speedwagon

life does change! Years ago I acquired a wife, 2 kids and then a third kid so my dreams of wining Indy went on the shelf. Then 10 years later the pendulum swung back, and am back off road racing with wife as co-driver and kids as the pit crew, and now as the twilight nears youngest daughter is patiently waiting to get the Superformance S1. Do what you need to do, and find some one to get a car sooner than they thought they could. and yes the kids did leave, and the second wife did run away with what I foolishly thought was a friend. PS sent the cowboy a valentine's day card thanking him.

MV8; Thank you, have printed it, and will tape it to the hoist. Sometimes with all the modern troubleshooting tools we forget that the "old school" vacuum gauge can still give us a place to start, if not the answer. "it's engine, not motor, and in fact really more a pump" john

MV8; I totally agree. Where the factory uses a system just like you describe it can be a year or longer before adding fluid is needed. The radiator is always full and the system is never exposed to high pressure until the much feared "blown head gasket" which is a good indicator of being time to dismantle. The old system of a solid cap and a recovery system works well but only up to a much lower coolant temperature. Besides having only one pressurized system is much safer. john

As stated here before, a "good" metal person can do wonders in place and with a little touch-up it would be hard to notice and "can you see it from the driver's seat?) john

One off cars are as common as wifes at least in this group where virtually no two cars are the same. For the price you get something that you can use and after finishing and shaken out should be an easy sell. And there sure is no shortage of Chevy small block parts (even a aluminum bloc+ heads). Possessing rotaries and one 408 small block ford, I find the complexity of multi cam engines to be a detriment. KISS I much prefer my Superformance S1 But to each his own. john

just to help with car-guy's decision. the cost to transport a car and trailer is not that bad. and time wise I brought a rotus chassis with a lola clone body and separately acquired trailer from Galveston to golden valley az. the trip used up 2 days. And the car was easily registered in Arizona. Would actually have been cheaper to have it transported, but I was in need of the adventure. john (and now I have two of these things)

Edited 12 hours ago by Vovchandr; thanks for a quite complete explanation of what goes on there. I prefer a "winner wins" to buy. But would consider selling there with an unusual offering. john

On my 85 NA engine I had 2ea 2" flow-masters in series and that made the noise tolerable. then I tried 2ea 3" Aero in series, not as quiet but OK until liquid fiberglass started running out the back. Been a long process switching to the ported turbo engine, but I am planning on using the Aeros on it after making a couple of ports to stuff them with coarse steel wool. I have also seen "holey steel" cones that can be inserted to further dampen the noise. And I have never checked the exhaust temp. on a turbo rotary engine but my previous with high hp Corvairs was lots quieter and cooler as the turbo basically converts heat to HP. But the "rx7club.com" guys do not use fiberglass mufflers on the turbo cars. Another route i am considering is blend from 3" round to 2X4 oval for the route to the rear. It is the price one pays for having a 2 stroke engine. john

check on supply of studs with thread size you want, I have seen studs with much larger diameter hub size than the actual stud thread. ( think what your existing studs would look like if they had the threaded area turned down and re threaded to the size you need.) john

"@solder_guy... I'm building a website to document the complete history of Rotus cars. I've had a few comments from those I've contacted (p.o.'s of Rotus') giving me enough info to realize it IS worth the effort." Paul, I do not have a rotus, but I have a rotus (chassis) It is modified to accommodate a body of foam covered in thin fiberglass (like scaled composits aircraft) that was patterned after a 1960 Lola mark1. Only the chassis is rotus, but as it has a rotary engine. but there is an abundance of documentation for it. It is now in the slow process of being converted back to turbocharged fuel injection from NA/ webber 48. Let me know when you are ready for info and I will try to find time to sort through the box. john

At 82 I know know that the cheapest price-- is not the cheapest price but may be the cheapest.

I screwed up this post showing that I am not qualified to be a modern stealership maniac. but Crock I wish you had shared this tidbit to us before I bought 26lbs of "see jane run" worthless chota manuals in order to work on my hybrid highlander. But on the bright side all this "factory" info will soon become hacked knowledge and the unhappy auto workers will soon learn how to set up their own mini production lines to produce "specialty" cars. Think this may already happening in the electric category. Why buy from the bandits when you can order the components direct from alley ba ba?

