do it, probably less. my dad did the v6 conversion in his 87 rx7, and i love it, i cant imagine a v8 in my little car. rotaries are a great great thing, but what about RAW power?

 

Well, I would love to have a fast rotary. But junk rx-7's with dead motors are not the hardest things to find. And cheap piston motors that put out some decent HP are pretty easy to find. So I am all for mixing the two.
I am swapping in a 2.3 4 cylinder Ford into my 85 gsl. From the bend that the 12a and trans put on my engine hoist I can promise that I am not picking up any extra weight from the swap and the little 4 sits way back in the engine compartment (thanks Mr. BFH). The motor in the pics id just somehting I put together for fitment. I will be pulling the 2.3 turbo 4 from my mustang that so far has gone 11.96 @ 112.7mph in the 1/4 at 2900# Everything included I should have around $1000 in the whole car, it should still be light and put around 320-340hp to the wheels.







Later
Randy -->putting on the flame suit

 

Well, actually, yes, there are a few front drive cars out there that can handle quite well, believe it or not. And lest we forget, the 1gen RX-7's can be a pretty cold blooded machines with the snap oversteer when the body starts to roll. Just because a car is RWD, does not mean that it handles better de facto.

It all depends on how you take car of it. That's true for anything. My 96 PGT is over 5 model years old now, yet still looks as though it belongs on the show room floor. And it's my daily driver.

Please, don't take this the wrong way, but I looked at your profile, and you don't have any leway to make that statement.

Now, the real reason you don't want to use a V6 from the Mazda 'K' series is that it was designed strictly for FWD applications. Things aren't going to line up for a rear drive application, and even if you do get it worked out, you will have oil starvation issues. See this site for more details: http://members.aol.com/solomiata/MX5Engine.html

 

Flame suit? What the hell for, Ive seen that Mustang run, I couldnt beleive it seriously, and Im gonna be severely pissed if you beat the one im building... But anyways I get everything tuned and ready Ill race ya, but I aint throwing in 27 pounds of freaking boost LOL Your NUTS!

 

320 340hp is a realistic hp from that engine, but its still blasphemy.

And those things are heavy! They say (i dont believe them) because they are cast-iron block and head that they are heavier than the aluminum 5.0.

I'd rather keep my turboford in one piece and my mazda in one piece and leave it at that. You know, you could put a TII engine in it and have similar, if larger hp numbers than that...and save weight! And kharma!

 

I am not saying that the 2.3 it a light weight. Just the weight is a lot further back than a V8. A 2.3turbo with cast manifold and turbo is around 30# lighter than a alum. headed 302. But the engine is about 5" shorter. Also a 12A and trans are pretty darn heavy. hopefully I will have it on the road in the very near future and will get it wieghed front/rear and total.

Trust me, I would love to put a t2 engine in it, but I can do this for next to no money and have the HP. I am mainly just tossing this together for the GRM2003 event. Then a little drag/autox and ricer killing action on weekends. I hate to think what scca class I will be in. lol Don't really care, it's just for fun anyways.

The musatng that the 2.3turbo is coming out of is getting another 302 with twins this time around.

Later
Randy

I couple vids of my 2.3turbo mustang
http://members.sigecom.net/randyh/goodpass.wmv
http://members.sigecom.net/randyh/good60.wmv

 

yes there are a few good handling fwd cars out there, but why fight physics? rwd is better unless youre in rain or snow.
have you noticed that the probe and mx-6 interiors tend to fall apart? because i have. my bro had a couple probes that i know were well cared for and they just fell apart. my fb's have a nicer interiors than they do.
and whats the supposed to mean? read my profile and tell me what says i have no leway to make any statement i want?

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im not posting just to flame or anything im trying to make a point. most poeple on here are too closed minded when it comes to motors. the noobs just so happen to be the first ones to flame v-8's when the issue comes up because they havent seen the topic come up a thousand times before.

sweet car randy. what all are you doing to the 2.3?

gamble

 

Sorry to dissapoint you, but there are lot's of FWD cars that just blow the doors of 7's and other RWD cars. The MX-6 is my 2nd favorite car ever built (93 and up). It's stock 0 to 60 in 7.2 and pulls .92 G's in the slolem. My 7 is 0 to 60 in 10.4 (8.5 if 13b) and corners .85 g in slolem. I have driven the MX-6 and I can guarantee my 7 doesn't have a chance.

As for interior reliability, my 7 is no perfect car. Almost every 7 has cracked column cover. I have had door handles (exterior handles) break on every 7 I have owned even my 91 MX-6 (4 all together). I have never had door handles break on any other non mazda car I have owned. My 7's interior is rather ugly. I thought so when I bought my first 7. But it grows on you and I didn't have much choice. My seats haven't held up as well as my friends Z's. I have about half a dozen little things that have always never worked (like rear defrosters) right on any 7. My first seven was only 6 years old. I had massive problems with the door handles breaking and windows getting off track (it was a stock handle driven window).

So no car is perfect. Just don't think RX-7's are the end all be all of cars. I am a Mazda fan before a 7 fan.

 

the reason fb's are slow is because of the motors. which is why people swap, port, etc. we already know that

you cant compare a 91 with a 79. for one thing the tires used in the test then were crap etc etc

fwd is not the way it was meant to be. is the mclaren f1 fwd? nope. s7? nope. rx-7? also a big fat nope. honda has some sweet fwd stuff, but the top of the line stuff is rwd....

rwd>fwd

 

Hey guys, settle down!
Everybody has their own ideas on what constitutes a nice car. A little respect for other's opinions would be nice. You don't have to agree with them, but respect their right to have a different point of view than your own.

"I have the right to be wrong if I want to be!"

Kerry

 

haha a FWD fan!