12a rotary in a zook

[lill_truk_owner]

hey does any one out there have a clue on what is needed to put a 12a rotary in a zook, can anyone fill me in on the details please because it is a conversion that i am reall lookin forward to and i think itll be worth it when its done ;D

[nischev]

You have too be kidding. Rotarys are popular because they have a fair bit of power but they are seriously lacking in torque. Or do you want to use your truck on a dragstrip and not in the bush. ???

[lill_truk_owner]

not from what ive heard they dont ive been told that a standard 12a rotary has a shit load of down low tourque but when you start modifying them they gain more top end and loose all their bottom end power ;)

[baby_troupe]

For the power of a four & the economy of an eight, I would not waste my time fitting a rotor to an off roader.

[2 BRUTAL]

rotaries go like the clappers when they are running properly.
but I've never seen 1 runnig 100% right yet. not for any length of time anyway.

[bigsteve]

This may be of help.

http://www.geocities.com/Baja/Canyon/1261/index3a8.html

I've owned rotarys and currently am on my second zook.
Most people who haven't owned a rotary or have been blown away at the lights by one tend to frown upon them. For the record the Carby fed wankels drink like a V8 because of the 4barrel, if you change gears under 3&1/2 grand the secondaries dont kick in so you get far better economy they do use oil.

I think a 12a Turbo would be ideal in a zook HOWEVER you would have to look at gearing, something like a 6:1 tcase & 5:12's R&P for a 33 or 34 inch tyre but you would have to keep it light.

I always liked the idea of a rotor in a zook but after a ride in a mates K6a (Suzuki Capuchino) powered Sierra it would be my pick of the 2.

The problem with rotisaries...... whoops ... i mean rotary engines is as bigsteve said, they use oil.... they are thirsty if you push them a little..... and if you do any work on them and drive them hard, you have to change engine seals regularly which gets expensive....... I'm not sure about torque figures....... but i know with a little work they rev their lil japanese asses off... and they don't work all that well at low revs which kinda makes things hard off-road.
If you want a lil zook that will blow away the Falcons & Commodores at the lights... go for it!! i think that would look wicked!! hehe why not spend just a little extra and get a 13b ;D ;D ;D more grunt!!

[lill_truk_owner]

thanks for all that guys but now that ive heard all the down sides of the rotary i think ill just stay with the idea of tubocharging my lill 1.3 powerhouse, what do yous think bout that ;D

[slowlux]

i think it'sa better iodea to turbocharge your zook $$$$ wise, im not totallysure about power though. In the long run a turbo would be better cause as mentioned before you have to constantly change the seals in a rotary, and after a while, Rotarysreally start to grow grey hair. But if you were gonna go for a rotary, go for a 13b turbs 3 rotor. Thats the best! lite, powerful. Having a 12a turbs is like a bad 13b. And torque wise, theyre not that fantastic, notice at traffic lights you never see them take off quick! ohand one more thing, you have to get up 10 mins earlier each morning to warm the bastard up!

cheers,

[baby_troupe]

thanks for all that guys but now that ive heard all the down sides of the rotary i think ill just stay with the idea of tubocharging my lill 1.3 powerhouse, what do yous think bout that ;D

That makes a lot more sense.
What km & condition is the 1.3 in?

[lill_truk_owner]

the motor of my suzi is in great condition probably because the previous owner recently reconditioned it, it runs sweet & doesnt blow any smoke & ive replaced the clutch, pressure plate, radiator, rear diff, rebuilt gearbox,got a new t-case for it and rebuilt the rear diff. so how hard is it actually to turbocharge the carbied 1.3 sierra motor plz fill me in on the details ;)

[lill_truk_owner]

sorry i need to read ova what i rite because i said rear diff twice ???

[baby_troupe]

It should not be any problem.
Get a turbo expert to do the fitting as they know what they are doing & will tune the vehicle to suit whatever turbo is fitted.
Carb should be fine.

