RWD swap options...rx7

I will probably be getting my 86 gxl back in a few weeks, it has no motor or trans, I was going to ls1 swap it but that fell through. I'm thinking vg30de, any other suggestions on motors that would be suitable, ?

criteria: ,cheap, simple, makes decent hp, doesn't weigh a ton, RELIABLE, RELIABLE,RELIABLE,and CHEAP,but makes decent HP/TQ stock and wouldn't take a million dollars to make hp and not grenade a trans and doesn't cost over $1500 initial purchase.

I know everyone will suggest 5.0 swap , and probably sr20det, but one is cheap and trans will blow up, and other is initially expensive.... one long run on sentence? maybe.

Miata 1.8 turbo.

vg30e with a holset. you can get one from a maxima dirt cheap. bolt it to a transmission from an 87+ 300zx (near bulletproof, but before 87 they were a modified t-5) you can make 400 on on a stock block/heads reliably.

VQ has been done but its not cheap or easy

5.0 is really a fantastic option. they are cheap and plentiful. they drop in eassily. the t-5 should last if you take reasonable care of it, the rx7 is a light car

Tell me more about why you think the T5 is grenade prone? While I am not so sure I would trust a used one because you KNOW it has been abused, I figure the torque rating should be plenty for your application.

13B swap?

T5 has a reputation that is somewhat earned but overinflated, if you drive by stepping off the throttle on every launch you will have issues, but a decent world class T5 is rated for 350 ft lbs and can last the lifetime of a reasonably driven lightly modified 5.0.

Yeah I have 1st hand knowledge

5.0 in my 84

5.0 or VG. I don't think any of the other swaps are worthwhile. I guess the LSX is worthwhile, but it's a lot more expensive than the two options I listed.

1UZFE 'Yota motor. Big bux in the bellhousing but the rest is dirt cheap 'cause they don't break meaning the boneyards don't ever sell them.

that VG30 swap sounds interesting...

but I can't help but think about this... HybridZ24 said: thats a s10-blazer hybrid. 2.8L rwd block, 94-99 3.1L pistons and heads/intakes, aforementioned turbo. very cheap JY engine/turbo setup. ran 13.7's on 7 psi with traction issues.

plenty of power and could be built super cheap... basicly it uses the bottom end of the RWD (because it matches the GM 60* transmission bolt pattern you'd need) and replaces the crap flowing heads with the much better heads and internals from later model stuff...

BMW M50... Seriously if you want something different you cant beat it.

Good on gas, sounds awsome, cheap, torquey, easy (it runs off the BMW harness and ECU)

Made for a fun ride in my 2008 challenge car.

yeah i do like the m50/52 , but packaging an i6 in an rx7 may be an issue, i also thought of n/a 2jz but trannies like to poop the bed , a problem the m52 trans don't have...hhhmm

I had no issues with fitament in my GSL-SE. I would say I had more room in the RX7 then in a similar swap in an e30, and people do those all the time.

is the M50 rear sump? how stout are the trannys (can it handle a boosted engine)?

pimpm3- that is really cool, do you have a build log somewhere? you should post on norotors

What the hell is going on here? Was there a wheel missing? Did you save $ by using furniture pucks as suspension on that corner?

I remember that. That wheel and tire got some distance.

turbojunker wrote: I remember that. That wheel and tire got some distance.

Yeah I hit some dudes blue F150 with the wheel. It was parked at least 120 yards from the autocross course!. The wheel bolts somehow pulled out of the front hub. Remember wheel studs are your friends...

I wish I did a build log for that car. I didn't take a whole lot of pictures and I regret it now. I really made an effort with this years car not to make the same mistake. I think I took over 200 of the civic, even though that was arguably a less interesting build.

Oh well. I will try to find some more pictures and post them up here.

13b NA

renesis with TII trans?

Cheap, reliable, bolt in (mostly).

No torques though.

As said above, a T5 will last plenty long behind a stock->mildly mod'd 5.0. If you're really, really concerned about it, put a lighter duty clutch in it, but considering that they hold up fine in stock foxbodies, dropping it in the lighter FC chassis should make it's life that much easier.

I'd honestly be more concerned about the differential, but that's because I don't know how strong the FC diff is.

Drop in a 5.3 LS motor. You can get them for $500

old_ wrote: is the M50 rear sump? how stout are the trannys (can it handle a boosted engine)?

Yes (E36 chassis cars). The trans is pretty stout . . . 400whp examples out there on the stock Getrag, but some/most will tell you to move to the ZF that came in the 328/M3.

ReverendDexter wrote: As said above, a T5 will last plenty long behind a stock->mildly mod'd 5.0. If you're really, really concerned about it, put a lighter duty clutch in it, but considering that they hold up fine in stock foxbodies, dropping it in the lighter FC chassis should make it's life that much easier. I'd honestly be more concerned about the differential, but that's because I don't know how strong the FC diff is.

non turbo is 7" ring gear, turbo is 8"

Turbo also has bigger axles.

Someone on here has one with a 1jz swap.

having owned a few of each, I can honestly say I would not pay money for a VG. They are not very good motors in the MPG department or in the HP department. To say they make good power with a turbo is to say that air is better to breathe when it has oxygen in it. Anything will make great power with a turbo on it, and if great power with a small turbo on the cheap is the goal, the GM 5.3 would be the solution.
The VQ is a fantastic motor and is lighter and makes better power than the VG. It need not be super expensive, but compared to the VG its in a bit of a different league. Also had fewer rwd variants (ok really only one good one for a transmission, anyway). You can get VG blocks for scrap prices, but they are all old and you'll have to weed through them to find something worth driving. VQ's are more expensive but more and more are in salvage yards every day. Our U pull it yard (never a great source of reliable motors for your daily, of course) has a few pathfinders and a handful of maximas and altimas. The 3.0 is probably the cheapest engine to start with if you are trying to swap into something else and keep a factory ECU on it.

You did not list KA24DE in your list so I guess its off the table for you? They are pretty darn cheap. Parts are pretty darn cheap. Turbo kits are avaialble from the likes of ss autochrome or whatever the taiwan/chinese crap on ebay goes by these days. Makes good power.

I don't know what the ultimate goal is... I'm not by any means a chevy man but the gm 5.3 and 5.7 are crazy overbuilt in factory form and there is so much aftermarket support for them that a drunk 3 year old with autism could put one together using nothing more than a screwdriver and his mothers credit card. trucking magazine just did a big dyno test on a stock block with varying aftermarket modifications and they were squeezing insane power levels (I think they reach around 500 hp in the end, at a point where they were a few thousand in upgrades over factory) with a factory 5.3 block, and of course the hot rod magazines have done the junkyard turbo builds making the same, on stock bottom ends. Lots of RWD transmissions available, and lots of adapters to put them on other RWD transmissions. Carb conversions. Gypsy magic. Its all there.