My FD, not your typical LS1 Swap
03-05-11, 10:34 AM
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My FD, not your typical LS1 Swap
Hey guys, just purchased this car back in October, and I couldn't be happier with it. The previous owner did all the heavy lifting, and since I have gotten it, I think I finished it off just the way I wanted it. I added the shine spoiler, BC Racing Coilovers, StopTech's, CCW's, RB Sway Bar, Fresh Paint, better exhaust tips, Accusump etc.
This isn’t a typical swap. Swap was done from a whole 2001 Camaro parts car. He basically took the best of the two cars to make one. This car uses the Camaro body control module (for keyless entry/alarm functions), 4 channel ABS/traction control, plastic fuel tank/internally regulated fuel pump, and instrument cluster. Advantages described below.
4 channel ABS/traction control: Car uses the Bosch 5.3 ABS from the F-body. The ABS on the RX7 is an older three channel system and was starting to leak. The 4 channel ABS can work the rear wheels independently and is also necessary for the traction control. When driving the car with the FD ABS disabled and the front brakes would lock up almost instantly so maintaining ABS for him was a necessity. Not to mention the F-Body pump units are plentiful and can be found cheap. Traction control works well and uses three methods of power reduction when slip is sensed: ignition timing is pulled, if this doesn’t work the throttle starts closing, and finally if those didn’t work it will apply brake force to the slipping wheel/wheels. It can be turned off by a button press, but I can count on one hand the number of times I turned it off. I have found as long as you work with it, it works very well and will still allow the rear to get a little loose. This required all new brake tubing including an extra line run to the rear axle. All the stock brake hoses were retained as well as the Mazda ABS wheel sensors.
You can see the FBody ABS pump in the top left corner of the bay:
F-body gas tank: This replaces the steel FD steel tank, is plastic and will not rust. Most importantly this allowed him to run a dual outlet exhaust to both sides of the car, which is essentially impossible with a stock FD tank. This permitted him to modify and use the SLP dual-dual Loudmouth stainless steel catback that came on the parts car. The F-body tank also uses an internally regulated fuel pump so you don’t need the vette external regulated fuel filter. The F-body EVAP system is also used and fully functional. This required the FD spare tire well to be removed, so there is no place to put a spare.
F-body body control module: This car now has the camaro’s keyless entry. So the F-body remote is used which includes a trunk release button, he added a solenoid in the trunk so that this function would work. The dome lights, keyless and alarm functions work just like in an F-body.
F-body instrument cluster: Running the F-body gas tank and ABS sort of made this a necessity, for gauges and indication lights. He did not use the camaro cluster because the firebird cluster has amber lights so he installed a firebird cluster instead. This eliminates the need for the Dakota Digital speedo correction box, and the speedometer can be adjusted for different tire diameter/gears by a program like HP Tuners. The FD cluster hood was reworked with abs plastic, not fiberglass as he was concerned about fiberglass cracking and separating in the future. All the gauges and warning/indicator lights work just as they would in an F-body. Since he knew he had to rework the instrument cluster he was able to move the steering column up about 1 inch to make more room for knees, now there is a bit more space.
I know, I know, I love the FD Gauge cluster as well, but really when you drive the car, and see how everything works perfectly together, you really start to appreciate the functionality over the aesthetics.
Just had it sprayed Viper Red, it really made the original red seem muted and dull.
This is how it looked when I first picked it up:
And how it looks today:
I'm a driving instructor with Chin Motorsports, I live in Orlando, FL, and in December, I drove the car 700 miles to VIR, did 327 miles on track, and 700 home with zero issues. It actually snowed on us, which created a few nice pics, here's one.
I also recently did Sebring, my first time on Hoosiers 275's on all 4 corners, the car gripped like a ****!
I'll be lurking around here quite a bit, trying to catch up! I've had a ton of high hp 240sx's, and most recently an LS1 Miata. So the FD has been a dream car of mine since they came out, and I finally got it, I just need to figure out all the in's and out's.
This isn’t a typical swap. Swap was done from a whole 2001 Camaro parts car. He basically took the best of the two cars to make one. This car uses the Camaro body control module (for keyless entry/alarm functions), 4 channel ABS/traction control, plastic fuel tank/internally regulated fuel pump, and instrument cluster. Advantages described below.
4 channel ABS/traction control: Car uses the Bosch 5.3 ABS from the F-body. The ABS on the RX7 is an older three channel system and was starting to leak. The 4 channel ABS can work the rear wheels independently and is also necessary for the traction control. When driving the car with the FD ABS disabled and the front brakes would lock up almost instantly so maintaining ABS for him was a necessity. Not to mention the F-Body pump units are plentiful and can be found cheap. Traction control works well and uses three methods of power reduction when slip is sensed: ignition timing is pulled, if this doesn’t work the throttle starts closing, and finally if those didn’t work it will apply brake force to the slipping wheel/wheels. It can be turned off by a button press, but I can count on one hand the number of times I turned it off. I have found as long as you work with it, it works very well and will still allow the rear to get a little loose. This required all new brake tubing including an extra line run to the rear axle. All the stock brake hoses were retained as well as the Mazda ABS wheel sensors.