[flappan]

Put a GTi Motor in it . . .

I've seen it done.

PS, I recon the Rotary would be a TOP idea, but how practical it would be . . . . don't know.

[DIRTY]

Would be interesting out in the bush. People wouldn't be able to tell what the hell was coming, plus good for scaring those civic drivers at the lights.

[luke]

mate just give it a go should be fun

[BushBoy]

hey and if it takes a lungful of water, at least you won't get hydraulic lock,
a mate of mine did that in his early model mazda, sunk it on a floodway up to the windscreen, got someone to pull it out, turned the key and off he went. off course the interior was stuffed and the engine wasn't to flash either.

the motor of my suzi is in great condition probably because the previous owner recently reconditioned it, it runs sweet & doesnt blow any smoke & ive replaced the clutch, pressure plate, radiator, rear diff, rebuilt gearbox,got a new t-case for it and rebuilt the rear diff. so how hard is it actually to turbocharge the carbied 1.3 sierra motor plz fill me in on the details ;)


You may need to replace the carby.... "blow through" doesn't work all that well on standard carbies..... the reason being that standard carbies aren't sealed and it gives you all sorts of strife under boost.....you can do the inlet side with a sidedraught but it lags a little. You should talk to a turbo specialist first and weigh up your options. Good Luck :)

[wazhere]

Just turbo it, it will sound wicked aswell. :D

[BushBoy]

HELL YEAH ;D ;D ;D ;D

[Eddy]

Rotary in a zook will GO!!
Was an article on one in the old "OFF ROAD" magazine many years ago, built and raced by a mob called "Rotomotion" who specialised in such conversions.
Performance characteristics of rotaries are governed by the porting - get it right and you wouldn't know you weren't driving a big four or six, until the tacho gets around past the eight thousand mark that is!

[hux]

Rotary in a zook will GO!!
Was an article on one in the old "OFF ROAD" magazine many years ago, built and raced by a mob called "Rotomotion" who specialised in such conversions.
Performance characteristics of rotaries are governed by the porting - get it right and you wouldn't know you weren't driving a big four or six, until the tacho gets around past the eight thousand mark that is!



I think there is a vast difference between racing and offroading though...having a sewing machine engine that revs to 8000rpm would necessitate a change in gearing and doesn't soudn ideal for any form of rock hopping.

What would engine braking be like on a rotary? (serious question)

[baby_troupe]

What would engine braking be like on a rotary? (serious question)

I reckon it would be slightly better than an auto (in drive)
From my understanding on rotors, they love to rev.

[Vouli02]

Turboing a 1300 Zuk is about $5-6500 after they decompress the motor and add larger fuel pump possibly new head gasket etc, Not to mention the need fotr a intercooler becuase the zuk radiator is small.

The Rotor in a zook is just as expensive, but at the end of the day you will have a 4x4 rotor But id go for a 13b Injected, with a Series 4 or 5 rx7 Gbox and bolt the standard t/case right behind it and hang on.

No point turboing a petrol 4x4 as the gearing is low, worse if its a rotor becuase the motor is going to rev to move you, which means making boost=heat, and if u dont have a cooler there goes your turbo(s)

Why not try a 2.0 vitara motor? 4cyl or 6

[bigsteve]

Hang on a minute, you have a perfectly good 1.3 engine with a reco on it and you want to push it to extremes that the factory never intended.

Is it more power on road or more power offroad that you seek??

I have a standard 1.3 (No exaust mods or anything) with 210000k's on the clock and I'm pushing 34's with a 6:1, on road its fine, my dad actually cant keep up with me in his 2.8d hilux

I just reckon if you want more power for on road buy something else, if its more power offroad spend the $1300 for a s3 hopper and dont look back.

Steve

[cookie]

How about you forget the rotary and throw in a toyota 1600 4age motor. Plenty of grunt there. Or even better get the supercharged model. Better than all that come up to my place (up the road) and have a look at my lj80.

see yah around Josh.

