I have a gilmer kit for sale. Give me a pm if interested.

Nice work, I'll be stealing some of your idea when I make my own.

I'm looking into buying a welder right now, what make/model tig did you buy? It looks like it does a great job.... or was it just the fabricator.

It was the fabricator..........:wink: It's a Miller Econotig. It's one of the cheaper models (still expensive as hell), but does a fantastic job. The fabricator I work for on the side likes it better than his watercooled Miller. (I forget the model) I've welded with both and have to agree. I've welded aluminum intakes, exhausts, exhaust manifolds, intercooler piping, and even transmission belhousings with it, and it's done an excellent job on all of them. Doesn't do a bad job on stick welding either. It does require at least 50 amp, 230 V, single phase service though.

Finally finished the wastegate tubes and turbo brace. Turned out much better than I hoped. After I get back from vacation, I'll post the final pics.

Looking good. How long before we hear it run?

i agree with trianwreck.. badass.

Unfortunately, forever + 1 day. Talked to the paint shop and it looks like it's still going to be August timeframe before the car gets back to me. Good news is, they are making progress. As soon as I get it back, the motor goes in for one last final fit so I can wire the Haltech, make the downpipe and new intercooler piping. Then, it's off to Gotham for porting/rebuild (which they say is a two week process). Bottom line, it'll probably be EOY. Damnit....now I'm depressed.

ehh.. i think you should of kept a v8 in the nova

Hell no! This is payback for all the a-holes pulling good rotaries and driopping in a V8. Go get 'em!

If you ever get the itch you can come work on mine :lol:

Your welds look fine, the hardest part about welding is consistency. Try a number count in your head and get a rhythm going after awhile you wont need to count anymore. Slag is easiest to remove with a good cold chisel. If you try and sand it out it only seems to want to embed in, then your stuck sanding it all out. Cold chisel works for me just about every time. Works better when still warm or hot and on pipe. Doesn't work so well on tubing. On tubing I slip a smaller diameter piece of scrap inside and that works well.

That thing is sick!!!

v8 vs rotary conversions
 

I agree 100% putting a v-8 in a mazda rotary is just wrong. It takes very little talent or imagination. However to have the balls to put a rotary in a traditional v-8 muscle car takes talent, imagination and a lot of courage.
Good luck with this project!

im sorry but just like i dont want to see an rx with a v8 in it i dont want to see a rotary in anything else. im so tired of seeing dimes with rotaries in them or any of the other datsuns that everyone feels the need to put a rotary in. that is no imagination. researching traditional nissan motors and finding out whats available and what can be mated with what takes a hell of a lot more imagination and talent.

and honestly i hate to say it but the rotary in a vehicle that big and heavy is just stupid.....it ruins that car and takes away from its brutish charm.

and before you jump down my throat i grew up with/working on muscle cars just like the nova and its plain wrong in my eyes. im sorry

I would rather see a rotary in a Nova than see some douche nozzle run a FD into a wall at a drifting event.

Yeah you must have the largest imaganation in the world to believe your statement guys like you arent really car guys. You believe since you drive a rotory powerd car your some sort of eliteest. I personally think any person who does any kinda swap is cool in my book. If you do your own work and build something that you like for you then thats cool. Who the hell cares what anyone else thinks is cool. It takes no more talent to do this nova swap then it does to put a any other motor in to a formerly rotory powerd car.

I do think this swap is pretty cool. Not something I would do though. I would of put a 502 in it or something and really had a fast car. I mean a nove is a straight line car peroid so throw something beefy in there.

Im kinda wondering if your gonna throw the handleing way off with that rotory. The 50/50 weight balance of that tank of a nova will be way off. It will probably be more like 40 front, 60 rear LOL. You guys over here really crack me up with your rotory is God views.

^^lol thank you

hey jpaker7 and 2cute you know what we call people like you.... BUZZ KILL!!!!!!!!!!! lol i like this cause recelty i saw a 2JZ 69 camaro there is the RB26 Mustang for TD, and this a rotary nova. its awsome.

haha all i can say if damn you for stealing my idea. i have a 73 ss i was dreaming about puttin a 20b in

1 why would anyone use an rb26? but w/e

im not trying to be a buzz kill. if you look at my first post in this thread you will see that. i stated while i dont agree with it i can appreciate the work.

get over yourself. and stop thinking that the rotary motor is the end all motor. its not

all that came to mind when i saw this was "no go" lol


anyway, i think its a cool project. I like seeing interesting combinations of parts coming together. How many big block novas are out there? Probably a lot. And it gets boring to look at in my opinion.

I'm half tempted to buy a nice GT fox body and a lovely black turbo II in my area and just swap the engines between them. Piss of everyone!