You can see the FBody ABS pump in the top left corner of the bay:
F-body gas tank: This replaces the steel FD steel tank, is plastic and will not rust. Most importantly this allowed him to run a dual outlet exhaust to both sides of the car, which is essentially impossible with a stock FD tank. This permitted him to modify and use the SLP dual-dual Loudmouth stainless steel catback that came on the parts car. The F-body tank also uses an internally regulated fuel pump so you don’t need the vette external regulated fuel filter. The F-body EVAP system is also used and fully functional. This required the FD spare tire well to be removed, so there is no place to put a spare.
F-body body control module: This car now has the camaro’s keyless entry. So the F-body remote is used which includes a trunk release button, he added a solenoid in the trunk so that this function would work. The dome lights, keyless and alarm functions work just like in an F-body.
F-body instrument cluster: Running the F-body gas tank and ABS sort of made this a necessity, for gauges and indication lights. He did not use the camaro cluster because the firebird cluster has amber lights so he installed a firebird cluster instead. This eliminates the need for the Dakota Digital speedo correction box, and the speedometer can be adjusted for different tire diameter/gears by a program like HP Tuners. The FD cluster hood was reworked with abs plastic, not fiberglass as he was concerned about fiberglass cracking and separating in the future. All the gauges and warning/indicator lights work just as they would in an F-body. Since he knew he had to rework the instrument cluster he was able to move the steering column up about 1 inch to make more room for knees, now there is a bit more space.
I know, I know, I love the FD Gauge cluster as well, but really when you drive the car, and see how everything works perfectly together, you really start to appreciate the functionality over the aesthetics.
Just had it sprayed Viper Red, it really made the original red seem muted and dull.
This is how it looked when I first picked it up:
And how it looks today:
I'm a driving instructor with Chin Motorsports, I live in Orlando, FL, and in December, I drove the car 700 miles to VIR, did 327 miles on track, and 700 home with zero issues. It actually snowed on us, which created a few nice pics, here's one.
I also recently did Sebring, my first time on Hoosiers 275's on all 4 corners, the car gripped like a ****!
I'll be lurking around here quite a bit, trying to catch up! I've had a ton of high hp 240sx's, and most recently an LS1 Miata. So the FD has been a dream car of mine since they came out, and I finally got it, I just need to figure out all the in's and out's.
Last edited by LS1Pariah; 03-05-11 at 10:39 AM.
03-06-11, 07:58 AM
#6
I saw that car when it was for sale on the swap forum...extremely clever integration of the Camaro fuel tank and Firebird cluster, genius, really.
Beautiful looking car you have there although the intake needs some work to match the level of the bay.
Beautiful looking car you have there although the intake needs some work to match the level of the bay.
03-06-11, 08:08 AM
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Agreed... I actually have to work on enclosing the air filter to try and keep the hot air from the radiator out of it, going to be my next mod for sure.
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03-06-11, 02:30 PM
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Banned. I got OWNED!!!
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Who's engine mounting equipment was used? I love the seamless integration of all the fbody components onto the fd. The exterior, interior and even undercarriage look very polished & sorted, and I noticed even the rear valance has been molded/contoured for the dual exhaust, looks great. A lot of thought was put into this car and it shows. Id just want to clean up that engine bay so it matches the visual appeal of the rest of the car with a fully enclosed ram airbox and throw on a new set of headers as the stock ones rust and are an eyesore.. Probably toss on a newer 7 or momo steering wheel as well. The stock 93-95 wheels are ugly and Im sure it wouldn't hurt to have on the track either. This is definitely one of, if not the best, LS1 swaps Ive ever seen... Very well done.
Last edited by 1FAASTFD3S; 03-06-11 at 02:40 PM.
03-06-11, 07:00 PM
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Who's engine mounting equipment was used? I love the seamless integration of all the fbody components onto the fd. The exterior, interior and even undercarriage look very polished & sorted, and I noticed even the rear valance has been molded/contoured for the dual exhaust, looks great. A lot of thought was put into this car and it shows. Id just want to clean up that engine bay so it matches the visual appeal of the rest of the car with a fully enclosed ram airbox and throw on a new set of headers as the stock ones rust and are an eyesore.. Probably toss on a newer 7 or momo steering wheel as well. The stock 93-95 wheels are ugly and Im sure it wouldn't hurt to have on the track either. This is definitely one of, if not the best, LS1 swaps Ive ever seen... Very well done.
11-16-12, 12:05 AM
#19
i was thinking the same thing. i've got that hood and recently got the grannys subframe. hood looks better painted IMO. when i first got mine i kinda regreted it thinking it was gonna look worse than i had thought. glad to see it's gonna look better painted.
