Option6

I was cruising through a local auto wrecker's yard today after getting a muffler for my girlfirend's car, and I spotted an '82 FB. I grabbed the J109's off the distributor (yay, 3 spares now!) and took a look at the back end. It had a limited-slip differential with rear disc brakes. I almost giggled with glee, but I had to get moving and didn't really have time to take a closer look.



A LSD on the rear-end has always been on my "wish list", and I've done a fair bit of research on the topic, but it's not something I planned on doing in the near future.



My question is, should I be getting my *** back to the wrecker tomorrow to pull that rear-end, even if it means keeping it in my garage for a year until I have the time to swap it in? ..or would I be better off waiting and keeping my eye out for a particular year, etc.?



Oh, and to sweeten the deal, someone has already removed the gas tank and exhaust system, leaving behind nothing but free space and easy access to the rear axle.



Any comments would be appreciated.

83turbo

I think the brake line threads are different, but other than that

it ought to drop in. Don't forget to grab the parking brake cables

too.

'82 is actually a good year for you - starting in '83 they went to a

different driveshaft flange, so you'd need to grab the driveshaft

(which has the misfortune of having non-replaceable U-joints)

If you were to find an '84, the plus side is that you could easily

upgrade to GSL-SE axles/brakes if you so desired.



1979-1982: small driveshaft flange, small rear wheel bearings, small

axle shafts (not by much though)



1983: large driveshaft flange, small rear wheel bearings, small axle shafts



1984-1985 (12A and GSL-SE): large driveshaft flange, large rear wheel bearings,

larger axle shafts (not by much)



It's probably worth your while to grab the strut assemblies as well.

Then you get the nicer FB front discs. The '79 has these sliding

wedge things that are sort of a pain. Not sure about threads on those.

drifter

Me and series1rx7 swapped an 82 diff straight into his 79. Only thing that caused any probs was one brake line that had a different thread. Thats pretty much it.

Option6

That is all very encouraging to hear. It's pouring rain like a monsoon right now, so unfortunately it's going to have to wait. Sadly, I doubt it will be there by next weekend. (fingers crossed)



Back to the garage to finish my DLIDFIS install and emissions removal..

BUZZN7

i just got a 9inch shortened it and put a minispool init the amount of standard diffs i went through i could of bought 3 9inches and they will neva break

Alak

Its mine! I saw that red 7 first!!!! Just kidding. Lemmie know how you do that swap there Option6. Maybe I'll coax you over with a case of beer and we can do it on my 80 too. Theres little difference between our cars, except yours isnt a rust bucket. Bucks Auto also has a couple 82's (among other things). Lemmie know how you make out.



Oh and theres a guy up the street selling a 79 (or possibly 80) FB thats just beautiful. Its Silver with Silver Trim (Instead of black rubber) and its in showroom condition. Im gonna stop in and knock on his door and ask him what he wants. Its a very very nice 7. Its even got the original rims and everything (yes, the ugly 79/80 ones).



Ciao

Option6

As much as I'd love to pull the rear-end from that car (if it is still there), I just don't have the time. I just signed on a place and will be moving in less that a week.. just before the long weekend.



My main concern is that because suspension/steering is my weakest area of automotive knowledge, I'd want lots of time to pull the parts. I understand enough to be dangerous.. and I worry about the logistics of removing the springs. Regardless, I think this is just turning out to be bad timing and that '82 was a tease.



I think you should go for it. At least then I could rest easy knowing it went to someone else that was going to appreciate it.



OT:

And rust is my next challenge to tackle.. I'm developing some bad rust around the rear wheel fenders. At least the car was garaged all winter and didn't drive in the salt, so I saved a few months of accelerated rust. I'm actually very excited to learn more about bodywork, so this will be a fun project.

Alak

Ya I got that fender rust too. I wanna do a bondo job but I just dont have time much like yourself. My RX-7 is like my toy/restoration project. My 98' Supra has problems with the intake and we had to change out the Turbos completely and make it N/A until we can fix the problems. That involved unplugging some computer components and now all my dash warnings wont go off. Im probably going to Garage my 7 soon and take it apart - probably the best time to swap the rear end. I'll let you know how that goes when I accually get around to it.