20b conversion
 

Wassup, I know this whole forum has it all over but I hardly have time to search around, b/c of being so busy. But I have an 1988 rx7 and am converting to a 20b. I am getting the engine thru a friend who is getting me the motor, tranny, ecu, wirings, mounts, and everything u need to convert. But my question is will i need any performance mods or anything just to get it running. Or to even better, to have it racing. What other parts will I need to get it running or will i have everything i need. My friend is going to help me install it but do need to know if i need to buy other components for it. Any help would be very appreciated.

you need
motor mounts (www.k2rd.com)
a burly clutch: os gieken, act, tilton... its gotta hold 400lbs ft
a giant radiator: k2rd, custom...
fans for that radiator, they have to move lots of air and be very thin: spal
a front mounted intercooler: custom, greddy, hks....

you need an aftermarket ecu to run the thing, unless you get every part of the factory setup and use the factory automatic.

mike

I get the motor mounts with everything, it also comes with, I forget what size he told me but an aluminum radiator with the fans, my friend just told me I will need an aftermarket ecu, a heavy duty clutch, and intercooler. Is that all I will need or will there be other things needed. If thats it that I will need then I can easily make this happen. Please post if there is more. Thanks for the help, it is well appreciated, just want to get my car smokin all who dares to race here in Hawaii. Thanks again Mike.

Wes

Stock motor mounts from a Cosmo will not work. You need to either make some or buy them from K2RD. the size of this mystery radiator is very important... get measurments on it. What car is this going into? What transmission are you using?

If you are using an aftermarket ECU, you will need to purchase some sort of ignition (coils and ignitors) and figure out how to wire that up. I have a good write up (Thanks to BDC and the Hitman) on how to wire up 3 leading FC coils to a Haltech E6K. If you look in this forum, I just posted the TPS and CAS pinouts as well. You will need to modify or swap water pumps, the thermo housing ont the 20b is too big and gay.

Key to having a nicely running 20B is cooling. And we can't stress enough how thin the electric fan has to be. I am running a Spal with no thermo switch (its controlled by a PWM from the Haltech. Also need to make oil cooler lines.

To get it race ready? Wow, now you're talking big mods. You'll need a tranny, custome driveshaft, rearend, trick suspsension, money, money, more money, god on your side, fabrication skills, aftermarket flywheel, plenty of gauges, roll cage, race seats... the list goes on and on... if you dont have time to research this online, you don't have time to do the swap.

It comes with custom made motor mounts. The radiator is still at mystery due to not talking with my friend in a few days, its going in a NA, the engine i am getting comes with the manual tranny. I will probably have to switch the radiator anyway with the aftermarket ones, I will look into the ignition, water pumps, and the thermo housing, the only reason i have been busy is because some stuff, it is going to be over by middle next week. After I should be able to research a little. Thanks for all the help, it is appreciated. Oh yeah Kurgan, I would love to see ur car pics and the engine bay, if u could tell me where i could find them or send them to my e mail-wingallsjr@aol.com-sorry dont know how to put in links.

Just click the www at the bottom of his posts.

Yes, researching stuff like ignition, water pumps etc will keep you busy for a little while. The more you know, the better your decisions will be. I have my whole swap already laid out in my mind. Little things always pop up, but I think I'm adequetly prepared for them. I predict my swap will go smoothly. Good luck with yours.

Unless you are having someone like Cam do your swap, very rarely do they go smoothly. You will always run into a hiccup or two but don't worry, it is nothing that can't be fixed by throwing money at it!

That is VERY true.... but if Cam does your swap... the problem you'll have is a negative balance on your bank account (which of course can be fixed eventually by throwing money at it:))

Found out last night that the 13bt water pump doesn't match up exactly with the 20B front cover... not a huge deal though... we figured it out.

like the old saying....you can pay me now, or you can pay me later!

my conversion was only 20k. That is what I budgeted.

Yes I stopped counting after I hit that mark!!!

Kurgan, what did you have to do to make it fit? Did the old BFH come into play at any point? :)

i did mine the same way jeff is thinking about. the only real hiccups were casued by things like me losing my job, and having to move the car midstream. stuff like that.

i am using the stock 20b water pump it barely fits under the hood, but the radiator is key. my car runs at about 95c on a hot day with no fans, with the fans it runs between 82-97c (they are on full time).

mike

I've started to work out a plan that should have mine running around three months after getting the engine. Assuming no hiccups of course. I'd also like to keep using the stock clutch fan since it feels like a nice warm gale-force wind (even at idle) compared to my electric fan. Hmm, the 20B's water pump pulley sits lower than two rotor engine's pumps do. Maybe I can use this? (who knows at the moment)

Re: 20b conversion
 

Or, you could buy mine. www.cris.com/~Asam/20B.html

Re: Re: 20b conversion
 

Why are you selling your car? I remember reading your impressions of the car on the "big list". Did you ever get the Tach reading correctly? How much are you selling it for?

There is an adapter you can get which allows you to calibrate your tach to the correct readings. The adapter is out of texas. If you need more info, let me know.

... or you can modify it yourself.
http://members.tripod.com/~grannys/rx7tachrecal.html

I don't see anything for a 3rd gen. Oh well, I am lazy and having a plug and play versus taking the dash apart is a no-brainer for me!....yes I am lazy.

Re: Re: Re: 20b conversion
 

I have four (4!) kids in college. I need cash more than I need a wonderful car.

Yes, the tach works perfectly, now. (Russ, at Electromotive, made an adapter for me that converts the 3 power pulses to 2.)

$39,900, and I'll consider taking a trade-in, if that's an issue.

i havent had any luck getting that to work, it might be the battery charger though, or i could have fried the tach

mike

Funny you mention that. When I've got a battery charger hooked to my battery and turn the key on, it moves the needle a little, but when the engine is running, it doesn't move. I think a component in the tach is screwed.

mine also works better when its cold outside

mike

You could always just mail them your tach and a check for $55.

I just went with aftermarket SPA dual gauges so I wouldn't have to deal with the old stock gauges. :p:

i almost got myself an 89+ meter cover, but the holes are only 50mm and they didn't leave me room for 52's.

mike

Oh boy, another trash talker...


-Ted

Thanks everyone for your help and now have time to search the internet and have gotten lots of info on what I need, I will post later but gonna go search around now, I see what I need and want and will start ordering my parts so for when my engine gets here I could just bolt them on or install them. Some people I know are gonna help me for free and have alway wanted to do this conversion but don't have the right car. But thanks for your help anyway, I will post later if I need help.