Page 1. Introduction
Page 2. Engine Removal
Page 3. The Swap kit
Page 4. Engine/Tranny Purchase
Page 5. Engine Install
Page 6. The Paintjob
Page 7. Cooling & Exhaust
Page 8. Wiring, Clutch Hydraulics, Misc.
Page 9. Start-up, first drive
Page 10. Photoshoot
Page 11. Performance Results & Videos
Page 12. Conclusion

I ordered my radiator as a custom piece from Howe Racing. It measures 16"x27.5" which leaves the perfect amount of space on both sides of the radiator (approx. 3/16"). The radiator inlet and outlet are both located on the passenger's side which works well with the LS1 water pump. The inlet is 1-3/4" and the outlet 1-1/2", there is no fill spout as I will be using in line unit to keep the fill point high.

I had "L"-shaped pieces of aluminum welded to the sides of the radiator tanks for support. I found some nice fitting radiator hoses by rooting thru the back room of the local Napa with a tape measure :).

Here are the headers I used for the car. These are specially made by "Jagsthatrun" specifically for the 3rd generation LS1 RX-7... the quality is impressive! They are 1-3/4" primaries (1-7/8 are available) with 3" V-band clamp collectors and I chose to have them ceramic coated. They are a bit expensive at $800 shipped but personally I think they are worth every penny. One of the more impressive features were that they could be installed on the motor even after it was mounted in the car.

I kept the exhaust pretty simple. Because of the way the RX7 is made, there is no room for traditional dual exhaust. After the headers, the exhaust reduced to dual 2.5in followed by a "Y" pipe, flange set for seperation and single 3in to a tipped magnaflow. I had this work done at a family-friend's repair/exhaust shop for $650 including the muffler. The muffler makes the car very stealthy at idle, but at WOT it sounds mean as hell.

Next Page: Wiring, Clutch Hydraulics, Misc.