1987 RX-7 Information Needed (Long)

I'm rather new to the whole RX-7 world.... I'm a Nissan/Datsun guy. While I have always been a fan, I have never really worked on any of them, and don't know much about the rotery engines. As it turns out, I will have a chance soon to buy a 1987 RX-7 for a really good price, but it needs some work.

It is part of my nature to be looking for more power, and better performance, so the first thing I did was learn a bit of RX-7 history, how the engine works, and what the differences are. This leads me to question number one, how much does a 2nd gen RX-7 (1987) weigh? Question two, how hard is it to swap a 13b twin turbo from the 3rd gen into the 2nd gen (With the tranny, engine, harness, ecu etc.)? My last question, how many problems will I have with a second gen RX-7 in general with a new engine and tranny?

Any help would be great, I want to build this car to drive while I work on building a Datsun 240Z for racing :)

I love 240Zs.

I wouldnt bother swapping a tt13B into your rx7. Apparently the sequential twin turbo set up is overly complicated and lacks reliability. The last thing youd want is to do is swap in a tt, then have problems and decide to go back to a single turbo anyway. Thatd be pretty wasteful.

Are you getting a turbo 2nd gen RX7? or an NA one? Id reccommend trying to get a hold of a good 13B single turbo engine and work that. Big potential and far fewer headaches.

Anyway i think thats not bad for openers, im sure there are some other guys on this forum better equipped to give more in depth advice though.

Good luck with it.

If you want ridiculous hp then go with a cosmo 13b engine or a 3rd gen engine, and do a single turbo conversion. These engines have larger ports and are built to handle more power. (stronger dowel pins) The cosmo 20b (3 rotar) is also an option, but much more work and money is required. If you are working on a smaller budget and want between 200 and 400hp stick with the TII engine.

The both the 3rd gen and cosmo engines will bolt right up to a TII tranny, the flywheel must be replaced with a TII one, but the conterweight must be the one that came on the engine. You must get engine mount adapters for the 3rd gen engine, i believe all you have to do is slot your TII mounts for the cosmo engine.

Most of the problems with TIIs have to do with wiring, so you eliminate most of these if you use a haltech, or some other form of engine management that uses its own harness. I would relocate the battery to the passenger side rear storage bin, MAKE SURE you ground everything very well!!!! Even if you dont relocate the battery i would use a hyperground system of some sort. I would suggest getting a 3rd gen alternator, no matter what engine you choose. I would only use stock computer if you want under 300hp and are using a TII engine.

You will need a larger fuel pump. You will need an awesome oil cooler, this can be very expensive, TII oil cooler will work, but make sure it is ducted well! The Racing Beat race oil cooler is ideal, but costs $800, the stock 3rd gen set up is good too. A BIG problem with rx7s is the high engine bay temperature. If you can get a reverse cowl hood, or put vents in the stock one. Raise the back of the hood with spacers, anything you can do to cut temps. Make sure your radiator and oil cooler are well ducted and vented so that there is an easy path for air to flow through. I would also sugest bagging your turbo and wrapping the downpipe. If you do all of this the car will be very reliable.

The OMP (oil metering pump) is another issue you will have to deal with, you can block it off and premix with 2 stroke oil (if you do this, you must not forget), or you can go with a s4 TII manual oil metering pump. The manual pump still doesnt do the best job in the world, and i would still premix with marvels mystery oil or something like that. If you keep the OMP you cannot run synthetic, and you should change the oil every 2000 miles.