I just bought an 89 rx7 Non Turbo car for $600 and I'm looking to turn it in to a car for the track. The motor is pretty much shot and some of my friends were telling me that you can't just drop in a turbo engine. the body is pretty much straight and theres not to much wrong visually with the car.

some of the electronics dont work but I was plannig on scraping it all any way. some advice on were to start would very appericated cause right now I'm at a stand still with a non turbo project car.

 

what kind of track? drag, autoX, Road course, Drift racing (yay) it is possible to do a turbo swap, but you "need" the whole driveline, i.e. trans, driveshaft, diff, halfshafts, plus the engine itself of course. Most people will tell you to just get a turboII and be done with it, it is usually cheaper, IF, and it is a big if, you can find one. I would like to turbo my car, but only because I have seen to date, 1 S5 turbo, in my entire life, and that one is ragged out, needs paint, and emotional counseling, not to mention the current owners terms of sale were along the lines of, "you can pry the keys from my cold dead fingers" so, doing a turbo swap may be your best (only) option, and by the way, welcome to the club.

 

a rotary engine doesnt have to be turboed to get horsepower out of it, more than likey you would be better off and find a turbo 2, a lot less headaches from what ive been told and read but this is just my opinion.

 

This is good advice!



But if you're really serious about doing the NA-> turbo conversion and have any questions, let me know. Maybe I can help save you some time, money, and the countless headaches that I went through.



BTW... Personally, I wouldn't invest money in building up an NA engine. Turbos are f@cking so cool!