Rotarys don't make much torque,which hurts driveability on the street. Most sanctioning bodies factored them 3x,which basically killed their chances of being competitive. Granny's Speedshop coupled two rotary motors together, for an outlaw late model dirt car.Lots of problems,eventually gave up.
Ok, I'm into a lot of automotive projects. In addition to the 31 Chevrolet truck based hot rod (The real reason I'm on the HAMB), and my 56 Ford daily driver wagon, I'm also stuffing a Mazda turbo rotary engine into a 1969 Austin Healy. This isn't really what this website is about, but it is in the spirit of hot rodding: I'm taking a light, cheap car, removing the 45 horsepower motor and replacing it with a 200 HP unit. The motor is a JDM (Japanese Domestic Motor). The Japanese car companies don't sell their most powerful engines in North America, so I imported a low mileage unit from Japan. Actually, there are a lot of companies on the web who will import them for you. For around $1000 I got the engine, trans, wiring, etc. I hope to complete the install by this time next year. I just got the narrowed rear end back from Moser and need to get it , the fuel tank and radiator sorted out, then button it up. Should be a lot of fun. Greg
i have always been interestaed in rotary engines, built a visible model of one when i was a kid, that rod with sounds awful though, imo....
i had a 1974? 295 Wankle Powered Artic Cat snomobile, that thing would chew up and spit out 340 Pumas all day long...
BTW, I believe the owner of that Crosley also had a Nash Metropolitan with a blown big block Chevy in it.
Has anybody checked the price on batteries lately? That Datsun has about $2400.00 worth of batteries in it that need to be replaced every few years. You could buy a crate motor and run times like that with a car that small.
I had a wankel rotary in an early snowmobile. I think it burned oil at half the rate of gas. Fun but loud and stinky.
Right on Raven, hey if ya'll have ever seen any of Raven stuff who what he builds you would not question him....If ya don't agree with what the hell is traditional or not then read another damn message... Not sure why "some of ya'll" have to be so dang negative and blast someone for asking or posting something that might not be up your alley. I hate elctric cars BUT i enjoyed the post and reading if not i would hve gone to another one that did interest me Now i'm jumping off my soap box.
I found an Rx-7 at a junk yard once. I almost bought it to put in a 72 MGB that I had. It would have been cool.
Nope. It was a 12A 2 rotor, the same as the RX-2. Only the offshore limos had the 3 rotor. The Rx-4 had a 13B, 2 rotor as well. I ran a 12A in my 36 in the mid 70's....unfortunlately it was the 12A with the APEX seal problem.......it died.
A question, that I didnt see addressed down thru the thread: How do you 're-ring' a Wankel? or 'sleeve' it when it is worn out?? Is that maybe why they fell out of favor with the industry? When one wears out, it is worn out!! OR am I MISSING something?? Truth be told I dont know all there is to know about the wankel...
They have apex seals on the ends of the rotors. When they are worn out you just replace them, if the cylinders are worn to thin, you can buy replacement rotor housings. The reason they never took off was the fact that they get crap for mileage. Nothing too bad in todays standards where everyone drives an SUV but my RX-7 got around 18-20, no matter how much I flogged it or babied it.
About 1974 or so one of the mags (Hot Rod, Car Craft?) had a project car '32 roadster that they were gonna put two rotaries in. I was too young (now too old) to remember what ever became of it.
Thanks Roothawg. It actually sounds like it would be easier to rebuild a worn out wankel than a piston type then.
Hokey Ass Message Board Spreading the gospel of traditional hot rods and kustoms to greasers world wide... Id love to see one trad hot rod out there, built back when, that has an electric powerplant in it. I cant remember seeing one... Maybe the kustoms? Hmm....Caddy, Olds...flathead. Dont seem to remember one there either. Hirohata hybrid? Doubtful. You can dig electric powered cars all you want. You can build an electric T if you want to, go for it. But this doesnt belong on the board, and no matter how much you cry and back up your point....it doesnt really matter. Metal garbage cans are "traditional", but it wouldnt be traditional building a rod out of one...
