Hey, at least it wasn't the magical disappearing Hyundai Pony. Gone in a red cloud of rust.
I remember the Elford Turbo conversion which made them quite a rocket in their day but I imagine fuel consumption would be like a big block v8!
The Mazda RX-7 Elford Turbo is a rare, forced-induction rotary hero | GRR
Over-revving a rotary was really hard on the apex seals, and would significantly shorten their life, hence the rev limiter. The earlier Mazda rotary cars didn't have rev limiters. My cousin had an RX3 coupe. It would pull past 7000rpm in high gear.😀
jeff
Those rotaries sound like nothing else, we could follow them around Road Atlanta by ear.
1st generation RX7's were fairly common here. A trim, clean design, reminiscent of the 1st gen Z cars. Easy to like them. I really dig the 3rd generation.
When I was 17, high school senior, I was looking for a car to hack up/destroy for general fun, maybe parades, etc. In a twist of irony, I found that our school principal was selling his daily driver, his '67 Chrysler 300 sedan that he cared for very well. Nabbed it for $300. What we did to it is a different story, but...
I only had it a few days when a hot-shot college boy pulled up beside me at a light in his new RX-7. His buddy is hanging out the sunroof chuckling at my old Chrysler, so I gave the driver a nod. He revs up, buddy laughs, light changes, and without even spinning a tire, I watched in the rear view mirror as the buddy slunk back down into his seat. They caught up several blocks down the road, windows up. I wanted to politely tell him this car has a 440, but they wouldn't even look at me. 😛
Yes! I hope it was clear that I was slandering him for dramatic effect. Mostly.
In the end we did get the thing running, but by then 2/3 of the people had gone home. OTOH it was def fun having Nelson and the rest of the pit crew working together on it. It was the first time SY (Stuart) had heard his Impasse pre, and I wish there had been more people to hear the combo, as it was wonderful. and it is still the best that system has sounded. The Impasse is being refurbed ATM but will go back on. The towers were F-4s which pretty much just pass the preamp sound through, but somehow ‘better’.
Is there one still running? I seem to recall Mazda made a big deal about having a 50k mile warranty on that engine.
The local rotary specialist used to be up my road so I saw a lot. I had 3 mk1s festering on the drive at one point for projects I never completed. My Lotus 7 replica had a lightly breathed on 13B that was great. With a dry sump the weight was all down low where I wanted it. Around 170HP in a 600kg car where you sit on the back axle was ample for me.
Draw through carb'd turbos. Not a compromise I like but does mix the fuel well and at least removes the need for an intercooler.
There was a popular tunable muffler commonly used in road course racing called a Super Trapp. The most painful thing on earth was to get passed by a second gen RX7 with a Super Trapp at full song.
The people running turbos on rotaries used aftermarket rev limiters that cut the fuel injection at a predetermined RPM to avoid scattering parts.
The drag racers used a "two-step" limiter to launch the car. There were two levels of rev limit. One in the 3000 to 5000 range to launch the car, and another at the RPM limit to avoid broken parts. A car would pull up to the start line, stage, mash the throttle while holding the car at the first limit, often with a switch on the clutch pedal. When the light goes green the clutch comes up and the engine goes to full power from a mid range RPM. During the time the car is in launch limit the engine is at full throttle, but the fuel is pulsed on and off at a 2 to 3 Hz rate.....again a loud obnoxious sound from an RX 7 or big high RPM bike.
In case anyone is unaware of the banshee wail of a 26B YouTube This video does NOT do it justice. It was much louder in real life.
Much as I love rotaries the 26B was a cheat. It was claimed to be a 2.6l engine but was closer to twice that in displacement. 1080 degree otto cycle to confuse people as the crank moves at 3x the speed of the rotors. A beautiful concept ruined by pesky laws of physics.
Much as I love rotaries the 26B was a cheat. It was claimed to be a 2.6l engine but was closer to twice that in displacement. 1080 degree otto cycle to confuse people as the crank moves at 3x the speed of the rotors. A beautiful concept ruined by pesky laws of physics.
My first and last Ford.
