ATTN: Guys with V8 swapped RX-7's
 

Is it worth it? Would you do it again if you could start all over? How much did you spend? How difficult was it to make everything work? Is clearance an issue? I have always been a fan of RX-7's since my first car, which was a 2nd gen. I love the way the 3rd gens look, but I'm not too sure I want to deal with the issues associated with the rotary motor. How much does a rebuild usually cost? How many miles do they usually last? I am thinking it would be easier to swap a mildly built V8 as opposed to getting the rotary rebuilt/replaced. Opinions please.

have you riden in one?

I would do it over again in a minute. If the stock rotary had lasted more than 10 miles after I bought it I would have kept it and would have always wished my car was faster and more fun. But the swapped car is no comparison. It makes it a totally different car.

I spent in the neighborhood of 7k for everything including the car. Not bad for a 12 second machine that looks like very few cars anywhere, but a little on the high side. I did a few things that you don't need to do for a swap but I wanted to - Autometer gauges for a custom dash, full length large tube headers, full dual 3" exhaust, an Art Carr transmission with TCI valve body and converter, B&M Pro Ratchet shifter, things like that. I also spent close to 1k in tires because it took 2 sets of front tires and 3 sets of rear tires to get ones that cleared right with the type of wheels I chose (had to get a 2nd pair of rear wheels as well. And I upgraded to NEW 4 piston brakes for a Turbo model, swapped in a 5-lug LSD Turbo rear and put new brakes in the back as well.

If you start with a Turbo model, half the work is done. I spent more time getting the proper brake lines and laboring to remove the pitted brake rotors from the rear than I did actually swapping the engine. That's the only thing I would do different for a 2nd Gen swap, instead of using the bare bones model I started with.

As far as 3rd Gen cars go, well I bought a rolling chassis for $3500 a few weeks ago, and I will use an LS1 with a T56 for that one. It's going to be my winter project, as well as my daily driver once it's done. With the new (expensive) set of wheels I'm looking at, I should come in at about 18k total, for a low 12 second daily driver that is one of only about a dozen or so in existence (ok there's more in the works with other folks but hell 1 in 100 is still amazing).

The 2nd Gen car is either going to be put up for sale any day, or I am going to pull the tags, gut the rest and have an 11-second pump gas track car - that starts every time, without pulling the fuel pump fuse or adding ATF to the engine :)

IMO

I'd go with as light of an engine as possible. I chose a 6 cyl grand national drivetrain. Weighed in at 2650... With a new set of draglites up front that will dip below 2600lbs... The car currently ran a 12.01 at 112 on a set of 28x10 dirt track tires. Very modest boost as well. The car should run low 11's once turned up and tuned in.....

Just my 2 cents.....

I have a fd with an 02 LS1 V8 in it and it s absolutely awesome , wouldnt have it any other way.

Any of you guys road race with your V-8 cars or all of you 1/4 mile guys?

I do road course events, but nothing competetive. Anyone who tells you a ls1 swap kills handling is full of shit.

Go for it! The car puts a smile on my face everytime I drive it, whether it's to the dragstrip, grocery store or road america for a track event.

Another non-competitive racer here. Drag racing bores the crap out of me, and is only good for benchmarks and judging improvements due to mods. I prefer my racing with turns in it. :bigthumb:

I hear that!!

Curves > Lines

oh my god hells yeah its worth it!
I would still do it again if I could start all over, definitely, I'd only change a few things, nothing major either.
I dropped just under $11k to get mine where it is and IT RIPS!
I think it was pretty easy to make everything work and I did a lot by myself.
Clearance is not an issue, anywhere... the fact you can fit an LS1 under a stock RX7 hood is really pretty awesome.
I was never a fan of RX-7's yet I love the way the 3rd gens look, but I never wanted to even get close to dealing with their tempermental rotary motor.
I agree that its easier to swap a mildly built V8 as opposed to getting the rotary rebuilt, evcen more so if you keep the V8 stock and just make sure your RX7 is up to snuff in the LSD, brakes, suspension and tires.

I do mostly daily driving and occasional autox and the car is incredibly fun... I look forward to HPDE's but its fun enough around town, it is realy one hell of a machine, incredible brakes, awesome handling, huge power thru a wicked transmission, and all in a nice rwd sportscar froma mfg'er that supports grassroots racers like ME, thru mazdaspeed discounts!

how do i get in on this discount support? ;)

im thinking of doing a fd with a ls1 for my next daily driver, i live in socal anyone know what range price im looking at for a roller and the ls1 stuff

https://www.rx7club.com/search.php

It's been covered alot. Rollers go from $2k-$12K depending on condition. Figure another $10K to complete the conversion.

Only thing I would do different is buy a local swap so I know what I getting and the person is local so you can deal with them, and also not taking a year to do the swap. Other than that, it's all good!

