Single Turbo RX-7's Questions about all aspects of single turbo setups.

Engine Swap

Old Aug 23, 2006 | 07:11 PM
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Engine Swap

Afraid this may be a newbie question, but here goes.

I have a 86 GXL that's been sitting for the past 8 years that I would like to restore. Instead of bothering with the engine in there, I was contemplating finding a rotary engine with the turbo built in and dropping it in. Will an engine from any Second Generation turbo rx-7 fit my 86, or are there any situations I should be aware of?
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Old Aug 23, 2006 | 10:58 PM
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If you plan to run a turbo 13b on your car, you will need to swap out the entire drivetrain (tranny, driveshaft, diff).
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Old Aug 29, 2006 | 04:08 PM
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not nessicarily the diff. do u have lsd? n it depends on which series of engine u have (s4 is what u have) u need to find the same series. u can go series 5 but u'll still have to keep ur s4 electronics. so look around n find an s4 with tranny n all that **** n it should go in easily.
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Old Sep 3, 2006 | 11:35 AM
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Was lookin around on E-bay, saw a 3rd Gen Twin Turbo Engine with 5-spd transmission included. I take it this is along the lines of what I'm looking for? And should it matter that it's a JDM engine or is it all the same?
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Old Sep 3, 2006 | 07:48 PM
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wrong generation bud. u could do it and it'd be sweet, but its a ton of work. i dont even know where to start. n the jdm engines usually will have high miles n will need to be rebuilt
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Old Sep 3, 2006 | 07:56 PM
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MWMburton- you mentioned something about swapping an s5 into an 86 and u would keep the electrical components such as what????
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Old Sep 3, 2006 | 08:03 PM
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You can turbo the NA and just swap the drivetrain parts. It's going to be a lot of work either way.
Hope you like working on the car. (Wrong car to own if you don't)
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Old Sep 4, 2006 | 05:21 PM
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Originally Posted by sevenfc
MWMburton- you mentioned something about swapping an s5 into an 86 and u would keep the electrical components such as what????
ok wait, r we talking about a hachirocku? cause if we are i dunno whats going on. if were talking about an s4 rx-7 (86) with an s5 engine, u have to keep the s4 electronics. dont ask me why but u its easier to.



Originally Posted by the_glass_man
You can turbo the NA and just swap the drivetrain parts. It's going to be a lot of work either way.
Hope you like working on the car. (Wrong car to own if you don't)
inncorrect, the n/a rotors have a 9.7:1 compression ratio the turbo rotors have 9:1. u would need to buy low compression rotors n y would u do that? it'll just cost u more. but i have heard of some people running 9.4:1 compression on turbos but they're probably running racegas which is very very expensive!
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Old Sep 4, 2006 | 06:26 PM
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Originally Posted by MWMburton
inncorrect, the n/a rotors have a 9.7:1 compression ratio the turbo rotors have 9:1. u would need to buy low compression rotors n y would u do that? it'll just cost u more. but i have heard of some people running 9.4:1 compression on turbos but they're probably running racegas which is very very expensive!
My friend did it on his car and it ran awesome!
https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generation-specific-1986-1992-17/turboing-6-port-engine-need-help-501307/
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Old Sep 5, 2006 | 01:19 AM
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well slap my *** n call me sally. i stand corrected. how much reliablity did ur friend get out of it?
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Old Sep 9, 2006 | 11:09 AM
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MWMburton, wrong generation I know but that's the point. Heard somewhere that the thirdgen twin turbo runs better in the second gen chassis. I realize it's going to be difficult to do, and it'll probly have to be sometime in the future but I wanna give it a go. Any guides I should read before starting, what am I gonna hafta buy? I think I may end up rebuilding the engine before I even swap it, just to avoid problems later on.
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Old Sep 10, 2006 | 08:16 PM
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i dunno im doing a lotta research n talking to a lot of people for info on my swap, i suggest u do the same. do a lot of research through all the forums cause if u post something all u'll get is experianced guys telling u to go research, lol.
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Old Sep 12, 2006 | 09:37 PM
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Good advice... heh, thanks
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Old Sep 13, 2006 | 03:05 AM
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when u get done with the swap it'll be a very sick car! but, this is going to cost a pretty penny. u need a good engine n tranny n i suggest trying to find an uncut wiring harness n then u'll need to but a custom driveline or u could upgrade to the fd diff which is viscous but its lsd. n u'll probably want fmic n all that ****, bov or dv n down pipe, exhuast, ect.
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