BecauseRaceCar

Finally officially cool enough to have my very own swap thread. This must be how Antonio Brown feels when he scores a touchdown.

I bought the car no transmission or engine and already had a Toyota engine hacked in there, so I naturally thought much like a few of my other vehicles, an LS swap was in order.

However, in my never ending, bordering on reckless research, I am finding that may not be the answer. I loathe vehicles that are a pita to work on.

So, now the quest (Que Holy Grail Theme Song) continues for what to put in between the fenders.

I have looked at my usual suspects...SR20DET, KA24DE, Pineapple Built Renesis, LS, Mazda 1.8, and even the F20C since I really like how Steve's came out.

I refuse to alter my steering to the point where it induces bump steer, the only change will be a manual steering rack because that electric one is Kim K sized.

Although while tearing apart this unnecessary clutter, I am really liking this chassis...to the point where I am strongly considering building multiples, track/ street car, track/street car w/ls, and a mischievous DD.







New Home - This and the next wall are coming down...sing it Mellencamp





Taking out the factory underhood relays and fuses and building my own setup in the car. Lots of things I am not going to need.








At least this time, they have a nice, detailed wiring schematic...I give them a B grade







Bought an extra instrument cluster for Can-Bus tampering.







ABS you are fired, Electric Power Steering, actually power steering altogether you are fired.







All the air bags will be gone, errr, ummm, modified. No carpets or trim other than what is pictured






My Can-Bus project...not pictured is the Shield. I will use this to convert what I can on the stock cluster to work for the new motor. Certain things like the oil pressure will get an actual aftermarket gage...the Yes/No factory gage won't cut it. Maybe a GPS module for speed instead of VSS...idk yet.




Got my power supply in and was able to power the cluster up, headers, resistors, and such for the Arduino will be here Wednesday...then start deciphering the cluster's commands and functions. Traction control, coolant, Air Bags, ABS, and the tire pressure sensors will be eliminated.



Hail Hydra!

BecauseRaceCar

Took the dash out for previously scheduled cage and maybe a guest appearance by firewall modifications!

No_Doritos

subbed. so LS it is?

BecauseRaceCar

Eventually I will put an LS in one, not entirely sure if it will be this one....really want to have something to drive for the summer, so we shall see.

No_Doritos

i see. im keeping mine on the road till i have everything i need all at once, then the swap begins, and im sure ill find stuff i still need....

BecauseRaceCar

That's a good way to do it! Hahah yeah the list never actually ends....LS1Tech.com has a lot of great parts

perryrace1

Gonna be a fun build.

BecauseRaceCar

Haven't touched the car, but decided to push the project back as I cannot go another year without something fun to drive....so looks like I am going to be placing an order for tires, beadlocks, and finding a car trailer...bye bye tax return



I mocked up the front tire on a beadlock I bought to check my backspacing and make sure I can maintain my 50 degree steering

autotechwilliam

Why did you strip everything jw? Wouldn't it been easier to get a complete ls1 swap with pcm instead of re running literally everything when u can run 2 pcm one for rx8 internal component and ls1 pcm to run engine ?

BecauseRaceCar

I don't do these projects to make them easy. I am making my own fuse block and wire distribution as the factory one is gigantic and I don't need half of it.

The instruments cluster and the few interior components I will use I can program up an Arduino and CanBus shield to take care of that.

Although, most of my gages will be aftermarket as I trust them more than I trust most OEM instrument clusters.

This thing is now #3 in line as if I take my time and do it correctly, I will be far happier with the end result and it will be old enough to not have to go through emissions which saves me many headaches.

autotechwilliam

I see what u mean. You got a pricy project I like the way 04 rx8 is with cluster and all I plan on just putting corvette ls1 in mine and call it good because the rotary has no power

BecauseRaceCar

At this point, I don't really care about the money...no way in hell it will be as expensive as my last project! I like when they look stock inside and out like nothing changed, but I needed to shed weight in mine.


LS1 makes more than enough power for the lightweight RX8 and they are very reliable motors. Rotaries can make power, the RX8 is just god damn unreliable...people can talk all they want....there is a reason there are so many blown up RX8s for sale on Craigslist...its a garbage motor period. There are probably motor RX7s running on the road than RX8s.


Good luck with the project, have you started a build thread yet?

autotechwilliam

Yeah rotarys blow easy and sslow

BecauseRaceCar

Did a lot of this during the summer, broke some stuff, fixed it, did a bunch (8) of neutral drops from a bunch of rpms trying to make a bounty hill...kamikazed the rig right over a couple boulders spun myself sideways violently and snapped a 2x2 1/4" wall link, blew my driveshaft and broke the pinion out of my front axle. So like whatever, I said F8ck this ssssh*t and decided to work on the RX8.

BecauseRaceCar

This is how the garage did look...



This is how it looks now...



This is my brain on drugs....its a JDM Honda motor going into a Mazda Well just placed it there to take a picture, still a loooooong ways to go. Going to go K24, super built bottom end, 9000RPMs of awesome, some things that Vrooom, Psht, and an S2000 Transmission.

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

What are you doing for an ECU?

BecauseRaceCar

I am really leaning towards an AEM stand alone. I did not know it was coming with a harness and ECU, so I could go Hondata, but I won't have any Honda gages or IC, so I dont see the benefit.

BecauseRaceCar

Cut the old mounts off


Oooh the weight savings! Ordered some new tie rods for it as well.



It fits oddly swell right there, but am going to put it further into the car...safety first, then teamwork.

BecauseRaceCar

Trying to unbarn it as much as I can, the insulation and new lighting will be a huge difference.



Insulation and some drywall.



Front motor mount is gone, need to fabricate up a pulley tensioner. Should be easier than what is on the buggy.

Chezmanbespoke

Progress is looking good!

BecauseRaceCar

Thanks man!

I ordered a full cage for it, since I basically live at work it was cheaper for me to just buy it.

BecauseRaceCar

Looks like I will be picking up an S2000 transmission this weekend

BecauseRaceCar

Got a low mileage transmission this last weekend, guy was good people, builds and races S2000s

Brettus

iTrader: (2)

Great thread . I really admire guys that can build their own **** .I've probably put as much effort into just modifying what Mazda already designed and built.

BecauseRaceCar

Got the cage in, also got the tubing, heims, and adapters for my steering modifications.