awc

1985 GSL-SE, so rear disc, LSD, power this and that, leather interior...blah blah blah.


ENGINE:

Gen I Chevy Small Block 350 - 4 Bolt Mains
Grannys Engine Mounts
Grannys Headers, ceramic coated after
0.030" over, stock 8.5:1 Compression...nothing crazy
Fully Rebuilt, new rings and bearings
ALL ARP Bolts
Crane Cam of some kind..??
High flow oil pump
Edelbrock Aluminum Intake
Edelbrock 1406 650cfm Carb
Edelbrock Aluminum Waterpump
Edelbrock Mechanical Fuel Pump...
(Braided lines front to back, using drain plug as feed. Earl's Plumbing makes a fitting from the metric thread to -6AN fittings...see my photobucket for product #)
ARP FUEL PUMP PUSHROD!!!!!!!!!
Comp Cam Hydraulic Lifters
Comp Cam Roller Tip Rocker Arms
Stock Cylinder Heads with new springs and seals, valve job
Mini Starter
MSD dizzy


TRANSMISSION:

(...no speedo. adaptor or reverse light plugs yet)
'World Class' T-5 used for $150!!! (no bellhousing though)
Lakewood Bellhousing
Ram Hydraulic Release Bearing w/ Steel Braided Lines
11" Flywheel
CenterForce Dual Friction Clutch
ARP Flywheel and Pressure Plate Bolts!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wilwood 7/8" Slave Cylinder
Brand New NAPA Output Shaft Seal!!!!!!
...to Stock rear end


FANKS FOR LOOKING....

BUILD PICS
http://s472.photobucket.com/albums/r...X-7/?start=all

SHORT DRIVE BY...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNaJx...layer_embedded

JUST GOT IT RUNNING...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgmIj...layer_embedded

Hyper4mance2k

iTrader: (40)

Yes, fully welcome by about 75% the members. half will call you a blasphmer and half will not. Of those that donot you will be welcomed of those who do call you a blashphmer half will not welcome your pissed ons here, and the other half will still be friendly cause it's still a 7 even if you have killed her soul. i am of the later. Welcome, soul killer.

j_tso

iTrader: (2)

"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

theNeanderthol

iTrader: (1)

I too am a soul killer. Except I put in an electric motor, not a boinger (our "affectionate" term for piston engine).

Hey it spins, it doesn't go up and down, so that's gotta count for something, right?

But to redeem myself I also have another 1st gen, an fb, with a soul (a rotary).

Welcome to the forum. I really enjoy the forum and the guys on it. We have a lot of intelligence and experience. I am subscribed to other forums for my other cars, but most of the info there is about where to find a good mechanic, and what kind of wheels look good. Not many diy sort of people. I'm glad to have another person here who can work on his car himself!

Jeezus

iTrader: (4)

I am one of those 25%.

You want a V8? Get a camaro.

EDIT: But good job with the dizzy. Most put ford V8's cause the dizzy is in the front.

DOUBLE EDIT: And no, not in the TECHNICAL section, more so in the non tech.

80's old school

iTrader: (7)

I agree with Jeezus...want a V-8 Ford...get a Mustang.... but on the other hand, we sometimes act like our cars are the holy grail of cars. Mazda sold like 400,000 of these in the USA alone.

My feeling if you are gonna bastardize an RX-7....do it to an FC.... not a FB and heaven forbid...definitely not an SA22!!

blackdeath647

iTrader: (2)

boo for the engine choice
boo for the car selection

but props on the clean install welcome.

dbragg

iTrader: (7)

Welcome man, but you WILL catch crap. Just brush it off. It's YOUR car and you can do whatever you want to it that makes YOU happy. period.

DivinDriver

iTrader: (15)

Tolerated, at least, for sure, but I'm not sure what your purpose would be - - you've made your car into something other than the usual subjects of discussion 'round here.

Kudos for your efforts and skills, but it's like bringing a bulldog to a greyhound party, isn't it?

challer2000

Welcome . . . looks like another Rx7 down

I'm going to have to do the same thing one of these days . . . take a nice piston engine car and go to a forum where everyone loves that certain car. Then drop a rotary into it.

But its your car, I welcome you and your soulless 7.

Kentetsu

Welcome. Even though you have torn out her soul, at least you haven't raped my sister (that I know of), so I guess I'll tolerate your presence.

What have you done to the suspension? I assume you've had to do something to make up for the extra ton sitting under the hood now, right? What kind of plans do you have for the car?

And again, welcome aboard...


.

gsl-se addict

iTrader: (3)

Welcome. You may want to also check out the "Other Engine Conversions" section on here. Most of the v8 swap threads end up there. It is a good section to check out if you have questions about the swap (but it looks like you got it covered).

The typical problem is that someone will bash the rotary and then a whole flame war will start. I think that as long as you don't bash the rotary guys (the majority of this section), they will respect you back and there will be no problems. The v-8 debate is heated and never ending, so let's not go there. Not eveyone may agree with the swap, but that is just their opinion.

I personally would not do the swap, but that's just me.

That reminds me that years ago I saw a FB in the JY with some kind of inline piston engine (I seem to recall a Toyota engine, but this was many years ago). However, the engine was too tall, so they cut a section out of the hood so that the valve cover could stick through. It looked really tacky. I figure that if you are going to do the swap, at least do it cleanly and have it well thought out.

clubber

If you look at my signature, my RX-7 has an LS-1 and the maxton (read not Mazda), is the car with a rotary. Overall, it's fine around here but you will get a **** from time to time. Just blow it off and all is well.

