Pics of my RX-7 V8 project... NOW TEARING UP THE STREETS!

mattster · Post by **mattster** » August 26th, 2005, 10:03 pm

well my job in michigan went great this summer even though that meant being away from my RX7 project. i am now taking 2 weeks off before fall semester begins to be home in washington finishing up my car (oh ya and to see friends and family too

). last feburary i posted with excitement that the engine started and ran, now i am sharing that the RX7 has been released to the streets as of yesterday! here are the specs just in case you didn't read either of my previous posts last year:

1986 Mazda RX-7 GXL Subaru Blue (engine bay only, so far)
1994 LT1 (350ci, 5.7L)
T56 6 speed transmission
300 (+) hp 340 ft/lb torque (to be dynoed [proven] next week)
Aluminum Howe Racing Radiator
Tilton Clutch Master
Hedman Headers
Optima Red top Battery (in trunk for weight displacent)
Taylor 8mm Spark Plugs
blah, blah, blah

here are some pics of everything that i have done since last saturday, and i am expecting to have some vids up... "soon"

.

Here's a shot of the engine bay. Custom mounts for the radiator, custom throttle cable, custom clutch master were all fabbed up.

Here's a pic of the driveshaft I pieced together. The shaft itself is all aluminum and from a C4 corvette, the diff flange is a special flange with mazda bolt pattern and chevy yoke holes.

THat is the clutch slave, it looks simple, but a lot of head scratching went into making that one work

.

So far I have had incredibly positive driving impressions. Let me begin by telling you that it is still just headers and the hood is off so it is very loud, and lots of backfires, so i have taken it relatively easy... for the most part

. I took the car out to a nice country road after the innitial rides around the block, and gave it what i would consider to be a sporty drive (no WOT, but plenty of accelerating). fist gear the tires are worthless, but after gaining traction in second gear the car absolutely threw me back in the seat, it was the most amazing feeling ever. i continued into 3rd then 4th feeling like i was about to die, it was awesome. the car still handles very well around the corners, and i CAN compare this to the rotary powered RX-7 i used to own. there is still much to do to the car before i can consider it complete, but this is sure a great place to be for now. the project has thus far cost me $3900, and that includes every penny spent on EVERYTHING. please remember before you post that i have nothing against rotary engines, i love the uniquess of the rotary engine, this car was not running when i bought it, and i just want to go fast and learn about cars and engines in the process.

for more info on my swap and pics, visit my cardomain page:

http://www.cardomain.com/id/mattsterrx7

mitmaks · Post by **mitmaks** » August 26th, 2005, 10:28 pm

nice project post some pics/vids, nice job youve done on it

mattster03 · Post by **mattster03** » August 26th, 2005, 10:34 pm

hey thanks mitmaks, somehow you are always the first to reply to my RX-7 posts! i forgot to mention the car should be about 2900-3000 lbs. i am going to have it weighed tommorrow to know for sure. the distribution should be about 60/40 or better but i will most likely never know for sure. i hope to have an open header vid, new exhaust vid, burnout vid and inside 0-60 and curvies vid. keep your eyes open

.

fieromx3 · Post by **fieromx3** » August 26th, 2005, 11:55 pm

a V8 in an rx-7

a 20B or 26B would have been really cool and very very fast

mattster · Post by **mattster** » August 27th, 2005, 12:06 am

you are right. those engines are very cool extremely fast. however, IMHO a college budget cannot afford to buy and maintain one. i guess i cannot please everyone

.

PATDIESEL · Post by **PATDIESEL** » August 27th, 2005, 2:41 am

I understand the cost factor and think the car will look good and haul a--, but I have to give half props for the chevy swap. Again, on a budget a rotary would have been out of the question I know.

fry_81 · Post by **fry_81** » August 27th, 2005, 1:01 pm

well done, i almost forgot about this project. glad to see its on the road.

fieromx3 · Post by **fieromx3** » August 27th, 2005, 1:28 pm

u r doin a good job on the swap i give u props and that will be fast as hell. V8's r just not my thing but as long as u like thats all that counts and keep up the good work.

GregoryChristian · Post by **GregoryChristian** » August 27th, 2005, 2:58 pm

good job ...keep us updated

mattster · Post by **mattster** » August 27th, 2005, 6:01 pm

well, my dad and i were quite busy this morning... couldn't be more happy with the results. we are waiting on the magnaflows i ordered from summit before we finish the back half. thanks for the compliments, it's been such a fun project for me and now i get to really enjoy the ride.

Juans_93_MX3 · Post by **Juans_93_MX3** » August 27th, 2005, 9:16 pm

Now your just making me want to buy a RX-7 to do a LS1 swap

Thats awesome, I love the potential V8s got to offer
Did you have to do any work on the chassis?
How many miles did the engine and tranny come with when you bought the engine and tranny?

mattster · Post by **mattster** » August 27th, 2005, 9:44 pm

Thanks! when i saw my first RX V8 swap i felt the same way! no chassis work whatsoever, though you must cut the old tranny mounts out and "massage a place or 2 in the firewall if you want headers

. the Rx-7 has a very rigid chassis, and there are plenty of guys doing wheelies in 2nd gens just like mine, no chassis work

. the engine and tranny had about 106,000 miles on it, i bought it for what i would consider a steal, $1200. http://www.torquecentral.com/forumdisplay.php?f=11 is where all of the RX-V8 gurus hang out... make sure to read a while before you post!

RaverChankoMX3 · Post by **RaverChankoMX3** » August 29th, 2005, 12:27 pm

Weird breed you guys are. Swap is getting played-out though. You can run 12s on the track with slicks btw. All the Fazdas at GRM were running 13.2 worst. And no, your characterists of your car will not be thrown off by a V8 swap and you will not notice it on the streets. . .streets.

Enjoi! TireRack will be your new friend

snellgrove · Post by **snellgrove** » August 29th, 2005, 4:48 pm

ok V8's aint my thing... but,

lots of respect to fitting a big V8 in the space of where a wee 1.3 used to be!!!

lots of work I'd imagine, no matter what people say its your ride, it is unique (why do people complain about people not being original, and then critisize when stuff IS original!!

) so enjoy what that big lazy V8 has to offer (hint hint: nitrous oxide / supercharger time!

when you have the pennies)

have fun! you have a muscly car that can probably go round corners better than any native USA car!

mattster · Post by **mattster** » August 29th, 2005, 6:31 pm

tires will be soon, it is apparent after a few days of driving that they are a MUST. so, just in case you guys thought my car couldn't get any more redneck, i have a set of 300zx TT wheels, i bought them because they are SO WIDE and light (8.5", 18lb), i plan on slapping 245/50/16 for the rear and 225/55/16 front.

the swap was a lot of work, but i think not near as much as most people imagine consider i just increased the displacement 4.4L. i actually did everything to this point in 3 weeks... but it really helps to have semesters in between to read about the swap and buy things for cheap on eBay.

i have a vid of the straight pipe exhaust revving, but it was taken with a crappy digi cam so the audio (the most important part) is awful. do you guys want me to post it anyway?