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PROJECT: LS1 RX-7 Build

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Old 11-12-2009, 09:42 PM
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So I found out that the shifter cable from my donor trans am is too short to reach the shifter. I guess the motor is set back further in an F-body. I am thinking that the shifter cable from something like the Trailblazer or another truck equiped with a 4L60E may be longer and work for me.
Old 11-12-2009, 09:43 PM
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that is clean and i like that green! was trying to talk a friend of mine to ditch that rotary engine on his 3rd gen and do a ls swap to it. keep us updated man!
Old 11-14-2009, 10:49 AM
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Looking really good!
Old 11-14-2009, 11:56 AM
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Looks nice! Did you get headers though? If you plan to run that with stock headers that probably isnt going to make much more power with the cam then what it did before since it can't breath
Old 11-14-2009, 12:47 PM
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Originally Posted by fccs
Looks nice! Did you get headers though? If you plan to run that with stock headers that probably isnt going to make much more power with the cam then what it did before since it can't breath
I am very limited in terms of header choices due to the lack of room... especially given I am running an auto trans. I ended up throwing on a set of Edelbrock Shorty Headers. Not the best flow but better than my only other choice (stock).
Old 11-14-2009, 02:30 PM
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Originally Posted by NTIMD8
I am very limited in terms of header choices due to the lack of room... especially given I am running an auto trans. I ended up throwing on a set of Edelbrock Shorty Headers. Not the best flow but better than my only other choice (stock).
That should be fine.
Old 11-14-2009, 03:28 PM
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great documentation, nice build
Old 11-16-2009, 09:03 PM
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Thanks guys. I still have not figured out what I am going to do about the shifter cable. Gonna try and get some more work done this weekend.
Old 11-17-2009, 08:09 PM
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Great documentation! So, do you think the LS1 fits better in an RX-7 FD better than an F-body? haha Just look at that exhaust build. It fits so well!
Old 11-18-2009, 11:52 AM
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damn man looks great... I'm super jelous over how easy of a swap this is.. just kills me. Great looking car tho for sure it'll be a blast.
Old 11-18-2009, 12:52 PM
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Originally Posted by Convette
damn man looks great... I'm super jelous over how easy of a swap this is.. just kills me. Great looking car tho for sure it'll be a blast.
Agreed, I may have to start shopping for an RX-7...
Quite nice.
Old 11-18-2009, 01:21 PM
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Clean build, I think you should have went with the samberg kit though(no torque arm needed) and he also has a killer radiator and cai setup.

Would have had to do some modding for the tranny mount though. I'm very interested in what your gonna be doing for the paddle shift kit. I want one for mine (also using a 4l60 in my swap) but haven't pulled the trigger yet.


Old 11-18-2009, 02:47 PM
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Originally Posted by Convette
damn man looks great... I'm super jelous over how easy of a swap this is.. just kills me. Great looking car tho for sure it'll be a blast.
Thanks, Swaps always look easier in these build threads since most of the little details are left out but ya as far as swaps go, it is like the LSx was meant to go in the RX-7. I bought the RX-7 knowing that this swap was in the future.


Originally Posted by gofastwclass
Agreed, I may have to start shopping for an RX-7...
Quite nice.
They are a great platform. When I sold my last project I thought long and hard as to what my next project was going to be.

Originally Posted by strmshdow84
Clean build, I think you should have went with the samberg kit though(no torque arm needed) and he also has a killer radiator and cai setup.

Would have had to do some modding for the tranny mount though. I'm very interested in what your gonna be doing for the paddle shift kit. I want one for mine (also using a 4l60 in my swap) but haven't pulled the trigger yet.
The Samberg kit was not available when I bought my stuff. The good news is I can use his rear differential pinion mount cross-member with the Hinson subframe if I want to ditch the Torque Arm for any reason.

This will most likley be the paddle shifter I am going to go with. If not then it will be the TCI unit but from what I have heard Twist Machine's unit is amazing.

http://twistmachine.com/shopping/ind...=index&cPath=1

Originally Posted by greendrazil
Great documentation! So, do you think the LS1 fits better in an RX-7 FD better than an F-body? haha Just look at that exhaust build. It fits so well!
The drivers side of the y-pipe hangs a little low for my taste but it is not too bad. I am really happy with how the exhaust came out.

Last edited by NTIMD8; 05-01-2010 at 08:36 AM.
Old 11-19-2009, 10:19 AM
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Originally Posted by NTIMD8
This will most likley be the paddle shifter I am going to go with. If not then it will be the TCI unit.

http://twistmachine.com/shopping/ind...=index&cPath=1
I always wanted a paddle shifter for my daily but I'm too poor to play that game.
The product looks nice though and it is a way to get the fun of a manual in a package you can drive in heavy traffic if necessary. For the non daily it's manual all the way.

What would be your determining factor between this and the offering from TCI? Isn't the TCI unit a bit cheaper? This one has a much better description than the documentation I saw on the TCI site.
Old 11-23-2009, 03:29 PM
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looks cool, Mine hit the road yesterday!
Old 11-23-2009, 07:44 PM
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WOW nice setup, im doing the same thing right now, you can see my FD3S on the new member section. As for myself im going 6 spd. Great to see another canadian doing this swap. If you have any place to recommend to me for buying a LS1 and travelling it to Quebec.
Old 11-23-2009, 07:44 PM
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By the way, how much did you spend for the cam ?
Old 11-24-2009, 07:54 PM
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Originally Posted by bovi
By the way, how much did you spend for the cam ?
Hey, Thanks. I checked out your thread. Car looks good but someonw switched your steering wheel to the passenger side.

Sorry, I don'thave many leads on an LS1 and tranny. It took meover a year to find one I was happy with.

I got the cam from a guy on this board. It was new but he wanted something bigger so he sold me the 228R. I think I paid $250 US shipped.
Old 12-06-2009, 09:16 PM
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4L60E SHIFTER

I could not find too much info on this so there was a lot of trial and error today but I am very happy with how it all ended up. I am using the stock F-body Shifter cable and shifter.
The first thing that had to be done was to cut up the shifter getting rid of any unnecessary metal. Also got rid of the brake saftey switch. We welded a tab (A) to mount the front of the shifter and used existing holes (B and C) to mount the rear of the shifter.




The shifter is mounted from underneath rather than from in the car. In order to retain the Neutral Safety switch we had to cut a small notch in the stock shifter hole so it could be plugged in. We also cut a small notch on the left side of the stock shifter hole so the shifter cable has enough room. Drilled the three mounting holes in the car and mounted it up. Here is a picture from under the car...




Here is the shifter from the top. The three mounting points are shown as (A,B and C)... PS, it kills me to see the car this dirty and dusty on the inside!




So I didn't want the traditional looking automatic shift **** so I bought an MBA shifter adapter. Basically you tighten the grub screws to the shifter and then screw your shift **** onto the adapter. You then press down on the shift **** to change gears. I had to take my shift **** to a machine shop in order to have them tap the shifter with the correct thread size. Here is the adapter...




And here is everything in the car. The shift **** is just placed on the shifter so it is sitting about 1" higher than it would if I installed it correctly.




The only thing remaining to do is to fabricate a box that will go underneath the car covering the hole so no fumes get into the car and it will reduce the noise.
Old 12-06-2009, 09:21 PM
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good work. I like how it looks like a MT at first glance.

Keep it up!


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