The New Garage Queen

[Troux]

Acutally, I was originally planning on getting the standard headers (the ones I mentioned for $925 that pretty much everyone gets, since the market is cornered there) with 3" collectors and running an X-pipe to glasspack dumps.

Once I get these, I'm probably going to just weld some O2 bungs into the collector mufflers (these were built for a carb'd motor) and see how I like it. I'm obviously not going for a daily driver, and I'd like to keep the miles down, so I'll likely keep the dumps, and since I'm getting the 3" collectors with the headers, I'll always have the option of going to an X-pipe and glasspacks down the road. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the sound of dumps on a Chevy V8.

I'd like a sound something like this (WARNING: obscene redneck noise):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSbGJEp3Eps

 

[ND4SPD]

Acutally, I was originally planning on getting the standard headers (the ones I mentioned for $925 that pretty much everyone gets, since the market is cornered there) with 3" collectors and running an X-pipe to glasspack dumps.

Once I get these, I'm probably going to just weld some O2 bungs into the collector mufflers (these were built for a carb'd motor) and see how I like it. I'm obviously not going for a daily driver, and I'd like to keep the miles down, so I'll likely keep the dumps, and since I'm getting the 3" collectors with the headers, I'll always have the option of going to an X-pipe and glasspacks down the road. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the sound of dumps on a Chevy V8.

I'd like a sound something like this (WARNING: obscene redneck noise):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSbGJEp3Eps

Mmm, it's making popcorn. Thats an FC though, this would be much more relevant to you. I like the badge job on this car, you should do the same to your's Troux.

 

[RedTransAm]

I think you might be looking at the wrong picture. The engine with the headers mounted is an LS1. That's not my engine, just the display engine for showing off the headers, basically. Mine are the stock heads, 243 casting, same as the ones used on the LS6 (C5 Z06 for those who aren't familiar with Chevy engines). The engine has about 21K miles on it, and the heads are certainly a little dirty, but I plan to do at least a little cleaning before installing it.

Normally, headers for LSx FD swaps run between $700 and $925, depending on primary runner size and optional coating. These headers cost $1500 to cutom make, and were jet hot coated. They are two piece headers, since the only way to get equal length long tubes is to have them wrap around the K-member.

As far as mods go A/C, PS, the EVAp system, and secondary O2 sensors are getting deleted, then the headers, custom intake, 160 degree thermostat, and probably a couple bling mods. I plan on going with a bigger motor down the road, so I am trying to convince myself not to spend too much on the LS2, as I can expect 410 to the wheels after tuning, which is plenty to play with.

I found a local GTO with pretty much the same package I would do (if I were to do a heads/cam to the LS2), and he made 513 at the wheels for about $5000. Hard to resist, but I'm currently trying to focus on cleaning up the car, removing crap I won't need and lightening along the way.

I'm aiming for a 1/2 tank, no driver weight of 2800 lbs. I've done a decent amount of lightening and will probably add most of it back once I put wheels/tires on, but if I can manage that, I should have a power:weight ratio that bests a Z06, Gallardo, or F430. Unfortunately, I live very local to one of the fastest street LS1-FD cars, so the competition is already on, especially if my friend (also in-progress) decides to do a H/C package to his LS1 FD.

Edit: Perfect Balance, Chris is right. Some people have tried to do a manual conversion without knowing what they're doing, and just unhook the PS assist, which ends up in them needing a 20-inch steering wheel to turn, as THIS is what makes for obscene pressures, but manual racks pretty much always have comparitively lower gearing, to make turning easier. For the same reason the FD has a 4.10 rear end stock, it needs the gearing to multiply torque since rotaries can't make any.

Oh, I see. I thought it was the same engine. with only 21K miles, your heads should be pretty clean on the inside. Speaking of rear ends, how do the stock ones hold up when LS2 power is introduced?

 

[Troux]

I've heard that a mostly stock LS1 should let the rear end last a while, and adding just a few mods makes it a time bomb. The power I'll be making should shorten its life a little, especially running R-compounds, but I'm also not the drag type, so I don't think I'll ever take it to the strip, which would be the worst for it. As long as I can resist a few street launches, it should last a while, but I'm still keeping a spare $1K for a Kaaz 1.5way LSD.

 

[006r]

Congrats, great looking machine! That is going to fly when your done...wish I had the time and money to do something this cool. Keep this updated. 👍

 

[Troux]

^I also wish I had the time!

Man, I HATE defective parts. Have to return an oil pan simply because I can't fit an oil filter on it. UGH.

Edit: Or try filters until they fit. Apparently GM changed a part without changing the part number. Good job.

