FBLord

I have an 84 gsl-se in which I have blown the engine. I then recently bought a mustang but long to have my rex again. Yet, I can't give up that great v6 gas mileage. How do I go about putting a v6 in her? What engine and tranny should I use?

twinkletoes

iTrader: (17)

Go to the engine conversions section. They'll tell you how. It's not all about gas mileage andyways.. its about the rotary engine. They're way more reliable(380,000 miles is pretty good on original engine) and sound better and everythings better. Hope you go to roatry. God bless. Oh ya, its your car, do what you want

rotor vs. piston

I have a chevy 3.8 series II out of a '01 camaro that I was planning to put in an SA. That project fell through because I had to get another daily drive = no funds for that project.

It's has a T5 five speed, full harness labeled, basiclly everything. Let me know if you're interested... I was planning to put it on eBay in the next few weeks.

steve84GS TII

The later model Mustang V-6 is about 200HP.....thats not too shabby in a light little 1st gen.Fit should be OK since Im pretty sure its a narrow angle engine(60* cylinder splay).Personally,I think the hardest thing to do on a V-6,is to get them to sound good,and not like a beached walrus' mating call!

Personally,I like V-6's......they have that underdog reputation I relate to.Vehicles like the GrandNational and Syclone just love to flaunt it!
I put a 2.8L into my 78 Mazda GLC way back in high school, and it was a little terror,despite the fact that the 60* GM V-6 is about the most hated engine on the planet.That little lump is still going strong,powering my Suzuki Samurai rock crawler.Its not a bad motor at all,so long as you avoid the 81-85 versions and you dont compare it to,or treat it like the 4.3L and other 90* engines.The Ford V-6's have a similar history,with 2 basic versions, and various incarnations over the last 20 some-odd years.

XLR8

iTrader: (52)

Put that "great V6" in a Dodge Omni.......Rx7's are rotary cars. GSL-SE's have great engine's. They are known for their longevity. You should honestly consider having it rebuilt. For the time of fabrication and cost of another combo, you could already be finished.

www.rotaryresurrection.com

adrock3217

Why go V6..? If your V6 Mustang is getting better gas mileage than the GSL-SE's 13B, your 13B was completely screwed.

85rotarypower

The essex V6 engine (ford 90* V6) is quite possibly one of the worst engines in existence. Its absolute crap. The headgaskets are the number one problem with the engine, and its not cheap to replace them every 30K. The GM series 2 3.8 V6 is the successor to the god of all american V6's, the Buick Turbo 3.8 V6 of the GNX. The GM 3.8 is a very capable engine, and actually makes more torque at high power than a V8, and at a lower RPM.

Moral of the story, go with a GM series 2 3.8L V6 engine from a Camaro or Firebird with a T5 behind it. Its ten times better than that Rustang V6.

Naegleria_Fowleri

Rebuild the 13b, put it in there, and I will find the means to buy it off of you. If you want to drop a V6 in a 7, buy a base model, or maybe even a GS. Don't do that to the best FB's available.

Just my two cents.

pjr

iTrader: (8)

Agree with NG.... don't destroy the SE. Rebuld the 13B, port it while you're in there, and you'll be much happier, as well as maintaining the value of this most collectable of the 1st Gens.

FBLord

My stang is getting 25 mpg. In my experience, fbs get somewhere around 16. I have never read anywhere that they are supposed to get more. Have I been misinformed?

Also, to clear things up, I am NOT going to swap in my Mustang's V6. I was planning on selling the Mustang to get the cash for a better engine.

Are there any websites that go through the entire process of what I need to do? Wiring, exhaust, mounting, ect.?

Yark79

My '79 gets 25 mpg on the highway. An -se in decent shape should get somewhere around 23 mpg. I doubt that the extra 2 mpg is really worth swapping in a V6. Sell the 'Stang and get a used Civic. Use any money that's left over to rebuild the 13b. With a proper rebuild, you might be able to get some better mileage.

FirebirdSlayer666

iTrader: (3)

Sell the Mustang and get a 20B. Nice single turbo and you'll never regret it

Rogue_Wulff

I averaged better than 20MPG in my 83 GS with a street ported 12A on my road trip to DFW yesterday. I was bucking a 10-20MPH headwind both directions, as there was a good south wind all morning, and by the time I started back, a front moved thru, turning the wind around to the north.
I also averaged 75-85MPH 90% of the time, with a few times getting near, or into triple digits.
I usually average closer to 25MPG on the highway, when I am NOT driving like a madman., and around 20MPG in town with some city streets, some highway.
I think my worst tank average was around 13MPG, but that was a 25 mile trip to a road course, and back, combined with close to 100 miles of on-track driving like I stole it.
I guess that shoots a hole thru your bad fuel mileage theory..........

totensiebush

go with an LS1 instead

SSRx7

Dude, put which motor YOU like into Your car. If you like the Rotary, then rebuild it or build another one. If you like the v6, then do that. It is your car, you know what you like, how you drive, etc, etc.


