So I am new to rotarys. Could someone please explain the difference between 1st, 2nd, and 3rd generations and what engines were in each. trying to decide on which engine to go with in a swap and need some explanations to help me decide. Thanks in advance

i'll give this a shot and if i make any mistakes someone will correct them.



1st gen: began in '79(78 in other countries) thru '85 with models ranging from base to gsl and had 12a engines. SA(79-80) FB(81-85) the gsl had disc brake rearend and lsd. the gsl-se ran '84-'85 and had FI 6 port 13b.



2nd gen: FC '86-'92 with the turbo introduce in i think '87. all FI 6 port 13b(turbo is 4 port). models were base to gxl with differences in wheel configurations(4 or 5 lug).



3rd gen: FD '93- '95 in the US, thru '99 overseas. all twin turbo FI 13b. models were R1 and R2 with a VR in there somewhere.



be advised i'm not exactly sure of all options of the FC or FD. this is just a brief discription of what i've gathered from what i've read from these sites. ok flame away about my mistakes, i can take it.

thats basically right...



rx7 production started march of 1978, as a 79 model. its known as a 1st gen, or SA22 (vin's start with sa22c-xxxxxx), july of 1980 mazda gave it a facelift, for the 1981 model year. it kept the face lift until may of 1985, when it was phased out. in the usa the vin changed, to FB (jm1FBxxxxxxxxxxxx), although the rest of the world keeps the SA22.



in late 1985 mazda rolled out the second generation rx7, or FC, there is a "major minor change" in 1989, and continued until 1991



12/28/1991 mazda started building the 3rd gen rx7, as a 1993 model. or FD. in the usa we only got the car until 12/95. sales were very slow, due to the high price of the car, and the economy etc. mazda didnt want to retool the car to meet the OBDII standards, so the rx7 was pulled from the us. production continued in japan until april of 2003.

This information helps a lot!!! I appreciate the explanantions and can now start my search with a little background knowledge.



Thanks again

glad i could be of some help. i've been onto rotaries since the early/mid 80s but my post count here leads ppl to think i'm just a noob. i mostly frequent the rx7club site so i don't really get to this site much. had gotten email alerts about PMs here concerning an rx4 i sold a yr ago, so i though i'd check some threads to see what's been going on and if i could be of some help to someone. so just what kinda plans u have in mind? anything specific or just alot of different ideas?

I have a 68 bug that I am restoring sitting in my garage and before I start prepping it for paint I wanted to make up my mind whether or not to do the conversion since I will have to cut the front of the car out for a radiator. I really want the punch from such a small package and was intending to put an aircooled 2276 back in it. The rotary idea is appealing due to the fact of it being water cooled, twice the power of the stock engine and the capablilty of adding ac without robbing it of power as much. My plans now are to find a donor car for the engine and then onto ordering the adapter plate from kennedy and then tackle the radiator and cooling system, and then paint. I have the funds available so it's just a matter of time and patience now. I am kinda leaning toward the 12a for simplicity reasons however the turbo model sounds intreging as well. For a project like this what would you recommend?

u can actually go with a 13b from a non turbo fc and get an aftermarket carb and intake and use the dizzy from an fb, that way u don't have to deal with all the efi stuff.

Id probably go for the 12A as it is simplest engine.

It creates enough power to have lots of fun, especially if you were sticking it in a beetle which i am sure is much lighter than the FB

But thats just my 2 cents.