88IntegraLS

Small update:

- Computer is 98% wired up. Just need to verify everything for the third time.

- Starter works great

- Mustang wiring is easy to follow with the diagrams in the Haynes manuals

- Computer might be fried because I was using my automatic battery charger while testing the relays, and it spikes to 20ish volts. I didn't realize what was happening until it was too late.

So the status now is that I'll probably get the alternator wired in and fabricate the exhaust system while waiting for another EEC to arrive. The local rednecks are becoming quite a bother with all the asking "did you fire it up yet?"

"No ........ "

custom13B

This is the part where patience really pays off. Just trace out each wire or do continuity tests and proceed slowly. Dont rush. If it dosnt start or runs like crap you wont doubt the wiring and can troubleshoot easier that way. I doubt you damaged the computer,you should have blown the fuse that supplies power to it first (hopefully you fused it). The exhaust will keep you busy for a few days anyways. Wish you luck on the exhaust,mine was a major PITA to fabricate. Hopefully you have more room to work with. I went with a flowmaster stainless 3 chamber muffler and it really sounds sweet...not too loud but has that deep throaty sound. Keep us posted this thing is evil!

88IntegraLS

Thanks for the help. I've been taking a break from the car because the computer issue sort of pissed me off. After all this work I fry the damn computer, but I don't even have a way to test it to be sure.

Looking back on what I got done over this 5 month period since getting let out of school, I'm satisfied with the car's progress however. It seemed at every turn there was some new problem to work out, then work out again later on. In a way, building a V8RX7 is like building your own prototype supercar: it's a one-off deal and everything needs to be sorted out.

Anyhow, chances are I'll be continuing to take a break on the car for now since I'm in my last three weeks at work and it's time to really ramp up the overtime so I can finish off the two main projects I've been overseeing on my internship. What a sweet deal; they basically gave me the reins and let me run with a project management position as a damn engineering student this whole time, and they keep upping the responsibility. Too bad I can't stick around, but a degree is worth quite a bit these days, e$pecially an engineering degree.

custom13B

I understand exactly wherre your coming from on the issues that crop up. I still am resolving small annoying things with my car. You really are reengineering the car pretty extensively and it is a one off so its all custom made. A guy offered me a decent price for my lt-1 FB and I seriously thought about it....but then realized I could never replace it for even twice that amount. Plus the hundreds of hours of labor. Work comes first,,,then you get to play.

88IntegraLS

Mild update for entertainment value:

All obvious mechanical issues are now straightened out. I have the exhaust completed back to the pair of main cats, which sit in a perfect little pocket in the underframe behind the transmission. Being able to see the routing from the headers allowed me to bang back the firewall under the gas pedal which really helped the carpet fitment.

I almost got the car to fire up the other day. It has spark, fuel, and cranks over at different speeds depending on distributor angle. I don't have the O2 sensors wired in yet and that is tomorrow's project, along with the alternator and clutch / neutral switch bypass.

I'm ready to take this thing out for a spin. I told my old friend Zjbarra that it would pull a G in first gear last year when I was pondering a V8 swap but he didn't believe me. I can't wait to find out...........

88IntegraLS

Well I got the motor running today. Turns out someone drained the tank over the past year when the car was sitting around in the barn (gas is scarce around here) and it was trying to fire up on fumes before. The computer issue was not a bad EEC unit but a bad main relay. I bridged the wires and bypassed the relay and everything worked fine.

The motor sounds great! It revs pretty fast and almost idles (need to set the timing), and the sound is a cross between a regular 5.0 and the mud drag redneck-mobiles with really lopey idles. I need to wire up the alternator and do a few other small tasks tomorrow, and it will be time to take it for a test drive.

Here is a shot of the exhaust so far. It is a hack job with mismatched pipes and ugly welds, meant only to get the damn car on the road for a short time:



Here is the steering rack and K member. This all needs to be cleaned up and bridged again when I get some time.



I'm happy now. This is a major milestone for this project and I can't believe how much work it took to get that freshly rebuilt block to run in this chassis, but now I can focus on the fun part: final set-up, dial-in, and mod$.

It is worth stating again that the motor sounds niiiiiiiice.

custom13B

Congrats! Who cares what the exhaust looks like,just get it leak free and leave it. The first time I heard my V8 run in my RX-7 I was happy too...I sat back and just smiled. Takes a couple hundred hours of work to install it correctly and doing that on a part time basis takes time. Was hoping you would post that you had it running soon,before getting discouraged.

cluosborne

Congrats from me too. That is very good work.

One thing, the location of the cats. Are you concerned about heat being a problem there? Catalytic converters operate in temperatures up to, and over, 1000 degrees.