[mrZ]

whats a s3 hopper?

[rolly78]

hey does any one out there have a clue on what is needed to put a 12a rotary in a zook, can anyone fill me in on the details please because it is a conversion that i am reall lookin forward to and i think itll be worth it when its done ;D


yes I know a guy who has put a 12a turbo into a vitara. It was done by a guy called Chris at PRPerformance in Nambour Q.L.D. It was only 2wd as I recall. Hope that helps sorry I don't have his phone number.

i wouldnt even put a rotary in my lawn mower,let alone my truck. noisy pieces of crap if you ask me, there for posers in rx7's not for serious offroaders!!!!! >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:(

Posted by: mrZ Posted on: May 07, 2004, 05:14:58 PM
whats a s3 hopper?


Im not familiar with an s3??? but hopper I am guessin refers to rock-hopper transfer case gearing

[rolly78]

It doesn't mean "series 3" does it.

[rolly78]

i wouldnt even put a rotary in my lawn mower,let alone my truck. noisy pieces of crap if you ask me, there for posers in rx7's not for serious offroaders!!!!! >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:(

You've never owned one obviously, When they are turboed they aren't that noisy at all. The noisy brap brap brap noise is when you p port them.

[resident e]

yep been done before, there was a suk in a peters mag with one. had super low gearing and did quite well in a crwaling comp. there favouret bit was the sound.
supercharge the sucker and should give it shit load of Nm.

why do it for...... because you can.

[EMZ-4-B]

I dont know if you have made your mind yet,but i must say,a 12A isnt the best option for you...
Dont get me wrong,ive been into rotaries for about 12 years and love them to bits! Rotary conversions are great,but there not really suited to off roading,especially a 12A!
A ex cosmo 20B 3 rotar with factory twin turbo's would be the best bet,the small turbos and extra rotar give very good torque (420 newton metres @3000 rpm) but they cost around $5000 to buy (if you can find one) and they are costly to rebuild,not that they need rebuilding all the time (like most people who havnt owned one will tell you!!!).
Another thing, the 3rotar is quite long,you would have to enlarge the tunnel way to much.
A rotary in a little 4X4 would sound great,but its not the best option...
If you do like them,i would suggest you buy one running in a small jap car,because they are really just a sports car engine.


Just out of intrest....
The current world record for a rotary over the 1/4mile is 6.7 seconds@204MPH held buy a RX8 running a single turbo 20B in the USA.
Rotary development is really only just begining.... 8)

PS.. sorry to bump such an old post! ;D

[Gee]

I'd like to see a Mazda R100 shell with a 20B and NOS on a zook chassis running 44's and locked front and rear ;D It would look like shite but would be fully sic 8)

[timbocruiser]

i know a bloke with an open top zook and he put a 12a in that, she was called the blue bullet and it hammered in the bush!! only thing was he trailered it when he took it out (mainly to southport) ;D ;D

[Spike_Sierra]

that would be humprey right timbo,
hes now got hilux diffs and 35's, but the little LJ t case didnt hold up two long. they go supprisingly well in the bush rotarys, probably not any good for rock crawling, but for mud pluggin they rip.

[timbocruiser]

yeahits humpys, shes abeast all right, likes to do a bit of swimming too ;) aswell as rippin in the mud, and he revs the absolute shank out of the poor thing, heres a pic of it, was in one wheel drive after bustin heaps of stuff, he made it most of the way out from black swan under his own power. jeez it was a cack!!!!!!!

http://nucite.net/isWext.php/3317/101420.jpg

[-BJ-]

I thought rotaries got their power from high revs ???
Spose it could work though, with the right gearing.
I have always wanted to put a 20B twin turbo in my mini ;D
You would need a bigger fuel tank though cause the rotaries are thirsty as !

