fc rx7 or e36 m3

any help guys?

Yes?

what the hell is this E36 M3?

There are a LOT of differences between the two...very different target buyer and price point. It would help if we knew WHY you are cross-shopping the two. Track car? Daily driver? What? It's a very apples-to-steak comparison...

On that note: C4 S4 or MK3 Supra? W124 500E or Z32 300ZX? 9000 Aero or Starion?

FC: Had one, loved it, and still miss it. Plus with only one passenger seat less people can mooch off of you at once.

for a dally driver and weekend track warrior, with the m3 i would like to keep it naturally aspirated, so i was thinking of either a s50b32 swap from the euro e36 m3 or a s54 swap form the e46 m3, and the rx7 i'm looking for a turbo model but if i cant find one ill just do a na to turbo swap but being that its light i don't want much power from it, i would like a setup like this http://www.superstreetonline.com/featuredvehicles/sstp_1112_1987_mazda_rx_7/viewall.html

That body kit is hideous IMHO.

You can find rust free FC rolling shells with blowed up motors for less than a grand. Buy turbo motor, clutch, transmission, computer, boost sensor, AFM, and Driveshaft.

Boom done.

You should be able to get all of these parts in good shape for about $1500.00

Rob R.

daily and weekend warrior.. it will be hard to fault the M3. Get some good shocks/springs or coilovers under it. Strut bars and the convertable underbody brace.. change the fluids, filters, and off you go!

It's hard to recommend ANY hybrid daily driver/track warrior car, since you will always be compromising one way or the other...

FC turbos aren't unreliable but they need a good bit more looking after than an M3 would, then again you can also make one about as fast for like half the price...that said a FC lacks usable back seats and any real storage capacity...etc etc...

Never been in a stock T2, but comparing my LS1 rx7(stock chassis/susp+LS1) and an M3, I'd go with the rx7 for general fun-ness.

Comparing a N/A FC, I'd go with the M3 all day, the lack of torque really makes me unhappy about the rotary, but I grew up with v8 sports cars and that's really just personal preference.

In reply to SlickDizzy: i don't mind not having back seats that gives me a excuse to not give a ride to anyone haha, yea that's what i was thinking cause for either one of the bmw engines id end up spending maybe 5 to 7k the euro engine would be plug and play but the s54 it takes some work, and with the rx7 it could make good power easy but i'm still new to the rotory engine so it kinda worries me.

An LS1 swap rx7 can be a real choice, it's not that hard to do it for under 6k, including the car.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQN3CbAEWNw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YOCOV98rBo

I was still feeling the car out still in the 2nd vid, so excuse the slowness. I was being very cautious with the throttle, I expected the rear to be a lot squirrellier than it was.

Do not turbo swap an FC. If you want a turbo FC, just pay the extra money and buy a factory Turbo.

If you want to engine swap an FC, go with a V8. I've owned a ton of FCs, and after driving a V8 swapped car, my cries of "BLASPHEMY" were impossible through the smile I had on my face.

Why no swap an FC?

I have done 2 now. They are easy to do!

wvumtnbkr wrote: Why no swap an FC? I have done 2 now. They are easy to do!

I think he meant don't bother swapping a turbo rotary into an N/A FC. If the OP wants a turbo FC, there are lots of them for sale. No reason to go through the headache of a swap.

Copper280z wrote: An LS1 swap rx7 can be a real choice, it's not that hard to do it for under 6k, including the car. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQN3CbAEWNw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YOCOV98rBo I was still feeling the car out still in the 2nd vid, so excuse the slowness. I was being very cautious with the throttle, I expected the rear to be a lot squirrellier than it was.

Any pics and/or build thread to link? Would love to see more!

I have a couple pics, but no good build thread. I accumulated parts slowly over 2 years, once I got everything, it was about a month of leisurely wrenching before it was drivable. I genuinely spent more time building the exhaust than doing the rest of the swap. I think I had the car on the road for about $4500 for everything including the car, but that was a lot of new parts etc, I actually think you could do it inside of a challenge budget, but it would be tough.

I bought the chassis on CL from a hack that had a carb'd chevy in it with the intention of doing the swap and getting things sorted, then swapping to a nicer chassis. It was cheap, I think ~$400 including the gen 1 chevy mounts. I modified the mounts to fit the LS1, it was a little grinding/bending, nothing serious.

