After giving it some thought, I'm going to be parting out my base 86 RX-7 and dropping the engine and whatever other parts I need to get it running into my 86 GXL.

As long as I have the engine out, I was planning a couple of things:

OMP delete
VDI Intake swap off stock S4 air pump
6 port activation from stock S4 airpump
Full exhaust

I'm looking to make a solid N/A build and run a 75 shot on it...I was planning to go turbo, but I don't think I can afford the continued maintenance yet and I'm looking for something a little more reliable.

The engine has between 50-60k on it, I think. I'd love to replace the seals and perhaps bridgeport it out when it's out....but I'm almost afraid of what the engine looks like on the inside. I think one of the 6 apex seals may be leaking a bit, after doing a compression test. Both rotors were close to 100 PSI but the rear one had one big bump and two little ones.

How horrible is it to replace the seals yourself? I'm perfectly comfortable with the engine swap, I'm just not sure about the rebuilding part. What would I all need if I took the engine apart? How much were your rebuilds? I'm trying to stick to a bit of a budget. Thanks in advance.

 

Look in the archives first thread will answer that for you.

Cost with new housings is 4gs for rebuild and goes up from there OEM internals with modifications and treatments. Yours is very low mileage might be bale to get away without new housings. Going bp I would use turbo housings actully i use them on all rebuilds that receive new housings. Ports are 75$ a Iron face or exhaust port and 50$ more per bridge. Porting prices going up in 08.

 

I like to think the turbo engines are completely reliable as long as you don't neglect it. I've seen Turbo motors with just over 100k miles on it with still 95-106 psi on each rotor. And I doubt your N/A will last so long with the 75 shot AND bridgeport. But, if you're still determined, by all means.

 

Does bridgeporting cut down on the reliabilty?

 

Yeah but your saying that you charge 4 grand for a rebuild with new housings. If this guys gonna read as much as your telling him to he might as well do it himself. Considering its only about a grand for turbo housings, and given its a low mileage engine I'm sure alot of the hard parts arent gonna have to be replaced anyway, plus a reseal kit and standard rebuild kit. It should only cost him about $2500 to $3000. So your charging an extra grand in labor that he could save (and your extra grand is bare minimum pricing, you said it goes up from there) for other stuff such as a bridge port.

Im not trying to tell you how to do things, Im just saying that this guy can save a little money by doing it himself.

 

I can do it for 1-2 grand depending on what you want done...more if you insist on new rotorhousings.

For an NA engine there's not really a point to a bridgeport unless you swap to turbo irons and make it a 4 port...but then your intake manifold no longer flows properly, and it opens the door for more and more requirements.

 

around 750 in labor is what it comes to I use all OEM internals including control rings and cryogenic treatments it costs allot. yeah it does go up fast from there, lapping and ceramic coatings, Teflon coatings, upgraded bearings, hot tanking glass beading painting irons. There is many builders with many pricing it all depends on how they like to do it.

well we all know the i did it to save money story's on here and how they go. Besides tooling alone if hes not equipped will run over a grand. Hell my TQ wrench alone is 500$

 

Hmmm...I was really hoping to take it apart, replace what needs it, and just re-use whatever I could. There's no way in hell I'm dropping $2500+ on an N/A engine, that's just silly.

It's impossible to tell without the engine open, I suppose....I was planning on just replacing the seals and re-using the other parts, but yeah, can't tell without opening it up. I'm just going to keep the engine sealed up and rock it till I pop it, then it's turbo time.

 

That's basically what I do for the base budget build...I arrived at my standard part replacement list by checking which internal parts wear and fail versus those that are very lightly worn if at all and reusing those.

Which is another reason why I offer the option of a basic refresh...despite what others may say, there's no use in putting 3 or 4 grand into a car that's worth 2 in running condition.

 

thats true but ehh i don't like cutting corner IMO is all

 

Well, for those that can afford it, that's well and fine, there are a plethora of options for dumping money into an engine build. A man can easily have 10 grand into an NA engine and maybe pick up 20-30hp, or he can have 1000 bucks into making the car run again at 85-95% of it's original usefulness and just let it be what it is.