[Chappy]

just put a holden V6 in it, get a super charged one.
would sick in a zook

[pootrol]

dude i reakon the only way to go is the 4agze toyota 1.6 factory super charged motor.you get front cuts for about $1600 from a rear wheel drive sprinter.if thats to hard to find ive seen just the motor for sale for $650.buy a sprinter box and computer mount it up link it to you transfer and hang on.i saw in a fast fours mag ages ago some one did the transplant with out the super charger.the motor puts out 120 odd kw and i think 275 foot pounds of torque.its brother is a 120kw 20valve quad throttle body screamer not really all its cracked up to be but if dollars permit you could play mix and match.the 4agze 16 valve steel crank twin cam is a bullet proof motor.theres also kits to add a turbo to the super charged motor .so if you want you could have a 1.6 20 valve quad throttle body,intercooled super chaged turbo charged donk that would make a good sticker on the back window ;D

[RED60]

The stikka wood send ya broke!!

[trewpy]

go for it u neva neva know if ya neva neva go!!! ;D ;D

[arfaname]

forget the rotors full stop.

I love rotors to bits and had a bit to do with em over the years in street cars. They have plenty of power up high but for those low revs when ya need to be doing 1200rpm climbing a hill or big rocks at even lower you will stall it all the time. A rotor when under constant load will heat apex seals and cause premature cracking. Water in a rotor will do as much damage as any combustion engine. It will use more fuel. It needs maintanance more often. If it breaks down in the middle of nowhere you have no hope for getting parts. Rebuilding a rotory engine is not a task for the faint hearted and needs specialist tools and manuals.

As fun as it would be do flip it backwards under acceleration and have it sound awesome I do not advise a rotor.

On the other hand if you want something tough and bang for buck then you can pick up a Holden 253 for about $500, a box for $200 and fit it all yourself. You will always find parts cheap, it will sound tough as, it has plenty of HP and torque and wil cost bugger all to run. It will be real short and probably allow you to avoid cutting firewalls and engineers know the engines well. I have owned a 4age and as much as they are a great engine there are better options for torque and power at low cost.

Good luck and keep us posted.


Sean

[pootrol]

the 253 would stuff up its balance of weight in such a small truck,not to mention the engineering involved to fit such an engne.ie exhausts,fire wall,radiator etc.the gearboxes arnt worth a cracker for strength and those horrible linkages.dont do what ive done get carried away and spend heaps on something that wont be around that long.if it was all for the bush then just fit a larger capacity 4 cylinder or a second transfer to what u have or both.you need to way up the extra performance to time off road the dollar and what could make u happy.i have a petrol patrol and even though id love a 350 chev conversion the cost and ass about time doesnt justifie doing it to a vehicle that goes pretty good allready.

[cpt-mud]

a rotary in a zook will go like the klappers, but i can see major damage been done in the first water crossing as the apex seals will let go. Plus you will need a bloody big fuel tank as a lot of 4bying will mean going above 2000rpm in a rotary, and she will be drinking heaps

[arfaname]

the 253 would stuff up its balance of weight in such a small truck,not to mention the engineering involved to fit such an engne.ie exhausts,fire wall,radiator etc.the gearboxes arnt worth a cracker for strength and those horrible linkages.dont do what ive done get carried away and spend heaps on something that wont be around that long.if it was all for the bush then just fit a larger capacity 4 cylinder or a second transfer to what u have or both.you need to way up the extra performance to time off road the dollar and what could make u happy.i have a petrol patrol and even though id love a 350 chev conversion the cost and ass about time doesnt justifie doing it to a vehicle that goes pretty good allready.