New 2011 Ford F150 EcoBoost (twin turbos) Lariat Crew Cab'
Out of the gates first month the truck would die going over a speed bump or out of the driveway- towed it to the dealership- 1 week later- replaced a wiring harness.
Onwards in the 5 years Every Year the check engine light would turn on, go to the dealer (NICE BIG Shiny Dealership, don't dealerships make most of their money from parts & service?) get it fixed, continue.
The dealership was nice about seeing me a few times Every Year- this is after all a NEW Truck.
When the 5 year warranty was finished, 3 items off of warranty came up totalling $3000 cdn. I only had 70,000 km on it. I got to know the dealership's shuttle drivers. The Truck was nice WHEN it wasn't in the shop.
I sent a note to Ford telling them I was not impressed- with all these troubles-they just had to look up the pages of service history. Ford never responded.
My family & relatives there's 8 Hondas, 1 major trouble and that got fixed.
At the time (2) Ford trucks in the family, (mine #1), with lotsa troubles- more than the Hondas combined. (#2) My son in-law had a Ford F150 work truck, he brought it in to this same dealership for service. He drove it in with SMOKE coming from the dash. The service rep says," what's the problem?" Son in-law,"Here's the key's. Look under the dash."
BYE BYE Ford. Hello Honda. I traded it in on a Honda CRV, built in the USA.
New 2011 Ford F150 EcoBoost (twin turbos) Lariat Crew Cab'
Out of the gates first month the truck would die going over a speed bump or out of the driveway- towed it to the dealership- 1 week later- replaced a wiring harness.
Onwards in the 5 years Every Year the check engine light would turn on, go to the dealer (NICE BIG Shiny Dealership, don't dealerships make most of their money from parts & service?) get it fixed, continue.
The dealership was nice about seeing me a few times Every Year- this is after all a NEW Truck.
When the 5 year warranty was finished, 3 items off of warranty came up totalling $3000 cdn. I only had 70,000 km on it. I got to know the dealership's shuttle drivers. The Truck was nice WHEN it wasn't in the shop.
I sent a note to Ford telling them I was not impressed- with all these troubles-they just had to look up the pages of service history. Ford never responded.
My family & relatives there's 8 Hondas, 1 major trouble and that got fixed.
At the time (2) Ford trucks in the family, (mine #1), with lotsa troubles- more than the Hondas combined. (#2) My son in-law had a Ford F150 work truck, he brought it in to this same dealership for service. He drove it in with SMOKE coming from the dash. The service rep says," what's the problem?" Son in-law,"Here's the key's. Look under the dash."
BYE BYE Ford. Hello Honda. I traded it in on a Honda CRV, built in the USA.
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George, I've never seen a transmission wedged in a Shopmate before. I'm surprised it held it upright.
All automatic transmissions of that period used multi plate wet clutch packs similar to what's in a motorcycle. That was the last automatic I rebuilt, and it was from a 1977 cop car as was the engine. Due to some rather stupid and poor quality work before I got the car (wood dowel inside an automatic trans) the second gear clutch pack was totally fried. The engine was also a mess. The car had a nitrous system and 14 second time slips from a dragstrip in Tennessee. A bone stock 440 in that car should run mid 13's.
That is an old Black and Decker Workmate from the 70's. I still have it and it was built to last. It was once left out in the Florida rain for several months holding up a fence post and a gate after a hurricane, and the wood is still good. I often stood on top of it, even when I weighed over 200 Lbs. I could pick up that transmission without the torque converter, so I'm guessing it was under 100 pounds.
I guess it's all a matter of perspective.
First he says:
“I’ve done some engine work and some work underneath, but not changed too much.”
Than he goes:
“I had to replace the engine, ...'
Jan
First he says:
“I’ve done some engine work and some work underneath, but not changed too much.”
Than he goes:
“I had to replace the engine, ...'
Jan
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The running gag was that every 20k you should go to the garage to check the oil and change the engine. I think I had it for about 70k with no issues whatsoever.
What I really wanted at the time was an NSU RO80 but I couldn't afford it. That car debuted in 1967 but was so advanced, style-wise, it could well be a 2020 car. And it was the first stock car with a rotary engine.
Jan
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