rotary power

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nas80
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rotary power

Post by nas80 »

Hey guys

bit of a pretext. I have a big love for rotary engines, it all started when my dad was telling me about a road trip he did with his mate, they had been given a Mazda to go up to scotland and back . He said that the engine in the mazda was the best he ever driven, because it wasnt like a normal engine... this one spun round and round. I was confused because as a nine year old i understood how a piston engine worked but i didnt quite get what he meant.

about 6 years later We moved house to a nicer end of town and the neighbour had an rx7 FC and one day i was outside on the driveway and he ripped the rx7 up the road, and i saw flames shooting out, the next day i was in school telling my uninterested friends how i saw this RX7 shooting out flames.

Some years later after finishing university i sold my Peugeot, to a kid i knew through the local cruising scene - he was from new zealand, he was a massive fan of rotary engines, he had a catch phrase "stick a rotor in it bro" that was his solution to every problem haha.

So he ended up moving back out there and by that time i had a mazda 323, i used to find myself looking at videos of rx7's on youtube, and here is one of my favourites.



so i started the hunt for an rx7 - back then the fd3s was pretty expensive and i couldnt afford one of them, so i got the next best thing an FC

excuse the pics they were taken on a camera phone back when smartphones were not available lol

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the japanese import cabrio white car was an absolutely totally rust free example - but the engine was clogged with carbon and needed a rebuild. so i bought a very rusty uk ( i still shudder about that) but it had a very good engine and this is the first ever engine swap i did.

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i got it running but then i ran out of patience, with it, as there were many many jobs to do. the project stagnated for a while and i got offered a bunch of cash and bought an nice and sensible vw bora tdi.

i got a new job working very near to home, so with extra money every month and only a 3 mile commute to work, i decided to sell the bora and with the money get an rx7 fd3s - literally the day before my birthday i rang around for quotes and was quoted 800-1000 pounds, the next day as i turned 25, i rang elephant insurance and they insured me for 500 pounds. which is rediculously cheap even back then.

with everything sorted i went on the hunt, and there was one pretty local. it had the really expensive mazdaspeed body kit, a recent rebuild, but its paint had faded and i decided that really i should give it a hand.

here is how it looked the day i collected

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drove it to work the next morning

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a few months later i got some new wheels

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mazda speed rear spoiler

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had it painted not long before i got married

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and painted the interior from a previous owners orrible effort

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into a more suble glossy black.

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illuminating rx8 gearnob, pretty proud of that.

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unfortunately my wife and i were struggling to afford a place of our own, i wanted to make my own way in life and didnt want any help from my parents. so i made the decision to sell the FD.

and since then i have had a gti-6 / corrado g60 / and then my last e21 you all know about, and a few other cars as well. none have come close to the way an rx7 gets down the road, or looks.

So last week i saw this come up on ebay and i bagged it, i know your thinking it looks like it needs work it does, and it doesnt even run. but it did only cost me 1500, and it is largely complete. The story is that the car was going to have a v8 conversion and the engine was taken out, but the conversion didnt happen. matey i bought it from put the rotary engine back in, but he couldnt get it running (although he said it did work when it was taken out).

the spec is pretty good actually.

TWIN ROTOR 13B ENGINE

TWIN SEQUENTIAL TURBOS

JASMA APPROVED EXHAUST SYSTEM

LARGE FRONT MOUNT INTERCOOLER

FULLY POLYBUSHED

HKS ADJUSTABLE COILOVERS

HKS TURBO TIMER

MOMO RACE STEERING WHEEL

HKS PILLAR MOUNTED BOOST GUAGE

KNIGHT SPORT EBS3 BOOST CONTROLLER

17" ALLOY WHEELS

FULL SET OF VERY GOOD 235/40/17 TYRES

CAR WILL ALSO COME WITH:

SPARE FRONT BUMPER (WITH LIGHTS)

SIDE SKIRTS

SPARE EXHAUST

here are some pics

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I have been wondering what to do about the white car, firstly its a bit of a dull colour really, and i have a friend who has a rolling shell that has no cosmetic issues and even has a welded in roll cage. best thing is that it is in black as well.

Ill be posting more pics and stuff as this project carries on, the plan is to remore and refurbish / paint all the parts that are crusty looking over to the black shell, and then rebuild this engine with a half bridge so it makes that lovely brap brap brap noise and fit a nice single turbo on there as the twin turbo setup is just far too complicated. i am planning on doing a nice wire tuck and simplification. I predict about 5k will be invested in parts and material i know i could probably buy one for that but it'd be standard. this way ill be happy as i will have everything just the way i like.


