That is going to be one amazing FD! I've seen quite a bit of hinson's pieces (including his turbo'd LS1 fd drag car) and everything from there is great looking (and performing) work. I cant wait to see this finished! I do love a white fd... Good luck.

 

Very nice!!! Joining the thread so I can stay current with your progress. Can't wait to see the finished product!! Still on track for an Oct completion?

 

that hatch looks pretty nice in the back ground, nice WHITE fd, i know there are few. im sure ur familiar with jerome on the rx7 forums he runs the fd part of speedforsale.com. he was trying to get me to buy an fd roller and swap an ls1 in it

 

October isn't looking promising anymore. But I will be putting as much work as possible into her. It's the little things that set you back. It could probably be done if I had everything for her but I don't.

I still need to pull all the suspension pieces off, press out the bushings, clean all the parts, primer, spray and clear, then press in a set of new poly bushings. That and I have to work on the rear end etc.... Lots to do and I can't do this half assed.

 

Crowder that white hatch is my daily gas saver. 60 miles every day to work and back. Does a great job at it too!

 

I love watching these projects.

BUt when ever I show them to my non-LSx friendly friends, they all cry abou thow the "huge heavy V8" is pointless because it weighs way more than the "small ligh rotary" that is coming out.

What is th dressed weight of the 13B? It can't be that much lighter than the any LSx you swap in?

I always tell them the 13B is a 400lb motor and the LSx is a 440lb motor.. so its almost a wash.

Am I close in my estimates?

And again, nice build so far.

Paul

 

A fully dressed LS1 is slightly lighter than the fully dressed TT 13b. The swaps gain a little bit of weight just because the T56 is a heavy SOB.

 

Yah I think the overall gain is about 50-60lbs so you are close to your estimates. It really doesn't make much of an overall weight difference at all. But the return is something we all call Torque!

 

I love the FD swaps would like to do one myself, there just so hard to find in good shape.

 

what do you have invested in this swap so far?

 

Are we talking price tag in parts?

 

Any progress lately?

 

Not a whole lot. Got the firewall lip cut off. Still need misc parts and random things. I need to find a welder to lay a line of weld across where I cut. Then I want to sand it down and thats when the paint comes in. I will get pics of the firewall lip for those that are interested. Once the bay is painted I should be flying thru this project.

 

K so this is what we did to the firewall lip. Most people dont cut across like this. They only cut enough for the intake manifold to clear. I'm just being **** and want it clean as the end result.

Before:


During:


After:


I'm going to need to find someone that can weld just to insure that the firewall doesn't separate if I get chassis flex. After that is paint and dropping the subframe and removal of all the suspension parts and all new bushings are going in after a full clean and repaint of the parts.

 

Also took off the Corvette accessories and will be putting on LS2 GTO front accessories along with a Powerbond Under Drive pulley.

 

Sorry to tell you this now, but you don't need to cut that lip or modify it at all if you just plug the hole at the back of your intake manifold. You can run a vacuum line from the front of your manifold to the back for your MAP sensor and brake booster.

 

seriously those are the worst emblems mazda ever had lol. i hate them if your keeping emblems id get mazda 6 emblems. lol

 

I actually like the toilet bowl emblems But they will be replaced later with Efini emblems from the Japanese rx7.

I figured the lip should have been removed anyways because it was all bent out of shape.

 

That should be a fantastic combination, Fresh vette motor in a light weight car!!

 

Just FYI that is kind of a PITA to weld. I think there is some type of coating on the backside of the firewall from that factory that contaminates your weld. It's nothing a little cleanup with a grinder won't take care of though.