V8 Rx7

[rx-dave]

what some people dont seem to realise is like my self i wanted a v8 powered car to have fun in like a tvr but didnt want a fibre glass kit car so we build a rear wheel drive no traction control fun car and we choose a v8 because they tick all the right boxes . we dont hate rotarys and we dont slag them (i quite like them), but over half my customers buy dead fds to convert and are not already owners , we use fds because they are one of the best donor vehicles about. it does cost money to do but you end up with a car with a 2004-2009 engine gearbox and wiring and 500bhp wheel power is doable and still reliable,

Have you got some contact details or a website, i\'d be interested in this.
Dave.
esp.ltd@hotmail.co.uk

[Hi RX7]

After 4 engine re-builds I would be seriously looking into who did the re-building. As someone who had an engine blow after a few weeks of ownership I began to seriously question the rotary and was looking to go V8 but my local rotary specialist RE-Worx did the rebuild, its been over a year now and many thousands of miles plus a few trackdays later and the engine is running fine apart from an overheating issue which will be solved by a V-Mount. As a member of the Hampshire Jap Car Club there are several owners of Skylines and Subaru\'s, Evo\'s etc and I can assure you that when you start getting big power out of these cars there are just as many engine blow ups/issues as you have with rotaries I can assure you of this because it is of great interest to me and I always note these issues. In my opinion the fact of the matter is that there are a lot of RX7\'s on the market and probably the majority have not been looked after properly because the owner couldn\'t afford or thought they knew better than to get a proper tuner to look after it and the consequences are usually the car going pop when the new owner gets hold of it. Having now run the car for a decent period of time I am firmly in the rotary camp at the moment but if the engine does go pop again it will without any doubt be replaced with a V8.

[Rex_FTW]

After 4 engine re-builds I would be seriously looking into who did the re-building. As someone who had an engine blow after a few weeks of ownership I began to seriously question the rotary and was looking to go V8 but my local rotary specialist RE-Worx did the rebuild, its been over a year now and many thousands of miles plus a few trackdays later and the engine is running fine apart from an overheating issue which will be solved by a V-Mount. As a member of the Hampshire Jap Car Club there are several owners of Skylines and Subaru\'s, Evo\'s etc and I can assure you that when you start getting big power out of these cars there are just as many engine blow ups/issues as you have with rotaries I can assure you of this because it is of great interest to me and I always note these issues. In my opinion the fact of the matter is that there are a lot of RX7\'s on the market and probably the majority have not been looked after properly because the owner couldn\'t afford or thought they knew better than to get a proper tuner to look after it and the consequences are usually the car going pop when the new owner gets hold of it. Having now run the car for a decent period of time I am firmly in the rotary camp at the moment but if the engine does go pop again it will without any doubt be replaced with a V8.

So you would be happy spending 15K to do the conversion? If you\'re going to do the conversion, you might as well do it right and spend the money to do it properly.
 
People seem to think going v8 is cheaper, look into the costs and it does not seem as cheap as people think.

[Hi RX7]

My current thoughts are that yes the V8 will be expesive but rather than spend more money on a rotary re-build at that point the V8 would go in because I\'m satisfied that the car would be as good with the transplant

[Rex_FTW]

My current thoughts are that yes the V8 will be expesive but rather than spend more money on a rotary re-build at that point the V8 would go in because I\'m satisfied that the car would be as good with the transplant

At a much higher cost, with the benefits which are questionable.
 
ReWorx would probably rebuild it for you for a fifth of the price of the transplant, especially as an existing customer.

[Hi RX7]

This is why my decision has been so difficult because the car is a very nice example of a Bathurst X which is in very good condition and had all the suspension/brakes/polybushes etc done. I do ask myself the question as to whether it is sacrilege to do this to a nice example, but then again it is not an appreciating asset its a car that goes well on track and on the road so putting the V8 in would despite the cost allow me to continue to enjoy the car and not have that nagging doubt in the back of my mind that I could blow it up, although this particular thought is fading into the distance as time passes. I think its important to emphasize that I am neither pro or anti rotary or V8 but if it fails again despite my high degree of mechanical sympathy and admiration towards the unique status of the rotary engine I\'ll get it ripped out despite the very big cost in doing so.

