I don't see why some of you seven guys get your panties in a bunch when someone else says they're going to build a v8 mazda. It's not your car so don't bring them down so much, if you don't like it keep it to yourself because chances are we don't care. Some of you try to present arguments about the adding a turbo, that's one thing, but just plain bringin the guy down about the idea is stupid...

With that said, I'm only 16 going from paycheck to paycheck saving what I can, and so far I have an 85 rx7 gsl (200 bucks) that I've done all the body work on and its sitting in primer waiting to be painted but I'm going to wait till after the swap. I also have a motor from 68 corvette, me and my stepdad traded it for a free paintjob. We do the painting, and in return we get a completely rebuilt motor with a cam, aluminum heads and intake. Works for me. The majority of the money will be going to small things like the radiator, distributor, small stupid stuff that adds up.

Check out v8rx7.com, they'd surely be more welcoming to the idea of swapping. So it's another mazda without a mazda motor... go whine to mommy. You aren't paying for it.

And why not use an American car? They're ugly, and most of them are extremely heavy and not near as balanced as the rx7.

 

thanks bro.

i most likely wont do the swap until i loose my engine out of my 7. which wont be too long, (i might juice it for a few races.) <-- thats going to bring up some hate too.

as for the 80's v8s i wouldnt want one in there without changing compress or do a forced induction.

 

dont get me wrong i love the rotary but i cant afford it.

 

Yeah I got a few people interested in my 7 and it's not even done yet. Maybe if I can find a buyer, I will sell it and try to build a real track and auto x car. If not, then I have one fast rx7 to take my friends money with at the strip!

But don't get me wrong, this doesn't have to be a strip only car but since I have my honda for auto x if I want to right now I'm not as concerned about spending the extra cash on a performance oriented suspension. I could simply switch out a cam, do a 5 lug conversion for a better selection of wheels and customize a suspension for auto x if I wanted though and have one hella fast track car. And if you spend your time and money wisely, weight is not such a big issue as some make it. Sure if you get cast iron block and iron heads and aren't mindfull about all the addition your car will weigh a lot in the front but if you invest the lil extra for aluminum and just take a few things out here and there you can have a 7 that's nearly as well balanced and skinny as it was with the rotary.

Rotaries are beautiful motors, just not the most cost efficient when chevy and ford motors are in abundance at your local junkyards.

LS-1's and LT-1s are more expensive than a carburated motor though simply due to the fact that you have all teh electronics involved and the engines will put you out some cash too. Start looking around to get an idea of what everything will cost ya.

 

The Buick V6 is just like the Ford 2.3.

It's inherently a very shitty design power-wise. The heads suck *** through a straw. However, it's blessed with a stout bottom end, so you can put a turbocharger on there and *force* the air through the shitty heads and *artifically* raise the engine's breathing ability (and displacement).

Which is what Buick did. Instead of fixing the heads for better flow, to make the engine more efficient, they just cram air into the engine by force. It works, but it's kind of a sledgehammer approach.

The spirit of the Mazda is trying to make a reliable MGB-GT, which they did handily. (Later they made a regular MBG with the Miata)

 

Ahhhhhh.......... it's a car. Don't think there is much of spirit. What it does have is oil, coolant, and compression leaks, it really shouldn't matter whats under the hood so long as it hauls ***! And by the way, I think the basis of operation for the internal combustion engine is a compressed air fuel mixture that gets ignited by spark(gasoline) or compression(diesel).....so what's the problem with a sledgehammer?Everything that runs has them.

 

Which is my point exactly.

 

my bad.

 

funny i can do that in my 88 TII

 

why is that funny? And good for you!

 

Let's see the TII do it on 87 octane, from a roll, and only half throttle (or less).....

 

 

I once lifted a dry 12a block out of my car by hand...

 

once I looked out the window of my house and mine did it in the drive way...... and it wasn't even on! Have I ever told the story of the first time I was killed? It was during WW2, I was flying a chopper with a sling load inverted.........

 

this is gonna sound wierd, but my 83 12a costs me almost nothing to run. i could drive it almost forever and my $ investment will be nearly 0. anyother car i have to spend money on to keep it running.

the flip side is the v8 swap doesnt really bug me

 

I can't afford to work on piston engines. Seriously. I spent nothing on the latest rebuild, other than a case of oil. My friend bought the gasket set.

