An amateur FD swap on a budget....

[richcoad89]

I've always loved the look of the RX7's , but never thought of owning one due to the fragile nature of the rotor engine.
That was until my brother (who is also a full time mechanic - which helps) suggested an engine swap......

I am a good way into the build process at the moment, I didnt start a build thread as I cant imagine there will be much interest in my amateur project. But a few friends wish to keep up-to-date with my project, so I though id start this thread. Hopefully by the end of today, I should have the thread up to date and current.


ENGINE

In the UK, if you want a LS engine with gearbox, you better be prepared to spend big money getting it. The other options of course are 2JZ, 1JZ, RB25, SR20 etc. But even the price of these engines were beyond me.

A little searching and I found an engine with a gearbox, that with a light sprinkle of aftermarket parts, could easily give a reliable 300hp, and potential for a lot more with a small investment.

The engine was a 5 Cylinder turbo, 4 valves per cylinder, lightweight aluminium block, from a......., volvo

Here she is with a Getrag 265/5 gearbox with an adaptor plate made by a Swedish company.




Then i picked up this little gem, a 93 jap import with a blown rotor and lots of aftermarket parts bolted on!








Soooooo, The first ever Volvo powered FD..... May the project begin.

[richcoad89]

All of the aftermarket goodies have been removed and I have sold them to fund the new aftermarket goodies!


New larger turbo housing, larger turbine, and rebuild kit. Also an adjustable wastegate. All imported from china. Gulp. The Kinugawa brand has mixed reviews, the majority very good, but also quite a few "they dont last very long" comments. Lets see what happens.....



Larger injectors



Other goodies that have arrived are; Custom mapped ECU, ( Obviously not a rolling road map, that may come later), 99spec spoiler (copy), Oil catch can to replace PCV system, a plethera of silicone tubing and stainless tubing for my FMIC.






Engine monitoring will be done by this fancy peice of kit. Its a PLX DM-100 multi guage which will monitor my M4.4 ECu parameters, and has standalone sensor modules for AFR, water Temp, oil temp and boost pressure.




Time to get the car to my brothers workshop, one of the scariest 170 miles ever achieved! Perhaps a larger towing car would have made things easier!

[richcoad89]

Out with the old.... quite a simple job to be fair, and easier than I expected.





Working late into the night, very cold, hense the hoody!





In with the new other.....


old subframe











Do you like my engine crane??

[richcoad89]

Until this point I had not considered the placement of the distributor,,,.. Right at the back of the motor, obstructed completely by the firewall.

Options; fit a coil-on-plug setup from a newer volvo
          modify the firewall

I chose the later, due to the first being a very complex and expensive option.

It took several attempts to modify the firewall, but I finally got the right size, depth and used fibreglass and body filler to smooth it out.





Health and safety is how we roll..... Who needs a guard on a grinder anyway :-S



Still not big enough..... (*insert thats what she said joke here*)





Thats better, just needs prep and paint. but that can wait.

[richcoad89]

Don't complain about the fabrications, I did warn it was an amateur build!

The engine mounts from two mounting points on each side of the engine, and then a gearbox mounting also.

[richcoad89]

The turbo had a bit too much shaft play, so I decided to rebuild it..... myself......





The larger turbine and housing fits nicely

[richcoad89]

The diff was originally supported by a large brace that connects to the gearbox. Obviously this had to go...


Again, any expert fabricators out there, look away!

I decided to use fairly heavy steel for this due to the torque pressures asked of this part.

[richcoad89]

I have mounted the FMIC, and half of the pipework is together, im awaiting the rest in the post soon.







Now the radiator goes in.





This was actually the "draft" version, as I have now higered it as it sat a little too low.

I have made my own intake with mass air flow sensor adaptor built in.

[1point3liter]

I'd consider tieing that rear end cradle into the subframe on the sides.
The mounting points where those stamped braces tie to the car body are what's amber uses.

[richcoad89]

Good advice, thanks mate...

Shiny stainless steel cover....

[Bigblockquad]

Kudos for being unique.  Gotta say tho.  Get rid of those PLX gauges.  They SUCK.  Take up too much room under the dash and that's basically the only place they can go since the cables are short and limit where you can put them.  I put them in my car and after 3 months pulled them out and replaced them with SPA gauges.  Again cool idea on the volvo drivetrain 

[SSjon]

Was oil pan clearance really that much of and issue that you had to sawzall the sub-frame out?

[N2v8fcs]

Good luck! Kudos for thinking "outside the box"

[richcoad89]

Was oil pan clearance really that much of and issue that you had to sawzall the sub-frame out?

Even with dropping the sub frame a good 2 inches, the bonnet still needed to be modified to accomodate the cam covers. Its a supprisingly tall engine, even with a modified sump that I have on it. It was the first option to be honest as I have seen it done before on 1JZ/2JZ swaps previously.

[richcoad89]

Kudos for being unique.  Gotta say tho.  Get rid of those PLX gauges.  They SUCK.  Take up too much room under the dash and that's basically the only place they can go since the cables are short and limit where you can put them.  I put them in my car and after 3 months pulled them out and replaced them with SPA gauges.  Again cool idea on the volvo drivetrain 

Hmmm, interesting, thats the first negative review I have read about them.

I liked the idea of having everything in one gauge, Im not a fan of the cluster gauge setup, a little too JDM for me.

Il see how i get on with them.

There are pleanty of 500hp+ volvo T5 engines out there, so if this works out Il invest in some more power!