Oh MAN are you guys gonna flame me for this...
 

I give up. I'm just straight up doing a V8 conversion. I only have so much time, money and patience to either work with the NA motor or dealing with a turbo conversion, or even buying a turbo II. I'm dropping in an LT-1 from a second-to-last generation Camaro Z28 with the T56 6-speed transmission. The conversion is going to cost me around $4000 including tools, so it's cheaper than a turbo II conversion. I will also be making about 240 to the rear wheels when I get everything running again. For now, I'm going to enjoy my NA rotary, and then at the end of July I'm going to start massing the parts necessary for the swap. I'll be sure to tell you all how it's going and when it's done I'll tell you guys what it's like to have a piston powered RX7 (obviously I'll miss the sound of the engine). I'm not going to be like, "PISTON POWAH, PISS ON DA ROTARY", because I know that even after the conversion there's going to be a hell of a lot of rotary RX7s that will be faster, and I probably won't be that fast when I'm all done with the motor. I'm just looking to get into the 13s and I also always wanted more low-end torque.

Why not just buy a Camaro?
Well, because it's about 700 lbs. heavier, and my RX7 also handles a hell of a lot better.

I'm doing this in August. Just thought I'd let you guys know.

To each his own... Good luck with the project, but might i sudjest a 5.0 302 swap instead....Lighter motor, aluminum block, lots of cheap aftermarket bolt ons.... fit's nicely in engine bay.....

good luck

put the suit on

only 240 to the rear wheels that is kind of expensive for 4k. are you doing the work. T2 conversion cost me around 2500 with everithing needed but then again I only got 200 at the crank. I don't know how much more i need to spend to get 240 at the wheels.


Have fun thow.

mmm torquey torque. his 240 hp will probably come with 300(+) ft lbs. hopefully the rear end will work with the ratios in the 6 speed to make that usable. i'm pretty sure their final drive ratio is close to 3:1 vs our 4.1:1.

after all is said and done, I'm not too convinced that your 7's handlign will be all that great.

But good luck with it. Should be fun to do.

Re: Oh MAN are you guys gonna flame me for this...
 

Wrong, I just got done paying 3500 for a rebuilt turbo 2 *installed* and a 500 rebate on my parts. So 3000 for the swap, and I think I can do a little better then 240 with the remaining 1000 .

Good luck with the swap, Im personally a huge fan of *properly* done V-8 swaps. Its all the hack jobs that really get to me. Once my T2 swap is complete, I will be getting another FC to v-8 swap. Going the same route as you are, LT1/T-56. That will put the car into the 13s as is, much less once you start modding ;) Handling actually shouldnt be adversely affected if you do a few choice weight reductions, batt relocation, etc... The camaro or 'vette LT1 has aluminum heads (dont get that shitbox LT1 from the SS impala.) and isnt much heavier than a fully dressed T2 engine. If you have the funds, look into an LS1. Thats be even better, could actually lose some weight ;). Be in the 12s with a stock one of those too.. Reguardless, people are still going to hate you, but dont let it get to you ;)
I do think you are way over-pricing your T2 conversion though. I couldve done mine for way less than that, If I wasnt going bigger turbo,standalone, etc...

I'm not a big fan of piston swaps, but if you can do a good job with it then way to go, just don't mess up the weight distribution. I've seen figures for different engines that showed certain ones would and some wouldn't mess it up. Can't remember if that was one of them or not.

Even if it doesn't make that much more power for the money, it'll still make some nice nice torque and as bingoboy said, mmmmmmmm

As far as flaming goes, there will be none in this thread...

Good luck should be fun, 240 to the wheels will be nice and that tourque should be even more fun, i agree that it would be hard to get that kind of power from a rotory for the $, 300 lbs of tourque from a rotory would probably cost more than 4000 including motor, tanny, etc

Weight distrubution is a large factor in deciding the handling characteristics of a car, but don't get locked into the frame of mind that it's the only thing that determines your lines. The LT-1, although heavier than the 13bt, has a lower center of gravity. With the right susp./tires setup you can almost completely negate the difference in weight.

Very True, with some good measureing and wieghing you can get back very near 50/50 wieght distribution

From what I remember, the whole "weight distribution" argument is only about 100 - 200 lbs or something very minimal, so the 50/50 wont be upset very much.