 

[Diablomonkey]

Acutally, I was originally planning on getting the standard headers (the ones I mentioned for $925 that pretty much everyone gets, since the market is cornered there) with 3" collectors and running an X-pipe to glasspack dumps.

Once I get these, I'm probably going to just weld some O2 bungs into the collector mufflers (these were built for a carb'd motor) and see how I like it. I'm obviously not going for a daily driver, and I'd like to keep the miles down, so I'll likely keep the dumps, and since I'm getting the 3" collectors with the headers, I'll always have the option of going to an X-pipe and glasspacks down the road. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the sound of dumps on a Chevy V8.

I'd like a sound something like this (WARNING: obscene redneck noise):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSbGJEp3Eps

Mmm, it's making popcorn. Thats an FC though, this would be much more relevant to you. I like the badge job on this car, you should do the same to your's Troux.

👎

 

[Troux]

^Right.

So got a few 'odds-and-ends' part in the mail today. Mostly just a bunch of adapters from Hinson to get things to fit. The only thing performance-oriented would be the 1" bore clutch master cylinder, which should make for a hell of a stiff pedal with a short travel. Should be fun.
Tomorrow after school I'll be heading to my friend's house to help him load his LS1 into his 7. He just got his mounting kit yesterday and we couldn't wait. No reason his car shouldn't be up and running within a couple weeks, since he actually has some free time. Last night I made an Excel spreadsheet of my total expenses so far on my car. Yikes. Still got a couple thousand to go to get it running, too. I'll have a couple more pictures to share when we get his motor strapped in.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

Keep up the updates 👍

 

[land sea air]

wow Troux, looks like you are doing a really thorough and clean job with this thing, glad to see it's going along relatively smoothly 👍

 

[Troux]

Thanks. I'm aiming for top-notch quality, reliability, and serviceability, outdoing that of OEM, even. Got my fuel rail covers in the mail last week, which I'm STOKED about, because they're awesome as hell, and they were ridiculously rare and hard to find. I gotta get them powder coated to match the color theme I'm going for (red and black), and I'll save pictures of them for last, because they're just that awesome.

Just got the fuel pressure regulator mounted. I put it in the stock fuel filter location. Fits like a charm, and totally out of the way. Also, it's rear-mounted, unlike most OEM FPRs, so now I'll only need to use one fuel line, instead of 3 (charcoal canister/EVAP system deleted).

On my friend's car, we got the engine in (after 5 hours of deliberation), and the headers on (another 2 hours), and things are coming together quickly. He doesn't have much left to do. Waiting on parts has been the bottleneck of his project's completion, and there might be a little more of that left, but we should be firing it up within a couple weeks.

We had to lift the front of the car crazy high to get the headers in from underneath.

 

[Omnis]

Sweet. Good job on your cars.

I can't believe you're going without A/C in Florida, but, hey it's not a daily driver. Hahaha.

Good luck with the remainder of your build.

 

[Troux]

^Actually my daily driver ('85 Corolla, hey you can see it in the background!) doesn't have A/C, either. I've never liked AC in cars. Besides the power drain, something about it just feels very fake to me, like it's cold, but something's off about it. Kind of like the taste from an artificial sweetener is the best way of describing it. Sounds weird, I bet. I prefer vents and windows down. I'll be keeping the blower motor and heat (always useful in case of overheating). Since I was 16 I've been driving without AC, since it was an option that the Chevelle I was driving at the time didn't get.

 

[ferrari_chris]

... Just got the fuel pressure regulator mounted. I put it in the stock fuel filter location. Fits like a charm, and totally out of the way. Also, it's rear-mounted, unlike most OEM FPRs, so now I'll only need to use one fuel line, instead of 3 ...

👍

... We had to lift the front of the car crazy high to get the headers in from underneath.

...

Are you using the engine lifter to lift the front of the car?

 

[Troux]

^Yep. The tow points are accessible from the top, so we just pulled the e-brake and hoisted it up for room. Not much more to spare before scrapage on the rear bumper...

Unfortunately nothing too exciting as far as updates on my car for a little while. I'm going to be spending a lot of time dicking with wiring for the next few days (weeks, months...), trying to get the cleanest tucking and looming possible.
Parts I've ordered this week:
-Differential bushings (prevents wheel hop)
-Pro 5.0 Shifter (the must-have shifter for tracked T56 transmissions)
-Sleek Headlights (Love the look, and will help clean up the engine bay by removing the retractor motors/relays/wires)
-Fidanza Flywheel (Same one I had on my Supra. Very light, very chattery, loves to rev!)
-Clutch Masters Stage 4 Clutch (I hear this thing has some firm engagement that takes some getting used to. Sounds like fun to me!)
-Legos (..........?.....?!?!?!?)

