Everyone knows rotary engines are cool- if nothing else you get to keep saying the word "Wankel" over and over- but... apex seals. Having seen a few RX-2s and RX-3s with small-block Chevy mills (and very brave drivers), I knew an engine compartment made for a rotary can be made to house a V8 without too much agony. So when a friend had a 5.0 HO motor for sale cheap, the mental gears started turning... the old RX-2 is pretty much extinct, but how about the still-easy-to-find RX-7? My research led to this very nicely written description of exactly such a swap, with extremely helpful details covering the acquisition of the all-important (if you're in CA) BAR engine-swap smog sticker.
Smog Legal Ford 5.0 to '83 RX-7 Swap [Brad Bergholdt]
Related:
Required Riding: The 1978 Mazda RX7 [internal]