20bdreams

i own an 84 gsl-se in the states that is in mint condition with only 84k on the body. i am living in japan and just bought an 89 T2 with a 20b already in it and running for 3k. i can not send the car back after i leave japan but i can send parts, so i was going to strip it down of everything and put it into my 84. problem is i would have to do some major work just to bolt in the 20b, i hate the way stock FC's look and dont want to buy another car anyway. since the 20b is already in an FC it would be the easiest solution to just buy one when i get back to the states and just do a simple drop in swap. but going that route would cause me to spend money on a car then since FC's do look good when they have certain kits on them with nice rims i would be spending even more money to get it looking good. so im stuck !!!.....spend the money on an FC body and even more money making it look good, or spend the money on getting the 20b to fit into my GSL-SE. i have no welding skills so i would have to pay some one to do it and they would pretty much butt rape me in labor charges.................i love my first gen and my dream car is actually a first gen with a 20b but it is way easier to just buy a non running FC.........what would you guys suggest.

20bdreams

although a running 20b conversion in the states is sooooo damn off the hook maybe loosing my gsl-se is worth it.....what i mean by loosing my 84 is maybe sell or trade it for a FC....who knows maybe if i can get a decent (NON running) FC body i can maybe even have money left over from the sale to get the body kit and rims to make the FC look good. i just love my car soo much and would hate to loose a classic like my 84. i put soo much into that car also........but a 20b is a fuggin legend compared to a classic...............AHHHH !!!!! im stuck

Jeff20B

iTrader: (13)

Don't get an FC just to make it easier to drop a 20B in it. You'll never be happy with it in the end.

Would you rather have the pain of discipline now or the pain of regret later?

So what if you can't weld. Let this be your first welding job. Go slow and carefully.

How do you think I got to where I am with my 20B and '83? I wanted to stick a 20B in a 1st gen for a while now, but I knew it needed to be white, so it would make my search more difficult. Well I found one. Come July I'm going to rip the 12A out and figure out the best way to install the sucker. Do I leave the tranny where it is for easier oil filter changes in the future? Not to mention clutch slave cylinder jobs? Or do I move it back like Rotary20B did in his Aussie spec white '83? That requires a shorter drive shaft, relocated shifter, etc. What happens if/when the tranny breaks? Gotta swap the modded shifter housing around which I think requires pulling the tailhousing each time; just more complication for a couple pounds of engine shifted rearward. Of course he kept his rad and oil cooler in the stock location and added two 10" thermos (fans) to the front.

Both require some sort of custom oil pan where an FC does not, although an FC can't keep the stock sway bar as is due to the lump at the front of the oil pan where the pickup tube curves up and around toward the back. I installed an old style 13B pan in the front with a flat aluminum plate at the rear. It held up for a little while in the GLC and then started to leak a little. For the 1st gen, if I cut and reversed the crossmember to place it as close to the steering center link as possible, that old style pan might just fit in the RX-7. The curve more or less matches if the crossmember is reversed (A GSL-SE pan might fit easier). Or I could get a stock JC Cosmo pan and pickup tube, chop out a section at the front of the sump (under the middle rotor housing) to make room for the center link, and tig it back together with maybe half a pipe to mimic the shape of the center link. The engine must be moved back like Rotary20B's to keep from loosing too much oil capacity if doing it this way.

Now that I think about it, Rotary20B kept his battery up front. If I relocated my battery to a storage bin, that would shift some 40 pounds rearward, reducing the overall front end weight 50% of what a typical 20B adds over say an S5 13B. Some people say the 20B weighs like 80 pounds more than an S5 T2 engine (not sure about accessories, manifolds etc). Removing the dead weight of the battery from under the hood may well be just the justification I was looking for to keep the tranny in its stock location and only having to move the radiator forward and possibly tilt it if using the tall style. I was sort of planning the move the rad forward anyway. Plus if I break the tranny, it's a simple matter to swap it without all the tailhousing/shifter swaparoonies.

Wow, I set out to help you and I ended up helping myself.

20bdreams

you sound really experienced when it comes to personal modifications. as for my self, i was young when i got the car and it was bone stock at the the time. the only thing i knew about rotarys was that there are many different port jobs and most old schools run with a carb set up......then i started learning about swaps ect ect etc but by that time i had already spent the money on getting my 13b street ported and everything that goes along with it. then shortly after that i got stationed in japan and had to put it in storage. so now i have the ultimate swap but dont even know what half of what your talking about is let alone where it is. im not mechanically challenged though cause i am actually a jet engine mechanic in the airforce, so i can probably figure most of it out. my biggest challenge actually is not being able to have my car and the new parts to compare and say " well this has to be moved in order to fit that, and this and that part need to go there" you know what i mean. i have about a year left until i can get my hands on my car and need to get as much info on this as possible, that way im ready to get rite on her when i get back. i have read a few peoples methods and one guy made the 20b itself mount up front instead of near the back and another guy moved the tranny back and modified his steering rack so it wouldnt hit the oil pan.....theres a few ways of going about this but i have no one answer. kinda frustrating

20bdreams

heres a pic of one guys sub frame

http://members.optusnet.com.au/rotar...rossmember.jpg

Jeff20B

iTrader: (13)

That's him: Rotary20B. That only works if you move the engine and tranny back and mod a stock pan.