 

[land sea air]

what type of headlights are you looking at right now? IMO they can add a lot to or ruin the look of the car.

 

[Troux]

EVO-R HIDs. Also plan on getting this same hood.

 

[Spec M]

ok i kinda understand the ls1 swap but why????

why buy an immaculate 7 and then wreck it with a v8 when the engine in it was in good condition.

plus this adds weight in the front and has way too much torque (not necessarily a bad thing)

just spending money on the stock engine would be well worth it and keep the handling more stable

He probably intends on being more involved with drag racing bro. It doesnt really make sense to me either because im more into road racing and that would actually be degrading to my standards. but when it comes to driving in a straight line the FD is a great platform for a motor like the LS1. In some cases value may go down since its a RX7 with no rotary but it can still serve its purpose as a great dragstrip car..., Until a 13B or 20B beats it lol, then it will prove to be a waste of time, money, and effort.

 

[land sea air]

read the whole thread, it's been proven several times that the LS1 will be better in every practical way than the engine it replaces. I love the rotary more than most but in this case swapping just makes sense. Also I think he has stated that he's not much of a drag strip person.

 

[Troux]

^^Not at all. This car will never set tread on a drag strip. Never liked drag racing, never will.

I'm slowly building it to be a road race car that's barely capable of street time. I don't know where you get off saying it's degrading it to your standards. Besides the incredible success and reliability records of Chevy V8s compared to rotaries on the track, the car will see a great advantage with the LS motor. I don't see how an LS2 is going to make it a straight line car when the Corvette is a world-beater on the track with the motor, and the engine has nothing to do with the handling of the car, considering it weighs nearly the same as the rotary.

If all I wanted was a straight line car I would have gotten a fox body. I don't know why you wanna tell me I'm wasting my time, money, and effort, and that I'm going to be getting beat by a rotary. If I recall, the rotards peed their pants recently when a rotary-powered car finally got under 7 seconds in the quarter.

I don't know what your "standards" are, but you did just say the FD is a great platform for driving in a straight line.

What?

 

[Dead_Poetic]

Really, the LS2 just has an unbeatable consistency associated with it. No turbos to have to worry about, no intercooler, less is more sometimes, and although I love a turbo rotary just as much as the next guy, an RX-7 with an LS2 is certainly no worse.

 

[Barracuda]

Why would you put an LS1 into a Japanese car, that's like, blasphemy or something. Stick with your own kind

But seriously, and LS1 seems extremely out of place in an RX-7 in my opinion.

 

[land sea air]

But seriously, a blank seems extremely out of place in an blank in my opinion.

you'll admit that's not always a bad thing though

 

[Spec M]

Really, the LS2 just has an unbeatable consistency associated with it. No turbos to have to worry about, no intercooler, less is more sometimes, and although I love a turbo rotary just as much as the next guy, an RX-7 with an LS2 is certainly no worse.

You do know there are non-turbo rotaries right?

 

[Spec M]

read the whole thread, it's been proven several times that the LS1 will be better in every practical way than the engine it replaces. I love the rotary more than most but in this case swapping just makes sense. Also I think he has stated that he's not much of a drag strip person.

Yeah thats totally incorrect bro. Your basically saying adding more torque, more weight and an odd front/rear balance is the key to a great track machine? Not to mention you can get 350ps out of a 13B without even touching the internals or turbo. I guess if your on a track that can be compared to Road America it might come in handy.



sorry for double post.

 

[land sea air]

I'll re-post what troux has already dug up:


Heres from a thread on the forums:
Quote:
Bottom line is mine weighed about 15 lbs more but had a better weight distribution of 50.5/49.5 front to rear and his stock RX7 was 53/47:
--------------LS1 ------- Rotary
Left Front: 684 ------- 718
Right Front: 695 ------- 718
Total Front: 1379 ------- 1436

Left Rear: 705 ------- 660
Right Rear: 645 ------- 618
Total Rear: 1350 ------- 1278
TOTAL: 2729 ------- 2714
% over Front: .505 ------- .53
% over Rear: .495 ------- .47
Another:
Quote:
These are my notes on LS1 FD's RX7
We weighed the car stock, and the fuel gauge showed 1/2 tank
Stock
LF 729, RF 695
LR 705, RR 692
Total weight, 2821

After the engine LS1 engine/T56 was installed, and the exhaust work was done, the car had the following corner weights, and no fuel was added. Based on what LS1 FD stated, the car was only driven a few hundred feet, and the fuel tank level was the same as stock. The engine had all accessories installed including ac compressor, power steering, alternator, etc, and stock flywheel. About the only thing that was not hooked up were air conditioning hoses, but the ac condensor was installed. The stock battery was replaced with a small Odyssey model 680 battery which weights 15 lbs, and this was mounted in the front of the engine compartment on the passenger's side.
No catalytic converters were installed and Edelbrock shorty headers were used. With the larger and longer tube headers, the weight of the car will change slightly.