A 253 would be no longer than the existing 4 cyl I believe. you would need to measure it but I reckon you would be surprised. Therefore no firewall modification. You may need to modify the hump but to avoid it you could use a celica 5 speed (assuming you could match a transfer case) (not sure how zooks work exactly). As far as exhausts go you would be able to fit them I would think with little modification. Radiators can be easily sorted and if you cant get enough width you can always go a dual layer core. I just reckon its an easy engine to get bits for should something go wrong, They seem tough as nails and they wont drink that much fuel. I see your point with a balance issue but that can be overcome if need be by moving the mounts back but then you would have to modify firewalls and shafts and various other things.. The thing about building something like this is not for practicality but for the fact that you have built a tough as nails truck that you can flog.

Go for it I reckon if your looking for a project.

[Eddy]

OK........just WHAT model zook are we talking about here??
There is just NO way a 253 holden or any V8 is gonna go in a LJ or an early sierra.
A 12a rotary in a LJ 50 is a good conversion. An old freind of mine has one that we put together over twenty years ago, and is still going strong. It is happy to idle around all day, or go like the clappers if you give it a bit of right blundstone.
Fuel consumption is not great, but still better than the 3 cylinder was, (about 25 mpg). Dunno about creek crossings, but we don't have them in SA, 'specially not in the mid north station country.

[Humpy]

Apparently some of the US rock crawlers use them in their buggies

roc70y has put one in his too

http://www.4wdlinks.com.au/albums/ROCTOY2/aao.sized.jpg

http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/PHP_Modules/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=46313

rotaries go like the clappers when they are running properly.
but I've never seen 1 runnig 100% right yet. not for any length of time anyway.


Yes that for sure. I have owned 2 rotaries and even though I was good to them (warmed them up and cooled them down religiously) they were off the road more than on!!

But when they did go I was guaranteed to beat anyone else (except a bike) off at the lights!!

[arfaname]

OK........just WHAT model zook are we talking about here??
There is just NO way a 253 holden or any V8 is gonna go in a LJ or an early sierra.
A 12a rotary in a LJ 50 is a good conversion.


Have grinder and welder ... we make anything fit ug ug .... ;D

[Liam@bbm]

OK........just WHAT model zook are we talking about here??
There is just NO way a 253 holden or any V8 is gonna go in a LJ or an early sierra.
A 12a rotary in a LJ 50 is a good conversion.

Why not? A V8's only 4 cylinders long, and 4cylinders fit.
Theres a company in the states called Lightning conversions who did kits to put 350 chevs into sierras (1 and 1.3 litre)
Putting one in a LJ would only add cutting the inside guards for width and rear mounting the radiator. Neither is too drastic in the scheme of things.

[Eddy]

......... A V8's only 4 cylinders long, and 4cylinders fit...
Putting one in a LJ would only add cutting the inside guards for width and rear mounting the radiator. Neither is too drastic in the scheme of things.

Actually a V8 is four and a half cylinders long....and they're bigger cylinders too.
I was under the impression that we were talking about a road driven vehicle?

In a LJ you would need to also cut out and redesign the transmission tunnel.

In SA at least, it's not something "they" will consider. (I tried)

[Liam@bbm]

Firewall isn't structural in a chassied car. So in NSW the problem would be the power and CC increase, not any body mods. The profile would be the same , so you wouldn't even be considered rebodied.

[Eddy]

Firewall isn't structural in a chassied car. So in NSW the problem would be the power and CC increase, not any body mods. The profile would be the same , so you wouldn't even be considered rebodied.

Hmmmm <checks jobsearch for nsw vacancies> 8)

[CanberraMav]

G day all
Can I just say that a V8 in a zook??? You have got to be kidding. I know that the USA does them but.....they do alot of stupid things. I had a 4agze in my zook and it sucked. There is a such thing as too much power!!!For those that arnt familiar that is the toyota 1600 twin cam with factory blower. If i could go back i would have kept the standard motor. They are easy to work on and rev happily all day. The answer i think is in the gearing. Go the rock hopper and then see what you think. I would hit a bump in mine and with slight pedal press just about wheelstand :) although this was fun at first it soon lost its novelty. Expect to break everything once you are running that kind of power. Vibrations are a killer and were very hard to fix...never was able to fix them.Keep it standard and if you have money burning in your pocket spend it elsewhere