I just got my first shakedown run in my LS1 fc and holy jesus, I can't wait til I put exhaust on it so I can get the full torque experience.

i'm in the process now... but i can tell you that bodywork SUCKS!! my car originally had a widebody (which i yanked off).... my engine bay is ready for a motor, but my body isn't ready for paint just yet... i would totally do it again... even just for the learning experience..

Love it, and would not have it any other way :)!

Took my first ride in a swapped FD, WOW is all I can say. Nothing bad to say about this swap.

Um, did this start in 04?

thanks dude :) nice meeting you too. another convert.

Just got back from JesterJess's (another member on this board) house and took him for a ride in my V8 (LT1) Vert, ill PM him this link and he can describe what saw and felt...

We are now going to take my "little beast" up another notch, and have it make even more power!

For all of those that think that dropping a V8 whether it is an LT1 or LS1 throws the "weight displacement off"...Think again :)...It does not do that at ALL!

Love my LS1 FD, can not wait till I have it back on the road

89FCVert... Thanks for stopping buy. We will be stepping it up 3 notches... However, these specific Notches will ONLY be revealed by 89FCVert. I will be doing the wrenching, but togher, we will get this think Wicked Fast...

I have never rode in a V8 RX7 before. However, I have been in MANY different sports cars. I would have to say that the V8 RX7 gives up NOTHING to a Rotary. It handles great, has great power, and overall, seems like a VERY balanced car. It did seem better, once we filled up the fuel tank.

Stay in touch
Jesse

Seems pretty safe to say everyone with a V8 powered Rx-7 is happy they converted. I have yet to see anyone who wasnt happy..unless they ran out of money and cant drive it yet...lol. All these people can't be wrong a V8 powered RX-7 is a good thing! Yes I love mine as well and wish I did this conversion years ago.

There have been a couple that purchased additional rotary-powered cars, but nobody that I've seen has ever posted that they prefer it over the V8 car.

What is there not to like :)

I will try to keep those (who are interested) updated on the progress of what JesterJess and I are planning on doing.

I guess I will start another thread, when we begin...

Pretty excited, about kicking the "Little Monster" up a few notches!

I've definitely considered building another. For a bit I wanted to build up a TII rotary powered one, but I keep coming back to the realization that the V8 just makes more sense.

I wish I could find my old car. Sentimental reasons for finding one of the first V8 RX7s completed. Last I heard it was in Louisiana, but that was 5 years ago...

oh man I would LOVE to build another one!
hahaha, I even bought a '90 240sx with hopes of swapping THAT!
I think over the next few years I will try to find a 'vert or at least a really clean FC that I can keep stock outside but swap in an LS1T56 and dump it on some rare jdm wheels and make it look all showcar pretty but with no stickers.

I've been loving my LS1FC as a daily driver, its stupid fast and handles like a racecar, its realistically too much for the street, just like a C6 Z06 is, but thats okay by me ;)

owen,

"keep stock outside but swap in an LS1T56 and dump it on some rare jdm wheels and make it look all showcar pretty but with no stickers."

Not sure about JDM Wheels, but something nice and sporty, and as sleeperish Stock from the outside as possible!

This is what I am in the process of doing, and loving it...Putting the A/C back in now too :)!

I've ridden in 4 and driven 2 of them (3 FCs and an FD) and bar none these are the best cars I've been in for the dollar. I've ridden in Porsches, Lamborghinis, Ferraris, etc, and none of them captured the pure performance as well as a purpose built LS1FC/FD (I actually prefer the FC for "pure", though the FD is much nicer looking). Not that the exotics weren't great cars, just, a lot of money for the performance output. A Z06 Corvette was the closest car I've been in, and probably the only one I'd prefer to the LS1/RX7, but the price premium isn't worth it to me.

Heck, the 675 miles I've driven my LS1/FC in the past 3.5 years still makes the 500-600 hours of work/$15K in that period of time worth it.

pm me some info on it.. i'll see what i can do.. :)

anyone near baltimore that would be willing to give me a ride in a V8 FD? drop me a PM please :bigthumb:

I've just finished LS'ing the 'vert. I was going to have a turbo rotary and a V-8 but now I'm saving money for the next conversion. Need I say any more on how I feel about it? Anyone who gets a ride in the 'vert inevitably says WOW! The mileage is a small plus too.

yeah probably just because my car has become a widebody flatblack kinda thing, I'd liek to do soemthing very different and keep it stock looking outside and super shiny clean.
if I had it to do again I would want a 400hp LS2 T56 stuffed into this car....

http://homepage.mac.com/owen_the_soy.../FConTrack.jpg

or

http://homepage.mac.com/owen_the_soy...perfection.jpg

or something like this -

http://homepage.mac.com/owen_the_soy...pleBlackFC.jpg
http://homepage.mac.com/owen_the_soy...lackFCrear.jpg

Damn that is sweet looking!!

Wait ......is thats RHD car?

