What made you convert?
 

Well...what was it? Did you have tuning problems or a blown motor? Or was it something else?

nearest rotary mechanic is 56 miles away. say my car doesn't run, i'd have to pay a tow truck around $220-$250 just there and back would be the same. i have a lot of friends that work on LS1's and know them inside out and they have parts laying around for them as well...and i wanted torque, lots of it.

i could punish this thing like there was no tomorrow, go to sleep, wake up and do it again the next day without a worry :)

First RX7 lasted 10 miles before the motor blew. V8 was cheaper to install since I had one already. This one had no motor or trans anyway when I bought it, and most of the factory harness was melted from an electrical fire.

Combined with the fact that I know jack shit about working on rotaries, and that my stock LS1 has a lot more hp and a WHOLE LOT more torque, yea that would pretty much explain it.

understanding the LS1FC was an amazing machine is what made me build one for myself.
got a ride and a testdrive in a friends LS1FC.
got the same in a nonturbo FC that was heavily modded, even autox'd it.
also drove an S2000 at autox and around town.
decided I could make an LS1FC that was still nimble and tossable but hella fast even with a stock LS1.... it worked and I've been loving it for a year and a half now. I'm just bummed out I didnt know about this stuff earlier! had I known, I would have had an LT1T56 swapped FC probably 6 or 7 years ago, doh!

Lets not go on with all these lame excuses - the fact is we all suffer from a form of insanity. As I explained here once before, it isn't beating some ricer away from the stoplight - for me it is the sound of all those car alarms when I drive into a parking garage, blended with the thunder of my engine!

How can you argue the power : cost : reliability ratios?

For me it was the gas milage to power ratio. But saying that, i still have many Rotary powered cars that make alot of power, the gas milage is just horrible

I rode in one. That was all it took.

Thanks for your input guys. I picked up a '93 with a blown motor and I'm in a tough spot. I'd like to put a rotary back into it and go out and try and win the road racing class all my friends are competing in. On the other hand, I could put an LS1 into it and have a more reliable car that I wouldn't have to trailer to events. But this puts me into a class that has no competition (its the class for cars with V8s power from another manufacterer) and thats not much fun. But neither is fixing a rotary!

I bought one without a motor or tranny just to do a v8 swap. I mean, I love the way my fb looks, and with a stock 302 it will pull mid-high 13 second quarter mile times on street tires... and that is plenty of power for me to drift.. that is with the STOCK 302... How can you not like that?

I went through 3 Motors, I wrecked One, Blew an apex seal on the new car, rebuilt, and found out the turbo(s) were shot, went single, hoping for 400 RWHP, got it tuned by Steve Kahn, and the apex seals warped, (Not his fault) I think they were warped prior to him getting to the car.

The motor finally let go on a bad tank of gas... and I was DONE....

Estimates came in around $8K+ to get everything back running, just to be where I was supposed to be $8k ago anyways...

That with the fact that I lost all respect for the local mechanic I used to go to since most likely it was his build that caused this mess.... so I'd have to go further to get to a new mechanic that I could try and build a relationship with...

In the short run it's costing me more, but going N.A., bettwer milage, and having my pick of chevy mechanics in the area, are all ++ for me...

I figured I had given this a chance, and I firmly believe that a stock FD motor, as well as Renesis, can be reliable if taken care of properly... I want to tinker and upgrade, and that's not going to work with those motors....

-DC

Carrol Shelby. The man was my inspiration. I just looked at the power to weight ratio, and couldn't walk away.

I bought my RX7 for 700 dollars as a daily driver/beater to keep miles off of my GTP (which is now in collector car status). I figured it was a car I could drive daily and have fun and tinker with.

Then I found out how enjoyable it was to drive...

Then I fixed the body damage and replaced the interior to make it look decent...

Then I upgraded to TII brakes/suspension...

Then I started pricing TII swaps... and realized the cost/benefit ratio was too low to be worth it; While searching I found V8RX7.com and it dawned on me that "hey, you can fit a V8 in there..."

