GOLD_81_RX7

hey guys, i am weighing out the costs of install of a T2 in my 1981, vs doing lots of external work to the stock motor. I can get the T2 engine, tranny, clutch, turbo, computer, wiring harness for $2000 delivered to my door.

so the question is, "what are the other modifications needed to be done? and what other parts will i need?"

i am hoping to do this on my own (with help from friends). and am currently taking a welding course and will have access to an arc welder. hope somebody knows of the steps, whats needed, or can point me in a direction of another website that has step by step directions. thanks

kevinbtz

iTrader: (4)

Try searching...... it has been done tons of times. Other than that it is pretty much strait foreward.

Rotofire

fuel dilevery, ECU


try searching for "the chronicles of the TII swap" or somthing along those lines

steve84GS TII

Welding is a great plus and very helpful,but not much needed for a TII swap.
For simplicity,stick with a S4 TII (87-88)
Youll need a GSL-SE oilpan and front cover for starters,and youll need to notch/bend slightly, the 12A front crossbar,or get an SE crossbar and right side rubber mount.The SE front cover can be easily drilled/tapped to accept the turbo oil drain,and the S4 oil metering pump will bolt right up.
Stock 1st gen trans mount can be used,just need to grind a little and drill some holes.Stock 1st gen trans crossmember can also be used also,you just have to space it down an inch or so.

Now your power plant can be mounted up.

To get the TII shifter directly in the center of the hole,youll need to pull the tailcone and TII selector box.Then pull the selector shaft and cut 1" off the end of the shaft and redrill the roll pin hole.Then cut 1" off the center of the selector shaft tube,join the 2 tube ends with a piece of heater hose,and bolt the tailcone and 1st gen selector box back to the tranny.This will move the shifter forward one inch without affecting the internal mechanism.

The driveline can be approached several ways,but I choose to have a custom one made.The front yoke was from a Courior truck and the Ujoints are full size and greasable.I had a TII rear differential flange machined slightly to fit into a stock 1st gen rearend.

The exhaust will need to be upgraded to at least 2.5".2nd gen downpipes like Racing Beat will fit fine,and theres plenty of room to have a custom exhaust up to 3" diameter,ran straight back to the axle and over.If you run the new exhaust straight back instead of angling like the stocker,you will be able to pull the tranny and driveline without disturbing the exhaust system.

Youll need to run high pressure fuel to the engine.About 35-45psi.The stock 1st gen feed line is fine,its the same size as a stock TII feed line.The 1st gen return line is too small.Just run another 1st gen feed line along side the original one and use it for a return.Clean,simple....
To get high pressure fuel out of the tank,youll need to procure a GSL-SE fuel tank and run an adequate external EFI fuel pump.Or better yet,do like I did and convert any 1st gen tank to an internal pump.Its quiet,protected and reliable because it stays cool.The stock TII fuel pickup assembely will fit perfectly into a 1st gen tank.You just have to cut out the hole to the larger oval shape,and have a 2nd gen slosh baffle soldered/welded to the bottom of the 1st gen tank.Then weld/solder the mounting ring to the top of the tank.Dont forget to also weld the mounting ring for the TII tank vent.I put it at the very top of the 1st gen tank and ran the vent up front to the charcoal canister.
Its best to leave the fuel tank welding to a pro.It wasnt very expensive and be sure to completely clear the tank of all fuel residue before even askin anyone to do it.Best part about going intank is that its totally silent and an upgrade to a SupraTT fuel pump is a drop in affair,good for 400hp.

The wiring will require you to make a new left side harness.The right side harness is plug and play between the engine and ECU.The left side powers the ECU,fuel pump relay resistor,CAS and coils.GET A FACTORY SERVICE MANUAL for the correct year of the engine.It will greatly simplify the wiring job.Its only about 10-15 wires,but knowing what your doing will make it a piece of cake.

Be sure to do all the housekeeping while the engine is out of the car on a stand.Replace all the external gaskets and seals,have the injectors cleaned,tune it up and check for any thing broken/missing.Jspec engines especially tend to be beaten on pretty hard.
Same with the tranny.Replace the clutch T/O and pilot bearings and change the trans seals so you can run synthetic without fear of leaks.

Best advice I can give,is to research the project before you dive in.TII engines are much more complex externally than 1st gen engines.Be sure you know what each item does before you remove or tinker with it.Very little of the TII's ECU control or smog items can be removed without affecting the stock computor's control over the engine,so its best to leave it all in place unless you plan on running a standalone computor and smog isnt an issue.
Try to duplicate every system on the TII when you install the engine into the 1st gen.If you get the electrical,fuel and power transfer systems as close to the same as they are on the 2nd gen,the TII engine wont know its in a 1st gen,and youll be more likely to have sucess,and will have a less tempermental engine.

Heres some motivation......300hp,streetport,stock 90 ECU and controls,TO4B,CA smog legal......running for 4 years straight,daily driver.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...y/DSC01389.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...y/DSC01409.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...y/DSC01886.jpg

If you have any specific question or photo requests when you get down to doing the swap,just PM me.
Steve

Rex4Life

Never saw your car Steve, very nice looking. Really like what you did with the exterior. I'm nearing the end of mine and don't want to spend alot more on it--need to start saving for an Rx-8.

You got that write-up archived for cut and paste or just alot of time on your hands? Seems like this topic comes up every week.

GOLD_81_RX7, first page of the FAQ has two write-ups that will be very helpful.

Good luck,

Scott

steve84GS TII

Naw,just felt like working on my hunt-and-peck typing skills.Im getting better.....

Its been a while since I did my swap,so Im sure if I tried to make a comprehensive,complete swap guide,Id probably forget something.Besides,its not that hard of a job,you just have to be thourough and a little creative.There really isnt any heavy fabrication involved.

TO4E-SE

steve sweet looking engine bay . where did you get the peice that replaces the stock rubber elbow just before the intake at the end of the intercooler piping. in my picture i use the rubber one.hidden behind all the stock crap.haha
i definetly need to do this mod, first time the intercooler piping blew off i thought i blew the motor . i called my brother all depressed and told him he can have my car if he got a new engine, he came over looked at the engine compartment and just started laughing histerically .

steve84GS TII

Yea,the stock TB elbow was the first thing to go when I got my front mount.I never liked the idea of making a 180* turn in the intake tract.
Its from a guy on TeamFC3S.They are CNC machined,very nice quality.Cant remember his name,but Ill try to find it.

TO4E-SE

ok Steve thanks i appreciate it

RotaryRevn

You don't want an eight, hold out till 2006 when the new Rx-3 comes out

Rotofire

new Rx-3?

Directfreak

iTrader: (2)

Where did you get this info from?

Rotarx7

iTrader: (3)

wow! thats what i wanna know. theres gonna be a new RX3??

d0 Luck

mazda 3?

hornbm

there aint no rx-3 comming out. It was just posted on rotary news a while back as something they would like to see come from mazda

hondah8er

There is a mazdaspeed mazda 3 coming out after the mazdaspeed 6 this this spring.

RotaryRevn

A friend of mine hangs out at Mazda R&D sometimes so every now and then he gets to talk to some big people. Every time I mention the next rx-7 he laughs and says there won't be one but there will be an all out sports car to replace the 7 but it will probably be dubbed the rx-3. It's still somewhat of a rumor as far as the name goes because he can't really tell me but I'm sure you all read the articles from Mazda about the car they are producing. The article mentioned that they are going to widen the rotors and aim for about 300 n/a hp (this was converted from kilowatts in the article. They also have plans for a supercharged version but didn't give an estimate of power on that one. So there will be another 2 seater sports car, you just got to wait a year or two.