Not that completely agree with Raven, but aren't innovation and adaptation found throughout our tradition? Think about it.
I have a friend with an RX7. Blew 2 13B's. Now has an LS1 in it. Goes faster now, but not by much. Factory rotory with a few bolt ons would absolutely embarass an LS1 corvette. Plus, they handle like they're on rails. Off topic, yes, but wonderful piece of engineering!
It really doesn't hurt to keep an open mind. And if there is a well done Trad Style Hot Rod with an alternative Powerplant, I'd love to see it. But it seems to me that most of these builds are done by somebody who is trying to make a statement. Which usually means the rest of the car is full of weird & goofy things as well...
I had an 81 rx7...at about 170000 miles... the seals were worn bad and would not start. Mr. Mazda told me to slowly pour engine oil down the carb and crank it over...To my suprise it started... I always carried a quart from then on...well until I sold it. These engines rock with RPM !
A friend of mine in Newton , N.C. had a rotary in a silver 32 highboy. His name was Carl Dwiggins. He was always up to something. I think it was in some magazines too. I think the deal was that he beat the guys at Hot Rod mag , getting his rotary powered car done before the one got done they were building. Didn't it have two engines bolted together? Cool thread.
I agree about keeping an open mind. Funny how these threads always get negative responses, but I never see anyone bitch this being a tradional hot rod and custom site when someone posts threads about country music stars dying and how we hide out tattoos at work.
It was in a 80's Hot Rod Mag. I was just thinking about that car the other day. I got the magazine , but it would take a while to go through them. It was yellow -orange right?
Yeah, the torque (or lack thereof) is about the only turn-off. I was thinking of putting it in an old truck, but when comparing the HP and torque of old straight sixes vs the 13B it kind of makes me think that while it would be fun to drive, it wouldn't be all that useful as a truck. Granted, it would take a little porting, etc and some tweaking to get it to match the specs of the OEM engine, but I'd just be doing it to have something to tool around in anyway. ...and we ALL know that Wankel Rotary Power will straight-up get you laid. And yes, they ARE giving each other a High-5... It's like she's saying, "Hey, nice rotary engine! Now I'm going to have sex with you." Gas is like $3/gal here in KC! And I always said that if it got to $3 I'd get an old POS Chevy PU, swap an Olds 350 Diesel in it (they put 'em in everything, and they bolt up to a BOP TH400), and run it off of vegetable oil... or Canola (which is best). Look out, Applebee's... I want your grease.
raven61, You are not the only one thinking about building an electric T! I have been thinking about it for a while, also to use as a daily commuter. I have been looking at auto electric conversion "kits". I like the idea of a T because of size and weight – that and they look cool. Before the T idea, I was looking at building an electric Shelby Cobra replica. The problem with a Cobra, compared to a T are that they are relatively heavy and pricy. I have also looked at some of the off the shelf electric cars, there is one from Berkeley (I can't remember the name right now), but they are most (all?) NEV's, although Tesla Motors is about to change that. I'm sure you have seen the electric Porsche Spyder? For those of you who don’t think electric cars perform, you need to hang out at a few more autocrosses. So raven61, I support your idea of building an electric T. I will build the second one. Mike
Thanks for the read and the post.. Thinking outside the box and not closing you mind to new ideas. That's what made the great ones winners in racing and in life. What the hell were Zora Arkus Duntov and his brother thinking, overhead valves on a motor and then???!!!??!! Nothing Traditional about a crate motor or EFI and "production Fibergla$$" Not one off's like the guys thinking outside the box you know who .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxN8Bzio1kA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-W2rrk-elrg http://www.zonk.com/hotrod.htm http://www.ozoux.com/eclectic/archive/2006/03/20/electric-roadsters
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