There are some haters and some lovers here on this board. You are not destroying the car, only changing the engine if you go with the v6. Same if you go with a 20B. It is not original to the car, so it doesn't matter.

Get prices for parts on both engines, and see what the costs are. Have fun with it.




Oh, and don't listen to anyone else on this board, except for me!!

Later,
Bill

85rotarypower

I agree, it is your car, but I know what you mean about gas mileage. The 1st gen's suck for being such a light car. With a nice V6, its possible to see 25mpg or more IN TOWN! Probably more than 35mpg on the highway if you gear the car properly, and depending on what engine you pick, you could get the car into the low 14's without any mods to the engine.

Dom

Once you figure out the difference in mileage you should work out the savings over the life time of the car and compare that to the cost of putting that 6 in a 7.

I can tell you that the extra cost of a diesel pickup truck over the same truck with a Hemi doesn't come back over the life time of the truck unless you do a LOT of miles.

85rotarypower

The difference between rebuilding the stock engine and putting a V6 into the 7 is very minimal. Granny's makes a kit to swap a 90* chevy V6 into the 1st gen. Its specifically made for the 4.3L V6, but the 3.8 will work just the same.

RX7 RAGE

iTrader: (22)

go big, go V8

Maguire

iTrader: (1)

First off. If you had your 13b rebuilt and ported you would already be making more hp than the garbage ford v6. (220-240) if you want to leave it EFI get a piggy back and a 2nd gen intake, and thats about it. or stick a weber on there and be done with it.

Second. if you bought an old two seater sports car born from 1970's technology for gas mileage. you bought the wrong car.

SSRx7

What if I had a not so old two seater sports car born from 1980's technology that gets just as bad gas mileage? Or one from the 90's?

Now that you brought that up, I'm curious... what kinda gas mileage did the Datsun 240/260/280 Z cars get? Those fall into your catagory... (Not being sarcastic, just curious.)

Later,
Bill

$100T2

iTrader: (1)

http://www.theforumlounge.com/showth...908#post111908

Granny's and Hinson both have mounts for GM V-6s... I'm going 4.3L Vortec in my FB, eventually.

trochoid

iTrader: (6)

I'm not sure how I missed this thread earlier, unless I simply ignored it because it should be moved to the 'other engines' section.

So, Maguire, please elighten all of us as to how you can rebuild a 6-port SE motor and get 220-240 hp out of it, especially keeping it as a 6-port. If that were really the case, you would have every 2nd gen owner looking for a rebuild knocking on your door, including the top builders.

Fwiw, that hp #is close to putting the stock TII 550 cc X 4 injectors past thier safe duty cycle. In that hp range, it's time to upgrade the secondarys to 720s. Funny thing is, the SE only has 2 680 cc injectors.

Next time you want to parrot something you read elsewhere, make sure the original information was accurate to begin with. Now, can I build a 1st gen NA 13B engine and pull those hp #s, yes. If you want to find out how, don't ask, read and learn.

n2318r

If Maguire does not speak up I can e-mail you a pdf file of an article written by Jim Mederer and published in Drag Sport. They rebuilt a 6-port 13B GSLSE engine and got 226 hp, keeping it 6-port.

Not sure what you mean about "parroting" information, but there is no reason to question the accuracy of Jim's article. (Jim--or at least Racing Beat--is already considered by many to be a "top builder") They used two injectors (750cc IIRC) at higher pressure (60psi), which was sufficient for the target horsepower at 80% duty cycle. They considered it simpler, less costly, lighter, and required less plumbing and less power to operate.

Anyway, its his car so he can swap in a lawnmower engine for better gas mileage if he wants, but don't expect any sympathy for any non-rotary except an LS-1

jfachner72

That was a fairly retarted thing to say....

I can think of 5 worse engines right off the bat!

1) 2.2 liter Dodge motor. (Knock Knock and i have new bearings)

2) Caddy 4.1 liter (Used a broken calculator as an ecu)

3)Early Ford 2.3 liter 4 cyl with 2 plugs per cyl

4)90's Ford 7.3 liter non turbo diesel (poppin head bolts)

5)chevy 6.5 diesel (reworked gas motors dont cut it)

I could continue but I think I made my point.

To say that a motor is the worst ever made you should do some homework first. Problems increase as production increases bacause there are more motors in existance.

The 3.8l V6 was in the:

Mustang
Windstar
Ranger
Cougar
Continental
Thunderbird
Taurus
Sable
Tempo
Topaz

Thats alot of cars and better yet alot of engines. To say that every one needed head gaskets is blatently untrue. and ford offered a 100k warr on every one of the 3.8's

Rant Over!

Jay