Well, back to the origional topic....
This is not really a zook but looks pretty cool!!

http://www.4wdlinks.com.au/albums/ROCTOY2/aac.sized.jpg

http://www.4wdlinks.com.au/albums/ROCTOY2/aae.sized.jpg

"yes it is geared down to crawl, the diff ratio's are 4.88:1, first gear in the Auto (so no riding the clutch) is around 3:1 and the low range in the 4wd transfer case is 5.14:1, so the final drive ratio in 1st gear low is about 75:1.

this should allow a nice rev range for the motor to turn the 37" tyres. Very Happy" -ROTARY ROCTOY

What an awsome toy!!

[Otis]

OK........just WHAT model zook are we talking about here??
There is just NO way a 253 holden or any V8 is gonna go in a LJ or an early sierra.


Disagree Eddy. I lobbed the radiator in the back, and my V6 has plenty of room in front now. My only regret is that I didn't fit a 5-litre Commodore V8.
But I can still get a cheap supercharger kit for my V6...tasty...
Cheapest & easiest conversion would have to be the 1.6-litre Vitara engine though.
Patski

[foxy]

Two things kill rotatries......over-revving and overheating.

I have owned and raced rotary cars since I was 15, and never had an engine let me down.

A stock rotary engine should not be revved over 6,200 rpm if you want seals etc to last.....just because they will rev to 7,500 doesnt mean they should be.

The lads these days flog them then give them a bad rep when they break!!!

I would not use one for off road unless the appropriate lower gearing was used...the fact is they are not a torquey motor at low rpm n/a....

But in something that is used for road or race applications they are magnificent motors.....

They just have to be used inside their mechanical boundries - just like any other engine!

PS - A healthy rotatry enine will not use any more oil than a healthy four cylinder, it is an old wives tail that was true prior to the introduction of the 13b and 12a single dizzy motors in 1974.

Mybe a low boots blower from a toyota motor or the latest mini (Eaton) would be the go if you want buku torque??

[v8zuki]

i fitted a 13b pp exracingbeat usa rotary into an85 sierra hardtop went very well with the right exhaust it was quiet had 310hp at the flywheel bolted to a ser1 rx7 auto sierra transfer hilux diffs
drivability - wouldnt let just anybody drive it was awsome offroad heaps of torque just off idle every where untioll you hit the throttle then :o shit hang on got very loose at 4000 rpm then it just got faster standing 1/4 12.8secs.
destroyed the g/box when we fitted the 150 hp NOS kit snapped the bell housing offscared me when itwent bang.
as for fitting a v8 went through the process with dot to fit one as a 253 came within the specs for the power to weight ratio when dot relaxed the rules a few years ago so i made application they said build it then it was tested they couldnt find anything wrong but i was knocked back by the question of what would happen if somebody put in a bigger capacity v8 ?? i didnt have the money to research what they wanted so they won that round.
then i fitted a holden starfire 4cyl with vitara auto ,t/case and bundy diffs they loved it but hten i fitted it with a modified injection system off of a camira with a turbo then it went real well untill i rolled it end over end down the side of a mountain :'( :'(

[roc70y]

have you looked at a 13B 6 port EFI rotor to put in the zook? Bucket loads of tourque and smooth efi, very dirveable motor.
this is what i'm running in my buggy, almost finished it now.
http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/PHP_Modules/phpBB2/download.php?id=18338
http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/PHP_Modules/phpBB2/download.php?id=18337

[Eddy]

I lobbed the radiator in the back, and my V6 has plenty of room in front now. ...........

