Full cost of V8 conversion
 

hey guys

if i wanted to do a full v8 conversion and look towards 250hp at the rear wheels N/A...what kind of costs am I looking at including installation?

Generation RX-7 and motor that you choose are going to be the determining factor. 250 at the wheels isn't all that much and won't require anything more than a vanilla V8.

Carburated SBC 350s and SBF 302s are dirt cheap, while the latest and greatest (LS1/LS6/Ford 4.6 DOHC) are significantly more expensive.

My LS1 swapped FD without the accompanying suspension mods that I made at the time would have run me somewhere in the $8K-$9K range. Others have done it for less, and I've seen some kick ass swaps that cost the person less than $2K. it's all about being resourceful and what platform you choose. An FB with a 350/302 making 250 to the wheels is probably a $2500 swap (without the car). I don't think I'd go through all that effort for 250 rwhp though. Just my $0.02.

well its an FD and im not really swapping the engine for performance sake but more for reliability and the fact that the car that I am looking to buy is being sold in a non running condition

i havent gotten it checked by someone to see exactly what is wrong with it but something is and in case its a fully blown motor and turbos and the whole bit.....id prefer to have a V8 in there rather than a 13B

and the reason that I dont want too much power is because this will be my daily driver come sun, rain or snow but I mean.....upto 300rwhp is fine...ive driven in the snow with a 290rwhp supra and was able to control the car ( with some difficulty of course but it can be done)

I think you'll find that 300rwhp+ in NA form is easy to control (easier than a turbocharged car anyways)...even in the wet or snow. I prefer not driving mine in either, but if I had to I could. I'm not using mine as a DD at this point, but I did for several months. Since I work at the University there's just too much of a chance of people fucking with it. When I worked at OSU I had notes and shit left on my car constantly, so now I drive my truck down to UT everyday.

I'm afraid that with the FD your options are pretty limited for V8s. Both the LT1 and the LS1 have been successfully transplanted, though no one reliable sells a cradle for it. The easiest way to go is with the LS1 and Hinson Super Cars, but you'll have to get in line.

Of course, if you're capable of pulling it all off on your own then your options aren't as limited. Most people can't or won't make their own cradle for the conversion.

sounds good

i priced all components needed for a conversion including the hinson mounting cradles etc....to about 7k

how much is installation for the whole thing on an FD?

what all did u need for your ls1 swap?

please list all items that you had to buy for the swap because I think I am definitely going for this project as I have found a good FD with a blown engine for 4500 so I want to know if i can do the swap and stay within my budget of 15k including labor.

thanks

I bet you missed a few things. Everyone prices out the major components but overlooks all of the little things that you need to get everything working perfectly. Your estimate of $7K is on the low end of what I've seen possible. You'd have to be resourceful for sure.

Since you're asking about installation costs I'll assume that you're not looking to turn the wrenches on the conversion yourself (more on this below). While that's fine (I won't think any less of anyone for not wanting to undertake such a big task, or leaving it to the skilled professionals) it will blow your budget out of the water.

If you "can't" spend any more than the budget you're suggesting I'd suggest you find another project. If you just "don't want" to spend any more than your proposed budget +~10% for over looked costs then you might be OK. There are a lot of little things that add up to a serious chunk of $$$. Things like fuel line, fittings, coolant hoses, hose clamps, grounding wire, etc.


Yeah, why don't I just make you an itemized shopping list and save you from extolling any effort yourself. :rolleyes:

Just kidding... sort of. You'll have to work several of the details out for yourself depending on what you want to put into the car. I made a semi organized list of what I purchased and how much it was here:

http://www.torquecentral.com/showthread.php?t=18372

It's a good starting point.

More about installations costs, the only thing it cost me was time as I did it myself with the help of a friend.

$15K is totally doable assuming you get the car for $4500 and do all the work yourself. $15K is a pipe dream if you are planning on having someone else do the work for you. It's literally about 80-100 hours of work. Multiply that by a fairly connservative shop rate of $65 an hour and you blow your budget out of the water.