Then I found a Camaro locally with a "383 LT1" in it. Turned out to be a blown 305 (blown up, not supercharged ;) ), but led me to a TPI injected built SBC 355, which then went carb, and was then pulled out for my current LS1 setup...

Then new paint, more bodywork, S5 conversion, more interior work, tint, some power accessories, better wheels....

Now it will either go F/I or big cube eventually, if I don't just sell it and build an FD or 69 Camaro first. :)



It's a sickness I tell ya.

I had built a lot of hot rods and road race cars. I had built a number of autocross and road race rotary cars, but the FC was the first with a 6 port 13B. After a year of autocrossing it successfully, one day it simply decided not to start. The engine was locked up. In fact, the whole rear half of the engine had destroyed itself apparently. Unlike the 12A and original 13B, it was going to coat a bit more than $300 to rebuild it. And all the rebuilt rotaries I had know of, both homebuilt and pro built, while lasting long enough to go racing with, never went very far on the street. Especially when modded to make good power. Rebuilding the stock engine was going to cost $2500 (in 1993 dollars) Building a turbo rotary for it was going to cost double that at a minimum.

While the enigne was out, I noticed how big the engine compartment really was. Measured up a small block Ford sitting on an engine stand at the shop, looked at my car (which was already painted candy blue with white stripes) and thought "Cobra Daytona!" So for less than the cost of a stock 145 hp rebuilt rotary of uncertain durability, I built the high hp Ford 302 powered autocrosser that had all the atributes of the FC with none of the drawbacks. I simply wanted to build something that hadn't been done before.

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/adesso/rex1.wmv
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/adesso/rex2.wmv
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/adesso/rex3.wmv

Mind you, these runs were also on 225/50-15 Yokohama A008 RSIIs on 15x7 wheels...


And now, 13 years later, we have a huge community of V8 RX7s...

for me i bought the car then had low compression, rebuilt the motor 5000 dollars later and only 10k on the motor and now i have low compression again! i am not going to spend another 5k on a motor that is going to last me 10k miles, v8 swap is a lot cheaper then rebuilding the motor again! i am just getting started with my swap and i am having fun already! can't wait to get it on the road!

For me I decided to go with a LT1 after rebuilding my 5th rotary. I was tired of special ordering parts and waiting...then waiting more as my precious NY summer months went by and the Mazda sat not running in the garage. Then there was cost and cost of operation..not to mention misprints in my mazda factory service manual..which cost me another rebuild. I baught a GM car with the supercharged 3800 V6 and use it as my daily driver. I changed the pulleys and chipped the ECU producing 300+ OBD2 legal HP. It may be a big heavy car but I love the torque and reliability! I also love the fact any local book store has 90% on the info I need in readily available books right on the shelf. I cant tell you how many RX-7 manuals I bought on ebay because they were out of print and still didnt answer all questions! let's just say Ive been around the block a few times,Shawn

Only 4 motor here. :)

I actually bought a 20B, but was forced to convert to a domestic V8 at gunpoint, and what are you going to do with a gun in your face? :D

haha, jim. . . the rx7 community needs to know who put that gun to your head. . . dont know if its good or bad. . . you put us through a saga of v8 upgrade, but you more than likely would have had the car running years ago if you stuck with a 20b. :D

300 HP with a pulley and a PCM? Me no thinky so.

You been listening to Intense-Racing or something? ;)

-Blake McBride, President Fort Wayne Club Grand Prix

Loved my rotary but when it the time finaly came for a rebuild the price nocked me on my ass. I saw the price of a JDM spec VG30 and said thats for me ;)

in june of last year, my younger brother took his RX7 to the nearby rotary shop.... hayes rotary. he had a dead engine & I had said that i'd never touch it.... it was a dang rotary. he put down a $2000 deposit. and waited, and waited, and.... they went bankrupt. we picked up the car in November, no motor in it, just some parts. he was hosed. so we started doing research on engine swaps for the RX and I decided to start my own as well... i'd done a jeep swap once & swore not to do it again. but i wanted a go-fast toy... who knew that him getting reamed by a bad rotary shop would end up here.

When are you guys going to stop ripping the souls out of RX7s?

