Hi all. I have an Austin Healey Sprite that I have decided I want to upgrade the drivetrain on. I have decided on going with an RX-7 engine, tranny, and rear end. What years/models are the most desireable, and why? I want to stay with a manual transmission. This car will be used as a sleeper drag car and for autocrossing. HP and torque figures will be extremely helpful. Thanks.

 

welcome ...

you ask a very interesting question and i think opinions will differ on it quite a bit. based solely on what you've presented, i would say go for the 1989-91 drivetrains, whether you want normal aspiration or turbo.

however, some important info need to better answer your question would be what power level you wish to aim for and what type of intake you wish to use (carb vs. EFI) - that kind of thing.

 

What makes the 89-91 drivetrain desireable? I'm thinking carbs would be an easier swap and is easier for adjusting and tweaking.

 

Both the 13B-E and 13B-T of those years had, lighter parts and more compression than those of the previous series. I haven't looked at prices lately, so I may be out of touch, but they were usually cheaper than the later REW engines. However, it was a task finding people that wanted to get rid of them.

With a carbie, you'll probably want to stick to the normally aspirated engine though.