So, currently struggling with what to do with my 87 rx7 fc. Bought the car last year knowing the engine would need to be rebuilt soon. It is an na manual. It’s a project car I’m working on with my dad. End goal is to have a fun drift car I can use to drive to work and around town from time to time.
Early this year, I started buying parts to swap in a turbo 2 drivetrain. Bought a complete turbo 2 engine that had been rebuilt by a guy who had been drag racing rx7s. It was sitting in storage next to the fb the guy was planning on putting it in before he stopped racing. He said it had oversized dowels, Bridgeport, etc. The guy seemed trustworthy and knowledgeable so I trusted him when I bought the engine, I planned to get it rebuilt just because you never know when you buy an engine off someone and the fact that it had been sitting a few years (I think he said he built it in 2018). Well, the na engine gave out shortly after I bought the t2 engine and with school and everything else there is no way I’m going to afford a 4k (or more) rebuild.
so where I sit now:
na engine pulled
interior pulled
I have this t2 engine that may or may not work
I have a t2 trans sourced else where
and an rx7 that was in decent shape before the engine gave out.
I see a few options as far as what I could do
1. Buy the rest of what is needed for t2 swap (rear end, axles, ecu, wiring) and put it together and pray everything is good on the engine.
2. sell all t2 parts and get na rebuilt
Was wondering if anyone has any advice ie 1. would engine sitting that long need rebuild automatically? 2. Are there things I could check without taking the engine apart that might give me more/less confidence that it will run 3. Any other paths you see that might be better?
This is a long term investment, however the car is just sitting in my fathers 2 car garage and I don’t want to take up half his garage indefinitely. I just want to get it running. Any advice appreciated thanks.

 

welcome to the board.

first, no. the engine does not (should not, at least) need to be rebuilt simply because it sat. assuming the guy you bought it from is honest and competent, if he built it in 2018 and it was built correctly, then it should be ready to rock-n-roll whenever you are. oiling everything is a part of the build process, so you should be good there - meaning the engine should turn over by hand just fine. the second important thing when storing one of these things is to make sure the openings are blocked off so nothing gets inside it (moisture, debris, etc.). as long as those were done for storage, you should be good.

so as far as checks go, i would say:
1. does it turn freely by hand?
2. do you hear even compression sounds - 6 distinct sounds through every rotation?
3. do you see oil in the chambers when you look in the exhaust ports?
4. were the ports, spark plug holes, CAS hole and oil filter pedestal covered/sealed?

my advice would be if time is not a factor, then proceed with your plans (although i would reconsider the engine management aspect). it doesn't sound like you are in position where the car will need to be you main mode of transportation. otherwise, we'd probably have to have another less pleasant discussion. i'm just impressed you were able to find a T2 tranny!

if time is a factor, then in addition to selling the T2 engine, you could consider either running it without a turbo OR disassembling your dead N/A engine, and as long as you don't need anything major, then you can scavenge the rebuild parts you need. those are options as well.

what series T2 engine is it? asking because if you choose the option of running the engine without a turbo, i'm just not sure how wise it would to run a S4 engine N/A - especially with a bridge. however, an S5 should be okay, from what i've seen.

 

Thank you. Very helpful information! Yes, I have a truck (no ac in Texas lol but it’s fine to daily to work) so I would have other transportation but want to get this car running and out of my dads garage. I forgot if it’s s5 or s4 but I’m going over there today to work on interior so I’ll check then as well as the other things you said. What would be the advantage of running without turbo (using old wiring and ecu?) Also what do you mean engine management? I didn’t add it in the post but if we do put the t2 in I would definitely be going to Ryan Heinrich as I’ve seen many good things about him and he was great when I’ve talked to him before. Would do whatever he recommends so probably end up with a stand-alone ecu.

 

Yea so engine is s4. It’s got oil in the exhaust ports, makes 6 even compression sounds, and was covered on all ports so I have a lot more confidence in the engine. Thank you

 

my thinking is running the engine without a turbo would get you a lot closer to something that the factory N/A ECU wouldn't have a stroke over. i figure a bridgeport would be bad enough, but i know it can be done with the factory ECU. i don't know if anything has to be done to the ECU or not, so that is something you'd have to look into, but i've seen it done. with your engine being an S4, i don't know how sensible that plan would be with the 8.5s though. of course, you could get it to run, but i simply don't know how well.

when i mentioned engine management, i was referring to a stand-alone. if that's a part of your plan, then that changes a lot. i thought you were looking to try running it all on a factory T2 ECU.

 

Yea stand-alone is the plan thanks again