Impressive build... and I think I get confused looks at my exhaust note!!

For what it's worth I'm beginning to think that folks love/hate of a setup has more to do with engine preference than body. All the muscle car guys love me we v8-7 bretheren get most hate out of this board.

I think it's kinda funny that here you have the majority of rotary boys giving you props... but I bet you'd have a lot less pleased folks with your efforts if you posted this on a musclecar page.

I say, nice work and way to be a fabricator.

I can't believe there are idiots saying the Nova is big, heavy and is a straight line car only. Body dimensions might be pretty difficult to change, but if these clowns would have paid attention they'd have read the"under 2700lbs" quoted by the builder. And you can make ANYTHING handle with the right suspension upgrades.

No talent or imagination to this project? Seriously - the guy learned how to TIG weld so he could build a fucking manifold. What's the percentage of people on this board that can TIG weld? 3-5% or so? And the percentage of the people making negative comments about this project? Somewhere around 0% I'm guessing?

To the OP:

Don't worry about the assclowns saying anything negative about your car. You know how you can pull into a parking lot full of nice hot rods, and there's always some douchebag there with a few primered panels, missing a bumper and one of his windows, milk crates for seats, and oil smoke rolling out from under the car? Yea.. that's these fuckers.

Good luck with your project, and when you're done, I'd love to take a ride in it.

^Nicely said :) OP: much props on the originality, fab work, and effort. Looking forward to the finished product!

For anyone who doubts you can get a Nova down to that weight, consider that stock, as delivered to the dealer with all accessories, etc. a couple of configurations were under 3300lbs.

http://novaresource.org/weights.htm#1974

Cool proyect keep up the great work and show us more pictures and for all u idiots that don't like it don't look at it.Very simple to do.:scratch:

My next Proyect will be a lawn more engine in a 69 Yenko Camaro.:lol:

I laughed until I cried.....seriously. I appreciate everyone who is giving the project kudos, and even those who aren't. Without a few..."I'd never do that" and "I'd have put a big block in it" comments, it wouldn't be making the impact I'd hoped for. Everyone has their own idea of what cool is.

A little history might shed some light on why I'd want to put a rotary in a Nova. In the past 10 years my brother, father, and I have build/owned the following....

1969 Corvette (427cid and 6-pack)
2008 Corvette Z06 (Stock)
1985 Pro Street Chevy C10 (509cid w/8-71 blower)
1998 Dodge Ram (408 w/Novi 2000 Supercharger *607 whp*)
2005 RX8 (Stock)
2006 SRT-4 (~350 whp)
1995 Eclipse GSX (50 trim & FMIC)

We've done the rediculous horsepower thing.
We've done the luxury sports car thing.
We've done the import thing.
We've done the muscle car thing.

Of all of the cars, the most fun to cruise around town is by far the '69 corvette. You just can't find a better looking car than classic muscle. But, wrapping the engine in the RX8 to 9,000 rpm is an awesome feeling. Big blocks and ridiculous horsepower seemed kind of played out, and weren't any fun any more (The '85 went through four different configurations). So, it was time to combine the favorites......the muscle car styling with a revolutionary engine design well of the beaten path. Viola.....nova with a rotary.

I can't wait to see the looks (good and bad) it'll get once it's up and running!

Pics of the finished manifold (- ceramic coating). I've been done for a while, just haven't posted. I've also finished some other neat stuff I'll post later this week.

as i have said if you look at my original post.....

i gave the guy credit for his work. i just think that the awap isnt right. im entitled to my opinion.

as for not being able to do my own work and such.....i do everything to my own car. there has not been anything that has been done that i havent ultimately been able to do myself. granted there may have been some help along the way......but thats learning.

and as i said i grew up working on muscle cars....they are nothing foreign to me.

as you are entitled to your opinion about this build so am i . i give props for the effort and work but i dont like the swap sorry.

I totally agree with your statement. In my post I was cracking on how rotory guys always jump V8 guys asses about destroying the handling and such of rx7s.
I think this swap is cool I just thinks its funny how they are so into a rotory in any car and so against a different motor in their cars. Hell I would have a rotory powerd car is if came with is own rotory mechanic to keep it running for me casue I have no interest in it. My LS1 powerd car is 400+hp to the wheels and I dont have to worry about it ever. That would be a different story if it were a boosted rotory

fuck all that hog wash stay on point with this guys thread and stop thrashing it...if you don't like the fact that he threw a rotary into a v8 then don't post up in here...give the guy credit for the beautiful work he is doing if anything else...Damn!!!