[SiH]

OK, I love my car, and I never plan on selling it. But as said, there is unquestionably room in my garage (and my heart) for something that looks like this and sounds like this.
If that were offered to me in exchage for my single\'d 13b FD, I\'d have a very hard decision to make.

I suspect I\'d also lose a lot of friends

[skybusr34]

^^^ im with ya on this one.... if remember right.. there was a burn out kitted rex. with an LS?? for sale on rx7club a few months back.

[rx-dave]

OK, I love my car, and I never plan on selling it. But as said, there is unquestionably room in my garage (and my heart) for something that looks like this and sounds like this.
If that were offered to me in exchage for my single\'d 13b FD, I\'d have a very hard decision to make.
 
I suspect I\'d also lose a lot of friends

Christ!! That is one loud car!!

[bimbleuk]

I was going to use Craig\'s services but decided I\'d rather do my own conversion and know the car inside out. I went for a conversion kit from a company called Samberg Rod & Custom. Great compnay to deal with and physically bolting the engine and gearbox in took less than a day.
 
Personally I think of an engine I want to use then the car to fit it to!. I wanted something different from the poxy 1.6 supercharged engines I\'d been playing with for the last few years. The LSx engines seemed to be the right choice. I was originally going to use a 944 but there\'s more choice for the RX7. The RX7 is very well designed with great balance and decent brakes so that was a good base to use. I bought an auto with a non-running rotary as it was a decent price and the bodywork was straight.
 
Here\'s the very basc costs for the major components for my conversion.
 
5.7 LS1 V8 £4500
Engine conversion kit £1250
Sump conversion kit £400
SS bespoke exhaust £1000
RX7 \'94 auto £900
Misc parts £1000-2000 on top for a rough cost guide.
 
The engine came with the ECU, wiring, T56 gearbox, ancillaries and a Landrover rad too. Pick an F Body LSx and you don\'t need the sump kit. You could make the exhaust cheaper with the stock cast manifolds but they are tricky to fit in a RHD conversion. No labour costs in there as I did most of the work myself apart from the exhaust system which was made on the car. Some misc parts include a Corbeau seat (£350) and other parts not absolutely necessary to do a basic conversion.

[Hi RX7]

Just as a matter of interest did you check out the new LS engines offered by British American Engines as they list the new LS3 on there and when the day eventually comes I was going to purchase a new one from them rather than try to get a secondhand one.

[bimbleuk]

Just as a matter of interest did you check out the new LS engines offered by British American Engines as they list the new LS3 on there and when the day eventually comes I was going to purchase a new one from them rather than try to get a secondhand one.

Yep I would have fitted an LS7 but look at the prices below for the LS3 and you\'ll see why I went for a used LS1.
 
Engine £5000
Ancillaries £440
ECM, Harness & sensors £1200
Gearbox £2600
 
Then add VAT!! For the money I saved I could build one very powerful LS1. Parts World Performance are a bit cheaper then BAE.

[Hi RX7]

Thanks they are a bit cheaper than BAE. Despite the cost when the day comes I will probably just opt for new anyway.

[bimbleuk]

Not such a bad idea to buy the core engine new and source the rest 2nd hand. The crates engines don\'t come with clutches or even a flywheel so be aware of that.
 
If you find one the T56 does appear on Ebay and they ususally go for between £1000-1500. I bought a pre-modified PCM (ECU to us) from a guy in the US for $175.00 shipped. Needed so you don\'t get lots of errors and limp mode when you start the engine. Just to plug my Monaro PCM in to the right OBDII programmer to remove the security and emmisions I was quoted £300 over here!

[efiniste]

Just to plug my Monaro PCM in to the right OBDII programmer to remove the security and emmisions I was quoted £300 over here!

You should have asked on here mate. I\'d have done it for the cost of the licence plus a couple of beer tokens!

Steve