So, i picked up a 1986 s4 rx7 off of craigslist last friday. Owner thought it had a bad apex seal but i wasnt to worried since i had intentions of rebuilding the motor; Got it home and theres antifreeze in the oil....fun. Saturday i decide to tear it down and start replacing things, after about fifteen minutes i decide im not dealing with the reliability issue and having to boost to put down decent power.

feedback is welcome , negative or positive.
Front fender is not gonna be up there long , removed the old one because it was rusted.

 

I think the 4.8 LS motor from my silverado would be AWESOME in that thing with some boost....

you should buy it off me so i can upgrade to a 5.3

 

Im pretty dead set on a motor already. Im eyeing a few corevette ls1's with the t56 already attached to it. Most of my research i have done is with that motor anyways and im not sure if the engine mounts, hood clearances, radiator relocation etc would be the same. Plus if i boost...i have to learn about fuel management, not saying i wont do so with this build, but it will be a large part of the build and wether or not im putting power down versus blowing things up.

 

It doesnt have to be a vette LS1. Oh and the vette transmission is completley different than a regular t56

hell, it dosent even have to be an LS1.

All of the gm LS based motors (4.8, 5.3, 6.0, ls1-2-3-6-7) have a pretty good parts interchangeability.

If you want to spend lots of money on the car, go ahead and buy what you want.

coming from someone who has built an LS swapped car though, i am going to tell you, it is cheaper and more cost effective to build an iron block motor.

in a car like your FC, you dont have THAT big of a weight issue to worry about. the iron block isnt going to add that much more weight to make a difference.

IF I was going to do it, i would pick up a used GM5.3 truck motor, put a hot cam kit in it, LS1 aftermarket intake manifold, upgrade the ignition, and throw a set of 6.0 heads on it, then put a bout 11 pounds of boost through it with one single snail. Mate it to the T-56 and figure out what to do with the rear and you have a pretty nasty little monster.

 

The reason i was looking at the vette ls1 instead of a camaro one or trans am etc. is the power there putting out stock. Im already looking at atleast 12 grand or so worth of stuff to do and im sure theres gonna be alot of unexpected things that come up. As far as the iron block thing goes, ive looked at doing a 302 and supercharging it , but cost wise ill be doing more then bolt ons to keep up with a stock ls1 (factoring the small difference in weight). I personally have not done and lsx swaps but seem to find the most info on the ls1 compared to the 2 or 6. As far as the rear end goes...im still deciding on what to do there. Options so far are a turbo II rear end and pray it can handle the power, or a solid rear axel and get a custom drive shaft. Im going with coilovers but since ill be swapping the rear end im still trying to figure out what type ill need to go with. The car is currently four lug and ill need to swap five lug knuckles up front.

 

A LS1 out of a vette and a F-body put out the same power.

 

I could have sworn the camaro versions were 305hp and the 97 on up vettes were 385. I dont own one of these yet so i could def. be wrong.

 

 

You don't have to boost to make power. You just have to add rotors.

Here's a 4-rotor naturally aspirated FD:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJnyJyBxzCE


Why anyone would want a V8 after hearing that is beyond me.

 

Reliability, cost, and maybe it was just the sound quality of the video but that thing sounded like a freaking Indy car...imagine how loud it is IN the car.....

But different strokes for different folks.

Alot of people like the sound of an LS motor over the sound of my turbo 3.8....I think it sounds WAY better than an LS motor.