dvo's V8 Swap thread

[dvo]

in the middle of a swap so I figured I needed to start a thread to document it :)

As many of you know, I’ve got an FD RX7 that I love dearly. the car runs great, boosts strong and a get lots of looks and thumbs up every where I go in it. I decided to do what many RX7 purists believe is blasphemy and drop in a V8 in to the car but it’s something that I’ve been wanting to do for a while. My first love for cars growing up was always muscle cars and it’s an appreciation I still hold onto today. I decided now was the best time to do so since everything runs good and I could sell the parts and try and bring my net cost of everything down. I’m lucky enough to have two local friends that have done the swap already so they can help with any questions I may have. My friend Jaime was a HUGE help in pulling everything out as I’ve never done it before and he knows these cars like the back of his own hand.

Here are a few pictures of the car before everything got pulled out.

http://my350z.com/forum/members/dvo-70499-albums-garage-financial-disaster-8297-picture-334989-314884998525509-100000120337128-1483850-33016988-o-1-44607.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/392747_199219246824543_170668403012961_470530_3443 94543_n.jpg
http://www.more-japan.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/DSC_0351-1024x680.jpg
http://www.rx7club.com/picture.php?albumid=2278&pictureid=40324

here are pictures from the motor pull. Started friday night pulled the HKS Vmount out. Then saturday around 6pm we pulled the motor. After a few breaks, a trip to In N' Out, were were done by around 2:30am. We spent about an hour trying to physically pull the motor out. We didn't realize the stock downpipe was bolted to the trans as well. SMH

http://rrydes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/IMG_1276-1024x765.jpg
http://rrydes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/IMG_1280-1024x765.jpg
http://rrydes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/IMG_0403-1024x767.jpg
http://rrydes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/IMG_1352-1024x765.jpg
http://rrydes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/424827_321585814554837_1405583506_n.jpg
http://rrydes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/IMG_1368-1024x765.jpg

I had no problems with the car and it was a 94 with 72k on the chassis, 32k on a reman motor. I figured this was the best time to do the swap since everything was still good and I would be able to sell everything relatively easy.

[dvo]

My Mounting kit from Samberg Performance Fabrication (http://www.sambergperformancefabrication.com/) came in and I’m now just waiting for the driveshaft and radiator kit to come in. Samberg makes arguably the best LS Swap kits and other parts for the 3rd Gen RX7 and E36 M3s. After reading reviews, writeups and doing whatever research I could talking to people who have used the kits, I decided that the Samberg kit was the best one to go with. The fit and quality seemed to be the best on the market so I was excited that I finally made a decision. This will go to the powder coater soon and I’ll post up more pics later once I get everything back. I dropped the parts off at my buddy's shop called Fuzion Technique (https://www.facebook.com/FuzionTeknique?ref=ts) and I can't wait to get everything back.

http://rrydes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Samberg-Rod-and-Custom-01.jpg
http://rrydes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/samberg-fd-v8-swap-03.jpg
http://rrydes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/samberg-fd-v8-swap-02.jpg
http://rrydes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/samberg-fd-v8-swap-04.jpg
http://rrydes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/samberg-fd-v8-swap-kit-01.jpg

After 3 failed attempts at buying a motor (because the sellers are idiots and don't know what they have or they sold something when it was supposed to be on hold for me for the weekend -__- ) I finally found one! It came from an 01 Camaro SS which was the exact configuration that I wanted. wanted this setup because I could use everything from the headers to oil pan. The biggest reason was that I wanted to stick with a traditional throttle cable. I didn’t want to deal with drive by wire like the later model LS motors.

It was cool because it was from a dismantler and the car was running. I was able to see it start, idle and rev to make sure everything was good. He said to come back in 2 hours and it’ll be ready so we went and picked up some breakfast. Came back and it was dropped into the back of the truck and we were on our way. I couldn’t be happier right now. Gotta clean up the engine bay and prep it for paint.

http://rrydes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/fd-rx7-v8-swap-0413-02.jpg
http://rrydes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/fd-rx7-v8-swap-0413-03.jpg
http://rrydes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/fd-rx7-v8-swap-0413-04.jpg
http://rrydes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/fd-rx7-v8-swap-0413-05.jpg
http://rrydes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/fd-rx7-v8-swap-0413-08.jpg
http://rrydes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/fd-rx7-v8-swap-0413-09.jpg

[dvo]

When we got back to my place, we ran into a little speed bump… We had no way of getting it out of the truck! I then made a quick call to “mdpalmer” since he did the same swap and had the tools! He wasn’t home but his gf was and we headed over there to pick it up. Now the engine and tranny are waiting to be cleaned up, prepped and dropped in, I can’t wait!

http://rrydes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/fd-rx7-v8-swap-0413-11.jpg
http://rrydes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/fd-rx7-v8-swap-0413-12.jpg
http://rrydes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/fd-rx7-v8-swap-0413-13.jpg
http://rrydes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/fd-rx7-v8-swap-0413-14.jpg

I’ve also received my driveshaft from the Driveshaft shop but the flange was for the Cobra Rear End. I called Justin (Samberg (http://50.28.20.251/~samberg/?product_cat=mazda-rx7)) and he quickly responded and said he’ll send me the proper mounting flange and u-joint. His service is great and I recommend him to anyone looking to do this swap or a V8 swap on an E36.

Since I’ll be dropping the diff during the swap I figured I’d pick up some new Polyurethane Diff bushings by SuperPro. I got these from J-Auto (http://www.j-automotive.com/) at a great price and they were in stock! J-Auto is a great source for chassis bushing pieces, or any other performance or aftermarket piece. He is the man to go to for any bushing swaps also.

Pictures of the driveshaft, bushings to come in the next post as well as the Radiator/Air Filter kit when it comes in soon. Until then, see you guys next time

[rotarycrazy]

how much did the motor/trans pull out set you back?

[dvo]

i paid $3800 for it. got to hear it start, idle and rev. really good condition and it was the exact spec i wanted. They had it on ebay for 4350 i think but i made a cash offer with local pick up. Worked out pretty good. :)

[rotarycrazy]

thats not a bad price for a whole pull out with such low miles.

[dvo]

very long overdue! Finally had a free weekend away from carshows and family stuff! I was able to pickup my harness from Ronin Speedworks (http://www.roninspeedworks.com/) and my buddy helped me with cutting the lip on the firewall of the FD off. With the LS1, you'll need to do this but on the other motors, I believe that this isn't needed. I decided to cut the entire center protrusion area out instead of just the area needed. My friend Randy from R-Rydes (https://www.facebook.com/rrydes)was the one that actually did the cutting since I don't trust my hands with something like this. Now i'll have to get a bead welded along the cut so that it doesn't separate and leave exposed metal.

I also picked up some new Superpro Diff Bushings from J-Auto. (http://www.j-auto.net/) I thought it would be a good time to change this out since i'll be down there anyway. Juan helped me out picking out the right brand and he even had them in stock so no waiting! Thanks again Carlos!

Here's a quick picture that I took at the beginning. I'll have some more updates soon!
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/547148_330058963740570_382382492_n.jpg