WildKarrde

Hey there, some of you might remember me from the 3rd gen forum. I was looking at buying a 3rd gen RX-7... but I let reality hit me a little. This is going to be my only car for a little while... so I should probably get a car that is more reliable in the long run first, and get the FD later on as a second car. So... I heard the 2nd gen was a lot more reliable, and this is what I'm thinking of doing....

I know there is info on this in the forums, but I want some personal experiences. I'm wanting to take an RX-7 convertible, and convert it to a Turbo. I know they made convertibles in Japan with turbos, but my understanding is that they never made a turbo convertible for America... and if they did, they must be rare, because I have searched for one, but never seen one for sale.

So, my question is, Has anyone here done this? How hard is it really? I'd like to hear some words of experience on the matter. How long did it take? Also, how much more reliable is the 2nd gen RX-7, really? Or better put, how many problems do people have with their 2nd gen turbo's? How much would an '89 - '92 doner car that didn't run cost? I want one that doesn't run because I'm planning on getting the engine from http://www.mazdarx7engines.com/Pricing.html and getting the Stage 2 Street Porting on it. Has anyone ever bought anythign from them before? Has anyone done street porting to their car? Does it have any adverse effects in the long run? I'd like to make a 300HP car... and it looks like the street porting would be a good start.

Anyway, thanks for the info, and helping me in my quest to get my first RX-7.

Icemark

There were no factory Turbo 'verts sold in North America.

The 88 or 89 models will be the simplest to convert to a Turbo as the hareness modifications are at a minimum and in some cases plug and play. i would say the 90 and 91 models should be avoided as the additional wiring related to the SRS system and the extra weight makes them less desirable.

as far as how hard.. that will be entirly dependent on your abilities. I have seen working conversions done over a weekend.

and the company you mention seems to be kinda high on the price range for rebuilt motors

WildKarrde

Who would you recommend I buy my engine from then? I was under the impression that they were new engines... but I see now that they are not. How much should I expect to spend on a rebuilt engine, or a new one? I'm wanting to do this with the 89-92 engine because of the fact they have more stock HP (200 vs 182) Would installing an '89 motor in an '88 car pose any issues?

Also, if I were to buy an '89 Turbo II with a decent engine, how much would it cost to get it professionally rebuilt, and have the street porting done to it? Thanks again for the help.

idsigloo

doing a turbo swap into a vert will be exactly like it would be for a coupe. alot of people think you just need the block, intakes manifolds, ecu, wiring harness etc. there are alittle odds and ends that your gonna be like ****, where do i get this? I'm in the process of doing a t2 swap and right now I feel sooo overwhelmed. especially when looking at pics of stock engine bays and going... holy **** where do all those hoses lead to and from. just take one step at a time, be patient, and everything will work out. As far as how long, my car has been down since february. i just got the money to start the conversion, took me about 2 months to track down ALL the parts needed. costing me 4.5k for everything. once i get everything it should take about 2 weeks for me to install it (including drivetrain). I've never done anything like this before so I'm guessing it will take this long for me to do this stuff, especially when I only have about 8 hours a week to devote to it.

idsigloo

i spent 1500 on tranny, engine, turbo, intake manifolds, ecu, wiring harness. the engine is a fresh rebuild he was going to put into a fb, but decided not to. plus 3k on other periphials that are needed. i'm trying to stay stock as possible with my swap out. except for the PD and fuel pump.

I Hate Ricers

S5 (89-92 engines) are much more difficult to install into an S4 (86-88) car because Mazda changed much of the wiring harness and various connectors. This isn't to say it can't be done, there are several examples of this swap in fact. An S4 engine installed into an S4 car will provide the cleanest and most trouble free solution. And although the S5 engine may be better in the long run, the S4 engine can be easily modified to provide stock levels of performance from the S5 engine.

If you have money to burn and strive for the best, have a reputable rotary mechanic do the S5 install for you. If you want to tackle this on your own, save yourself some grief and stick with the S4 engine.