This is an old thread, but, screw it. I just finished up the LT1 T56 swap into my 90 FC. Holy shit. It absolutely rips! I'm so glad i spent the time and money on it. It's everything I expected, cheap, fast, fun. It burns the tires through the first three gears. And freeway pulls, no downshifting required. Just let the torque of that v8 do it's job. Would definitely do it again. Next time with an LS1.

LS1ed my car, then 6 others.....

Seriously.

....i could probably make that happen. pm me if you are serious.

its so true these cars are downright crazy fast.
I took mine out a few weeks ago for a good old romp and man I was smiling for a few days straight, just in shock at how raw and fast and grippy the damn car is.

all the hate about weight balance and that shit is just bogus.
if any hater drove my car they would have a newfound outlook on the swaps.

hot damn I love my LS1FC.
I bought an STI as a year round daily driver / family hauler and its fast and clean and quiet and sticky grippy, but man the FC just destroys it, and I have a "lowly" 1998 LS1 in there, wtf, I cant imagine a 400hp LS2 breathing fire under the hood! oh wait, yes I can dream about it! :)

I sold my '90 240sx to buy a '97 240sx and just sold that to my best friend who plans on LS1 swapping that in 2008, oh boy I cant wait!!!!

i want a ride in one of these cars or a race against one on the street against my rotary fd. Im very curious to see how they feel and how a race would turn out. Never raced or been in a v8 rx7.

I have not done a V-8 swap myself but i have read alot about them and i feel the key to doing the swap is getting a good roller, good motor, and trany for cheep. Unless you get a deal and get you total build cost down below $16K it just does not seem worth it to me. I'd just go out and buy a C-5 corvette and have everything work together perfectly, never mind that I really don't have the time to do a swap it would probly take me 2 years. C-5 6 spd corvettes can be found in the 16-18K range and with few mods can be in the low 12s and will haddle and brake with the best of them. Then again I like the newer corvettes I'm sure there are many people on here who don't. There is a guy local to me doing the swap(FD-LS1) and I hope to get a ride in the car when he is done I'm sure it will be a blast.

vettes have a totally different feel to the driver, I dont like it all that much.
but the rx7 is something I feel at home in, I love driving it, even with a 150hp n/a rotary its a lot of fun in an FC chassis with some suspension mods.

a lot of people can sell their boosted FDs 13B for good money and offset the costs of an LS1T56 dropout, it wont cost you much more unless you want to go over the entire chassis and suspension (as you should) to make it all as good as new or even better.

you could build a LS1T56 FD for about 10 grand.
everything else is icing on the cake.

I like mine, much better than pre V-8. Getting a good shell is key. It didn't come out how I would have liked it to, but it was my first swap and a huge learning experience. Next will be 10X better, cause I did this one like such a cheapass, but it cost almost nothing.

rotary is in the past for me.... i like to drive my cars not fix them.. ls6 going in my fd soon... took a drive in the zo6 ill have a 10 sec of pure motor what more can i ask for!!!!!!!!!!

helping a friend put an LS1T56 into a 97 240sx this year we hope, that should wake it up!

:)

I think I might be the only person that doesn't particularly like the LS1 swap after riding in it around Poconos East Course. I was in 2MCHPWR's blue FD and, yeah, it surprised me with the amount of torque it has. That day, it also took FTD for street cars. I have no doubt in my mind that it's an effective package, but I dunno, I just didn't like the feel of it per se.

Then again, I need to actually drive one hard before I comment further.

The only thing I know for sure is that I don't like where that conversion would class me in any of SCCA/NASA AutoX/TT/PT racing.

Good thing they don't know what powers your car.....

That was last year....this off-season I really stepped up the suspension and tires. Its gonna be sicker. And dude ... get over the LS1/rotary crap. "The feel of it"? Thats all in your head. Preconceived notions. No one can tell the difference in the feel of it with regards to the chassis...The only difference is the instant hit of torque whenever you want it :) the corner scales don't lie. My car is now 49.45% front/ 50.55% rear with me it.


shoot me a PM and we can hook up if you come up to central NJ near bridgewater.
Or wait 2 more months for an autocross at giants stadium.
I'm won't race on the street (2 kids, good job, etc to worth risking an incident) but i'll give ya a ride anytime. also give me your email because i keep an email group of local FD owners in tri-state area.

I'm not saying the car doesn't handle well. It does. I feel that the car has lost some of the smoothness that I like about the rotary. Whether or not it has instant torque is a moot point, I think it's quite known that it does. I just don't like the fact that as you get higher up in the rev range, it feels like the torque starts to die off.

In my other post somewhere on this forum, I said I like cars with super-close gear ratios and peaky powerbands, which, I guess, means I like cars with low displacement engines and high redlines. But that's just me.

How much does the Ls1 swap usually cost for a mild to stock Ls1? If work was done by the indivual

FC of FD? only the swap? or including the cost of the car? I've done an LS1 FC for $4000, including the cost of the car. FDs are more expensive, mainly because the swap kits are quite a bit more.

For FD minus the car what is the typical cost?