What he said.

I currently own 2ea 7ish cars with rotaries. One is a superformance s-1 with a fresh street ported 87 13b t2, it has the na 5speed because the turbo trans will not fit. Engine conversion is still in process. "it is a keep for ever car". The other was built as a prototype for a kit that never flew. The body was patterned after a 1960 Lola mk-1 (not quite as pretty as the original Lola). The chassis is a Rotus slightly modified, but still obviously a 7. engine is also a turbo-2 13b and the chassis has the stronger turbo transmission. going to part with it soon and it just begs to have a Chevy ls in the engine compartment. the car we are looking at likely was mated to the ford transmission for size reasons. and also has a modified starter location on top of the engine. The rotary engines are becoming scarce to acquire now, and parts are also hard to come by. With good care good for 200k, but very easy to over rev that will hammer the seals and housings as there is very little to limit the rpm except the driver. The car would be great fun to drive as it is and very likely to outlive the new owner. john (and last I checked the price is right.

brazing would be stronger because of the lower heat and furnace brazed more consistent. john ( but far more expensive and even more difficult to repair or modify).

they are like homo sapiens, more alike than different, but there are very few twins. I have found that my knowledge increases with the added exposure.

age does not cure the instability, but growing incompetence sure tempers it.

I ran pikes peak in 72. It was all dirt then, so grossly different. the car was an old form-car formula v with the seat moved forward and a 350hp turbo corvair engine (pegged a 30lb manifold gauge on the top). Had $1500 max invested. It was truly a life changing experience. I used to live in Grand Junction and we used to race each other up and down "lands end" the down trip was usually after dark! Also came down the Colorado NM on snow pack in a power drift with a fiberglass dune-buggy with studs all around. Passenger was emitting turds all the way down. It just amazes me that someone can still compete for so little today. and the paved road requires far more (although different) skill.

at first I just thought you were waxing elegant--But then I saw the pictures. You sir are leading The Life. Now I envy you for 2 of your cars. It is good to see one spending his money wisely.

I have 2 widebands. one will stay on the s1 when the rotary turbo conversion is complete. And I totally agree about using a wideband to tune a carburetor., it is the best of investments. The 2 barrel webers are just too expensive to tune ( I have one that was bought specifically for a na rotary that came jetted so far off that everything needed to be changed. and the cost to do that and then fine tune it is about the cost of 2 new carburetors) the easiest to tune is also a webber--- the edelbrock 4 barrel made by webber. "duck soup". But there are two good guides-- 1 no substitute for cubic inches and same for FI. But the SU was for a specific use and was very easy to tune once you understood the design and was as altitude insensitive as any (and you could far exceed the normal air flow with a large enough pump). john

MV8. Thanks and this is for the many times you have enlightened me on this site. Your willingness, vast knowledge and the time you obviously spend to answer some specific questions is admirable. but I have solved almost all my carburetor problems with injection. the only carburetor that worked for me was an SU ( used one on a draw thru turbo application) burned clean at 4500' and was still clean at 14,000 but a pain in the -- to learn how to use for an old Michigan farm boy.

OK, It was my job but I have slept many years since then, So hear in a nut shell- yes heat cycles, vibration or shock, exposure to magnetic fields, and third and most important the makeup of the steel. As most know a wrench or screw driver make good magnets whereas a low grade soft (made somewhere in Asia) does not. So like any other automotive application cost is of primary concern, so you will get a lesser Quality. And everything (almost) has a half life. And for the automotive world 10 years is a long one. Leave your car parked out in the high desert sun for 2 years and it will be clear. Sorry but I have been able to get old and have become sarcastic.

My superformance s1 that was intended for a zetek and built with a rotary and a 48 webber had a tee between the pump out and the return and fed the carb from the T with no regulator. I thought it was stupid but evidently I was the stupid one as I was never able to get a regulator to work on it. Guess that just the pressure drop in the lines was enough for the webber. john

sorry to be so slow, but the combination of being busy and old slowed me up. But finally looked at the original wheels and tires yesterday they are 16x7 and i measured from the tire outer to flange and got 5 5/8" with 2 1/2 from outer edge. tires were 8 1/4 wide. my calculation is 3" to 3 18" inset. seems that I remember the pattern to be the common 4 on 4. john