Also, read the FAQ stickie at the top of this forum, there should be a descriptive post on why it's so hard to do.

good luck

Funkspectrum

iTrader: (5)

My swap took me a month or so. I decided to take my time even though i was rushing...if you know what I mean....

idsigloo is right. tracking down all the odds and ends will be the hardest part. My suggestion is to find a donor TII, pull the engine/driveline, rebuild the engine then install it. it would take you a bit but in the long run, it's actually more cost-effective IMO...

The Spyder

iTrader: (8)

Im just about to do my 91,
figured it fit in, but what do you mean extra wiring for the SRS? I have no ABS, only the air bag. Looks pretty plug and play to me? Even the wiring harness and ecu?

RETed

How about you go read the stickies at the top of the list???

I'm sorry, but you're not doing anything special.
It just about the same as trying to "turbo" your NA.
About everything applies, and this has been rehashed more than any other topic.

Sure, you might not have seen them for sale, but conversions are all over the place...


-Ted

Bukwild

Landers and myself did a complete t2 swap including drivetrain in 2 days. We could have done it in one but we had to fart around with a giant radiator I wanted to run and we had to make the fittings. Turbo verts rule. Nothing better than top down power.

gerbraldy

You will just need to be prepared before you do anything. Have every aspect of the swap already covered and know what you have to do before anything. If you would do an s4 turbo vert swap then the twinscroll system will need to be addressed. The actuator for the twin scroll will have to be either removed so no twin scroll, or you will have to cut a notch out of the verts extra crossmember. It's definitly not the hardest part of the swap, but it would need to be covered. If you have any questions, just search cause everysingle question dealing with a turbo swap has already been convered multiple times.

ultradef

I did my T2 vert swap in a weekend, in my driveway with the help of a few friends and some air tools. It is pretty much a bolt in swap (as long as you put an S5 drivetrain into an S5 car or an S4 drivetrain into a S4 car). Take your time and do your research...this forum has some great information and really helpful links. Here is one that helped me a lot:

http://www.rotaryresurrection.com/ro...conversion.htm

IMO, your best bet is to find an entire donor car...that way you know you won't be missing any parts. This is especially helpful when you break something during the swap (bound to happen) so the project isn't held up while you search for a replacement part. It took me months of searching to find the right donor car, but it paid off in the long run. I did my swap for under $3,000 with everything, and that's not counting the rest of the donor car that I sold to recoup some of that money.

Icemark

There is a SRS symbol right on your steering wheel.

SRS is Supplimental Restraint System or other wise known as Airbag(s)

sub9lulu

iTrader: (7)

i got one i m selling

yusoslo

I dont know where you guys are spending all of your money.
I picked up a s4 turbo swap for 700 with 90k miles including harness, and a s4 driveshaft, rearend and halfshafts for an extra 200.

mounts where 100 bucks
and all I need now is either full microtech ($1,000), and sell my turbo 2 harness for 100 bucks
or a AFM and a s4 turbo ecu 100 bucks at most.

bam there I have a nice swap for 1,000-1,800

so am I missing something or are there some secret hidden parts

gerbraldy

^well it's not done yet so don't count your chicks before they hatch. That engine has 90k on it aswell.... depending on how long it has been sitting will determine how many weeks it will hold up to higher than stock boost.

ultradef

yes, you're missing a rebuild for that 90k engine. add another $1500 to $2000 to your total (if you want to do it "right"). the engine that i swapped was a mazda reman with 11,000 miles on it, hence the higher price. i only wanted to pull the engine once.

Bukwild

Don't forget a new clutch/flywheel and SS oil lines while you have it ripped apart

yusoslo

well the engine has sat for 2 weeks since the pull.
I rebuild engines myself and will run me $600 and I will do the street porting.
I am just trying to get through 1 race season on this motor before the bigger turbo upgrade.

Im not ridiculing anyone, I was just curious if I had missed out on any parts that I have overlooked on my swap.

granted doing all the work myself saves a bit, especially on the rebuild of the engine.

ohh, it has a brand new stock clutch and PP with 300 miles on it, I hope it will stand up to the extra boost for atleast 3 months, I wont be launching it so hopefully it will last. just ciruit and drifting, no drag racing.