Good luck on your v8 conversion, cant wait to see some vids of it.

I'm a big fan of V8 swaps, having done it to several cars myself. The only thing that gets me, is why only 240 to the wheels??? Even in stock form you should be getting more than that. Plus for another thousand dollars for a few perts, you could easily get another 100. Either way, its gonna be a whole lot of fun. Enjoy.

LT1 is ~275HP stock. I think 240 to the wheels is a pretty decent estimate. Simple set of block hugger headers, and maybe a nice lopey cam should bump that up a bit :D

You guys are awesome. I expected to get totally flamed for taking out the rotary from the car, thereby ruining the "soul" of the RX-7. Thanks, you guys.

Why not a Ford 302? Because it's a pushrod engine, and because it's carbeurated (need to cut holes in the hood, not cool with me). It's reasonably lighter, but it's nothing that I can't make up with aluminum heads and whatnot.

I know 240 to the wheels isn't a lot for $4000, but just remember that I'm also getting about 275 lb.-ft. of torque around 2000rpm. Also, the aftermarket of the LT-1 is HUGE, so the sky is the limit (agressive cams, throttle body, procharger, etc.).

I know that you can do a TII conversion for cheap, but I'd have to replace my transmission in the swap, as my current tranny is starting to die. So if I did that i'd need the special driveshaft to connect it to my NA rear end. I'd also probably rebuild the engine for good measure (haven't found a decent example of a TII engine for cheap anywhere). Also, another thing to note is that the $4000 cost for the conversion is also for shorty headers connected to catalytic converters with custom plumbing running all the way to my HKS dual mufflers. Also, before I do performance upgrades, I'm going to get a new rear differential, as I'm pretty sure that more than 300rwhp would snap the factory open differential. I also get a 6-speed transmission as a part of this swap, so

The conversion will add about 100-150lbs. of extra weight, but a lot of that is the transmission (HUGE, beefy T56 that doesn't fit with the normal tranny mounts unlike the T-5). Also, I can keep 50/50 weight distro. if I relocate the battery (and switch to SS headers, which save 25 lbs.!). After I take it to an autocross, I'll tell you guys how it handles.

It's going to be one hell of a tough project, and it'll probably take me the better half of August to do it, but I'm going to try my hardest to get it done right; as in, tell myself, "I guess I'm done", get in the car, turn the key, and hear a Camaro engine fire up. I can't wait to get started, I just have to start saving right now. I'll be sure to make a thread when I'm all done, and after it's all complete, I'll show you guys how it performs/sounds. Once again, thanks for not flaming, guys. I'm surprised.

yo! i'd love a v8 fc, all that handling prowess and all that torquey power, one problem remember your stock rear end is a 4.1:1. so your gonna be super low geared

i can do a TII swap and get ~300+rwhp for 4200-4500$

good luck.

That's the one thing I miss about my camaro, the torque:D

My camaro was putting out 250 to the rear wheels and it was quite fun! Of course there was 366ft-lbs of torque to go along with that:D Not to mention 24MPG on an un-tuned carb, you should be able to get at least that on an LT1.

Good luck dude:D Now that I'm getting used to my TII, I don't know if I'd ever do a V8 conversion, but to each their own.

The 302 uses an iron block.


The LT1 is a pushrod engine too and there are a lot of FI 302s.

Really? I didn't think the LT1 from that generation camaro was pushrod...but I'll take your word forit.

Yes, even the LS1 (97+ C5 and 98 + F-bodies) and LS6 used in the Z06 is a pushrod engine. Nothing at all wrong with pushrod engines.

Re: Re: Oh MAN are you guys gonna flame me for this...
 

That's nice. Does that include exhaust from the block back? Does it include a 6-speed transmission? I could theoretically do this conversion for under $2000, including necessary tools (and excluding money made back on selling parts), but I'm shelling out the extra bucks to do it RIGHT. If you want to factor in the whole rebate from selling the parts I'm taking out, it'll cost me around $3000, so I think I could do a hell of a lot better than 240 with that "extra" $1000. On top of that I'd have more power available at any given RPM, and I wouldn't have to downshift to make a decisive passing maneuver in traffic. I don't see where your argument is going, and there's no need to be a dick about things.

Whatever, as long as it isn't carb'd, and as long as it makes batshit insane amounts of power, I'm fine with it. :D