Nothing for "Rotary" or "RX-7" came up in a search.

Whenever I happen to find myself riding in an RX-7 of any year, I am quite impressed at the smooth and quick acceleration which I believe is largely attributed to the rotary style engine which by its nature has a continuous momentum as opposed to the reciprocating movements of a piston engine.

This got me wondering about how the rotary motor would fair in a Fiero.

Just fantasizing here, but I am curious to know if such a swap has ever been done successfully or if it is even possible (well I guess anything is possible) or more accurately worth the effort.

Thanks for any insight...

I always thought it would be fun to put one in my MGB. Never heard of one in a Fiero.

I think you're biggest problem will be mating it to a transaxle that will allow it to work in a Fiero. It would definitely be a "wow factor" swap, as I can't imagine the performance being worth the time and money you'll spend on it.

Yeah, there was never a transverse rotary, so you'd have that challenge right out the gate. There are adapter bellhousings for various RWD transmissions (T5 & a VW transaxle come to mind) and since the rotary is so small it might work out - but might not.

If you search around, you'll find a guy in Europe (might be Poland, not sure) who spent a long time trying to put a rotary into something transverse - I think it might have been an NSU (but again, not sure). He was having all sorts of problems. In a Fiero, you'd also have a seriously hard time with the exhaust - rotary EGTs are extreme and rotaries are LOUD. Thermal and noise management would be a real concern in a confined space.

IMHO, there is the wow factor and that's worth something, but in 2014 with very efficient four cylinders making rotary levels of power with only slight weight penalties there probably isn't a real reason to seek out an increasingly rare (12a, 13b) or expensive (13b-MSP) motor and THEN go through the hassle of making it work.

It is a reliable, but slow and inefficient (gas mileage), so it would not be worth the effort

For "wow" factor that actually makese sense, the TDI swap that BMWGuru did makes far more sense. Super efficient motors, with some surprising performance potential.

This topic has come up many, many times over the years. The issues is that the block is very wide at the base and the exhaust manifold is right where the PS axle shaft needs to go.
There are some pictures in this thread:
https://www.fiero.nl/forum/A...090907-2-091370.html

There's a reason Mazdas have a V8's in them now.

Rotorys are great little motors. Honestly though the advantages of the smaller torquey motor paired with a solid transmission would be lost in a heavy fiero with a vw or porch trans.

I swapped one into a postal jeep....does that count?

Seems to me they use to make some awesome horsepower with a turbo.

quote Originally posted by f85gtron: I swapped one into a postal jeep....does that count?

Pics or it didn't happen....

My neighbor swapped a turbo rotary into a 73 Porsche 911. It ran pretty strong and had plenty of room.........

That engine should be short enough to fit longitudinally. Maybe use a Subaru trans converted to 2WD, like the Factory Five 818.

[This message has been edited by Steven Snyder (edited 09-30-2014).]