bahlorm

Well I thought there was a thread specifically for the people with the v8 swaps but I could not find it so I will post my questions here. I am thinking of turning my rx7 into my winter project and putting a 350 in it. I am wondering how hard it was for the ones who have done it, and around about how long it took. I can get a 350 from a 76 corvette with 60k miles on it for $300 also I know I will have to buy an engine hoist and conversion kit, but it is not something I plan to be doing over night. Plus I am still debating weather it is worth it or not to drop the 12a and sell it. On one side I see the 350 as a little better gas milage and a lot more power but a lot of work, but with the 12a that is what makes these cars so unique with the rotaries. So I am still not completely sure weather or not I will do this, but the more info I have on it the better I can make my decision.

bahlorm

To add this car is a 1st gen 85 rx7. Any information will be useful as in what all I need to completely do the swap, I am looking at the conversion kits, but I am sure I still need the ecu, radiator, engine, engine parts like dizzy alternator ect, tranny, possibly driveshaft?, got a friend who said he can do the wiring.

froggy4life

NOROTORS.COM is a good place to start i would stay away from 350 conversion the thing most swappers are doing and i did was to grab an LQ9 or LQ4 out of a suburban tahoe or silverado which is 364 displacement motor and use LS1-2-6 parts to improve performance. You can find these motors easy enough on Craigslist.com usually around 500 bucks and transmissions are pretty easy to find. You can also find used conversion kits for a heck of alot cheaper than new from either hinson or grannys on Norotors. A first Gen is a lil tougher to work with but it will still be an amazing car afterwards

bahlorm

Awesome I will have to check that out, I will also try to find a used kit. On grannys they had some for $500 and ones with driveshaft for $850. So I am not completely sure if the original driveshaft will bolt up to it, or if I need to get 1 from a junk yard, or if one needs to be customized. Since I am not very great at building my own material, and I have no welder the more I can get to just bolt in the better even if it costs a little more money. I don't expect to have all the pieces within a few days, this will take a couple of months to get everything needed.

kah1987

i love rx7s and i love rotary rx7s but nothing really compares to a solid lsx 6 speed swap in my opinion. do what is best for you but if you end up doing the v8 swap pay the money for an ls motor or a 5.0. 5.0 is significantly lighter than iron block 350 and just as cheap and easy to find and make fast. stay rotary, or go 5.0 or lsx.

kah1987

when i say significantly lighter i mean 200 lbs with equivalent transmission. but lbs add up quick. Thats like taking a grown man out of your car.

bahlorm

I actually did start my build. I ended up with an old school 350, but I am rebuilding the engine and putting in some flat top pistons and some new heads to up the compression and power, along with a bigger cam and so on. So even with a couple hundred pounds extra, I will have much more power