[img]http://s13.photobucket.com/albums/a285/nasbucket/forumsig.jpg[/img]
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Jeroen
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Re: rotary power

Post by Jeroen »

I love them rotaries! Something different but great fun I guess... never drove one of these myself!

Or one of these haha

Regards/groeten, Jeroen
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nas80
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Location: West Yorkshire

Re: rotary power

Post by nas80 »

787b is a mechanical hero. rotaries are great fun, they dont tail off as you rev them, because the harder you rev them the more power they make. In fact mazda found that in the early days that owners were over revving the engines to 11000 rpm and this was causing some damage, so they fitted a warning buzzer that goes off when you get 500rpm towards the redline :)

you dont get much engine braking on this engine and they are really really responsive and rev very quickly. hopefully if you ever get chance to visit us in the uk ill gladly take you out for a blast once i get it running.
[img]http://s13.photobucket.com/albums/a285/nasbucket/forumsig.jpg[/img]
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Jeroen
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Re: rotary power

Post by Jeroen »

Sounds like great fun indeed then!!!!
Regards/groeten, Jeroen
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croma_man
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Re: rotary power

Post by croma_man »

hats off mate ! This is a proper racer

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pandemonium001
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Re: rotary power

Post by pandemonium001 »

always liked them. :thumbsup
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joe14
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Re: rotary power

Post by joe14 »

I love a good car love story!
Looking forward to seeing the progress.
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Duracel79
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Re: rotary power

Post by Duracel79 »

Looks like a nice donor engine for the track shell :wink:
1982 323i (S54 "Test Mule" - to be rebuilt into M20 powered track car)
1983 316 (Taiga Thunder - The refined S54 Race car)
1982 635csiA (New project)
1985 728iA (For Sale)
2004 330d Touring (The Daily Hack / Tow Car / Load lugger)
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nas80
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Location: West Yorkshire

Re: rotary power

Post by nas80 »

this wa a big dilemma, should i put the engine into the track e21 shell, but the fact is the rx7 is pretty much track ready from the factory - rose jointed suspension, double alloy wishbones front and rear, quick rack etc. I love an e21 but the rx7 is really sleek.

heres my new rolling shelll - its in much better condition then mine (original paint no repairs) as there is no dents / damage, also its a nice black colour and i think rx7's look more menacing in dark paint. still think it needs a respray though.

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believe it or not this car used to look like this, he stripped it several years ago before he emigrated and its been sat in his garden the whole time. He had a massive run of bad luck with it though...

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si.
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Re: rotary power

Post by si. »

Such cool cars, always wanted one but it was there shear cost of fueling one that always put me off

Good luck with it
1989 325i touring - eventual track car project - maybe for sale
1973 2002 - joint resto with a mate
1982 316 - m20b25 shitty on the outside shiney on the inside
2005 330i - Clubsport individual
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nas80
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Location: West Yorkshire

Re: rotary power

Post by nas80 »

Aye. You'd be having a good day if you got 25mpg.. Fuelly people get 16mpg.

Defo a car you dont drive to work in. Hense why i have a daily.

http://www.fuelly.com/car/mazda/rx-7
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LeeLee
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Re: rotary power

Post by LeeLee »

Uugghh I have a massive love for mazda's rx7's and rotary power love the black convertible FairPlay to you nas a rotary engined e21 would be sick
brockzila
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Re: rotary power

Post by brockzila »

Haha your mate was such a kiwi. Did he use the word bogan as well.

Chuck a rotor in it bro.

Yeah we will put a rotor in anything.

There has been many a time that I have heard barrrp barrp barrp barrrp and been looking for a RX but not find one, then you just start looking for something old and RWD. Escorts, Cortina, vivas, BMW's, chevettes, hylux Utes, bug-eyed 323, old corollas, even Mazda economy vans get the treatment.

I'll chuck up a couple of threads to oldschool.co.nz my main nz web hang out.
brockzila
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Re: rotary power

Post by brockzila »

brockzila
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Re: rotary power

Post by brockzila »

https://youtu.be/tZ58D5mHx20
https://youtu.be/Xj4aiGzb0Fw

Yeah it's more like put a rotor in it and do a skid bro
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