WildKarrde

Thanks everyone for your input!

sub9lulu... what exactly are you selling? A converted car? A convertible? Or a Turbo II? Is it an S4 or S5? How many miles? Got any pics? And how much?

The only thing I'm still really curious about is reliablility issues. Does the FC have any major issues with it? What are the biggest problems the cars have? What does a tune-up usually run? Of course if anyone wants to add more input on the conversion, I'm always up for learning more... but since I'll be driving this car a lot, and since it will be my only car for a while, I'd like to know what to expect in the repairs department. Thanks!

CheapRX7

I have recently converted my vert to a turbo. I bought a turbo donor car for the conversion. Turns out the motor was trashed so I ended up buying rotor housings and the irons. Kevin at RR did the conversion and rebuild for me. You will be lucky if you don't have to buy some extra parts. Better figure for an exhaust system right off. Fuel pump, filters, hoses, oil lines and other items that are easier to replace during the exchange. I am in the process of putting injectors in mine now. Should have done it during the rebuild. You might run in to a problem getting the halfshafts out on the rearend. The transmission could be bad after you get it installed. If I had it to do over I would definately buy a running turbo car and not a sitter.
As of today I am around $4000.00 into the conversion and I gave $2000.00 for the car to start. But it is a nice car and it does run good for a vert. Just ask the guy in the NA coupe that tried me the other night. LOL





Good luck

yusoslo

I know I have jumped all over this post, somewhat off topic, but I would like to add that I do not see a relivant reliability difference between the FC and the FD. Both are rotary's and require special attention.

FC's are prone to flooding and if you dont know how to correct this then it can be a pain to start up.

You mentioned about repair costs, the older the car, typically the more often the repairs are......pumps, belts, gaskets, suspension bushings etc.

and how you stated "repairs" I have the feeling you wouldnt be doing them yourself. Parts aren't too expensive for theses cars but finding a rotary mechanic is expensive and tough. I think rotaries are a diamond in the rough for a mechanically inclined individual who can work on them top to bottom, but can be a nightmare for a normal indivual who takes there car in for service.

In a nutshell it can be expensive if you dont do the work and as far as my knowledge into the FD world I do not know of any difference in reliablilty except for the twin turbo vaccuum hose problem that most everyone runs into.

hope this was helpfull to you.

If I was going to have one car, and not do the work myself a well maintained low milage FD would be my route even if it exceeds your price range by a grand or two, it will require less maintaince and inconvenience of a only vehicle in the shop.

MARTIN

Nice... Although it looks alot cleaner than mine, I wouldnt drive it around like that.. Im a power fein(sp) I drove around with the stock turbo for like 3 days till I took it apart and slapped more **** on it... If want to be reliable and just have a turbo car, then this is the way to go... But dont expect to win any races..

WildKarrde

Martin, really nice car! That's what the convertible I was looking at looked like... only it wasn't in nearly as good condition, and the guy was asking $2500. convertibles aren't too hard to find though, so I'm not worried about getting the first one I see. As for adding extra stuff to my car, I'd like to have it street ported when the engine is rebuilt, I've heard stage 2 porting adds 15% - 20% HP, so that should put me around 230HP - 240HP . Then I'd like to get performance mufflers, and a few other things to get the HP up around 300. Anybody have some performance figures on their upgraded RX-7's?

Bukwild

my turbo vert is waiting on a professional tune and water injection install. After that I should be running 20lbs of boost with a mix of 93pump and water. 500 rwhp should not be to hard to get. The car has came along way from when me and Kevin landers did the swap. I fully intended to build it to be a nasty beast and Kevin has helped along the way. For some reason it seems that swaps eat up half shafts. I have went thru 2. Also I would never suggest you use a NA drivetrain. Buy your replacement shafts at pepboys or autozone and they are warranted for life. This might come in handy.