And sorry guys, heres a couple more

 

There is a procedure on here somewhere for checking compression on a starter-less motor. its not gonna give #'s (u need 750 or so rpm for that) but u should at least be able to tell if its shot or if it would be worth the trouble to do a real compression test.

Front clip isn't a bad idea, but RHD swap... lets not get ahead of ourselves. Sen2two has a thread on it, he makes it look MUCH easier than it actually is.

I'm morally opposed to V8 swaps, but if you're gonna do it, do it right and go LS1.

Just get a 13bt, drop it in, spend some $ on suspension and enjoy the car. Its easy to upgrade down the road .

 

Can I just put a power and ground lead to the starter, and have a compression gauge screwed in place of a leading plug? Or is there more to it?

 

if you want the car smog legal then it'll easily be more than 2500 for a v8 swap, ~$2200-~$2500 just for a 90’s lt1 complete engine (complete meaning everything in the engine bay) and that does not include the fab work and custom driveshaft, not trying to discourage you just trying to give you a heads up. but if you do it then more power to'ya! literally lol

 

There is no smog testing in my area. No need to try to pass testing I'll never encounter.

 

...i hate you...

lol

GL with your build man!

 

Lots of perks of living in this area

But i haven't completely figured out what motor to do, so its still up in the air

 

The V-8 mounting kit for the FC is pretty cheap since you need not replace the whole subframe.
The whole kit (engine mounts, mounting blocks, tranny mount, driveshaft) is @ $700 at Granny's.
There are more exotic kits but the Granny's works very well.

You can get more ideas here.

 

Ohh...well I didn't realize that was an option....sure, do that!

You realize you're like the Benedict Arnold of RX7Club right?.....

 

Was Arnold schizophrenic?

My trustworthy daily driver...


And the toy...


Unlike some Darksiders, I have nothing but respect for the Wankel...mine has run flawlessly for the last 50K miles.
However, as my engine approaches 200K, I've begun preplanning for the inevitable and that lead to considerable research into the V-8 swap.

Looking at it semi-objectively...
Were I too simply rebuild my stock NA, by the time it's all said and done (might as well add some headers, upgrade the oil pump, new clutch, etc.), I'm looking at around $3500.
When finished, I'd have a crisply running car that made (optimistically) 150 HP at the wheels and got @ 17/25 MPG.

We got that freshly rebuilt LT1 with a brand new T-56 six-speed for $3500.
A Granny's kit for the FC is $700.
The engine was dynoed at 420 HP at the flywheel.

As you can see, the performance payoff of even this relatively low-end swap (most would prefer an aluminum LSx motor) far outweighs the cost differential.

Then there's the torque...
The NA engine has none.
The LT1 is nothing but.

I think anyone who loves RXs owes it to themselves to at least try cadging a ride in a swapped car, just to experience it.
In other words, don't knock it till you try it.

 

Clokker thats a nice little setup you have there Bravo



The main question is, is the cosmo motor worth anything to part out on here? I don't know what the value breakdowns are of the certain parts off of it. Anyone have a quick rundown of what is valuable and how much to typically expect out of it? I'll obviously do a compression check once I get it the ability to, but until then, i'll assume its in good shape.

 

This shows your n00bosity.
A true rotorite would assume the engine is toast until shown otherwise.

 

Guilty as charged

 

words to live by... This thread tho is kinda pointless... first read the FAQ section maybe a little reading on other people's threads but it seems like right now you have no idea what you wanna do with the car..
TwEaK

 

Man good luck and i hope you can figure out what your gonna do with it and it turns out alright.

 

@ Clokker

Bravo! I knew I'd seen that extra clean engine bay somewhere before, makes me almost wanna go N/A.....almost.

I can't lie, a V8 swap is preferential to any (20b excluded) n/a, and you raise valid points, providing numbers to back them up (...hence why I want you to shut up, lol). But really, while it may be cost effective, its just more fun to do it the right (read: rotary) way; at least the first time

While I haven't ridden in a swapped car, I've ridden at the track in a z06 vette and a 400+hp FD on consecutive laps.....a very interesting experience indeed!

 

I disagree with your opinion of this thread being pointless. Its a thread I started to ask questions specific to the car and dilemma I have. I read and read and read on this forum and would rather not start a thread for every question or query I have.

I don't think every single person thats started the thousands upon thousands of threads on this forum knew exactly what they wanted to do with their car. When I started this thread, I was seeking advice for my situation. I was hoping to take everyone's advice and suggestions and make a decision from there. This thread is far from pointless for me. It may be pointless for you because you don't benefit from it at all. Not to prod at you, but I don't think you're helping out by telling me the obvious (read the faq's, etc) and telling me how pointless my thread is. I appreciate your response, but constructive criticism is what I'm searching for.



I'm currently searching and asking around locally, trying to find an affordable v8 transplant. I've been working for O'reilly Auto Parts for a very long time and I've got lots of connections for things of this sort. I've run across more than 10 motors just today but nothing that felt like a good candidate for the rex.


Also, about the value of the cosmo motor's internal parts, etc. I talked to a friend today that has built several rx7's and he told me not to expect more than $100 for parting out the motor. Very discouraging news, and I don't know whether or not to believe him or not. Once I get my tools down to where the car is, I'll be digging deeper and checking this thing out internally.

 

And we reach the nub of the issue...
Does the rotary engine define the car or is it just another part of a package.

As I said before, I like the rotory.
The instant revability, the smooth operation at speed- even the weirdness factor appeal to me.
The substandard fuel mileage, cost of rebuild and scarcity of support, do not.

 

Then maybe you should go to the motor swap section? IDK your coming into the 2nd gen rotary section to ask about a v8 conversion?

This is why i say this thread is pointless
TwEaK

 

The OP never asked about a motor swap, bringing that up was my doing.

 

Yes, listen to Mr. Arnold he speaks the truth.

I can admit that I am biased. I didn't grow up learning about piston engines and then decide to try out a rotary. I knew nothing about cars, but liked the look of the RX-7 so I did a little research, found out about something called a wankel and taught myself to do automotive work from there.

IMO, mpg is a concern for daily drivers, which this car (and many like it) is not, "lack of support" and weirdness go hand in hand, if any grease monkey could work on it then it would be a SBC and as far as expensive rebuilds...got me there; but I can say they do encourage you to do things right the first time and make every moment of proper operation that much sweeter.

 

Who is Mr. Arnold?

We're all biased, owning a RX7 is not a rational decision.
Dismissing fuel consumption as merely the concern of daily drivers is silly.
Gas will cross the $3/gal. barrier within a few weeks and probably never recede below it again.
At what pricepoint does your toy become untenable?

And every motor encourages proper assembly/maintenance, that's hardly unique to the Wankel...ever tried to live with a Jaguar engine?