TLDR S13 vs FC: handling, weight? FC +: age (25+ years old, no problems to get it on the road) S13 +: part availability, BMW swap seems easy
LS1 vs 1UZ vs M60: costs, power? LS1: cheapest huge power potential, proven swap, rear sump, by far the highest startup cost 1UZ: cheeeap, available with front/rear sump, but no stock manual transmission and expensive to boost (as most FI stuff will have to be custom made, and doesn't seem to be available for cheap in Europe) M60: cheap, available with stock manual, proven swap for s13. Findable with superchargerkit, so good power (400 hp@engine, probably potential for more) for not too much money, probably (?) front sump, not too much info on powerlevels over 400 hp, at least not with a supercharger
The BMW engine seems to be the most interesting, cost/performance wise. The FC chassis has the right age, now, so I won't have to wait to start. The oldest S13's should be OK in about half a year(production date for euro models: december 1988, according to wiki), BUT I can't say I've seen any that were that old. Most seem to be at least 1-2 year before they are old enough.
Will the BMW engine fit easy in the FC?
Full, LONG
Hi all,
I am planning to get a V8 swapped car built, as soon as my FM turbo Miata has parted out. I want big, reliable power, in a cheapish chassis and with a stock block. Reasoning behind this, is that it won't cost too much if the engine blows/car crashes.
As for the car, I prefer the styling of Jap cars. The car should be older than 25 years (or close to it), as I wouldn't be able to get it on the road otherwise, as the tuning regulations in Belgium are quite annoying. Also, I want a light chassis, I like the Lotus philosophy! The car will be stripped, and used as a weekend warrior/trackday tool/driftdays, so handling is important.
The RX-7 FC and the Nissan S13 (Silvia, 200sx, 240sx in America) seem to fit the bill, the FC has the advantage on age, the S13 has the advantage on parts availability.
As for the engine: I am considering importing a swapped car with an LS, or possibly building one here, as tax+import duty might screw me over, making an import not interesting.
The other engines I thought about, are the BMW M60 engine, and the Toyota/Lexus 1UZ. The m60 and 1uz options are waaaaaaaay cheaper and have better availability here. The bmw engine is available with a manual box, the 1uz needs some fiddling around. Another big plus, is that I might find a BMW with a supercharged m60 here. The chances that I'd find a supercharged 1UZ are second to none, making it way more expensive to get some power from. For the LS series, I'm figuring that a stock LS with a cam might be sufficient for quite while. Adding FI to them also seems to be alot cheaper.
I am looking for cars (donors) in the UK, as there is a better availability, and prices are a lot lower than they are on the mainland.
To give you an idea: M60 beemers can be found for 1000-1500 pound. There is currently one with a manual box (and lpg lol) available for 1700 pounds. A while back, there was a CF supercharged one available for 3000 pounds, also with a manual box. This made ~400 hp (engine).
1UZ cars are also available for ~1000 pounds, possibly even lower. I am not sure about the gearboxes though, and adding FI seems to be expensive if you have no fabrication skills yourself. I haven't come across a UZ-equipped car that was already supercharged/turbocharged, so I don't think they are the best option. Advantage is that they are available with front or rear sump, so fitting should be easy in both cars.
The cheapest ls (alu block) car I could find in the UK, was 6000 pounds. New engines were 4000 or 5000 pounds, gearbox was 1000-2000 pound (new afaik). On ebay is a rebuilt L33 for 1650 pounds, and an LS1 from a monaro vxr for 3350 pounds, both without gearbox. I couldn't find a second hand t56 on ebay uk, but there's a new one on there for 2850 gbp. The LS seems to be a rather easy swap into an RX7, and they are rear sumped.
Importing a 8000 USD LS1 FC to here, and getting it on the road, would end up around 10000 GBP.
I've heard about an LS swap for a silvia, from a reputed tuner/shop, that would be 8000 pounds all in(inclu engine/transmission).
The BMW swap is quite common on silvia's here, so I was told they probably have a front sump.
I had a rough estimate for 1000-1500 pounds to get the engine from the beemer in a silvia, up and running, all in. I am not sure how good the quality of the work would be, but there are some users that had there conversion done by that shop, and they seem happy.
For now, I am favoring the BMW engine, as they are quite a bit cheaper, and have decent power with the supercharger (there's a Fin on the BMW forums with over 600 hp on a stock bottom end, with an intercooled supercharger).
The LS1 is probably the cheapest if you want to go really big, but the startcost is quite expensive.
I prefer the RX7, as it is old enough right now, so I could get a toy relatively quick. The oldest euro S13's were produced in december 1988, so that's about half a year away. I didn't come across one that was that old, however, so it might be more than a year, or closer to 2 years away.
How easy would the (probably front sumped) BMW lump fit in the rx7?