 

That's a great thing, some vehicles are just in harmony with themselves! I've seen some of the ugliest veh. that look like they are falling apart right in front of you that just keep on going....and do it smoothly. Some of the best looking and neat vehicles just won't work harmoniously(sp?)with themselves and stay down. As far as I'm concerned it wouldn't matter if it had a rubber band under the hood as long as it moved and had some class! I can be an *** just like anyone else but there is probably a zillion reasons that you could support a rotary powered or v8 powered car or truck it's just what you like and want.

 

Yah, I switched to rotary because of the reliability... got tired of blowing headgaskets and/or looking at internal engine parts without using any tools.

'85 12A... overheated at least three times, 12,000mi with no functioning OMP (it glugs on premix even at 200:1, so I humor it), and only has 161,000 miles on it. Doesn't even have dowel O-ring leakage.

But boingers have their points as well... better emissions, better mileage, less noise, less weight...

So basically I either live with stock 12A goodness, r get used to changing engines every 25k.

 

if i could get/make a 20b for under 600 i would, its reliable and its fast but not affordable.....

 

i love 84 my gs i just bought it. it loves to be revved, it hanhdles predictably and is a blast to drive everybody has a mustang,camero,vette in the parking lot at groceery store but i am th eonly one with a sweet running 1.1l rotary mazda rx7.

 

The thing on the chains looks to be at least 350 lbs heavier than the keg on the ground...that simply HAS to do something to screw up the handling and breaking and make the Spirit of Mazda cry...

 

Man, that 13B is dwarfed. Of course it's naked in that pic, but that boinger sure is big. Even a 20B would be smaller.

 

what do you do for a tranny....I found a low miliage 5.o out of a Mk7 lincoln with ecu and harness for $500....I could fab some motormounts but what about the trans and rear end? driveshaft?

 

you can run either an auto (aod most likely) or 5 speed. auto is easier as you dont have to come up with a way to use the hydraulics on a clutch that was meant for cable setup.
driveshaft is custom. check out the link to torque central and do some searches, you'll find what you need

 

As a racer I've probably spent about twice the time researching these cars than most people. I would highly recomend the 302 vs. the 350. For starters the motor is lighter, and easier to fit into the RX-7. I made my mounts for less than $30, and had a shop touch up the welds. The driveshaft I spent $320 on for a completly custom unit, but you can do it for $150 or less by combining a used Mustang and Mazda unit. You won't have rebuildable U joints, but you'll have $150 in your pocket.
If you can afford or find a F/I motor get it. It'll run better, and get better millage, but it's way more expensive to upgrade in the future. A carb motor on the other hand, is 1000 times easier to install, and can make more power for less money. It's a little bit of a pain for a daily driver though.

Get a manual!!! Unless you're building a drag car, get a 5 speed. I'm still running the stock rear end on my car, with some mid 8's in the 1/8th mile, and 1.9 60's with no problems. If you ask me, having an automatic tranny distroys the RX-7 about 5 time more than having a V8. A T-5 from a Mustang fits well. Shell out the $150 for a shifter with possative stops though. I've killed two sets of synchros in 17,000 miles because of over shifts. Ask any questions you think of, I'm sure I'm missing things to include.



As for aluminum 302 blocks, you save 30lbs, for $1200+, not cost effective. You can shave 22 lbs by installing a fiberglass hood, 19lbs by installing a plexiglass rear window, both only total about $500. Aluminum heads are good for 50lbs total. The carb set up is lighter than F/I, a mini starter is good for 5 lbs, headers shave a few lbs, it all adds up. It's actually possible to get the 302 RX-7 to factory balance, but it's pretty involved. Right now I have a rear mount battery, head light conversion, and carb set up. A 302 RX-7 will weigh about 2650lbs with iron heads and no weight reduction with a 54/46 balance. I autocross mine nearly every two weeks, and the balance is wonderful. The car is an absolute blast to drive, although I need bigger tires. I drive it back to back with our club RX-7 (ported 12a on race tires) and even though my car turns slower times from the crappy street tires, it's still about 50 times more fun to drive. V8 RX-7's are a blast. If you ever drive a well set up one, you'll never argue against it again.

FB's are awsome chassis. Dirt cheap, ironicly because of the rotory motor's flaws and a lack of knowladge. Sad that a car worth $13,000 in 1985 commonly sells for $500-1000 in perfect shape while rusted pile of crap 280Z cars go for $1000+. FB's are well designed, easy and cheap to upgrade, have plenty of spare parts (thanks to the low cost and large race following), weigh about 500lbs less than a Mustang, and handle three times better. Why don't you go buy a '69 camaro and drop a 13B-RE into it and we'll race.