There's a 1st gen RX7 for sale not to far from here that's already been converted to an SCCA/NASA legal race car. It's cheap, but I don't want to stick a V8 in it if/when the engine blows.
In light of recent discussions about the availability of 12A engine parts, is that even a good idea?
why not convert to 13b then?
Don't you need an FB-specific front plate for that?
I converted to 13B about six years ago because I felt it was immoral to run 12As, given the volume of engines I can process. Plus I couldn't find any bits cheaply enough.
The only thing you need is the GSL-SE oil pan, which is worth about as much used as new. The front mounting plate you can easily make by bending the 12A one in a vise (it is flimsy and bends easily) and cutting off a corner of it on the driver's side where it gets close to the oil pan. Some don't need to do the cutting operation, but I did.
13B parts are getting hard to find, now, however. I'm thinking of converting to S50.
Pretty much any pre-Renesis rotary is hard to get parts for these days. I mean, they exist, but the hoarding has begun so values are skyrocketing. 13bs are now meeting the same fate, as Knurled noted. I guess the trick is just to not cook the motor?
Yah, once my hoard of parts is gone, the only option is to blow up piston engines every couple of months like I used to do before switching to rotaries. Piston engines freakin' suck.
has anybody ever stuffed a renesis into an RX7?
Yes
mad_machine wrote: has anybody ever stuffed a renesis into an RX7?
I know there are a couple FBs with a full renesis swap (intake, computer, etc.).
I think racing beat also sells an adaptor to add carbs to a renesis.
Knurled wrote: Yah, once my hoard of parts is gone, the only option is to blow up piston engines every couple of months like I used to do before switching to rotaries. Piston engines freakin' suck.
But...but...but...are we not having a conversation about how hard it is to find rotary parts cause they are all used up and broken?
Streetwiseguy wrote: But...but...but...are we not having a conversation about how hard it is to find rotary parts cause they are all used up and broken?
Yes, but there's a difference. If, say, I re-engineer the car to take an Ecotec, then I can easily find Ecotecs for $400-800 because GM flooded the market with them and they still are. If I decide to go with a VW four, parts are scarcer but VWs are less likely to blow up, and I have several other VWs anyway so there is an economy to pooling spare parts for a whole fleet of cars. Plus I could build two VW engines just for what one pair of cams for an Ecotec would cost. BUT I can more easily swap the Ecotec because I have the ability to hack the factory PCM while the VW setup would involve a lot of inventiveness.
I'm not thinking of today, I'm thinking of three years from now, you see. Instinct says to keep throwing Ecotecs in the car but by gut feeling says to find as many 1600cc VWs (watercooled) as possible because 1600cc engines sound waaaay better than 1800cc or larger engines, and you can still get 200hp out of them, and they might blow up more frequently but blowing engines is to be expected with all of those weird tinkertoys in the system.
^ What?
I have a 12A in my garage for cheap if anybody wants it....
SlickDizzy wrote: Pretty much any pre-Renesis rotary is hard to get parts for these days. I mean, they exist, but the hoarding has begun so values are skyrocketing. 13bs are now meeting the same fate, as Knurled noted. I guess the trick is just to not cook the motor?
Not to cook it is one option, but at some point you'll have to redo it just from wear.
I didn't realise the problem also extended to 13Bs, that might put my dream of another FD on ice.
No problem getting parts for 13Bs. I can still get a reman engine for my FD for under $3k any day of the week. Same with housings, bearings, rotors, apex seals etc.
Don't know where some people get their info...
Some 12A parts are getting rarer. Those cars are what 35 years old now? No issues swapping over to a 13B unless race class rules disallow that.
12A rotor housings are NLA. Rotors are mostly NLA. Both of these are the primary reason why 12As need to be rebuilt, the housings flake horribly and the apex slots get widened in the rotors. Can't buy 'em new for love or money and good used is extremely hard to find.
Pre-85 13B stuff is gone except for GSL-SE rotor housings. All you can buy new is FC and newer and FC-newer stuff can't be ported as extensively as the earlier stuff due to the location of the coolant seals unless you want to go with a J-port.
wvumtnbkr wrote: ^ What? I have a 12A in my garage for cheap if anybody wants it....
I want it... How cheap is cheap???
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why are we going to start seeing 3d printers print car parts like this?
A while. The density is the problem for structural parts, it's just not the same strength as a forged on machined part yet. It's perfectly acceptable to things like titanium exhaust tips though ;)
A while unless you're talking about scanning an existing casting with a CMM, and reverse engineering a print for the mold to make it, and then 3D printing the mold which you can use to make a casting and machine into a part, probably cheaper to just bribe Mazda to make more though.
Knurled wrote: Piston engines freakin' suck.
Is it April 1st already?
glad people read through my typo, lol.
I can't wait until reliable parts can be made with 3d printing. I was hoping it would be here by now though, when (if) it happens it will be amazing for us.
Kenny_McCormic wrote: A while unless you're talking about scanning an existing casting with a CMM, and reverse engineering a print for the mold to make it, and then 3D printing the mold which you can use to make a casting and machine into a part, probably cheaper to just bribe Mazda to make more though.
Is it not something you could make with a CNC mill?
In reply to grafmiata:
I sent you a message. I think it got kicked back.
Anyway, it is a mostly complete 12A. Has dizzy, water pump, carb, etc... still on the engine. Has what is believed to be a Racing Beat lightweight flywheel.
I have not heard this engine run. I was told it was good. I have it sitting with oil in the chambers. I rotate it once or twice a week. I can not do a true compression test on this engine.
$250.00 negotiable.
Rob R.
codrus wrote:Kenny_McCormic wrote: A while unless you're talking about scanning an existing casting with a CMM, and reverse engineering a print for the mold to make it, and then 3D printing the mold which you can use to make a casting and machine into a part, probably cheaper to just bribe Mazda to make more though.Is it not something you could make with a CNC mill?
It's already being done, but is $$$.
In reply to codrus:
I've never been inside a dorito motor, if there aren't any coolant or oil passages that don't go straight through the rotor housing I suppose you could CNC it from a slab, that's also $$$$$. I'm gonna guess the wear surface in one of those has to be chromed or nitrated or something to that effect, so that also has to be factored in.
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