powerd by bucik?????

[AkinaSpeedStar]

so my friend has a 88 RX-7 and he has this crazzy idea to drop a buick motor and trans into it, he says he has heard of it being done, and i know when it comes to cars nothing is impossable, but a buick turbo engine??? why not something better (performance parts wise) do you guys think he should do it? he wants me to help him, is it worth it?

[Steel]

if he's willing to spend the money, a turbo 3.8 would be killer. Fast 7, bu then again, will it still be a 7 without a rotary?

[AkinaSpeedStar]

he has the money, to do it, what about a 20b instead of the buick??

[rxtacy]

a 20b would be much better than that buick engine. no question.

[AirAllen01]

How about the Buick Gran National? Fast cars, and they run 9's with the stock tranny. If you get the Buick tranny, go with the gran national's.

[rxtacy]

yes, a buick gn can run 9s but so can an rx-7 without pistons in it. if you're gonna put pistons in, then why not put a v-8 in it? more torque. or better yet, why not stick with a rotary engine, what the car was made for. i just don't see the need to put anything else in an rx-7 except for a 20b.

[AirAllen01]

Oh, okay, just wondering. I was just puttin in my worth about the tranny.

[AkinaSpeedStar]

well i will talk to him about the 20B, how much does one of those cost, compaired to the 13B?? anything else we will have todo other than move the trannie back and make some minor mods to the back?? should we change out the rear end with the turbo rear end? probly change the trannie to.

[Chris V]

Originally posted by rxtacy
a 20b would be much better than that buick engine. no question.

A 20B turbo is heavier than a small block Chevy, and sits farther forward in the nose. It's one of the few engine conversions that makes the RX7 handle WORSE. the car simply ins't set up to work well with the 20B (a friend here at work has one of the few 20B 2nd gen RX7s in the US, and he's spent a ton of money at Peter Farrel Supercars on both the conversion AND making it handle again...). In fact, he has close to $35k into it. To get as much horsepower and worse handling than my 400 hp FOrd V8 had.

Here's the question... If the 2nd gen RX7 is so revered as a religious idol, why is it that a dead one goes for a couple hundred bucks, at MOST? How come a 2nd gen without an engine in it is considered overpriced at $500? Why is it that the cars are considered crap if they don't have that rotary in them (whether they've been converted, or simply have no engine at ll in them)?

Could it be that rotary purists completely disregard the build quality, ergonomics, styling, and supension layout of the cars? And that NONE of that changes when the engine is swapped out? The cars get their balance from teh layout of the chassis, and ANY engine in the right location retains teh balance. It's a proven fact on scales with a number of different converted cars.

The rotary is a great engine, but it's only ONE way of doing the job.

BTW, if the 2nd gen RX7 was built around having that tiny rotary in it, why is there so much room in the engine compartment around a V8 when converted? There's more room in the RX7 engine bay than in a Mustang, Camaro, or Corvette....

It's cool as hell that Mazda developed the rotary as far as they did (and have done again with Ford's money in the form of the VERY nice Renesis). But at it's best, it's still a small engine, and stressed rpetty heavily to make 300+ hp in a nearly 3000 lb car.

[13BDriver]

Ok hold on, did I hear correctly that someone said a Buick Grand National will run 9's in the quarter mile stock??? If so, this is complete bullshit, I may have heard it wrong but please let me know. There is no way that I stock Grand National runs 9's in the quarter. I have a friend that has one, and he is running 19psi on his. I saw him race a Steeda Mustang the other night, and beat him by about half a car. My friend's best run in his Steeda Mustang was a 14.1, but he consistently gets around 14.6. From this simple equation, I know there is no way that I stock Buick Grand National runs 9's in the quarter mile. Thank you.

[AkinaSpeedStar]

i really like the body style and shape of the gen to, it looks grate, the room inside of it it grate to, its a really nice shape and body style. i have found a couple on autotrader that i think i might try to get one.

hey i also heard that some rx-7 had back seats 2gen had them was the rumor, i have never seen one but just heard of this rumor is it true?

[rxtacy]

whoa, take a little time there to write your sentences correctly. i'm not even sure what you're asking. 2nd gen rx-7s do have a back seat if that's what you're asking.

[rogginator]

with the forced induction, a GN motor has LOTS of torque. thats the advantage of a turbo on an engine with decent displacement - they spool fast had have LOTS of torque. GN's run fast stock, and with $500 in mods, rung 13's in a 3500+lb car there are several guys who have done this swap and run 12's on a GN motor with said mods and a stock buick tranny.

[ac427cpe]

just wonderin... is this buick engine that your friend wants to use the little aluminum 215? i was thinking about doing that, but then realized that it kills the point of having an rx7. and yes some 2nd gen cars did have back seats, u might be able to fit a cat or a guinea pig in one... maybe a small head of lettus... (not too roomy)

[Chris V]

Originally posted by ac427cpe
just wonderin... is this buick engine that your friend wants to use the little aluminum 215? i was thinking about doing that, but then realized that it kills the point of having an rx7. and yes some 2nd gen cars did have back seats, u might be able to fit a cat or a guinea pig in one... maybe a small head of lettus... (not too roomy)

Why would that "kill the point of having an RX7?" An RX7 is a relatively light, very agile, well built, stylish 2 seat GT. That's the whole point. ANd none of that changes with the addition of a V8 or V6.

The Buick/Rover 215 however, would be an interesting choice. It only weighs 318 lbs, so you'd actually be reducing weight overall vs the rotary, though you wouldn't be adding much hp. It costs a bunch to get a 215 over 250 hp, and when you get them in the 300 hp range, they are no more reliable than a 300 hp turbo rotary.

But the Buick GN's 3.8 liter turbo V6 can make crazy amounts of power, fairly cheaply, and reliably. It's a little heavier than the 215 or rotary, but not as much as the iron Chevy 350 (it's about the same as teh small block Ford or teh late aluminum Chevy V8s...).