Hello,

Before I get started I want to make it clear that i am a huge fan of the rotary and own a 1989 turbo 2. I Had also become aware in the past few months of the v8 engine debate and have read every post i think. i am about to perform an engine swap of a different sort.
There is an engine that ford makes that comes in 85-89 thunderbird turbo coupes, Merkur XR4TI and one year of svo mustang it is a 2.3l turbo ford with forged rods and pistons stock the stock motor with a few mods can be good for 300 horse and i have seen a few 400 horse on stock bottom end visit Turboford.com for more info. not only are these engines a dime a dozen and cheap but having an aluminum head and being very small dimensionally it is a a good swap option imo. the advantages are 1) I Havent havent put a fully dressed engine on the scale but can guarrantte it is very close or lighter than a rotary and a hell of a lot lighter than a v8 it is very small and can be made to acheive the exact same handling balance as the rotary.
Before i put my flame suit on i just want everyone to know that i am not supporting this as something you should do if you have a fully functional rotary but a low cost alternative to rebuilding or swaping a rotary or v8
not to mention it could im prove handling and drop weight.... I am a welder/ fabricator and will be building bolt in kits for the ford 302 t5 combo and the 4 cylinder combo if there is enough interest these are nothing like Grannys speed shop kits and there will be NO cutting or welding needed strictly bolt in for ease of installation... kits will include motor mount adapters for both engines and new trans crossmembers

 

Well hats off to you if you do the swap but i mean to each his own.

 

You may face the wrath of the rotary gods

 

I have saved from previous threads all the insults, slurs, attacks, and Roto-religious diatribes aimed at the "swapper".
If you want I can send them to you, and save you some time.
meanwhile, check this out

http://members.tripod.com/~grannys/ford.html

 

although i'm not familiar with the engine you're talking about...i find it hard to believe that it would be about the same weight as a rotary. is it some sort of all aluminum engine or something?

john

 

even if it is lighter than a rotary, it'll still be longer, so it wont fit completely behind the front axle anymore, therefore messing up the 50/50 balance.

plus, you'd still have to get custom motor mounts, and all the computer stuff to make the engine work in an rx7. I have a hard time believeing that would be cheaper than another rotary, and not near as fun.