BlackWorksInc

I personally am one of the guys who believes what makes an RX an RX is the Rotary soul. But I also believe in good work, so though you might have gone the "easy" route for power, it looks well done and not hocked together and so kudos for that.

My belief, not everyone will agree with your ideas in modding a car, but they really can't say **** if you've done it to the best of your abilities and it ends up looking as good or better than their own swap. lol

BTW, I think that small block would have been better in a second gen CRX converted to rear wheel drive. But that's just me.

bad 83

iTrader: (3)

Engine swaps are what make cars unique, I guess. This is one of my favorites http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkZCzvK5Dms

Welcome to the club!

rotarydude

iTrader: (2)

I am one that understands what you did and can respect the work and craftsmanship it took to make it happen. However I believe also that a rotary engine is what makes an RX special so therefore you car is not as special as it once was. Now it could have been much much worse you could have done this to what is an extremely rare car (and yes guys that would be all the LS-1 FD owners sorry). So I will say welcome there are things you will find here that will help you and I hope that you find a Rx in the future that will stay rotary.

awc

I havent done anything with the suspension yet except for putting in some new bushings here and there.

Plans are some simple bolt ons:

1) Racing Beat Sway Barsand struts
2) Springs??? not really sure if i want to lower it anymore
3) Respeed Strut Tower Bar
4) ...then some new wheels and tires to work with it all
5)Ford rear end...($$$!!!)

I dont really know how much the engine really lowered the front end though, because I have never had the stock wheels on to compare to.

And with the Supras on there, it be tight on clearance even with the rotary in it.

I think ive heard people say putting the V8 in there is not much heavier than having a fat girlfriend in the passenger seat...im not sure how accurate of a measurement that is...
All I hope is that they wont want me more cause the car can actually move with them in it now...

Plans for my car......?
1)Its just a street car.
2)get it done...
3)drive it around as much as possible as we really only have about 4-5 months of decent weather here in Calgary...
4)dont crash it...
Im gonna go make a few passes late next year...hopefully...

Boriquaguerrero

iTrader: (18)

sounds good, i have a 79 rx7 and a 84 corvette i like both cars but there is something in rotary engines that i just love the noise and even the smell of the fumes. the corvette its my daily drivers and the rx7 its the garage queen.

awc

As for the people that are gonna give me a hard time on the V8....trust me it was not an easy decision. I blew it up in summer 2006, I took the blown 13 out and thought about and let it sit for almost a year until i made any commitments on the V8. Its been 3 long years...

Couple reasons why "I...ME...MYSELF..." went through with it:

1)My inner Red Neck took over...I am what you call a BANANA...I am yellow on the outside, white on the inside. So thats what also happened to my car...and I'm not sorry.
2) i THOUGHT it would be cheaper....(WRONG!!!...very very wrong...)
3)Aftermarket, upgrade parts are easier...(OH YEAH...)
4)More comfortable with working on a Chev.
5)It sounds "Deliciously White Trash"
6)Always wanted a muscle car kinda thing a ma jing vechicular unit
7)Because a ***** just doesnt ******* look right in a Mustang, Camaro, Trans AM, Firebird, Corvette, Cougar....whatever...its just wrong
8)Itll handle much better than any of the **** American cars even after they are modded
9)And try my best to do the following :
a)Rape Mustangs
b)Rape Camaros
c)Rape Corvettes
d)Rape Cobalts
e)Rape Skylines
f)Rape Skylines
NOT THAT A ROTARY CANT...its just a little easier
10)Im Chinese...give me a break...by putting a huge engine in im trying to make up for something here....thanks for understanding

Thanks again for checking my stuff out....

CHAN

DivinDriver

iTrader: (15)

Reason people are asking about your suspension plans, is that you have made a considerable change in the balance and weight loading of the car - - hundreds of pounds worth, likely.

The stock (and aftermarket applicaiton-specific) springs and struts are calibrated to a power plant that weighs likely half of what it's now carrying. You're going to have CG and inertial moment arm issues to deal with if you plan on doing any of that raping in other than straight lines.

PvillKnight7

iTrader: (16)

The rotary engine is the greatest most powerful most reliable most torquest, most fuel efficient, bestest engine ever so you and your very clean v8 with all its shiny new internals can go suck on some reliable efficient pistons.

Great job on the build. Rape some skylines.

awc

Balance will be throw off thats for sure. But i got the battery in the back now???!!! j/k

True the chevs heavier...but not double the weight. I dont have the exact weight but a friend and i have both lifted long blocks of both engines...pretty close.

The V8 doesnt really sit that much higher than the 13.

When its all said and done ill go meet up with some 1st gen guys and get the overall weights at a truck stop.

Corner weights...thats a little harder...

KhanArtisT

iTrader: (2)

lol, I about busted out laughing when I saw that you were Asian in your pics Cool car though, I built one of those engines in my tech school. Upgrdaed carb, summit cam and 250 shot and the thing put out 440+whp. Lots of aftermarket support for those engines.

ultimatejay

iTrader: (1)

I can't stand v8's in rx's but you're pretty funny. I love #7 above. LMAO- it's so true.

You might get more love over on v8rx7forum.com I don't know why the v8 guys hang around here to get tortured when there are many v8rx7 forums out there. Good luck.

frijolee

iTrader: (1)

You're generally welcome anywhere as long as you're not an egotistical ***** about your choices. I never particularly wanted a Camaro, Vette, or Mustang but I don't hate on those that do and I can respect a well built rotary as well.

As for why the v8 guys hang out here. I guess we're just glutton's for punishment. Either that or rotary folks are just weird enough to be fun to be around.

+1 on props for a clean build.