Andrew

when their souls can produce big power, mucho reliability, and better fuel economy :)

"When are you guys going to stop ripping the souls
out of RX7s?"

Maybe when the assholes in Hiroshima decide that they want their cars to keep running, and start to sell the monopoly parts for an affordable price.

All these perfectly serviceable cars being scrapped, and all these shops trying to make a profit by using marginal parts is directly attributable to Mazda corporate policy.

:rlaugh: :rlaugh: :rlaugh: :rlaugh: :rlaugh: :rlaugh:

:icon_tup:

I bought the FC with the intention of the LS1 swap after reading through various websites.

arguments against us doing this go off topic... it only reinforces our side of the argument.... this is the way we like or cars.
my car had mo motor when i bought it.... it still doesn't, but that's not the point.
soul? what soul? its a machine made of metals, glass, polymers, textiles, and composites... and nothing more. get over it.

My RX7 had a blown soul. And when you think about it, its the only part of the car that really sucks. The FD is a beautiful looking car, its light weight, and it handles awsome. On the down side, its unreliable, has a funky power curve, and gets pour gas mileage.

I started this thread because I was on the fence. Now I've joined the dark side. My LS1 showed up last Friday.

You'll love the engine bumps. I have an 01' vette and the LS1 just screams(in a good way) when you wind her up. Little does the friend that I'm buying a 93 R1 from know, the rotary is going bye bye and being replaced by an LS like the one in my vette. Once you turn to the dark side, you cannot go back.

:)

I am doing a V8 swap because i was tired of just waiting for my motor to blow and i had rebuilt one before, it was satisfiying except when i figured the costs and risks. I could blow another rotary and run the risk of totalling the motor which was a cost range of $300-$2000 depending on how bad damage was. I didnt want ot do that when i could put a motor in that was better on gas, better on reliability, more torque then 80% of the rotaries will ever have. It just made too much sense to me. spend a total of $15000-$17000 and have performance that any other car of the same price could only dream of.

Also my 10th AE has been beaten and basterdized so much that it has really lost its intrinsic value so i didnt have much of a passion to keep it stock and "original" so i thought, "well what would piss people off more? a 10th AE with mods, OR a 10th AE with a v8?" its clear to see what i chose


EDIT

when the rx7 gets a soul

So I'm curious, How much, after all is said and done does a V8 3rd gen cost? Assuming you already have a shell.

it really depends on how cheap you wanna be.

Jimlab says he has over $100,000 invested in his project including R&D and many one off parts, but i have also heard people who got thier whole conversion done for under $6,000.

so it really all depends on what you want to upgrade and what you want, if you want a cheap fast car you'll have a cheap fast car. But if you're anal and like everything perfect then you become jimlab :) or you just end up spending more.

I am getting close to finishing mine. Still need to get a few things like rad hoses, coolant, etc.., but this should cover everything else- conversion parts came from Hinson:

LS1
LS1/T56 complete: $3650
Conversion Kit: $1460
Koyo Radiator: $200
Fuel Pump: $75
Brake MC: $89
FPR: $151
Wiring Harness: $425
Speed Comp: $80
Short Shifter: $25
Plugs $35
Clutch line: $85
6 qts of oil: $30
Plug Wires: $35
Power harness extension: $35
HP Tuners addon - $200
Power Steering Line Modification: $36
Radiator Fill assy: $40
Fittings for FPR: $12
Upper Rad Hoses: $22

RELIABLE 400 N/A RWHP.
I beat on cars and I don't want to constantly worry about breaking something.

Any car that is beat on will break something...bottom line... now how soon something breaks is based on the quality of the motor, and the care taken by the user.

Here we go again. I'm not going to start to compare a 400 hp N/A LS1s reliability to a 400hp N/A rotary's reliability and even streetablilty. I'm done with this difference of opinion.

May I ask where you got your radiator from?

