Hi,I have been reading and lurking here for a little while,I had a nissan 300zx previously but wrecked that,and am selling it as a parts car.[hence my name Okay z]

Anyway I just bought a 83 GS for 400 bucks,a few days ago drives good and runs,it's got about 87000 miles on it , new tires,it's got a couple of dents,and a rough intirior,but I can't be picky for 400 can I?

Anyway I bought this to do a v8 swap,as I like the looks and low weight oif the car,also there were more rx7s in MI and cheaper than nissans.

So my question is what moter to use?I was thinking for a carbed ford 302,as it sounds easier than a chevy swap,and mazda is a partner of ford.

I know the chevy 350 is a bit bigger and has more aftermarket parts and cheaper ones I am told, but wouldn't the ford 302 be close in prformance,at least at reasonable numbers I am not tryin for 800 rwhp and a 1000 ftlbs of torque.
I am trying to make a car that is somewhat well balaced and can run 12's,the 302 should allow me to to that without a ton of work right?

The other engine I was was thinking of was a vg30et,Like I said I have a 1984 300zx turbo,that is wrecked[body damage only,the important stuff is ok.]the vg30et engine on those is great 400 RWHP stock,[with upgraded turbo]the thing has anybody done it?is there a kit?and would it be a total bitch since It is fuel injected?I was just wondering since I already have the engine.

Thanks.

 

too bad you didnt buy a second gen: http://members.tripod.com/~grannys/2N6VG30.html

 

well I thought about it but couldn't find one as cheap.Also it is only the vg30,they mention they didn't say anuthing about the vg30et.I know they are close but the turbo adds to it's size,and the turbo manifold different is bigger than the na I believe,so I don't know if it would fit in as easily.

Thats why I'm asking if It would be reasonable to try to swap one into my 1st gen.
Right now i'm driving it,I have it insured for 3 months,then when that time comes I'll start the swap.

 

I'd say do the 5.0 Ford or the Chevy 350. Either one would be your best bet for cheap and give you MORE than enough power.

 

I agree the ford or chevy V8 is a much better choice for many many reasons. The ford 5.0 is a simple swap...easier than the chevy. Also 5.0 motors can be had cheap. I prefer the bigger chevy 350 but thats personal preference.

 

IIRC the nissan mounts are just adaptors for the SBC mounts.... so if you have a SBC cradle the nissan mounts will work.

Also, if you're willing to wait or look a lil, LS1 > *

 

I'd think with an FB, it wouldn't be as smart $ wise to go with the LS1 except for weight saving purposes, as the car is already a lightweight go-kart on wheels and is turned into a rocket ship with a small block V8. I mean, for 3k tops, you can have a V8 powered FB that would just kill 95% of the cars on the road. LS1 would multiply that many times in cost equation.

 

Ok thanks for you'r input v8 it is.
My dad[who is way against this swap]was saying that it would be hard to find a maunual tranny for the 302, as most were autos,is this true?I really love the manual 5spds i have had,would the chevy 350 be easier to find a manual tranny for?that is pretty much a clincher,I would get whichever engine I could use a manual tranny.

Thanks

 

JustinStrife is right. I own a V8 FB and the car is very fast,and thats with a bone stock LT-1. I dont have dyno sheets or quarter mile times but the car is very fast. As far as manual trannys go with V8's...your typical thinking dosnt apply here. Youll have so much torque you simply dont need to shift. A auto isnt a bad thing in this case,trust me. I can manually shift mine from 1st to second third etc etc but I just slap it in drive and go. First youll just get wheelspin second as well if your not careful. I also wanted a 5 or 6 speed but after looking at the costs I reluctantly installed a auto slush box and am very happy with it. Just remember youll have over 3 times the torque it came with. Horsepower is overrated....torque is what puts smiles on peoples faces. You can only get more torque with more displacement or with NOS or supercharging. This is why I always suggest a V8 to anyone looking into a swap. Do it once and do it right. Ive had 3 friends with Rotary powered RX7's ride in my car and all 3 were die hard rotor heads. After a 15 minute spirited ride all 3 agreed the V8 swap was a good thing,even with a auto. A good friend brought over his highly modified WRX and we raced on a back road, he got a 50 foot jump on me on take off with his AWD but once I stopped spining the wheels I cought up and left him...he didnt have a chance. That puts me in the sub 6 second 0 to 60 range. The only bad thing Ive experienced was the rear axle bottoming out against the bump stops on hard launches which is annoying. I since installed tokiko rear springs and solved that problem. The fronts are stock and work just fine.

