Did we ever get any of those over here?
I am thinking about doing a bridge port turbo 12a for my Rx2. That way I could try to get away form cuting a newer hole in the floor for the shiter.

 

No matter how you slice it, you got cut a hole in the floor for the shiter

 

Well what is it, no or yeah. I have been hearing both things.

 

As long as u stick with the trannys up to '82, it should use the stock shifter location. I used an '83 tranny in my 3 and modified the tranny to move the shifter location back up to fit the stock location in the car. With this type of mod, I could probably use up to '92 tranny but I don't know, have only seen 1st gen trannys.

 

wow..a bridgeported 12a turbo, sounds powerful. I am not sure about the shifter situation, but hey the idea sounds nice. Im using a stock us 12a block with j-spec low comp rotors. Can't wait to see how it works.

 

why?? he is just installing an engine, not a tranny. he can also install a 13-B. as long as he is using a pre-81 tranny, no need to cut a hole.

 

It was a joke. He spelled shifter as *******. get it? obviously not. Oh well.

Kick, That 12A with the matching tranny, will not require a cut.

David

 

Can you explain how you did this or where you got the mod kit to do this?

 

Doh, I didn't see the shiter. That is what I get for typing when I just got up from a nap. Sorry about the miss spelling guys.

My buddy in AU has told me that they do this mod all the time, move the shifter location up farter so there is no need to cut new hole. It sounds like they do this to the late 80s and early 90s, witch they would call them S4-S5. My buddy in AU wants me to do a 13bt, or a 13b street port with FI. But I always bring up the trans, and hole cutting. He always says I don’t need to cut hold, just move the shifter location. I would like to see this very mod done my self, let along know if anyone else dose it over here in the states. Sounds like a very common mod over there.

 

If I can find out how to do it, I will definetly give it a try. I do not want to cut the trans tunnel either.

 

sorry kick. i guess i wasnt reading the typo and i didnt get the joke.

its cool.

 

IT IS possible to install the 81+ tranny BUT, you will need to weld a piece of metal to the ear of the front engine mount. THis will allow you to mount the engine further out. This is to compensate for not cutting a shifter hole. I tried but I ended up working on the other end (shifter) to balance the weight of the car and not worrying about the cross member and putting a spacer to bring the engine higher.

Since we used the 81+ tranny with a miata internals, I modified the handbrake as well. I picked up a couple of MX-6 handbrakes and played with it. I cut it in the middle and took about an inch chunck and re-welded it. I also modified the rod inside the handbrake. This gave us enough clearance between the shifter and the handbrake.

 

Anyone have any good ideas where I could see about getting, or finding a 12a Turbo?
What would I be looking at for cost, to get one?

 

ck with 680/rotaryshack. Im not sure if hes got some but he is a good source.

 

'81 and newer transmissions have the remote-mounted shifter that locates a few inches more rearward. Unfortunately, if you're going with a turbo motor, you'll probably want a beefier transmission than the '79 or '80, so you're looking at cutting a notch in the tunnel as well as modifying the console to accomodate the location change. You COULD use a 5-speed ribcase which is a bit stronger than the early smoothcase transmissions, but the downside to that is the rather weak synchros. You wouldn't need to modify anything to make it work, though.

 

Wankelguy, are you saying the '81-'85 trannies are stronger than '79-'80? I need to upgrade soon and am thinking about the '81-'85 and shortening the shifter linkage to fit in the old location.

 

Kick,

I found out a couple of things about this mod. It can be done as a do it yourself type modification if you have access to a couple of precision tools, or a machine shop. (This is how rxtasy3 did it) You have to be very precise, or it will not shift right.

I also found a shop in Aus that will put everything together for me so that all I have to do is bolt it on. The price was reasonable 150AUS, so I am going to go this route.

PM or email me if you want more details

David

 

I have access to the machines needed. What can you tell me about the mod?

-billy

 

Billy,

I do not know enough about this modification to tell you how it is done. The end result though, is that the shifter is moved up 4 inches. This is the stock location for the shifter on the RX 2.

I also know that a milling machine is necessary, as is a jig.

David

 

Nope. The 1st gen. transmissions are about the same (with the possible exception of the GSL-SE tranny) with respect to strength. I singled out the '79-'80 units because they are the ones most commonly swapped in pre-RX7 rotary cars, due to their having the stock shifter location. The '79-'80 trannys are easier to fill too, as they can be filled through the shifter hole, unlike the later units.

 

We did not get any of the 12a turbo stuff. However five or so were brought in Atlanta by "New York block exchange". They were all gone - quick. You can find all the bits on ebay or the parts trader. Here is a link to an ebay auction for one part. You could start your collecting off with the fan.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...category=39405

-billy

 

I hear you. I've got a '79-'80 5 speed in my REPU. I just had to slightly mod the tranny mount and that was it.

I've found filling to be quite easy. Just fill till the oil level is half way up the main shaft. I think it's like 2.5 quarts or something.

 

This thread has got me tinkering. Here are 3 gearboxes lined up. No jokes about the oil, ok. The one in the middle is a old rib case 4 speed out of rx2's or rx3's. The left one is a 79-80 rx7 and the one on the right is a 81+ rx7. I have a straight edge across the top of the two rx7 boxes that are the same length. This shows the old school box is 1.5 inches shorter than the other two. The trans cross member mount is the same on the rx7 boxes but 2.00 inches lower on the old school box. I think you would need to shorten the drive shaft 1.5 inches and make a new cross member to mount an rx7 box in. Out of all my cars I have never had a drive shaft made, I am almost sure I have had a rx7 box in them as well. Maybe the rx7 drive shaft would work? I will work on that in a few days.

-billy

 

Second picture shows the shifter locations. The old school shifter is 2 inches shorter than the 79-80 box on the right. The 81+ box shifter location is 6.50 inches higher than the old school box. Since Mazda went external shift linkage on the 81+ box I think it would be easy to modify the parts and make a bracket or two to move the shifter forward. I do remember having to cut nearly 2 inches of the shifter hole out in 79 or 80 model 7's when we converted them to 81+ boxes. We always had the shift linkage fail on the 70-80 boxes in the race cars. That went away after we converted.

-billy

 

I've got a 13BT in my RX-2 with an FC Turbo Gearbox, they shortened the extension housing so the shifter popped out in the right place