I've owned two 1st gen RX-7s in the past, and I absolutely love rotaries, so I picked up a bargain basement 2006 RX-8 a few weeks back, with the express intent of using it as a donor car for a swap (Stay tuned for a full part-out post if you need anything).

It's honestly shocking how cheap these cars are for what they offer. I know the Renesis is maligned across a lot of circles, which I think is partly ignorance about rotaries, and partly because it's not particularly conducive to big HP builds, and 240hp is not a lot for a 3000lb car. But I love the smoothness of the power delivery. I love the sound. I love the power density.

 

Which brings us to my other car, a 1992 Suzuki Cappuccino. Equipped with a mighty 660cc 3-cylinder, the Cappuccino isn't exactly what you'd call fast. But it weighs under 1500lbs. You can mod it and maybe get 100-110hp out of the little engine, but that's about the limit before things start breaking. And getting parts for a JDM only car from 30 years ago in the US is not fun.

So I really wanted to swap it. The problem is, the Cappuccino is tiny. Hilariously tiny. The engine bay is miniscule. All the traditional swaps go out the window.

 

LSx? Not a chance in hell.
K20? It'll look like a big-block and the intake is so big that it'll stick 5 inches out of the hood. And it'll either interfere with the steering rack, or you'd have to mount the engine even higher to clear it.
SR20? Same story.
2.0 Duratec? Won't fit between the frame rails probably, and too tall.
Hayabusa engine? Again, the intake is too tall and it'll stick several inches out of the hood.
Hartley H1V8? Okay...as badass as a Hayabusa-based V8 is, $45,000 is a bit pricey. My 3d model shows it just baaaaarely at the cusp of fitting under the hood though.



Badass? Certainly.
Practical? Not so much.

 

Been wanting to get a cappuccino for a while now, but I test drove an automatic one and had to drive with my arm out the car. Interested to see how this goes. (I think i may get a samurai or jimny instead.)

 

But a 13b, now we're talking. It'll fit. According to my 3d model, the Renesis clears the hood with a few millimeters to spare, even with its huge and complicated intake. What's better is that it'll fit with minimal changes to the subframe, no interference with the steering rack, etc. Mounting it in that position puts the shifter right through the stock shifter location. And I don't need a big-*** turbo. 240hp out of a Renesis is plenty in a 1500lb car. That's about as much as I'd trust the chassis to handle without having to weld in braces everywhere anyway.

It does require some cutting. The transmission tunnel is simply not wide enough to fit the Aisin 6-speed, but the Cappuccino has a surprisingly large amount of space in the footwell, so cutting into that isn't a deal-breaker. The biggest problem is exhaust routing. The exhaust in the Renesis goes directly into the footwell, through a structural part of the chassis, and only ducks out of the way a few centimeters from the driver's seat. So some cutting and welding is necessary there, but it's manageable. The structural part of the chassis can be moved and reinforced without interfering with the pedals.

 

Here's the space we're working with, and the mighty 660cc 3-cylinder.

 

I compression-tested the RX-8 and disassembled the whole car (holy **** the RX-8 is a great candidate for a diet. The glovebox weighs about 30x as much as it needs to. The power driver's seat feels like it has lead bricks embedded in it. The doors are so heavy I could barely even lift them).

Next step is to remove the drivetrain and subframes from the Cappuccino and do a test fit. Mock up the engine mounts. Mark just how much of the transmission tunnel needs to be cut. Look for clearance issues. Measure for a new driveshaft, Power Plant Frame, axles, etc. Get a final size for the radiator and oil cooler and place an order. Make a decision on what to do about the RX-8's huuuuuge airbox.

After that, put everything back together and work on the wiring harness and electronics while waiting for parts. I've got a lot of time off work in December, so I'll try to keep a good build log in the Rotary Swaps section.

Anyway, nice to meet everyone. I used to spend a bunch of time over on the RX-7 forums, and I kinda miss the internet forum scene, or at least how great it was 20 years ago.

 

They're great little cars. I've been really pleasantly surprised by the build quality. I'm 6'3" tall and I fit, but I do have aftermarket seats that drop me down a bit (I was banging my head on the ceiling over bumps with the stock seats). It's less friendly toward...wider...people, however. Handling is great with the double wishbone up front and multilink suspension in the back, and it's really easy to work on. Getting parts can be a nightmare though. Japan hates shipping things to the US.

 

More Cappuccino pics, for those interested (assuming the image upload feature decides to work?)

They have the coolest roof I've ever seen on a car. It comes off in 3 pieces so it'll fit in the trunk, and then the back part folds back. So you have a choose-your-own-adventure.

Hard top? Check.
T-tops? Check.
Targa? Check.
Full convertible? Check

And the rear window is proper glass, so you don't have the ragtop Miata problem where the rear window plastic deteriorates. It's a really good, clever design. It's a bit of a process taking it up and down, but not as hard as a Lotus Elise.

Of course when you store the top in the trunk, you have almost no room left for anything else back there. Maybe a light jacket.

 

Wow, the image hosting on RX-8 club is...hot garbage, haha. Images upload about...5% of the time, and then randomly have 503s and don't load.