88IntegraLS

The heat from the cats will fry the transmission seal for sure! I've got plans to make a heat shield to guard against heat damage down there.

There is still quite a bit or work needed to get this thing roadworthy. It never ends!

slo

iTrader: (1)

Thats a really clean looking engine swap. I am curious how much its costing you, time and money.

In any case I don't think it will be CA smog legal with those heads and cam. CA smog referee's are more **** than the cast of a gay **** movie.

Right now I am considering trying to make my hi performance rotary smog legal. I have a 13b-re FC swap with a haltech E8. I do live in CA, I built the car when I was planning to move to florida. I think a 350 whp smog legal 13b can be done but it will never be as relaible as a a 5.0. Sure I got into Rx7's because I thought the rotary was cool, but the V8 approach has some nice perks.

88IntegraLS

Thanks!

All up cost so far is just shy of $3900 including all chassis / drivetrain mods. Labor is probably at a few hundred hours by now because of the nonstandard mounting style.

The AFR 185cc heads cary CARB E.O. 250-3 and the BBK headers carry CARB E.O. D-245-8. The donor car was a 92 and my car is an 87. All Vin data will be retained and riveted to the firewall for easy traceability. But the cam is definately illegal and will be changed when / if I move to Ca. I've still got about 2 years before I can get a real job down there though, so why not have some fun?

slo

iTrader: (1)

Nice,,,

make sure you get all of the little smog controlls that came on the original car. Even though your car probably isn't a CA car, they may also want to see any emmisions components that where specific to that engine and year for CA only. There are often differences between the CA and federal engine packages, and I think they will only approve a car that has all of the CA stuff, regardless of the origin of the chassis.

And when you go in for the actual inspection, have the stock computer hooked up. My friend did a civic h22 swap, they inspected the computer and rejected him because his swap from a 94, but the computer he had was from a 93.5 and had a different series number.

88IntegraLS

Well I took the car for a short test drive. Two observations:

A. It is possible to roll on the gas in third gear @ ~1500 rpm and break traction on a gravel road

B. The engine sounds like 3 harley engines, 4 bridgeport engines, or a top fuel dragster when idling. It's not what I expected but it goes to show how piston engines respond to a little intake duration and overlap.

I couldn't really wind it up because the timing is still off and I think the computer is in limp mode or something. But just from experimenting with first through fourth gear, the car feels every bit as strong off idle as the old supercharged rotary felt.

Lots of detail to tie up before I can really get a feel for the performance, but let me be the first to say, the steering response is awesome! Either it is the fact that I haven't driven an RX7 in a long time, the strut tower bar, or 225/50 front tires....... one way or another it feels like a cat - VERY responsive to steering input but also stable. So far I can't really tell much about the so called handling change that V8 conversions are supposed to make, but then again my front anti-sway bar is not on any more. But overall the chassis handling feels really nice! Very tight and solid.

But yeah, 236 degrees duration with only .535 lift and 110 degree lobe centers makes a beastly sounding motor that still has enough vacuum to run the power brakes and idle at 500 rpm, and provide instant torque off idle.

I forgot to test my 1g first gear theory though. I was basically afraid of first gear.

noodle

anything new??????? come'on man, let us now

88IntegraLS

Almost got the exhaust finished! It uses a pair of CC inserts, Moroso spiral flow resonaters, and Dynomax HD Superturbo mufflers. This combination was pretty quiet with a traditional long primary header and large ported rotary ahead of it. I think it will keep the V8 rumble / lope to a dull roar; hopefully no one will know what's under the hood.

I just started the last semester of my junior year in the local ME program so I've been immersed in college life again. It sure is different from having a job and making $hit happen, but the car is definately a priority. I'll be moving back to campus within the next couple days but should have some progress to report this weekend.

88IntegraLS

Update:

The exhaust is mostly finished and I got to drive the car a bit today.

Observations:

- Motor starts right up and idles well considering how much it lopes

- Off idle torque is pretty good; there is useable power in 5th gear @ ~30 mph

- Midrange power is great! Feels a lot like the large streetported 13B did, only stronger

- Throttle response is instant

- Motor exibits typical badass Ford V8 sound when opened up and howling

- Handling is not noticeably changed; steering response feels instant and razor sharp

- 5th gear @ 60ish mph = ~2000ish RPM

- T5 transmission shifts great; clutch pedal force is pretty high though

- Motor feels very smooth: no noticeable vibration was felt when driving around

After making sure nothing was leaking / out of place, I got a chance to open up first and second gear. It didn't quite feel like it pulled a G in first but the tires definately felt like they were starting to scrub when the midrange power came out. First gear lasted about a second. Shifting to second, the power band is still right there. It pulls and pulls as the revs climb, just like the large ported rotary. Not quite as strong as Wingsfan's car was back when it only had a mild cam, but much stronger than the NA 13B.