 

T-5's for 302's litter junk yards and can be found on craigs list, forum FS subforums, ebay, car-part.com... you name it. They're very, very, VERY common.

You dad is an idiot about domestics apparently, or just hates fords. Or both.

Have you even tried to look online yet? I dont know how you COULDNT find one unless youre trying not to!

 

Stock LT1 puts down about 250-260whp, with buttloads of torque, and responds well to modifications. That cant be slow in any RX7.

Also, autos are good for dragging, but for many less fun on the street, unless of course you get a shift kit on it, and a stalled converter if you get a wild cam on it so the engien shoots to and holds the stall rpm for you as soon as you give it throttle.

For those who dont know what that means, it means the tranny lets the engine slip it up to a given RPM, and stays there until the road speed catches up to what it would be at that engine rpm, and then the engine revs up with it. That means you make a buttload of power basically immediately (gogo powerbraking for even more fun) AND you get torque multiplication becuase its effectively making that gear shorter and then lengthening it as the road catches up to the motor.

Thats great for drag, but for handling youd want a more conservative (2.5K, maybe 3K max) stall or maybe some way to control lockup in lower gears and a transmission built to handle it.

I believe "Merc" used an AOD behind a 302 in a FC autocross car (with a lil spoiler he put on it, a ducktail looking thing, worked like a champ) and actually kicked a ton of *** with it. He even used 15" rims and some 205/225 width tires! The biggest key into it was that he used r-comps and had the suspension and offset basically perfect with it, and a shift kit. I doubt he stalled it for auto-x, especially when making torque is hardly difficult with a pushrod motor... but the point is autos are not that bad! I still wouldnt use one on a road course or if I had a choice for fun on the street, but they're not a detrement to handling if you change your driving style accordingly.

The biggest reason people think autos suck is old worn out ones that slip and dont shift, or ones that are put behind lower displacement, torqueless motors that really are meant for comfort and fuel economy, not performance.

And just as a side note now that I remember it, Ive heard of people making stalled converters for honda trannies so you can have the motor always be in the 'vtec' rpms for dragracing or turbos with those motors. THAT would be a ******* hoot to hear.

 

Ok thanks for all the answers guys.I did try to do a search but not much came up,is their like a guide I can look at?

As for my Dad he isn't a gear head but he isn't an idiot either,when I told him I was goig to use a 302 and tranny from a mustang or crown Vic he said their wern't many as most were autos,he didn't mention that I could use a tranny out of another model of car.{i didn't know this,domestic is new to me I am just learning and all my reasearch I did was for the vg30et]like i said he is not supportive to say the least of me doing the swap,so he left that info out to disurage me probly.

I guess my main question is if I get a mostly stock v8,maybe a few mods,how much better would a 350 be compared to a 302 in terms of power and weght?

Right now it's at the local shop, getting the ball joints and tie rod ends checked out and maybe replaced[they are good guys and honest],as it wonders over the road and has bad handling,

Thanks

 

If your first gem is wandering over the road theres a god chance your steering gear box is part of the problem. It can be adjusted. First of course check the ball joints and the pivot bushings,then adjust the pre load on the gear box. After that replace your control arm bushings with polyurathane ones a simple 20.00 upgrade.
Theres a lot of conflicting opinions on which engine is best. The bottom line is what fits easily and whats affordable for you and your needs/wants. Just remember almost everything in cars involves some sort of comprimise. Meaning if you spend 3,000 on a LS1 you wont have much money left for suspension bla bla bla. The first generation is the easiest RX-7 to install a V8 into.
My only advice is to take the advice from guys who actually have a running first generation RX7 with a V8. Keep it simple and keep it domestic,that way you can get help when needed and parts wont be a issue.

 

Im not here to agrue but autos are good for more than drag racing. You have to remember power to weight ratios and torque! Anyone who says autos are only good for drag racing hasnt driven a V8 powered RX-7 and is just stating a opinion,not personal experience. I have nearly 20 years experience owning and fixing RX-7's. When I tell you something is not a opinion its from first hand experience. Check your steering gear box it could be part of your wandering problem. Have the shop adjust the perload on it once they verified the ball joints are good.

