General Rotary Tech Support Use this forum for tech questions not specific to a certain model year
Sponsored by:
Sponsored by: CARiD

need more power!3rd gen motor/trans in my 1st gen?

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Jan 23, 2009 | 03:53 PM
  #1  
black82gsl's Avatar
Thread Starter
70 cubic inches of fury!
Tenured Member 05 Years
iTrader: (3)
 
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 313
Likes: 0
From: Port Edwards,Wisconsin
Arrow need more power!3rd gen motor/trans in my 1st gen?

got some tax money to spend and was looking to make my car faster.
I have been looking into intakes,carbs and headers for my 12a but i was on ebay and seen multiple 3rd gen tt engine and trans combos for under 1500 bucks.
How hard is it to do? Or should I stick with the simple carb set up even though the 3rd gen motor makes a ton more power?
Reply
Old Jan 23, 2009 | 04:24 PM
  #2  
*TOUCH*'s Avatar
Project P --- Pedospeed
Tenured Member 10 Years
iTrader: (29)
 
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,235
Likes: 0
From: Norfolk, VA
first of all, lemme say that i know nothing about REW's. BUT, REW swaps into Fc's are said to be more trouble then they are worth. with that said my advice would be to do a simpe 13BT swap. there is a near infinite amount of info on that and plenty of others who have gone threw it and im sure wouldnt mind lending first hand advice to you. seriously, you can achieve damn near the same amount of power from a 13bt that you could an rew with less effort and probably equal or less money. just my .02
Reply
Old Jan 23, 2009 | 04:55 PM
  #3  
drewski86's Avatar
Slow
Tenured Member 15 Years
 
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 97
Likes: 0
From: Louisville, Ky
It's fairly simple to put an REW into a 1st get. If you use a 1st get front cover and GSL-SE oil pan, you need to modify the stock 12a mount or pick up the Racing Beat mount. The hard part is the tranny, driveshaft, and a Ford rear if you plan on hard launches. Grannys makes an 8.8 rear kit. Then you have cooling, fuel, ignition, ecu etc.

Another route is a 2nd gen N/A motor. I have a ~180k mile '87 N/A motor in my 1st get and ran 14.3@94. I spent less than $2k including the cost of the car.
Reply
Old Jan 23, 2009 | 05:27 PM
  #4  
FelixIsGod29X's Avatar
Manual Rack
Tenured Member: 20 Years
iTrader: (50)
 
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,652
Likes: 1
From: Wanaque NJ
If your going to do a swap just put a FC 13BT engine in your FB. Much easier and well worth it.
Reply
Old Jan 23, 2009 | 05:40 PM
  #5  
drewski86's Avatar
Slow
Tenured Member 15 Years
 
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 97
Likes: 0
From: Louisville, Ky
How is it easier?
Reply
Old Jan 23, 2009 | 07:17 PM
  #6  
OneRotor's Avatar
RAWR
iTrader: (3)
 
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 3,860
Likes: 2
From: 90024
Originally Posted by drewski86
How is it easier?
read the FAQ section in the FB section. It's been covered tons.
Reply
Old Jan 23, 2009 | 08:39 PM
  #7  
drewski86's Avatar
Slow
Tenured Member 15 Years
 
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 97
Likes: 0
From: Louisville, Ky
Originally Posted by whitey85mtu
read the FAQ section in the FB section. It's been covered tons.
There's nothing about a 2nd gen motor being easier in the FAQ. Thanks for trying.

There are only two places where REW will differ from TII. One is if you want to use the stock ECU, you have to use the 3rd gen front cover. This means you will have to make a cradle for the motor to mount to. TWO is if you want to go stand alone, you can use the 1st gen front cover to mount the motor with a 2nd gen CAS or build a HALL effect setup. One hole on the front cover doesn't match, sealant will take care of that (should be done either way). Also some of the bolts holes on the oil pan don't line up. The easy way is to drill new holes in the pan and seal well (again, should be done whether new holes or not), or you can tap the block which is a bit harder.

I don't think these issues are enough to say it's so much harder that it's not worth it. With a 2nd gen CAS, and redrilling the oil pan, I don't assume it would take more than an hour at most to just get the motor in the car on top of a 2nd gen swap. But then wiring comes into play.

The 1st gen transmission and rearend will bolt up with a non turbo clutch and flywheel, but will not hold up to much power.

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...&highlight=rew

I don't know if you are capable of doing the work yourself or not, but hopefully you now have enough information to make a decision.
Reply
Old Jan 23, 2009 | 09:30 PM
  #8  
gio64's Avatar
Senior Member
iTrader: (1)
 
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 655
Likes: 0
From: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Watch those engines on ebay

Hi, I have an FD and I have read quite a few times that those engine/tranny combos (on ebay or at times even from importers) are at often times shot and you are looking at rebuilding the engine with all the inconvenience and costs that that process entails. Among the most evident: blown apex seals and/or coolant seals; blown turbos; worn grinding tranny that needs a rebuild.
I would make sure you get your hands on an extremely good engine/tranny, or you're in for a 5k rebuild...
Giovanni
Reply
Old Jan 23, 2009 | 11:39 PM
  #9  
black82gsl's Avatar
Thread Starter
70 cubic inches of fury!
Tenured Member 05 Years
iTrader: (3)
 
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 313
Likes: 0
From: Port Edwards,Wisconsin
I think im just going to get the intake/carb and header for the 12a a and call it good and some new struts and springs. I plan on doing mostly auto crossing and the motor swap sounds like more work than I want to do. As long as I can roast the tires im happy!
Reply
Old Jan 24, 2009 | 01:40 AM
  #10  
trochoid's Avatar
Old Fart Young at Heart
Tenured Member 10 Years
iTrader: (6)
 
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 15,145
Likes: 8
From: St Joe MO
Good choice. Even the stock 12A will spin tires. I have no problems roasting the 245/50s on the widebody with a 1/2 bp 12A.

Course I've done a 'little' bit of work on the car.

https://www.rx7club.com/build-threads-293/unvieling-12a-bp-widebody-462184/
Reply
Old Jan 24, 2009 | 07:34 AM
  #11  
black82gsl's Avatar
Thread Starter
70 cubic inches of fury!
Tenured Member 05 Years
iTrader: (3)
 
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 313
Likes: 0
From: Port Edwards,Wisconsin
nice
Reply
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Boriquaguerrero
2nd Generation Specific (1986-1992)
20
Apr 22, 2019 01:15 PM
craaaazzy
Comments and Suggestions Archive
3
Aug 21, 2015 02:00 PM
Marty RE
New Member RX-7 Technical
0
Aug 13, 2015 11:19 AM




All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:00 PM.