Kalifornia087

iTrader: (1)

I bought an FB (1984 to be exact) rx7 for the sole purpose of putting a 302 in it and having a quick daily driver and drift car. I bought the car with no motor and tranny. When i sold my Turbo coupe Tbird, the guy who bought it has a T-5 he threw in the deal, and i have a couple of 302's (with harnesses, Ecu, accesories, Etc Etc.) Sourced already. I Was planning on buying Grannys Deluxe kit to bolt the swap in. Then i read jim's post. However, this is a first gen swap, which i have not found bad publicity like this yet. I just want to know, has anyone had this problem with grannys with their first or second gen? I Do not have custom fabrication skills, so i need a kit. Hinson does not do 302 swaps into first gens, nor make the kits. In other words, i need the kit. So, anyone with their first gen had problems with them? also, i know it has been a few years since that first post by jimlab, but i can not afford the hassle and lost money if i get screwed, i am working my *** off already to get the car done Within the next 4 (hopefully less) months, and it's not feasible to work more because i am in high school. Input would be appreciated, i have been surfing this site for a while, signed up a short time ago, and have been waiting to post this until i really looked into it. Any reason i should not go with grannys? PRoject 1st Gen Rx5.0 will die if i cannot get a kit to get the motor/tranny bolted in. Wiring is going to be covered, but custom fab is another story. I do not want to re-sell my rx7 and put a turbo motor in a 240 like every other person around here. And i like the Rx7 styling A Lot. Thanks, input will be appreciated.

-Austin

rajahFD

i bought a granny's kit and im going to use it on my FD, so far it's been working like a charm, i guess a lot has changed throughout 3 or so years. Granny's kit is good, i bought mine on december 23 and recieved it on january 2, took a while because of the holidays, but it's here complete and i already dropped in my motor and it works like a charm!

jimlab

Austin, the only problems that I've ever heard of with 1st and 2nd gen. kits were related to delivery time and completeness. A lot of people were told that parts had shipped when they hadn't, and when shipments arrived, parts were missing. If Grant has his act together, then there's no reason not to buy from him if all you want is a 1st gen. kit.

wptrx7

Self-ownage

theantirotor

iTrader: (1)

nevermind

FB II

the granny's 1st gen kit works very well. it will be a drop in and go affair, but you may have some trouble if you are going with the T-5. it seems the clutch setup is a little whack. i'm sure you've come accross this situation. i'd suggest using a C-4 and pwning everyone at the track!


edit: i see you want to drift.... nevermind.

Kalifornia087

iTrader: (1)

Thanks guys, the project will probably be getting underway in about 2 months, and hopefully done in 3-4 tops. I'll post pics when i trailer the car up to my house, and when i start to work on the swap. Thanks

-Austin

stilettoman

iTrader: (1)

I don't think you will have any problems with Grant's 1st gen kit. Keep in mind the car is very simple compared with the 3rd cars, which are rather high tech. I built mine before Grant started selling Ford kits, but I did get the driveshaft flange from him, which made the driveline easier to fab.

If you get aluminum heads, use the Ford Motorsports aluminum water pump and an aluminum radiator, you will have no problems with the balance, and you will not add much weight to the car. I stuffed my radiator up into the nose, because that was the best way to use a radiator that I already had. I recommend Grant's radiator kit, as it fits well and will save you the hassles.

I also recommend you optimize the intake system for performance, and don't worry about adding a raised area to the hood - that is the easy part. I used a hood bulge from a 280Z, and I recently picked up the hood bulge from an Eclipse, just in case I do another project. Fitting the manual tranny should be easy compared to stuffing in the AOD that I used.

You can see photos of my project here:

www.cardomain.com/ride/646433

Kalifornia087

iTrader: (1)

Cool man, thanks. I plan on getting the deluxe kit from granny's so it will have an aluminum radiator. There aren't really going to be anyserious mods b/c i want the car on the road a.s.a.p to get into as many drift events as i can. Thanks for the link, you have a nice v8 rex. I can't wait to get this swap done, it's going to be great fun on the street and the track... It will kill...

-Austin

Brismo7

iTrader: (2)

yeah, as for grant when i bought his FB 302 kit, i got it with in 3 days of payment. its a really simple kit. since your buying a bunch of stuff it might take a couple days more. and you should do a bunch of research on the whole T5 clutch thing. that is the biggest hassle with the 302 FB swap.

jim, your avatar of shock drifting put me into stitches. i literally laughed out loud.

and kalifornia, i have a bone stock 5.0 in mine, with a march AC/PS delete kit, and emissions removed, and this thing burns rubber. its pretty fast. even with an AT, i can smoke the tires while moving. with a T5, i'm sure i could chirp the tires in 5th no problem.


~Steve

Brismo7

iTrader: (2)

oh, and what i meant to type oringinally, is grant has seemed to really clean up his act. i've had nothing but super positive transactions with him.


~Steve

Kalifornia087

iTrader: (1)

GREAT. This is good. if i was living with my dad right now i would definitely come see your car brismo. He lives in Templeton, CA, next to San Louis Obispo. But im in GA with my mom *sigh*. LoL. Yeah i can't wait to get it all together. Where can i find info about the t5 and what to do with it to make it easier or what i need? It has to be a 5-speed because it is going to get a lot of track time. Thanks,

-Austin

Brismo7

iTrader: (2)

www.torquecentral.com start reading. do a search for 5.0 +FB and you'll read til your eyes bleed.



~Steve

Kalifornia087

iTrader: (1)

yeah i have been floating around TC for a while, finally signed up. Thanks for the search advice. Got the Rex to my house the other day, got to get some pictures...

-Austin

wrxracer55

iTrader: (3)

I'm doing a 5.0/5 speed swap. Currently building a custom pedalbox to use the mustang cable instead of using the hydraulics. The car is in pieces, and I have not started installing the engine yet, as I need a few more parts. I am building up a 86 5.0 block. I have the granny's kit,a nd the parts look great, and service was really fast. Just need to get the stuff installed.