I used a 5.3L LM7 long block with the F-car trimmings, I bought a rebuilt t56 and used a regular LS1 clutch/flywheel. I converted the truck harness from drive by wire to cable, I also ditched the enormous truck fuse block for something a little smaller and pulled all the unneeded wires, it turned out to be about 7lbs worth of crap!

I don't have any pics of the radiator, but I bought it used on norotors.com(rx7 swap forum) and built a simple mount for it. It's an aftermarket part, but I don't remember what. I used a taurus fan controlled by the stock PCM. The radiator isn't huge, but the fan never runs while moving and only runs for 45sec at a time.

The driveshaft is a stock C4 corvette part, with a mazda flange on the back using a 1310 to 7260 ujoint. The diff is currently a T2 VLSD, but I'd like to swap in my extra T2 CLSD carrier. I also now have delrin rear subframe bushings, delrin rear diff bushings, a poly pinion snubber, and delrin DTSS eliminator bushings.

Installing the engine was cake, far easier than in an F-body. getting the holes lined up was a little tough, but not too bad. Those holes in the firewall are from the previous hack owner, "to let more air in" as he put it...

Had to shim the engine up a little to get it off the steering rack, rack is in the stock position so bumpsteer is unaffected.

The exhaust is stock F-car manifolds to a true dual system with an X pipe, magnaflow mufflers out back in the stock position. All of it is tucked up above the frame rails.

i thought about a v8 swap but id like to keep the rotary engine.

Go with the M3 then.

At the same price, I would pick the M3 over a rotary powered RX7 any day. I think the M3 is a more serious car. But I haven't owned - and had to pay for upkeep on - either.

Keep in mind an S54 swap is $$$$$$$$$$

Like, just go ahead and buy an E46 M3.

Yes, I meant just buy a factory turbo FC car over swapping a turbo rotary into an N/A FC chassis. I have the opinion that unless you get the N/A FC shell for free, it's just not worth the headache.

Copper280z wrote: I have a couple pics, but no good build thread. I accumulated parts slowly over 2 years, once I got everything, it was about a month of leisurely wrenching before it was drivable. I genuinely spent more time building the exhaust than doing the rest of the swap. I think I had the car on the road for about $4500 for everything including the car, but that was a lot of new parts etc, I actually think you could do it inside of a challenge budget, but it would be tough. I bought the chassis on CL from a hack that had a carb'd chevy in it with the intention of doing the swap and getting things sorted, then swapping to a nicer chassis. It was cheap, I think ~$400 including the gen 1 chevy mounts. I modified the mounts to fit the LS1, it was a little grinding/bending, nothing serious. I used a 5.3L LM7 long block with the F-car trimmings, I bought a rebuilt t56 and used a regular LS1 clutch/flywheel. I converted the truck harness from drive by wire to cable, I also ditched the enormous truck fuse block for something a little smaller and pulled all the unneeded wires, it turned out to be about 7lbs worth of crap! I don't have any pics of the radiator, but I bought it used on norotors.com(rx7 swap forum) and built a simple mount for it. It's an aftermarket part, but I don't remember what. I used a taurus fan controlled by the stock PCM. The radiator isn't huge, but the fan never runs while moving and only runs for 45sec at a time. The driveshaft is a stock C4 corvette part, with a mazda flange on the back using a 1310 to 7260 ujoint. The diff is currently a T2 VLSD, but I'd like to swap in my extra T2 CLSD carrier. I also now have delrin rear subframe bushings, delrin rear diff bushings, a poly pinion snubber, and delrin DTSS eliminator bushings. Installing the engine was cake, far easier than in an F-body. getting the holes lined up was a little tough, but not too bad. Those holes in the firewall are from the previous hack owner, "to let more air in" as he put it... Had to shim the engine up a little to get it off the steering rack, rack is in the stock position so bumpsteer is unaffected. The exhaust is stock F-car manifolds to a true dual system with an X pipe, magnaflow mufflers out back in the stock position. All of it is tucked up above the frame rails.

Very cool. Thanks for the additional details. Are you somewhere in FL by chance?

Western NY, so not really. There are a lot of swapped cars in FL though.

Shoot. I checked out your videos and thought one of them referenced a central Florida auto-x event. Great car and great build so far!