Hey all, my name is Jesse and I recently bought a 1985 fb rx7 gsl roller. I've always been into rx7s just because of how magnificent they look. But I really need a direction to go with this car.
I'm trying to see what kind of a build I should get into with this car; when I first found this forum I expected a lot of ls swaps, but I really just see people swapping to a 13b.
So any sense of direction would help; I am a college student, so keeping things low budget would be beneficial. Any comments are welcome. Will post pics of car once weather clears up. I do live in MO so weather is constantly changing. But any help is welcome.

Thanks!

 

Welcome!! Personally I would not install anything other than a rotary engine in the car. I think street port 12A's are fantastic but parts are getting tougher to find for the 12A. This makes the 13B a good choice. Either way you go, this isn't going to be a cheap build. Prepare to spend some money. Will look forward to seeing pictures of the car!

 

Welcome to forum

 

Is there any reason why you would only put a rotary in? I've always heard they're a lot of work and very unreliable.

 

The RX7 was built for the Rotary engine, not the other way around. The earlier Mazda Capella was a piston car with the option of a Rotary, which was sold here as the RX2. Similar with the RX3 (808 or "Grand Familia"), RX4 ("Luce"), and B-Series pickups ("REPU's"). All conventional piston cars with the option of the Rotary engine packages. But not your RX7. The RX7 was built specifically to showcase the awesome little rotary engine. And it worked and is one of the all-time classic sports cars (in all 3 generations).

So... Most people on this forum will tell you to build a strong rotary powertrain. Engine swaps are cool, and there are some really nice ones driving around. Small block Fords and Chevy's, 2.3 Turbo Fords, Mazda, Nissan, Toyota,.. Hayabusa! But there is little aftermarket support for something like that, and since Mazda never put any other motors in it nothing is an easy "drop in" conversion. You better be a good fabricator. If you have the skills or money you can build anything you want.

As far as "a lot of work and unreliable", we're talking about a 35 yo sports car. New from the factory the first gen cars went well over 100k miles as long as the owners kept the oil topped off (they are designed to burn oil). My first '85 had over 100k when I got it and drove awesome, 12 months a year. Always started right up, did everything it was supposed to, and it was 100% stock. Any old car that's not maintained or treated well will have problems. But know that the 79-85 RX7's are getting harder to find and many parts are not available new or rebuilt any more. Like brake calipers, of all things. NAPA, Autozone, etc don't carry those anymore, so many things on your shopping list will be sourced on Ebay or the RX7Club.com classifieds.

 

And to put a motor and trans in, roughly how much would that cost. So far I've only found one rotary engine being the 13b, and that guy wants $3200 for it

 

$3200 is on the high side unless it's a freshly rebuilt engine with some port work done. You can find cheaper ones out there.

And to answer your question, the reason I would only install a rotary engine in the car is because I'm a rotary enthusiast and I believe that the RX-7, being designed around the rotary engine, performs exemplary with a rotary. It stays true to its roots and most people love seeing rotary engines in RX-7's. They are very reliable is you maintain them and don't best the crap out of them all the time. I have a 1980 RX-7 Leather Sport with over 120k miles on it. Not a ton of miles but the engine is original and is 39 years old. Runs amazing! I've had many high mileage rotaries and some ran great and some did not. Like any engine, it will wear out in time. But the are simple to rebuild and easy to work on. You would be doing yourself a favor sticking with a rotary. They are truly amazing.

 

welcome to the forum