LF 748, RF 717
LR, 683, RR 700
Total weight, 2848

Totally incorrect eh? we probably should just agree to disagree but you aren't reading what's already been posted.

EDIT: there are plenty of rotaries without turbos, but none ever came factory on the FD.

 

[Spec M]

read the whole thread, it's been proven several times that the LS1 will be better in every practical way than the engine it replaces. I love the rotary more than most but in this case swapping just makes sense. Also I think he has stated that he's not much of a drag strip person.

I'll re-post what troux has already dug up:


Heres from a thread on the forums:
Quote:
Bottom line is mine weighed about 15 lbs more but had a better weight distribution of 50.5/49.5 front to rear and his stock RX7 was 53/47:
--------------LS1 ------- Rotary
Left Front: 684 ------- 718
Right Front: 695 ------- 718
Total Front: 1379 ------- 1436

Left Rear: 705 ------- 660
Right Rear: 645 ------- 618
Total Rear: 1350 ------- 1278
TOTAL: 2729 ------- 2714
% over Front: .505 ------- .53
% over Rear: .495 ------- .47
Another:
Quote:
These are my notes on LS1 FD's RX7
We weighed the car stock, and the fuel gauge showed 1/2 tank
Stock
LF 729, RF 695
LR 705, RR 692
Total weight, 2821

After the engine LS1 engine/T56 was installed, and the exhaust work was done, the car had the following corner weights, and no fuel was added. Based on what LS1 FD stated, the car was only driven a few hundred feet, and the fuel tank level was the same as stock. The engine had all accessories installed including ac compressor, power steering, alternator, etc, and stock flywheel. About the only thing that was not hooked up were air conditioning hoses, but the ac condensor was installed. The stock battery was replaced with a small Odyssey model 680 battery which weights 15 lbs, and this was mounted in the front of the engine compartment on the passenger's side.
No catalytic converters were installed and Edelbrock shorty headers were used. With the larger and longer tube headers, the weight of the car will change slightly.

LF 748, RF 717
LR, 683, RR 700
Total weight, 2848

Totally incorrect eh? we probably should just agree to disagree but you aren't reading what's already been posted.

EDIT: there are plenty of rotaries without turbos, but none ever came factory on the FD.

And how does this makes an LS1 FD better than the factory in every way?
And yes there are rotaries without turbos as I stated but, who said the FD had an N/A?

 

[Barracuda]

you'll admit that's not always a bad thing though

I just can't agree with an American V8 in a Japanese car. It's just not right on so many levels.

Japanese cars are supposed to whine, not growl

I'm not going to try and defend my point, especially here, I'll just say that that is my opinion.

 

[land sea air]

And how does this makes an LS1 FD better than the factory in every way?
And yes there are rotaries without turbos as I stated but, who said the FD had an N/A?

on the first point, well you seem to think that the LS engine will "add more torque, more weight and an odd front/rear balance". That post shows that someone out there has an LS1 RX7 with a weight gain you could literally offset by dieting if you wished, and a better weight balance... I would say that is at very least better in two ways and probably better in many other subjective ways as well.

on the second point. At the risk of sounding like a first grader, I didn't say anyone said there aren't non-turbo rotaries. You're the one that brought up non-turbo rotaries in response to Dead Poetics post: "Really, the LS2 just has an unbeatable consistency associated with it. No turbos to have to worry about, no intercooler, less is more sometimes, and although I love a turbo rotary just as much as the next guy, an RX-7 with an LS2 is certainly no worse.". I guess you misinterpreted what he said as pertaining to all rotaries when I am fairly certain he is talking about Troux's rotary (it is indeed his thread, and it is indeed turbocharged.)

 

[Spec M]

The question still stands. Maybe I should just google and find out how the LS1 FD is better in every way. Im still not finding any of your points relevant. The fact still stands that its pretty silly to say an RX7 is better with an LS1 than a rotary. I dont consider the LS1 swap a bad thing, just wouldnt pick an LS1 for the driving im into. Lol nice attempt on the insult though. Just the way I see it.