Going to pistons is the pussy way ;)

Winning is winning. Which car is faster, the one that has a V8 or the one that has a broken rotary? Personally I think a car with an engine swap is more productive than a car sittig in a junkyard.

lol...
 

https://www.rx7club.com/forum/attach...d=170657&stc=1

Rotaries have their place in racing, but for street cars, sticking with it becuase its 'special' or different is fine if thats what youre going for, but Im out for uncomprimising performance on a strict budget. Good fucking luck doing that on a 13B - I got a tight budget and Id rather blow a HG or trash a so-cheap-its-kind-of-sad 2.3T shortblock than a signifigantly more expensive set of rotary apex seals, plus the parts are so much cheaper and its so much better on gas its almost a crime.

Well, it is a crime to a rotard, but who cares? Chevy SBCs and LT1/LS1 motors and certain turbo 4s are EXTREMELY cost effective, and bolt in swaps are nothing. The KA-T is really coming into its own and the 2.3T has been a cult motor for of 25 years with a proven record, and any idiot knows how much power and torque a v8 with more than 5 liters displacement can put down without breaking a sweat.

Besides, why the hell would I want to get an engine that only some dude that Captain Kirk has issues with can tune? :confused:

Who is comparing? Nowhere did I compare anything :) I said longevity depends on the quality of the motor (nope, don't see any comparing or a 400HP N/A rotary vs a 400hp LS1, this applies to all motors of ANY output. You besta believe theres sub 200hp motors that are absolute crap design and when "beat on" won't never last as long as some race motors) and the care taken by the user (hm... that applies to EVERYBODY... no comparison there either). It'd be nice to have reasonable discussion here without taking what someone said to an abstract interpretation. And what makes you assume I'm against the LS1 swap anyway? I respect your decision, won't get all huffy puffy over it, or tell you you're gonna "screw up the handling" because I do a little homework before I open my mouth. Besides, a buddy of mine, Mike (a.k.a GsrSol), has Z06 motor in his FD and that is one of the craziest cars I've ever seen/heard/cruised with. I just prefer to make due with what I have.......for now.

Lol, Nihil it is true. The way I see it, there are so many people that want to be different that they all end up becoming the same without even realizing that they are now their own " overpopulated subculture" thus in my eyes makes them not so unique.

You're right. I found certain implications in your statement that I guess I shouldn't have.

not what your mom said

I said much the same thing back in '93 when I did my conversion. A handbuilt, one-off, V8 RX7 was vastly more unique than a few hundred thousand rotary powered ones.. ;) Of course, we have more V8 RX7s now, but percentage-wise, they are still more unique.

As far as comparing the reliability, what we discuss is building a 350-400 hp RX7. Since we know that ensuring reliability in an engine, even more than how it's maintained, is how stressed it is. The closer it is to an understressed, time tested, stock condition, the more reliable it's likely to be. When building for 350-400 hp, a rotary will have to be a modded one, and rather highly stressed. A V8, especially an LT1/LS1/LS2 will be pretty much stock. That reliability comparison for the output is a large part of the reason for the conversion. Combine that reliable power output with the cost of that power output, put them together in one of the best chassis available anywhere, and you have a pretty strong, logical set of reasons for doing the conversion.

That and the margin for error is greatly reduced, you start knocking on a V8 you should back off, and it's very audiable... you start kocking lound enough that a non tuning expert knows what he's listening to on a rotary, and you're 2 out of 6 apex seals short...
Not to mention your precious turbo, maybe a dented rotor and some new housings.... :Kill2:

That falls under care taken by user in my book. And to Merc: Anything is reliable if you have the money to make it reliable. Virtually any adjective to describe something is completely opinionated to each individual. Hell I've had my car for like almost 2 years and just about the only problems i've been chasing have been electrical ones since the motor is still alive and kicking strong, I believe that is reliable enough for me that the motor runs strong even with having a failed OMP at one point in the past.... and you're right about the knocking, Crosby.... when boosted. Some of the more experienced rotary tuners have had first hand experience and have said that the N/A motors are quite stout if you can some how manage to make one knock or ping. I am N/A and intend on staying N/A with this first, of more to come, rex-o-mine. Roughly the 3rd or 4th FC I acquire will be dabbling in a non-rotor motor swap, more than likely, so I can have a wide range of powebands to play with on the same chassis. Variety is almost always better than uniformity. Happy motoring, guyz0rz :)

how much does an FD weigh with an LS1?