'88 RX-7 GXL, auto, purrfect body, great motor, but N/A. It has Limited Slip and working AAS.

I was swapping an '81 12A into my '78 2wd Yota, but that motor is shot, so I can drop the coin into rebuilding it ($805 through Atkins), or I can drop $900 into a 13B.

I have some questions though besides if it's just worth the price.
Is a ported 12A going to out-perform a stock 13B?
Will the 12A manual tranny bolt up to the 13B?
What are the odds of someone paying money for just the shell of this?

 

900 for a good running gxl is a good deal.

 

go for it man! I recently bought a 87 gxl 5speed for $600. the guy couldnt get it to stop flooding. Turns out all I had to do was fiddle with the throttle cable and the 7 runs like a champ(besides the coolant leak...)

 

Yeah, I was thinking it was a pretty good deal.
But any thoughts on if I can get money for the rest of the car? Or are any of the parts worth enough to make some money back?
And the transmission thing's a biggy, since I really can't stand autos, let alone for a swap.

 

To answer your questions:


Is a ported 12A going to out-perform a stock 13B?
Depends on how heavily it is ported. I don't know how significant a port job you would need on a 12a to outperform a n/a 13B. A 13B is definitely going to have more potential in the end than a 12A, though.

Will the 12A manual tranny bolt up to the 13B?
never heard of it being tried, but I HIGHLY doubt it. Ask the 1st gen guys; their cars use both 12As and 13Bs.

What are the odds of someone paying money for just the shell of this?
I don't know. The question should be more along the lines of "is this motor worth $900, minus what I can sell the shell for?" The answer is- maybe. You could probably find a better deal on just a motor and not have to worry about selling a shell.

Really, though, your best bet would be to buy the GXL, swap in a 5-speed (supposedly not too hard to do), and be happy with the car.

Assuming compression is good, the car is worth well over $900.

 

1st gen guys say the tranny swap will be a-okay!

MmSadda, from what you've told me, it sounds like it's gonna just be based on the details of my plan, so I thank you for the info.

I def don't plan on modding the '88 though.
I'm trying to build up the Toyota to be different than what I see around town, or the internet, or even hear about, and really build it for my own satisfaction. I'm hoping on rotary power, open front fenders with a coffin size bed, like a Model A styled rotary rod truck on a Yota frame with '78 body lines (common Yotas on the road are '79+). We'll see how far I go before giving up.

 

Cool! Good luck with the project!