guys i'm at the begining of swap in my 80 rx7. have 351w on the way that i want to have a all aluminum top end. while i'm not shooting big hp i am going for at least 350hp.
car has stock 13" wheels and 185/70/13 tires.
any of you who has v8 power what rear rims are you using and what tires?

 

I am interested in you build. I am doing something similar. Are you going EFI or carb?

 

i want to go carb at this time just due to keep in a tight budget and maybe convert later to injected.
i already have rebuilt the rear end racing beat springs, shocks and bushings all around.
tonight i started to tear apart the front end to reverse the cross member and found both ball joints are done. are these still available?

 

Im doing a 460ci Windsor 4.155bore X 4.250stroke into a RX2, I had to tub mine

 

cool as hell looking car
i found a link here to diamond racing steel wheels made any size and bolt pattern.
trying now to work out width and backspace.
looks like a 15 x 8 and 4" backspace and a 245/50/15 tire

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this is a before and after . blasted control arms and cross member , 2 coats of eastwood rust converter, 2 coats of eastwood rust encapser and 2 of vht chassis black
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hmm..if ya know of a set of 351 headers..lmk,.

 

Are you using a front sump or rear sump on the 351w? Not sure how close the RX2 and RX7 but I was able to use a rack and pinion from an 07 hyundai and use a rear sump oil pan.

 

guys i don't know what you mean.
i do not have the engine yet. it is being shipped to me as well as the mustang tranny.
i have the rear all done with racing beat bushings , shocks and springs. front has same bushings and shocks but i just wanted to get this work done while i wait for
the new ball joints , sway bar end links and the motor to arrive.
i'm trying to decide what color to paint this car so i can paint the engine bay before the motor gets dropped in.
the dash is cracked and the seats need help so i can change the color of the inside.
just not sure which way to go.
i really dislike this color of the body and the brown carpet, seats and door panels

 

Ford 351W's have a front sump oil pan, which wont work with the original engine cross member, You will probably have to get a rear sump oil pan like the mustangs use, keep in mind 302 and 351 oil pans do not interchange because of main bearing size differences. The quick fix is to order a rear sump pan but those wont let you use the original steering system, so you either have to make a real wild custom oil pan to get around it all, or go with a rack and pinion. First photo shows how a rack and pinion fits between the oil pan humps, second photo you can see part of the 2x2 framing I boxed around the front hump on the oil pan. Your building an RX7 so your cross member may be different so it will be interesting to see how it turns out with clearance.

 

thank you for your thoughts
i need all the advise i can get. i'm not a v8 guy, 53 and this will be my first v8 engine build.
so i have no prior history to v8 or rx7 as this is the first for both.
only going with the cross member reversed and a 351w as per grannys racing claim .
i would rebuild the 12a if it wasn't retarded expensive.

grannys state on the site simple reverse the cross member for a 1st gen and 302/351 will drop in and hood will close.


brainsboy
looks like your building a killer , i love it

 

Interesting swap! Always interesting for me to hear of an older guy who isn't a "V8 guy". What do you usually wrench on?

Also Interesting screen name, would your last name happen to be french by any chance?
The reason I ask is because mine is. haha.

 

hi there thanks
yes getting older but still know what is cool and hope i never lose it.
always have been building bikes as in air cooled inline 4's have had 76, 78, 79, 81,83,88 honda and kawi's and latest build, cr250 frame, gsxr750 forks, zx10 rear shock.cbr600 f2 rear rim, vfrf750 front rim and cbr1100 xx rotors drilled to fit the vfr hub. xr400 motor.
dragraced bikes from 82 till 99.


as for cars i have a 91 honda prelude with a h22a swap as my summer car.
have always liked rb 26 swaps and had turbo civics.
wildest was a lsvtec boosted to 30 psi making 754 hp at the wheels.

in fact before i settled on the 351w , i had email into a jdm seller for a skyline rb26.
but watched a youtube vid of a engine builder with a 5 part session building a 351w and it made like 450hp and 385 ft lb .
so i decided to give it a try.

last name is in fact french and i'm gordie

guys can any of you suggest possible colors for this 80?
y6 indigo now but faded and looks like crap.
i've been thinking about silver but can't settle on it yet

 

A 302 can make an easy 350hp plus it's smaller and would fit better. With a 351W you should be able to make 400-425 without even trying. You will want a 351W Fox swap oil pan, which is nothing more than a 351W police car Crown Vic oil pan. Buy it off Rock Auto and save a few bucks from what Ford Racing charges. It is a double sump pan. Same as a Foxbody Mustang but for the 351W.

A 351W will not fit under a stock hood. I will be amazed if you make that happen. A 302 can barely fit. The 351W is taller than the 302 by over 1.25 inches.

 

Cool cars and bikes, I love working on 80s bikes. I have diamond racing wheels on the rear of my car, not sure of the specs but I could measure. I had to roll my fenders and I still rub

 

thank you guys
great topics being touched on
i do expect to need a oil pan and maybe a cowl induction style hood. but low as possible as a sleeper is the goal and ideas swirl for a twin turbo some thing.
that's getting too far ahead ......
just need to get every thing mounted and car painted a better color as well as as sitting right,
i made a simple jig to check tire clearance. aluminum 1/8 sheet bolted to the studs. 15" long with a threaded rod through one end. adjust for best clearance with a full rotation and that measure is your usable backspace. i can get aprox 5" backspace and this will only put the outer lip 1" out more then the stock rim . so a 15 x 8 and a 245/ 50/15 should just clear.

andrew yes please could you just check diameter and tire size

 

I know for a fact I am running 195/60/15 in the rear and am rubbing, I plan on going to a 195/50/15 so I can go lower after I pull the fenders more. The sheet metal is thin so its not a problem at all. On the front I did the Turbo II brake and hub conversion and am running 185/60/15 on a 7" rim with 4.5" back space and probably 3-4 degrees negative camber with pulled fenders and it clears fine. I am gonna drive the car this weekend and will take some pictures so you can see the fitment.

 

man you have my full attention now. i was wondering about a front brake upgrade so more info please on the parts you used.
i would like to see a twin piston caliper or more even wilwood calipers if possible

been working on the engine bay. have it stripped to bare metal and 3 coats of epoxy primer. i think i'm going silver.
want diamond steel wheels powder coated black and on a silver car will look sick.

 

this weekend i got the engine bay all primed
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I pretty much copied the respeed kit. I do have the files though if you have somewhere local that does waterjet/laser/plasma CNC stuff. I used the Turbo II FC brake calipers, they are a 4 piston monoblock design, I am probably going to eventually put wilwoods in the rear for my hydro e brake.

 

wow sexy car
sitting perfect
great job

engine and t5 arrived today

anybody know how to get the front sway bar off

 

Thanks, Hopefully when I get new tires I can go even lower. I believe you have to remove the tension control rod mounts to get the swaybar off, why do you need to take it off?

 

thanks
on your car are those the diamond racing rims?
they look killer
swaybar is like anything i touch, has to be the best it can so racing beat bushings and i wish to plasti drip it red.

been at it every night after work and it's getting there

 

Definitely do the bushings on it and the endlinks. I ended up not painting mine. The rears are diamond racing and the fronts are cragers since I could get an off the shelf option with the 5 lug bolt pattern.

 

Freeskier the ride is looking great. I to am interested in viewing those Turbo II front brake mods. Any idea how hard it is to come up on Turbo II calipers to do the job?

 

I will take more pictures of them for you guys, I got lucky and found a turbo II that a shop was parting out locally. I think best bet would be check the classifieds here or ebay. If you guys are really interested I can have the mounts and bear adapters made.