Anyways man i just wanted to say it has been a while since i have been able to catch up on this thread and i just wanted to say that turbo mani is "PURE FUCKING PRONO!!!" good stuff bro can't wait to see whats next on her...

Gotta love unique swaps.

Man you r the next specialist on rotary power muscle cars conversions.
Keep up the great work and can wait to see it running you better post a video on you tube or street fire.:icon_tup: :icon_tup:

how much of the car have you gutted...Oh by the way did you get the car back from the paint shop or was it the body shop...i can't remember...what color did you go with?

The list on one of the previous pages shows what was done to lighten the car. It still has carpet, interior pannels etc., so it still looks like a regular street car.

Here is a sample of the paint colors. It's chrome orange with diamond white pearl SS stripes. Much prettier in person. The square is an actual sprayed sample, the Exige is the car the color comes from, and the nova gives a feel for the overall scheme. (The Exige looks a little different color, but it's just the effect of the camera and the pearl).

I can't remember if i asked you or not but who is going to tune the car?

Header looks top notch by the way!!!!!!!!!!

the header is pure porno

That is definitely a first!

Great job

Have u ran it 1/4 mile 13b Nova???How fast have u gone????

cool project... but i have a couple questions

first one is the lower radiator hose looks like it will run right into the front primary tube or is it an optical illusion?

https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...0&d=1207534735



next question is... how much did the TB cost to bore out... and why not just run the 20b T/B since it is a larger bore the the 13bre and probably cheaper then RC
https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...2&d=1207882581

00.00 et @ 000 mph..........still under construction.

It would definitely have hit the manifold! The solution.........

Yeah, I looked into it, but couldn't get a direct answer on the bore difference between the RE throttle body and the 20b. Seemed like the concensus was that they were the same. Maybe not?!

I'm a little embarrassed to say, but around $400 to bore the throttle body. It's a lot of yack for very little gain, but I'm the kind of person that if I didn't do it now, it'd eat at me and I'd just end up doing it later.

Went to Lockney Texas to meet with the painter. Things seem to be going well, just a little slower than I'd like. Looking at Sept-Oct timeframe to get it back.

Couple more pics of the state of things. I think I'm almost peaked until I get the car back.

looking good.

I really enjoy reeding this and knowing that the V8 lovers get pissed off!!!
I dont get why anybody in his right mind would put a v8 in a gen3 or any RX for that matter!
This is payback!!!!!!!

P.S. I have to say that you are really doing a stunning job and that this would be a perfect example for anybody thinking of doing something properly!!!!

I just cant keep myself in!

I am one of those guys who love to pride myself in doing things myself and doing them well!

But this guy went to another level in doing it himself and frankly I would pay money to see anybody doing a better job!

Making horsepower with a V8 is almost `off the shelf` and anybody with a bit of money can buy a big block with 500+ hp!

Rotary is probably not the best there is or the fastest or the most powerful but it sure as hell is something spectacular in many ways!

If you realy love the v8 that much than why the hell are you poking around on here? I`m very sure there are more than enough Novas about with nice V8s in and poeple that would agree with you!

This is probably the only one of its kind in the world and as you have seen he has had a few boingers in his life so I would be inclined to say that he has a pretty good idea of he likes!

O, and for the `straight line car` comment: have you noticed the double wishbone front suspension?!?! Waisting that money and time on a car for drags doesn't make much sense now does it?!?!

So, yes, you are very much entitled to your opinion! Only thing is, people on this blog dont care about V8s, if we did, why the hell would we be here in the first place!!

Love and kisses..... :)

Oldshoolbaby, I appreciate the kind words. That's a pretty good explation of my thoughts on the subject. But....if some people didn't dislike the idea, it wouldn't be having the effect I'm shooting for. To some people, a rotary is their background. It's not mine. That's what makes it so cool to me. It's new and exciting. To some people, a supercharged big block isn't their background so its new and exciting to them. Some people haven't ever had a 1000+ hp car, so the mentality is "why not go big block, make some real power, and go rediculously fast?" Been there, done that, got the T-shirt. Others are purists and don't believe in "butchering" a car like this. I don't share the opinion, but it's fine too. Cool is different for everyone. Both the positive and negative comments are appreciated so keep them coming!

Oh yeah.......and a triangulated 4-link in the rear. It also has coilovers all the way around. The center of gravity should be considerably lower too. The stance is much lower, and a lot of weight came off of the top of the car due to the fiberglass hood, hatch, and lexan. The engine sits extrememly low and back in the engine bay compared to a V8. The radiator has also been moved back about 6", and the battery is mounted further back. The weight distribution and handling won't be near as good as an FD, but it definitely won't be a yacht. Hopefully the 315 drag radials will help out the lighter rear end balance.