Ok, so the problem I'm facing is this.... I WANT AN RX-7...(sorry for shouting )... I'm gonna have approximately $4000 canadian by april (thats about 2500 USD). I want an Rx-7 fast, and i want it to be a fast Rx-7... I know that a working T2 may be out of my price range, but I want the power of the turbocharger. Should I:

 

You should be able to pick up an 87 TII for just a little more than 4000 over here in BC. I would never pay more than $5000 for a S4 TII here in BC (they only blue book for $6000 in PERFECT condition). We generally have better prices than the WETTER provinces (read: rustier due to salt) for better condition cars. Maybe a good road trip is in order...
You will spend more doing an N/A to turbo swap, especially trying to find all the parts in Canada. IMHO, not worth the extra money or trouble...
Sean Cathcart

 

I think it's best to buy a T2 outright if you like the speed. A swap is possible but it's more trouble than necessary. I bought my AE for $2500 with a simple fuse problem so you should be able to find one around that price.

 

you will NOT be able to buy an N/A and swap in a turbo engine for 4k. you can definatly find a TII for under 4k if you look. it just won't be in as nice shape as a newer or more $$ one.

 

of course most of the N/A guys are gonna say go with N/A and most of the TII guys are gonna say go with a TII

in the poll that is.

Justin

 

I have an N/A and would want him just to buy a turbo. I have nothing against turbos but would recomend a turbo for him becouse of the tone of his post. He will get bored of an N/A eventually. I dont but thats me.

 

If I had tons of time (no job) and a bit of money (doesn't usually go w/ no job) I would buy a base model '86 (no sunroof/ps etc...) a wrecked TII and a factory manual. Swap in TII drivetrain-engine to axles and brakes. Probably just swap entire front and rear subframes. Learn all about the car, model differences and have a very light TII. Realistically I would just buy a TII

 

hey i didnt say all, i said most, i know i recommend an N/A without a doubt. especially for a young driver. it also teaches more about the rotary engine. you gotta know that stuff to get power out of an N/A while you dont "have" to to get power out of the TII. i am all for education

Justin

 

the work involved doesnt justify the end result. the turbo is a better car performnce, period. swapping all the turbo stuff over to an N/A car is a waste of time and money. the car would be identical to a T2 in every way. including its weight. you gotta remember all the equipment that makes a T2 a T2 adds weight. the intercooler, bigger brakes, better suspension, bigger radiator, even the turbocharger itself adds weight to the chassis. realisticly, even the lightest 2nd gen, what is it the 86 sport, would only save like maybe 25-50 lbs in the end. so the benifit from all that work is almost non existent.

 

TII all the way. If you want a turbo, just buy a car that comes with one in the first place.

 

Nope here in the US we only got the turbo w/ sunroof and power everything-2800lbs! Look at the highest performance JDM TII-2600lbs. My base model '86 was 2450lbs w/ mainly just AC and cats removed. It may not be worth it to you, but I would love to do this buildup. I just happened to find a $1500 TII first, so I will slowly strip it of wieght- just as hard.

 

im not even gonna try anymore. this is something that some people have argued over for years im sure. but i will never support it. i just cant see the benifit. people dont seem to understand, all the stuff that makes the T2 a better performance car adds weight. the interior options are just a fraction of that weight. the big brakes, beefy suspension, the turbo, intercooler, oilcooler, everything that makes a T2 a T2. the Jdm 7's didnt have all that stuff. the ones you speak of didnt have those 4pot calipers, the bigger swaybars, stiffer springs, or anything that a T2 has, minus the engine/drivetrain. the turbo 7 we get here was not a crappy car in the mazda lineup of 2nd gens. i want to say our T2 is only topped by the Infini. but im not real sure. everybody thinks its the iterior options that makes the T2 heavy. the only thing that a T2 has that the sport doesnt is a power locks/windows, rear wiper and sunroof. thats maybe 100lbs? mazda stuff i pretty light. the heaviest option is the sunroof, and its not that heavy. ive removed one before. the door and window stuff is maybe 20 lbs all together, and the wiper like 10 lbs. even the lightest 2nd gen swapped over would have an almost identical weight to a T2. that is if you swapped EVERYTHING over. everything being the good stuff. well, i guess i will try.