Okay patty, but not all of us can say to a modding shop "do all this stuff to my rig and you'll get a mention in the mag" >:(

[roc70y]

do the rotor conversion!
i wheeled that blue buggy for the first time yesterday and it had none of these "tourque" problems that you old school felas are talking about.
would an engine with no tourque light up, all 4, 37" MTR's at 5psi whilst on a near vertical angle?

as a standard package, a rotary engine has more tourque than a 1.3 sierra motor and no one complains about them!

get the gear ratios right in the zook and it'll go great!
i'm running 4.88's in the diffs and 5:14 Calmini gears in the transfer.

Come to the WE Rock finals at Milbrodale in 2 weeks and see for yourselves!

[STUMPY]

I lobbed the radiator in the back, and my V6 has plenty of room in front now. ...........

Okay patty, but not all of us can say to a modding shop "do all this stuff to my rig and you'll get a mention in the mag" >:(



Mate, pull your head out of your ass. He's giving you information and you seem to have got a jealous streak in you. what does your statement have anything to do with put a V6 or V8 in a zuk?

[Eddy]

........ what does your statement have anything to do with put a V6 or V8 in a zuk?

NOTHING AT ALL!! ::)

.......dude.......all I can say is read the original post and try if possible to follow the thread.
L T O asked about a rotory conversion, which IMO has nothing at all to do with a V6 or V8 in a zuk.

as for the rest of your drivell.....
1) I'm not your mate.
2) I'm not that agile
3) not all of us can go to a shop and say "do all this...etc etc etc"

you really do need to keep up if you can........ :-*

[roc70y]

back to the subject guys.

we did the whole rotary engine in our buggy thing, hoping it might work and it did even better than we expected.
We entered in WE Rock final series at Milbrodale on the weekend, here are some pictures, i let my girlfriend drive in this comp and i was the spotter / navigator. 2nd time ever driven this buggy and we came 3rd place in the Pro Modified class.

THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH PUTTING A ROTARY MOTOR IN A ZOOK! Maybe try a 13B instead of a 12A.

http://ccda.info/albums/WERock05Finals/DSC01279.sized.jpg
http://ccda.info/albums/WERock05Finals/DSC01446.sized.jpg
http://ccda.info/albums/WERock05Finals/DSC01510.jpg
http://ccda.info/albums/WERock05Finals/DSC01513.sized.jpg

[Eddy]

Congratulations roc70y very well done ! 8) kinda puts any negative comment in it's place don't it!?

Will be going up the flinders in a few weeks to my mates place and he assures me that his 12A rotary LJ50 is still running strong so I'll get to drive'er again. Be interesting to see after twenty plus years. 8)

[Humpy]

Great work on hte weekend roctoy, you and ally went really well ;D

The engine didnt really want to idle though did it :-\

[roc70y]

Great work on hte weekend roctoy, you and ally went really well ;D

The engine didnt really want to idle though did it :-\


true, though this was only due to my slackness at not putting a new set of plugs in, it is still running the set that came from the wreckers with the motor. ::)
Also i need to move the brake pedal for Ally so that she can drive with left foot braking, she can then stall up the auto as she goes along.

[Humpy]

Aaah that would explain it

Once again, top effort by both of you

The rotary certainly had the goods when it was going ;D

[ivc]

is it faster than your other motor

back to the subject guys.

we did the whole rotary engine in our buggy thing, hoping it might work and it did even better than we expected.
We entered in WE Rock final series at Milbrodale on the weekend, here are some pictures, i let my girlfriend drive in this comp and i was the spotter / navigator. 2nd time ever driven this buggy and we came 3rd place in the Pro Modified class.

THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH PUTTING A ROTARY MOTOR IN A ZOOK! Maybe try a 13B instead of a 12A.

http://ccda.info/albums/WERock05Finals/DSC01279.sized.jpg
http://ccda.info/albums/WERock05Finals/DSC01446.sized.jpg
http://ccda.info/albums/WERock05Finals/DSC01510.jpg
http://ccda.info/albums/WERock05Finals/DSC01513.sized.jpg


Thats awsome!!!! Is it a standard 6 port?