The car no longer has an RX7 personality. It reminds me of what a Pantera or other small V8 powered sports car would be like. Gone is the pissed off hornet on steroids sound, replaced with and earth shaking head turning V8 growl that sounds straight from a stadium truck. It' s nice and I like it a lot, but it's not the same as before.

The cam is too much for a street driven sports car IMO, but oh well, live and learn.

custom13B

Well glad you finally got a chance to drive it! Honestly arent you glad you did this conversion now? Just wait 6 months from now when it still runs great and needs nothing but a oil change. I think youll be glad and learn to love the car even more now that its actually fast and reliable.

88IntegraLS

I'm looking forward to having this badboy on the road permanently.

88IntegraLS

Another little update:

The car has a persistent exhaust leak where the headers meet the exhaust pipes, but the alternator is now charging the battery. I guess the problem was a poor ground, but anyways, there appear to be 14.5 volts across the system positive and ground terminals when the motor is running.

More driving impressions:

The car hauls *** from about 3k on up until it noses over at about 5k rpm. I think the HO intake manifold, 19lb/hr injectors, FC NA fuel pump, 60mm throttle body, and 55mm MAF sensor really hold back the top end power. But first gear definately hits the threshold of losing traction in the midrange, and shifing to second doesn't even require a clutch drop to scrub the tires yet again.

I can't get over the sound of the motor. It's just beautiful. I realize that this post is worthless without a vid, so I'll get a camera and take some footage. It's really amazing.

I also got a heat shield made and installed it between the main cats and transmission / driveshaft, and it seems to keep the radiant heat from scorching that area of the car's underbelly.

The car is fu#king badass now. The rotary was cool, but the V8 is just mean.

highwayinthesky

have you fixed the sway bar problem yet? has anyone tryed to use a fox body sway bar? i was looking at mine today and got to thinking maybe.

88IntegraLS

I've been (carefully) driving it around without the front sway bar. I didn't check into the fox body bar because it is much thicker than the NA FC bar I had before. Swapping the stiffer fox body bar, if it fit (which I haven't really checked into), would cause the car to have significant understeer. If only I had access to heat treating equipment, I could make my own.

88IntegraLS

Mini update:

I took another test drive today and I think I have the timing set about right. This was the first time when all I had to do was just start up the car and go driving.

Overall, the engine runs pretty well. Fifth gear seems as if it allows the engine to spin a little faster than it should at highway speed, but it's not like my old 88 Integra where 60mph equaled 3000 rpm. I'm thinking more like 2000-2200. So for anyone pondering a T5 / 302 / 4.1 TII diff / 245-50-16 tire combination, it seems livable for highway cruising.

The motor has a nice intake roar when you open the throttle. Add that to the standard Ford V8 howl from the exhaust and it sounds nice when the revs climb. Speaking of revs, the engine feels very rev happy. It might be from the fact that it is a short stroke small displacement motor, the cam, or the fact that all I'm comparing it to is my SHO 3.0 liter yamaha V6..... but the engine responds instantly to throttle. It feels very sports car-ish.

When doing a gear 1-4 acceleration from an idling roll, there seem to be traction issues even in second now. The midrange power is really nice. The torque really noses over after ~4k rpm though, but this will change soon enough. Another $1k in parts and it should exhibit typical flat torque curve rotary personality (make that large displacement rotary personality, lol).

For the first time after driving the car around today I felt like the project has been a success and worth the year of effort. There were times when I felt like I was throwing time and money into a hole in the ground, but I can finally see how this car will likely end up, and it's a great feeling.

So far there haven't been any issues with rubbing, fluid leaks, belt problems, etc. and the whole package seems like it has the potential to be reliable. My steering rack and modified oil pan have about 1/8" clearance at the tightest area, but the torque reaction from the engine doesn't seem to make the oil pan hit the rack from what I've seen. The whole car feels kind of like it did before, minus the front sway bar and rotary sound.

Summary: the project has been worthwhile and the car is fun as hell. Rolling back into the barn after tonight's jaunt around the countryside, I was struck with two thoughts:

1. "I can't believe I actually put a fu#@ing V8 in my 7!"

2. "It's fu#@ing fast!"

rarson

Nice, glad to see that it runs!

90FC

I haven't checked this thread in a while. Are you running a megasquirt? If so how did it go? I want to run a megasquirt when I get my lt1 together and in the car. I hope it's not going to be a big pain it the butt.

88IntegraLS

Haven't yet got the megasquirt hooked up but I'm looking forward to it. Still need brake lights, turn signals, gauges, and a bunch of intake / fuel injection parts to support the potential of the short block.