Ok, im the newbie here to the rotary world and I just recieved a nice gift from a friend. My buddy gave me a 91' FC n/a in perfect condition(body wise) with a blown engine.
Its sittin in my garage and Im debating what to do?
I've done my research here and abroad and have come to three options.
1.Sell the Shell-kinda wrong to profit off friends gift, but hey.
2.Replace the Engine and run it and mod it.
3.Swap-t2-$$mucho mulla and time?
So what would you do in this predicament?
And while Im at it, anyone interested Im in Raleigh NC for option 1.

 

3.

 

3 using a standalone ecu.

 

 

stick a v8 in there

 

2 or 3.

Jarrett

 

If your going to spend the money, you could try and get a front clip from a cosmo. Or get a later model third gen. turbo model from japan(u know the ones they wouldn't sell here).

 

there a couple of clips going with engine / tranny / and rear diff there about 2k plus shipping, also comes with T2 brakes!!!

 

Well Im shoppin around. I got the approval from the Mrs' and Im goin with (3) on a budget of 3k on a credit card..woohoo!!
If anyone see's a good deal let me know.
I plan to document the swap, since my good buddy/shop owner is a rotary man....
Im lookin at a rebuild, goin standalone....

any reccomendations for standalone...please don't hold back..Im use to Hondata standalones if that enlightens you on my realm of current knowledge...
Im a converter in the making
Thanks for the Help in advance

 

good to see you made the right choice.

 

microtech

 

haltec

btw - do a search on either:

microtec
haltec

youll find answers.

 

Just what I was thinking. However, if you are not into sevens it won't be worth the work to fix it. Sell it to someone for a few hundred bucks and split the $ with the friend who donated the car to you in the first place.

 

#4

SBC

 

Or maybe a turbo Buick 3.8 , if thats your forte.

www.misred.com

 

Sweet!!! Another FC to see in raleigh!

Im gettin a GTU soon, i havent seen many FCs in raleigh, one near NC state that i see every week, and this riced out purple S4 (poor, poor, poor FC ) Everyonce and a while another one will pop up.

Im still wondering how many FCs are in the raleigh area, like enough for a meet/cruise, I CANT WAIT

 

Turbo Conversion with $3k. good luck.

 

Teh turbo conversion on an 89-91 is more difficult, not in installation, but in finding all the (rare) parts. Going standalone ecu is the only way to do it, because the stock wiring, sensors, and ecu are so damned hard to get. With teh standalone, you can run any engine you want (including the more common and just as good 87-88 turbo motor) which makes it a WHOLE lot easier.

That said, on this car, even with a used engine, doing the entire conversio for $3k will be a bit of a challenge. Let's look at it realistically; drivetrain, $5-700. Used engine complete, $800-1200. standalone ecu and associated hardware, $850-1200. This figure doesnt allow for any other goodies like FMIC, injectors, fuel upgrades, turbo upgrades, exhaust, etc.

However, I have sold several t2 conversion for the 87-88 models as a package, rebuilt and ported, for $2500-2700 plus installation. In fact, I will soon be offering another such package.

Finally, if you ever do consider option 2, note that I can build you an engine for around $1200-1500, and could install it for under $2k.

 

If you have the money/time:

3!

If you choose the standalone route, nothing would stop you from using the drivetrain from a S4...

 

Im shopping around right now for a standalone, then I'll go from there, let me know what packages you have(ported t2). Also do you know how far it is from where your at to Raleigh NC.
and...
So let me see if I have this corect,
Using a standalone, will allow me to keep my drivetrain or just tranny, the only thing I'll need is the motor?also with no mounts as its a straight bolt on replacement?
Thanks for all the help!

 

You can get a Microtech for about 7-800 dollars. Then get a rebuilt TII engine or engine tranny combo.

Santiago

 

4. Put cheap engine in car, sell for big profit, find Turbo II to buy.

 

If your rotary friend can help you out with the rebuild, you may want to go that route. The non-turbo is a lot of fun, especially for autocrossing, and you may as well street port the engine while you are at it. If you add an intake and full exhaust system you could actually beat a stock TurboII.

As for the turbo route, you can get a decent used J-Spec TII engine for about $1,000. This will work in stock form on your car, but the non-turbo drivetrain isn't going to hold up well if you bump up the power much above stock levels. IMO totally converting the car into a TII isn't worth the time, money, and effort because you would have to replace too many parts. If you want a TII, then go with option #1 and then buy a TII (87-88 models sell for about $2-4K for a running car).

The king of budget EMS's is the Microtech LT8, which sells for under $1,000. The next step up is the Wolf3DV4 at about $1,400, and then the Haltech E11 at about $1,700. All three of those products are from Australia, so pricing may vary on the exchange rate and dealer pricing, and pricing also depends on which options you want. Regardless of whether you choose the turbo or non-turbo engine, the EMS will really help performance.

This is a very good idea. If you can find one, you can get a junkyard 13B for as little as $150 with a 30 day warranty.

 

if u know v8s or turbo 6 do that swap. turbo swap and stand alone will be way to much

 

I'll be selling:

-87 t2 engine, fresh rebuild with medium port, emissions stripped/blocked off
-87 t2 flywheel, used clutch, trans, slave cyl, starter, driveshaft, rearend, halfshafts.
-87 t2 wiring harness (attatched to engine) with injectors, etc., ecu, knock control unit, afm, TID, BOV, TMIC, etc.

Exact price may vary, but it'll be around $2500 and shipping.

Later, I may have just a turbo engine with accessories, and not the rest of the drivetrain; in this case, price would be around $16-1800 for the same thing.

Raleigh is about 5-6 hours from here.

No, no, that's wrong. The ECU has no effect over drivetrain. You can keep your NA drivetrain, yes, but it wont hold up well/long; the clutch will slip like a bitch, and the trans will let loose soon.

The standalone is the best option for those with 89-91 cars wanting to convert; the s5 t2 electronics are damned hard to find, and almost cost as much as a microtech. Using an EMS, you can run almost any engine you want, such as an easy to find 87-88 turbo engine in an 89-91 car, or the other way around. The 86-88 NA guys who convert to turbo have it easy, they can find and use all stock parts pretty easily, so though the EMS is still very useful for them, it's not really required to get started.

All the turbo stuff is a stright bolt on to the NA chassis, uness it were an automatic to begin with.