373 fe RX7 for maxton puts it in the class "c" (302 to 373c.i.)

[bear mccoy]

I am kicking around the idea of building a 373 fe for my rx7.  right know i have a .060 390 in it.  but i can build a 373 using one of the 361 ft cranks that i have and a .060 over d4te FT blocks that i have.  was wondering who does the best work on these cranks.  want to run 6.7 chevy rod with 2.2 bearing.  And light the crank as much as possible.  Also wondering if it is better the machine the crank for the chevy rods or machine the rods to fit the FT crank?  plan on topping this off with a Borg Warner s488 t6 turbo.  Being as this is mile course instead of 1/4 mile lag is not as critical.  any input will be appreciated

[bear mccoy]

that is not my rx7 it is the template however.  It went 7s with a 347 and 101mm turbo.  here is his engine bay  .  just change the motor and and that is me.  hopefully one day.

[jayb]

That would be cool, I don't know of anyone who has put an FE in an RX-7.  Is there any reason you want to downsize cubic inches instead of upsize?  More cubes is generally more power, although in any case your ultimate power will be limited by the airflow capability of the turbo.

In any case, my vote is to get to a big block Chevy rod journal if at all possible.  The wider bearing and the smaller diameter will pay big longevity dividends over a standard FE rod bearing.  This is why I go to aftermarket stroker cranks on all my engines now; the advantage of a good quality BBC rod that is cheap, plus the better bearing dimensions, make it a no brainer in my opinion. 

If you get to Maxton, give Keith Turk a swift kick in the butt for me 

[plovett]

I'm sending my 391 crank to Adney Brown in June.  I've talked to him on the phone and heard nothing but good about him.  I'm going to get the snout and butt turned down to passenger car size, offset grinding, lightening, and neutral balancing.

http://www.performancecrankshaft.com/

I'm not a "no replacement for displacement" guy by any means, but more cubic inches will allow you to make the power needed at a lower rpm which will help durability.   You could get your crank offset to 3.73" or so while it's being machined for the "BBC" rods.  You'll be back up around 390 cubes with a .030" overbore.

I'm actually going to "SBC" rods for my next FE build.  They're 6.500" long and have a 2.100" rod journal.  I'm getting my 391 crank offset ground to around 4.10". I'm going for more cubes and less rpm, for durability and especially for valvetrain stability.  

For sustained high rpm usage like your mile runs I would think a 6.7" or 6.8" BBC rod might be the better choice.

JMO,

paulie

[cammerfe]

When racing at Maxton, the class you run is based on displacement. I, at present, own E/F CC where 'E' goes from just less to just more than four litres. It's possible to get factory engines as large as a full five litres, but that would put me into 'D' or possibly even 'C'. But one of the factory displacements is right on four litres, so when I went looking for a core from which to work, the engine I got was right on the money.

KS

[bear mccoy]

373 is the top cubic inches in the class i want to run.  I plan on running it with the 390 in it while i finish the body work and paint.  when that is done i will start the next motor. Money is tight so i spend a lot more time researching on this build than i did on my ranger.  paulie thanks for the website

[bear mccoy]

having trouble getting the picture sizes right. 

[plovett]

373 is the top cubic inches in the class i want to run.  I plan on running it with the 390 in it while i finish the body work and paint.  when that is done i will start the next motor. Money is tight so i spend a lot more time researching on this build than i did on my ranger.  paulie thanks for the website

Ah, I see now.  Makes sense. 

paulie

[jayb]

having trouble getting the picture sizes right. 

That is a cool looking car, I would like to see a bigger picture of it.  Can you just size it up in Paint or Photoshop or something?  Or size it down less?

[bear mccoy]

is this better

[bear mccoy]

is this better

[bear mccoy]

better yet

[jayb]

Nice!  Nobody would ever expect a big 'ol FE in that thing    Bet she really smokes the tires...

[bear mccoy]

the engine bay was surprisingly big.  I picked the car up for $500 dollars minus the motor.  I dropped a 302 into and it was to small, so I dropped an fe block in it that i use to dummy stuff up and it looked perfect.  Headers are for a late 50's T-bird.  It does monster burn-outs, especially with 3.25 ring gear i have in it now.
my dad keeps trying to talk me into throwing the 4.11's in it and head to the drag strip.  I might after i get the front bumper installed.  I thought it would be easy, buy the aerodynamic bumper and just put it on.  Unfortunately that is not the case.  The directions say for it to be installed by a professional  and that is about it.  My time for working on it is limited because of baseball and softball for my kids.  Hopefully i get it on and the car primed before to much longer.