JayoM 47 Posted January 7, 2013 Report Share Posted January 7, 2013 The plan for my FB after getting her sitting pretty was to get to work on the engine and see how much power I can get out of it. There's two options really. One would be to stick with the 12a. I don't need huge power and it's well capable of what I want. The only issue I see is that production of the 12a housings has stopped. So that would leave me pretty screwed for the inevitable rebuild. I haven't heard of anyone refurbing the used housings, so I presume thats a no-go. The second would be to drop in a 13b. A 13B-REW set up would probably be the easiest to get my hands on, and seems mechanically relatively simple to swap in. But then I would have to deal with the electrics, which I presume isn't so straighforward. I've got visions of the FB lying up for eternity because of some botched wiring. But if it did go right, then what a sweet set up that would be. Any one have any advice? I think I'd prefer to stick with the carb'd 12a set up and not have to deal with the hassle of the electrics. But then again I don't want to pour a rake of cash into the 12a only for it to go pop and not being able to find the parts to rebuild it! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yasiryassin 3 Posted January 7, 2013 Report Share Posted January 7, 2013 Re: Stick with 12a or 13b swap? can you not use 2nd hand parts for a rebuild? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
the real podge 18 Posted January 7, 2013 Report Share Posted January 7, 2013 Re: Stick with 12a or 13b swap? Budget for a pp 12a. Absolutely awesome sound :mrgreen: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JayoM 47 Posted January 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2013 Re: Stick with 12a or 13b swap? can you not use 2nd hand parts for a rebuild? Yep as long as the housings in good nic it can be reused. But with them not being produced anymore I imagine good used ones will be rare as hell soon. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yasiryassin 3 Posted January 7, 2013 Report Share Posted January 7, 2013 Re: Stick with 12a or 13b swap? uk forum is good for parts: http://www.mazdarotaryclub.com/forums/s ... hp?t=77981 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rotor_dude 4 Posted January 8, 2013 Report Share Posted January 8, 2013 Re: Stick with 12a or 13b swap? get it on the road first with the 12A, then modify it in stages, otherwise it might never be on the road seen too many cars over years not get on the road because of too many mods/ideas done at once personally 13B, i have a FC 13B 6-port in a S3, FC 13BT in a S3, FD 13BTT in a S3 and RX8 13B in a S3, all different and good power if you want all the work done contact Rotorworks Automotive in n.i can fit any 13B engine (ported or turbo) into the FB and all the wiring etc also upgrades to suspension/brakes etc Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JayoM 47 Posted January 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2013 Re: Stick with 12a or 13b swap? Thanks for that, Glen. Yeah, the plan is to leave all proper engine work until next Winter. Once I get all the rust sorted, it'll be going on the road with the 12a for the Summer. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jp 460 Posted January 9, 2013 Report Share Posted January 9, 2013 Re: Stick with 12a or 13b swap? Do you want turbo or non-turbo power? And carbs or injection? Keep it original or modified? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JayoM 47 Posted January 9, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2013 Re: Stick with 12a or 13b swap? I'm not concerned at all about keeping it original, just as long as its rotary. That's pretty much the only condition. Injection/carb, turbo/NA - they're both achievable with either engine so that doesn't really come into it. I probably would only want to go turbo if I was going for power that couldn't be achieved N/A, so I wouldn't be slapping on a turbo just to make ~160bhp when it could be done naturally aspirated. I guess the idea behind the original question was essentially, would I be wasting my time modifying a 12a as new or good parts needed to rebuild them will inevitably become extinct in the near future? From what I've gathered on here and on the 1st gen owners club, common sense dictates moving to some class of a 13b would be the wisest choice. So, I think I'll put off the weber carb set up for awhile, get some cash together over the next few months and get onto Glen about what the best options are! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gav240z 2 Posted February 17, 2013 Report Share Posted February 17, 2013 Re: Stick with 12a or 13b swap? Stick with 12a until you need a new motor. You can then swap in the renesis 13b which will make awesome power and get better fuel consumption than the earlier 13b's with port work to make same power. Of course a bridge port sounds awesome. So it really depends on what you want from the car but if going NA and 200+ HP I think Renesis all the way 9000rpm is amazing he he. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JohnC 17 Posted February 17, 2013 Report Share Posted February 17, 2013 Re: Stick with 12a or 13b swap? Just get the car on the road and enjoy it. Too many people want the car to be finished as soon as work begins. Get it looking great and enjoy it. Then the next stage of the project can be the engine spirit r 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rotormouse 3 Posted February 18, 2013 Report Share Posted February 18, 2013 Re: Stick with 12a or 13b swap? You can machine down 13b housings to 12a width, 5mm off each side and end up with bigger exhaust ports. spirit r 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gav240z 2 Posted February 21, 2013 Report Share Posted February 21, 2013 Re: Stick with 12a or 13b swap? I haven't heard of anyone refurbing the used housings' date=' so I presume thats a no-go.[/quote'] FYI: http://goopyperformance.com/content/rot ... furbishing Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JayoM 47 Posted July 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2015 2 and a half years later, the answer is definitely go with the 13b swap dmarex 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
littlefeck 837 Posted July 27, 2015 Report Share Posted July 27, 2015 Talk about digging up an old thread! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jp 460 Posted July 30, 2015 Report Share Posted July 30, 2015 Lol! Where's our "please don't feed the trolls" emoticon?!? :P Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Logan 0 Posted May 15, 2019 Report Share Posted May 15, 2019 well i dig this post up again lol, i read through the whole thing but didnt really find my answer. i bought a 1982 fb gx and am looking to swap a 12bt into it. i just have no idea where to start with the swap. is there some where that would have a full list of everything im going to need to make it work? or is there a better swap option to go with? i was also thinking of a 1jzvvti but from what i have found out so far is that no one has done that swap before. i am very new to this so i dont know alot and it will be the first swap i have ever done. Thank you for any help you can give me! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
littlefeck 837 Posted May 15, 2019 Report Share Posted May 15, 2019 Hi @Logan, quite a bit will go into deciding factors for you, what's your budget, are you planning on doing the work yourself and where do you live? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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