 

Uh, yeah. I agree about 100lbs for PW, sunroof, rear wiper reservoir, monsterous stereo, front and rear amps, pow. mirrors and other interior crap. Then another 100lbs weight for pow. steering and AC and very heavy 16" rims. So 200lbs is nothing?

 

no 200 lbs is for the bigger brakes on the T2, the bigger radiator, the oil-cooler and lines, the turbo/intercooler/required piping, the transmission weighs more too(stronger gears weigh more), the lsd rear end, etc, etc, etc. there is more. im sure, but itsall stuff that the car needs to perform like it does or handle the actual turbo motor(big radiator, oil cooler yada yada)

 

at first I was planning on converting my na to a TII but after reading everything people had to say, and thinking about what a hassle it would be(dont get me wrong, I definatly enjoy working on my car and might find an na that i want to turbo as a project) I will just try to make my na faster than it is and mabey eventually just play with throwing a turbo on it(if I had another car to drive)
anyway I am just drunk and babling so I will stop now.

 

Aluminum 4 piston brakes don't weigh a bunch more that single piston cast iron ~10lbs (and available on 5 lug NAs), radiator is the same, oil cooler is the same, intercooler is 3-5lbs, turbo is ~25 lbs more than cast iron "reactive manifold", transmission is about 40lbs heavier, LSD is ~10lbs (available on some NAs) and beefy axles are another ~10 lbs. Less than all the luxury power stuff TIIs came w/ here.

 

whatever man, an n/a swaped to T2 would weigh the same as a normal T2. no one will convince me otherwise.

 

OK, there are a couple of folks on the board that have low option NAs converted to full TII drivetrain. You could ask their weight.

 

"TII Dream"???

If you want big power you have to ditch the turbo setup and FI anyway, and the N/As are both lighter and cheaper.

BTW it's the content that makes the TII's heavy - a GXL is overweight too, it's basically all the content (and more) of a TII but with less power, and usually an automatic ('cos who in their right mind would want all that luxo stuff if they didn't just want to cruise and not drive hard)

 

I did i swap and it cost me
$1000 for blpwn t2
$1000 for j spec engine
$60 3rd gen fuel pump
$250 720 injectors
$150 gauges
$300 fmic
$315 Safc
$500 For all new washers and all new lines
All I need now a cherry picker to put my engine back in

 

Buy an N/A because its a better more reliable car. Speed? ad a NOS system for $400 and your faster then a turbo and still have good gas mileage and drivablity.

 

Hey,
Thanks for all your help... I'm pretty sure that I'm gonna go for a mint body TII with some minor mechanical defects or whatever... (something fun for me to play with )
NOS is cool and all, but it has always seemed too temporary for me... i want my power without hitting a button...
If anyone has some hints as to where a good place to start my search for cars would be, i'm open (I am willing to travel LONG distances for my car... especially if i get to drive it back... ) (I know about things like autotrader etc.... any other places I should be looking?)
Thanks Guys!

 

I agree with you to an extent. It'd be maybe 50 lbs lighter at best. Power windows and a sunroof aren't THAT heavy, and there isn't much more padding under the carpet in a TII than a base. I've got a Sport and a TII and a GXL outside. I know the differences

I'd rather find 5 more hp than run around sweating my nuts off cause I was a retard and took my AC off, or cranking my windows down in the drive thru instead of having power windows. Or not being able to hear myself think because I have a straight through exhaust and no sound deadener under my carpet.

Weight reduction, my ***.

 

couldnt have said it better myself

 

I would have to say that the benifits one would see from converting a NA to T2 would only be noticed at the race track. No not the drag strip, the road course. I have only heard of real hardcore racers worring about dash weights, sunroof weights and the like. They are constrained by the rules and running similar setups to everyone else, so they MUST find every ounce available to them. As well as every minute amount of horsepower available by the rules.

But for a street car? instead of working your butt off, trying to loose that 12lbs of sound deadner in your spare tire well, why don't you add a 5 or 6 horsepower mod? There are no rules and I know very, very few people with their cars so efficient and so tuned to the max that they need hundreds of dollars for the next 5 to 20 horses.

Everyone I know could benifit greatly from a dyno
session.

Sorry for rambling Just had to get my two coppers in.