Hi,

So about a year ago I overheated my engine to oblivion on my 13b n/a motor and am finally getting around to doing something with my S5.

So just wanted to ask on others opinions on a should I pursue a proper rebuild or should I do a GM or Ford v6 swap.

I'm kinda mulling around the ideas and I'm not very sure one which direction to go.
Also have you guys done a rebuild and how did it go or have you done a swap and how did that go? If you did swap did you regret it or is it more important just to get the car running again.

I appreciate any thoughts and discussions on this.

 

If you want to do a V6 or V8 swap that's up to you. But personally I don't see a point in owning an RX7 of any generation and taking out the rotary. It's what makes the cars unique. Why not do a Turbo II swap into it? You can pick those motors up cheap as hell and it's not as intensive as doing a completely different engine.

 

You own a RX7 it has to have a rotary engine in it or it aint an RX

 

When my NA engine finally decides to shuffle off this mortal coil I'll probably swap the rotary for something with some torque and better fuel consumption.
I prefer my cars to be driveable rather than "unique".

 

It's all about personal preference. I love a good swap and they are damn cool, just not something I'd do myself.

 

Depends on what you're looking to get out of the car.

Rotary replacement can get very expensive. A rebuild by a respected builder will usually end up in the $2000 range. You may get lucky with a used engine but most of the time these are junk and you'll end up doing the rebuild anyway.

For comparison purposes, if you do the install you can have a 350hp/tq LS1 with auto trans in your car for around $2500. It will weigh virtually the same as the rotary setup with more power.

 

But then you have an auto trans, which is less fun. The T56 is the better option, just a lot more money. That $2500 is the cost of the engine, trans, harness and everything. You have to add the cost of having it installed if you can't do it yourself. I'm not sure how much that stuff goes for. But that cost will still exist if you decide to swap in a new motor and can't do it yourself..

 

I hated the T-56 in our swap FD, it felt like a tractor part, very agricultural.
Japanese transmissions seem much slicker to me.

As far as swaps go...
With the kits available (I'd go w/ Ronin), you can have the transmission and engine mounted in a morning, it's very easy.
Deceptively easy, because the hard part is everything else.

Electrically, getting the engine to run is simple, there's very little interface between the chassis harness and the new engine harness but your gauges will be all wrong.

Otherwise, there's not much difference between swapping in a piston engine and upgrading from NA to turbo. In both cases you'd be changing diffs, driveshafts, fueling system and exhaust...so that's pretty much a wash.

I think a V-6 with a T-5 would be about ideal and is my #1 option right now.

 

V6 will probably be lighter as well, our rotaries are heavy beasts. I've never driven a car with the T56 in it so I can't comment on how good or bad it is. It's just what all the GM V8 manuals come with.

 

I have much hate for V6 powerplants due to their natural imbalance and the silly need to run balance shafts.

If I where to go piston, I'd have my LS swap done before I ever thought of a V6.

The only V6 I ever liked was the GM 4.3l monster, but it is incredibly heavy.

 

That GM motor was cast iron everywhere, heavy as hell. I think doing a 4 cylinder swap would be good. A SR20 swap would be killer. Loads of power in a small power plant. Not sure if it's been done before and the cost would probably be way too high.

 

I noted that very detail in my post.

You can get an aluminum black and heads for that engine.

See!

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/nal-10134371

 

That'd take are of the weight issue for sure, fun to build your own motor too.

 

skip the v6 and either stick with the rotary or do a v8. The only thing I don't like about engine swaps is all the extra fabrication and custom parts to just get the darn thing to even fit and work. Then the amount of money plays a huge role on how long it takes, how good of work is being done, and how much you are going to end up paying.

 

This is honestly what I've been through and have been debating. I've gone through 3 or so junk used motors and I'm getting tired of it. The car already is auto trans and honestly I just miss having the car running. No one local can do a rebuild and for what I've found out of town it starts at about $2k and shoots upwards to closer to $5k. But thanks for the info. My RX was basically a daily driver up until I murdered it.

 

Well crap if you already got an auto in it then doing a V8 with auto trans isn't a bad idea at all. And it will be cheaper than a full rebuild.

 

Thanks for all the replies.

I'll be sure to post what happens come this next weekend or so and try to update when she is up and running again. (in whatever monstrous form that is)

This car was my first, and my First FC and finding a decent used motor just didn't pan out like I expected. I plan to keep it and try have her running as long as I can.

More or less its more important to have it running instead of staying true to what the car is.
I may eventually end up getting another rotary if I do end up swapping a piston engine in.

 

This has been mostly my thoughts on the swap so far.

 

R@R (removal and reinstall) is going to cost you about $1200 and then a rebuild of a 13b is going to cost $1200. That is IF your housings are okay. New housings is what gets incredibly expensive ($650 for a brand new rotor housings x2) and irons.

 

Those prices seem on the low side to me. Maybe the autos are cheaper as mentioned but 1& a half years ago when my motor went I couldn't find a LS/t56 combo for that($2500) little on a complete swap. Cause I was considering doing one. Last I looked in the V8 conversion section LS swaps were still 5k+ affairs. PF Supercars makes mounts and wiring adapters that make it pretty much bolt in and plug up.

As for rebuilds for 2k. If you don't have to buy rotor housings you could do it but if yours has much over 100k miles it's a crapshoot whether you can or not. A lot of parts can be reused if in spec so one could maybe pull it off maybe. Problem is rotor housings are $673 new and if one or more rotors are damaged that's another $600. If you overheated luckily your rotors are probably ok as it's broken apex seals that take them out.

I rebuilt mine myself and streetported it while I was in there. I would have to look at my receipts to see exact numbers but it was somewhere between $2000 to $2500 in parts. That was with new TII rotor housings but I only paid 500 something each for them from Pineapple Racing. They have went up now. I am happy with the results but it was costly.

 

if you don't do your own work and fabrication, I would find a quality shop first. when anything goes wrong, or if you ever want to upgrade a car with engine swap, most things will need to be fabricated and not simple bolt on.
True rotary engine rebuilds aren't cheap and the rotary engines aren't as reliable. More reliable than before.

I've done some swaps, and if you don't have a Decent amount of money for all the parts to make it nice, it can become quite a half assed job. In the long run having a reliable powerful cyl engine would be great!

 

Looking on Pineapple's site it is now $2581 with rotor housings. $1231 without. That is if you can re-use your oil control rings. Add another $337 if not. That doesn't include misc. intake and exhaust gaskets.

 

R@R too if you don't do it yourself. I ******* hate R@R.

 

Yep. I did everything myself. If not then between R@R and labor for a shop to build it. It gets expensive.

To the OP. Contact Rotary Resurrection. He has decent priced rebuilds. Not sure on what parts he is re-using and which he is replacing on the rotors but he has a pretty good reputation.

Here you go:
Rotary Resurrection home of the budget rebuild.

 

I won't be doing the R@R myself as I do have a shop helping me with this process but i'll look into rotary resurrection and add it to my list of options I currently have going forward.

I'm talking to the shop on Friday to discuss which direction to fully go so all of the listed suggestions are quite helpful especially with the pricing area. Makes the decision a little easier.