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hey guys im back on this site. i built a 87 TurboII with a turbo 5.3l, t56 years ago. anyways i just picked up another fc. this one is pretty much a base 86 rx7 that i picked up for $150. its all gutted, has all poly bushings up front, new rack, welded diff, adjustable toe links and a custom hydraulic e-brake. i finally have a daily driver so now i can build a bada$$ drift car. as you can see it needs quite a few things which i will be looking for if people have them. its goin to be a slow build for now until i pay off my car which is in june but until then ill slowly be picking up little parts.
so since i got it ive been slowly working on it. pulled the fenders off, filled in some of the holes (need to re-do it), painted the bay semi gloss to black to see if i like it. picked up a 01 5.3l for $300 (guy said it was running rough, pulled off valve cover and found a broken valve spring). pulled heads off the motor and only a tiny ding in the cylinder with the broken valve spring. picked up some BBC headers that looked pretty close to the swap headers, going to modify them to fit. made a parts washer out of a container and some heavy duty degreaser then washed up some of the parts. cleaned off top of the pistons a bit with supplies i had around the house (goin to take it to work to clean better).
rain let off a little today so i decided to pull the heads out, scrub them down real quick and hosed them off. came out pretty good. still need to do some fine cleaning though.
No idea what it's called. We use it at work and it's some strong ****. When you use it in a spray bottle and wipe stuff down it'll make you cough it's that strong
lol. ive been on vacation. ill try and find out when i go back to work tomorrow.
Ok so thinking torquer2 (or something close), 918 springs, ls6 intake (or that one new Dorman one), bigger throttle body, stock head gaskets, stock style head bolts, maybe port the oil pump, keep these heads unless there's another stock style heads that'll give me a lil more power for cheap. Should I do different lifters? Thinking ls7 clutch, have to do a Wilwood 7/8 clutch master.
Springs: I would recommend BTR, great quality and for the extra $50 or so dollars you get a proven product. Plus its for drifting so you will be in the upper RPM range all day. Shoot Brian a PM here and he can steer you in the right direction for sure.
Intake: Not sure if you feel the same way but for an NA build $ to $ comparison vs performance I would think the LS1 intake is a more cost effective option. Sure it wont see the same overall performance as the LS6 but they can be had for about half the cost of the LS1 and in NA form I do not believe it is that less efficient than the LS6.
Lifters: I would go LS7. They can be had new for about $125.
Oil Pan: Either use baffles in the oil pan or go with aftermarket with baffles built in. Most of the people that have blown up engines during drifting is due to oil starvation caused by lateral G's.
Clutch: LS7 or Monster Stage 2 or 3. My buddies use the Stage 3 and it works very well and manageable during street use. Maybe a little bit stiffer than OEM but not noticeably in my opinion.
Clutch Master: Only have used a 0.75 Wilwood and worked out well but this was in an S14 240sx....not sure if it helps in any way but thought I would share.
Springs: I would recommend BTR, great quality and for the extra $50 or so dollars you get a proven product. Plus its for drifting so you will be in the upper RPM range all day. Shoot Brian a PM here and he can steer you in the right direction for sure.
Intake: Not sure if you feel the same way but for an NA build $ to $ comparison vs performance I would think the LS1 intake is a more cost effective option. Sure it wont see the same overall performance as the LS6 but they can be had for about half the cost of the LS1 and in NA form I do not believe it is that less efficient than the LS6.
Lifters: I would go LS7. They can be had new for about $125.
Oil Pan: Either use baffles in the oil pan or go with aftermarket with baffles built in. Most of the people that have blown up engines during drifting is due to oil starvation caused by lateral G's.
Clutch: LS7 or Monster Stage 2 or 3. My buddies use the Stage 3 and it works very well and manageable during street use. Maybe a little bit stiffer than OEM but not noticeably in my opinion.
Clutch Master: Only have used a 0.75 Wilwood and worked out well but this was in an S14 240sx....not sure if it helps in any way but thought I would share.
the only reason i said the 918's is cause ive done that same combo on the last rx7 i built. seem to work good. but yeah for a little bit more id get better springs.
the price people want for ls1 intakes is insane. the dorman one is supposed to be about the same as a ls6 but cost the price people want for ls1's.
oil pan im most likely going to get the improved racing baffles.
im thinking the ls7 cause its cheap and seems to get good response from searches ive done. i cant go too heavy cause i have bad knees.
any other recommendations please let me know. im not really too much in a hurry to build this thing so mostly taking in info at the moment.
the only reason i said the 918's is cause ive done that same combo on the last rx7 i built. seem to work good. but yeah for a little bit more id get better springs.
the price people want for ls1 intakes is insane. the dorman one is supposed to be about the same as a ls6 but cost the price people want for ls1's.
oil pan im most likely going to get the improved racing baffles.
im thinking the ls7 cause its cheap and seems to get good response from searches ive done. i cant go too heavy cause i have bad knees.
any other recommendations please let me know. im not really too much in a hurry to build this thing so mostly taking in info at the moment.
918s rev well and as long as you stay below 6k you won't float. I would recommend doubles for piece of mind though. As far as that dorman intake goes, it looks cheap and chincey. Not to mention that white egr plug on the top. LS6 intake is a better intake until someone proves otherwise. LS6s can be had for 350-400ish. He'll I have one now I'll do 400 shipped for. Only reason LS1 intakes sell for as much as they do is bc mostly noobs inquire about them and they usually don't know better anyway. I had a pile of those things in my storage shed a few years ago and made a killing. I am using a 7/8" wilwood clutch master in my RX8 swap and that seems to be the standard size used for swaps.
yeah im waiting for some more reviews on the dorman intake. havent seen much yet.
i remember when people use to just throw ls1 intakes away. last one i bought i paid $50. since then ive just done aftermarket intakes. edelbrocks mostly.
my last rx7 was a 5.3l, t56, ls6 clutch, torquer2, 918's, ls1 intake, nd it ran great. kept up with my buddies c5z.
do you think i would need different length pushrods?
then i fucked up and turbo'd it and never liked it after that.
last one. ( was my very first LS swap and first ever turbo build. lol) since then ive gotten alot better.
I hear ya. I won't turbo a DD either. I'm building my car with a stockish motor and I'm sure it will be more than adequate to break some hearts. My car actually has a similar sticker to that from the previous owner which is hilarious. Did you sell that FC?
yeah that car sold on ebay years ago. went to PA. guy bought it, took it apart and put all my swap stuff into another fc.
anyone recommend a stock head that i can put on a 5.3l to get a little more HP? goal this time is to keep up with my buddies c7 now. he thinks if i make about 350rwhp i should keep up with him.
12-01-2014, 12:13 AM
5.3l who gives a drift...... RX7 build 