 

Crown Vics have the oil pan youd want IIRC, its a 'double hump' with room in the middle to straddle the steering rack... in the FC at least. Dunno about other generations. T-5s that will bolt to a 302 are going to be EASY to find, belive me.

The diff between a 302 or a 350(or a 351 ford...) is that a 302 block is slightly smaller and weaker, and ligther, and has less displacement. Less displacement means it would have to try harder to make more power than a bigger displacement car (higher VE or more revs...) but you're gonna be getting aftermarket or ported heads, a new cam, intake, and exhaust anyway, so its not a big deal. Also, a 302 making the same power as a 350 would have a lil less torque, but I doubt youd care in a RX7 with short gears!

Generally, a 302 would start to have reliability problems when you push it over 500 whp, especially if its from a turbo or a blower, because the block itself is weak as far as v8s go. But I doubt you're going to be going crazy with power anyway, so a 302 would suit you just fine. Even 300 hp (which is like falling off a log) from a 302 would move your *** around, and youd need to put attention on the brakes, suspsension, and the tires, so don't go overboard on the engine.

You're doing this in a 1G, right? Its basically impossible for it to be slow! If you can handle the power and want to make more down the road, a 351 or a 350 would be a good option (Same for LT1s, LS1s...) because theyre stronger, and have more displacement, but there are R302 blocks by ford motorsports and Dart that can handle all the power you'd ever want.

But believe me, for now, just work on getting it in the car, and running, and get some rubber and brakes (and get the MC and lines bled!) to put the power down before you start to go crazy. Even a stock 302 HO is going to haul ***.

 

I think when you're working off an FB chassis, the question of whether to go 5.0 or 5.7litre, will come down to which one are you more familiar with, over which is 'better'. The car is so light anyway, that either V8 will make that car into a rocketship. 99% of people who'd put a V8 in an FB probably wouldn't be shooting for 500rwhp anyway, as just hitting 300rwhp would make it stomp all over FD's, Corvettes, Vipers, etc anyway just because of power to weight ratio. I suggest going into TorqueCentral.com and reading up on the different engines, and make a decision on whether you want to go ford or chevy, and then have fun! You can't go wrong with either powerplant.

 

Thanks for helping a newby out guys.I just got the car back after the guy did a complete check,the tie rod ends and ball joints and such are fine[he charged me nothing],
custom13B you were right it is the stering gear box,the place couldn't replace it as it's not common,where would you get one,and how much should it cost?

As for shcoks\struts mine is bad,[what exactly do I have?front struts and rear shocks?] where would the best place to buy the shocks from?and what would be the best to get?and is there a complete bushing upgrade kit you can get like you can for 300zx?or do i have to buy the budhings piece by piece?

Ok back to engines,I gues it sounds like boht woild do me good,I plan to try to keep it simple and the engiens mostly stock,with a few cost effective mods,so since both engines would allow me to hange with vettes,vipers ect that is fast enough for me[well for now]so It will come down to what I can get easy and cheap.I did try torque central using the search feature but they didn't have a lot.

Thanks everybody,I 'll try not to ask dumb questions but can't say that I wont.

 

Torquecentral is THE website to go to, for information about V8 swaps in RX7's. I really suggest you spend a couple hours going through the site, and seeing what's there. Everything you could possibly want to know about what V8 in what version RX7, to how to make them smog legal. Also on using search engines, you have to use keywords in the title of threads and know exactly what you're looking for, to really get the most out of search engines. Patience and common sense will help you IMMENSELY on finding out the information you're looking for, to do up your FB right.

 

351 block is the same as a 302, almost identically, except for a taller deck and a wider block becuase of thicker cyl walls, allowing bigger bores and also more strength, longer rods, bla bla bla. Better overall and generally worth the weight. they also have stronger blocks in terms of webbing for their main bearings. These blocks are generally able to handle those 4-digit high power highway racing type buildups, etc, or tons of passes down a strip reving as high as a honda and hitting the bottle.

But at any rate, a 351 or a 350 would be just stronger and beefier overall, and more torque, but I do agree he should walk before he tries to run. A 302's shorter deck height should fit better anyway. I was just letting him know the differences between the two windsor blocks.