If you have specific questions I don't mind helping out. I get real tired of the "tell me everything I need" or the "walk me through everything" type questions. Torquecentral and the search button are your friends if you're serious about the swap.

Here are some more links that might help:

http://www.torquecentral.com/showthread.php?t=16716

http://www.torquecentral.com/showthread.php?t=17181

http://www.torquecentral.com/showthread.php?t=19853

http://www.torquecentral.com/showthread.php?t=17429

Good luck

lol

thanks man...i didnt mean to impose and im sorry it came across that way

at any rate.....i dont think I will be able to do this project myself...well....i might be able to but my parents wont let me do it as they are always afraid of any risks involved in anything, and allowing me to even get the conversion done is a big jump so I wont push it

IF the installation is 80-100 hrs and it comes to something like 7000 for just the installation then I think I am just going to get a regular reliable rx-7 for something like 17 or 18k.....its not that I CANT spend that much but I am looking at something like 20k+ for this project and it seems to be better if I just but a regular one

sorry for deciding to cancel this project after you took the time to get me all that info but it def helped me in making my decision....thanks alot man

No problem. It is a lot of work, and a major undertaking. It also absically destroys the resale value of the car. If you can't do the work yourself, and it's not a labor of love (I don't ever expect to see any $$$ return for my "investment" in my car) then you're making the right decision. There are plenty of cool fast cars out there. Hell, if you want fast and reliable just get an 02 Z06. The prices on those are getting more reasonable every day.

I am in that same situation myself, i have a clean stock 94 R2 with only 42K miles. I would like too do a LS1 swap in the future if I keep it.But not sure if its worth it to drop another 10K into this car or just sell it while its still worth something .

Personally, I think it would be a shame to destroy the originality of a rare FD like that, but it's your car (and that opinion has nothing to do with the rotary vs V8 crap).

You are right when you say taht an FD is a rare car, and the originality of a rotary is defintely something that is worth saving, but when you have an FD roller or something, when comparing power and reliability of a rotary versus a V8, the V8 comes out on top. I think more than the fact that they have a rotary engine, FD's are remembered for their incredible handling. And combining the best of both worlds, you have one sexy ass reliable, powerful, head-turning, 120mph corner-taking, MACHINE!! lol

By the way, wingsfan, Ive found an FD roller for a very good price and Im rethinking this project. I may just do it after all. I think that If I can get the job done for about 12k including installation, I should be alrite; I can stretch my budget because this project is definetely something worth doing.

Wingsfan

Do you think there are any parts of this project that I might be able to do myself if I go along with it? That way I can reduce the installation costs from 6k to maybe 5 or even 4500. That would help me out alot. Keep in mind that I have never worked on the engine side of the car before, only the body and interior.

thanks

He was refering to the rarity of the R2 with 42k miles. If that car is in great shape...would be worth it to sell it and find another chassis to do a swap on.

Yes the R2 is a rare car, not sure If I should sell it and buy a beater FD for LS1 conversion.Or keep my allready clean car that does not need any body or interior work, and do the conversion at a later date.

If the rarity was such a big deal, my guess is it would be parked in a garage and not be driven. If you've got a clean car that doesn't need any work, you have the best foundation for the swap if you want to do one.

Waiting and performing the swap later will put more miles/wear on the car, increasing the risk of needing replacement parts.

IF you DO want to do the swap, why not start now, sell the good running engine and misc parts you won't need to help finance it, and then enjoy your car that much more. Not a single person who has done the LS1 swap has said they wish they didn't. Maybe some are nostalgic about the rotary, but if done right the car is better off overall for driveablility, reliability and cool factor.

That's my 2 cents.

This is not an easy swap, even with buying everything from Hinson. Not to disrespect you but if you've never worked on an engine then there is no way you can make the parts yourself and make them work properly. If you're going to make your own subframe or harness for this swap, you have to know your shit.