[roc70y]

yes, standard 6 port with a bigger exhaust, pod type air filter and Microtech progamable fuel injection.
Chris

[PJ.zook]

Good on you for going against the grain and doing something different, glad it all worked out, looked like you had lotsa fun with it!

[91GQ]

just put a holden V6 in it, get a super charged one.
would sick in a zook


seen it done, a V6 holden engine out of a VT commie (I think) and the holden auto box behind it (one of the boys in the North Brizzy Suzuki Club), mind you it needed a great big bloody shoe horn to fit it, as well as a bit of angle grinding to get it to fit in the bay...

Adrian.

[thegurio]

do the rotor conversion!
i wheeled that blue buggy for the first time yesterday and it had none of these "tourque" problems that you old school felas are talking about.
would an engine with no tourque light up, all 4, 37" MTR's at 5psi whilst on a near vertical angle?

as a standard package, a rotary engine has more tourque than a 1.3 sierra motor and no one complains about them!

get the gear ratios right in the zook and it'll go great!
i'm running 4.88's in the diffs and 5:14 Calmini gears in the transfer.

Come to the WE Rock finals at Milbrodale in 2 weeks and see for yourselves!


Hoo-freakin-ray... someone speaking sense in this thread...

You gotta ask yourself the question - what are the credentials of these guys saying dont do it? Have they owned one before? Out of 24 cars 11 of them have been rotors and i have never had to rebuild one of them. As long as you are careful with them and keep up the services you can run them as hard as you like. I too am will do this as soon as i can find a suitable donor. No-one will talk me out of it as compared to the 1.3 already in there, there has to be bucket loads more torque and fun! It shouldnt be that expensivve if you do it smart - maybe add $800 for new mounts etc. on top of the engine but you could find a cheap rotor without RWC pretty easily.


Sorry to drag up such an old topic but i just wanted to say something!

P.S. any further ideas? How are the plans coming along LTO?

[lambsy]

Rebuilding a rotory engine is not a task for the faint hearted and needs specialist tools and manuals.

no specialist tools required, a mate and i have rebuilt several rotaries and you need no special tooling whatsoever, 65mm socket if i recall correctly is about the only thing that the average joe might not have but we borrowed this from my work any way, we even made a couple of six ports into peripherial ports using a milling machine and a lathe at work.

not to hard at all, probably easier to rebuild than a conventional motor as they are so light and you can assemble them on a bench, fewer parts,

i am a fitter and we do harder stuff at work all the time, like alot of things you would need to see how to do it first or understand how it works, but you try to set up the timing chain on a dohc engine without a manual if you have never seen it done before or understood what is trying to be achieved.

i think the weight of the rtary engine and the minimal cost for import 13b turbos makes them an exceptional option for a tube buggy or a zook, the mate i built rotaries with wants to put one in his single cab hilux when the 18r dies thats in it now.

they have comparble amounts of torque and opwer to 4 cylinder down low and hold on up top yeeeha

[woolgoolgaoffroad]

i say do it. Was mad keen on the blat, blats,, put one int a celica and then into a rear wheel drive mazda 323, awsome engines, just do it. Think of yourself

[DGR01]

this would be one of the best conversions to do, and for many reasons:
the engines are the same length (~450mm b/h to fan), they have a great oiling system and don't suffer on angles, the dizzy and electrics are way up top, the CofG is low, and they make heaps of torque(90 ft/lbs @ 2000rpm) which is more than a g13a flat out.

few tips if your going to do this conv. - get an rx4 front Xmember, the you trim about 20mm each side off and weld into place, then you use std engine mounts and engine plate. get an adapter RX4 to hilux G/box and then use a lux box and tcase if you have the length. put crawler gears in the t/case.

you will have heaps of power and torque you will be able to break $hit on command and overtake at 150kph :o

and use a 13b 6port with efi if possible, or any 13b, but the 12a is still going to haul.