SHE SAID YES
I can get my street-ported motor!!!
Yeah, I know... I sound like I'm whipped, but if the wife ain't happy, no ones happy (married men know what I mean)

I am running an '86 13B converted to GSL-SE mounting (front cover).

Anyhow, she agreed to a budget of $2000 for a new motor for my toy. Sooooo, the big question I have is what mods (reasonable, please) would I need to get to 200hp and keep good reliablity. My old motor dynoed at 129rwhp before I dialed it in (est 140 rwhp after tuning). Can I do this with a big street-port? I run a Weber DCOE and very free exhaust with long primary headers. Although I like the high RPM potential of the rotary, I don't really need to go over 8000rpm and would like to have power across the rpm range instead of a peaky motor.

My motor builder isn't open yet, and I want to approch him with some ideas, so wha da ya think?

 

Since your car is much lighter than a standard RX7, how about considering Lighter Rotors, Lighter Flywheel, lighter everything!!!

It should blow your budget out of the water, but how about those aluminum SIDE housings from Racing Beat. Half the weight of the steel nitrited stock parts. I just had to talk about those.

Are you sticking with the 6-port? Are you rebuilding the same motor after the blown seal?

I thought that the 4-port design responded better to porting than the 6-port. 12A front cover and side housings can be used with the 13B rotor housings to create a 4-port 13B.


I pulled my -SE motor over the weekend! A little cleaning, minor mods, and she'll be going into the Midget soon!

No shame on the whipped part. With the kids around, I also have to budget my time as well. But the Midget was a pre-marital consideration. She knew that I was crazed about it before we got married. So I have to give my wife credit for not bugging me about it more than she does.

 

Aluminum side housings – DROOL!!!

Since my motor is FUBARed (at least the front half), I was thinking of going to a 4 port motor. I need new housings, rotors, and at least one side housing. With that shopping list, I should be able to buy older style 13B housings, 12A side housings, and I’d like to get some ’89 rotors that are light and high compression (N/A). I’ll have to shop around to see if I can get all this stuff at a good price. Can I use my e-shaft from the ’86 13B in this 4-port style motor? I’d like to get it ported, but I’m still not sure which port style to go with.

I decided to go slow on the re-build and do it right as opposed to rushing it to get it running so I can finish the season. Oh well, I’ll come in 2nd place this season, but watch out next year!!


What "mods" are you going to do before the 13B goes in? Good luck, I can't wait to hear your accout of your first run in the Midget

 

I'm sure that your must have thought of this before. But cheap -SE's in running condition do exist out there, like my donor car. Next time I'll know to look for a car that appears to have a tired O2 sensor and/or bad or misadjusted TPS. Either would make the car run real bad and drop the negotiated price dramaticly. As long as compression and the usual stuff check out, of course.

The minor mods I speak of are the relocation of the oil pan drain plug, and the switching of the extension housing on the tranny to the one from the B2000. Other than that, maybe I'll remove the port actuators from the intake. And I have a leaky oil metering pump.

The air-pump and Air Valve have been removed.

After taking a close look at the stock mainifold, I think I go ahead and build the header. Installing the engine is one thing, but hooking up all the anciliaries and running the plumbing will certainly take me some time.

When she hits the road for the first time, you'll see the shear joy on my face and wind in my hair, next you'll hear the curses after I grenade the stock rear end.

 

lol!
Take a video, cause I always wanted to know how many pieces you can shred a MG rear into Just kidding!

Go to http://www.mazspeed.com/oilmeteringpump.htm
for info on fixing your OMP. I did this and it worked great. Cheap too!

I'm not sure what the deal is around here, but I can't find any decent rotarys for sale. Been there....

good luck. let me know if you need anything

 

a nicely done street-port and a good custom-made header+cat+cat-back should get you 210-220HP at flywheel

 

I just got finished talking with Bret at Rotary Performance in VA, and it sounds like he can build me a 210-225 hp motor in my budget. We are going to use '89 rotors for higher compresion and do a good street porting job.

He is running a 2nd gen in IT class racing and is getting 195 hp with stock ports, so he feels this is very "do-able". He wants me to get a lighter flywheel. Any one know of any good deals on '86-88 light flywheels? He can get one, but I want to shop around.

My exhaust is very free flowing - 2 inch uncollected headers into 2 inch STRAIGHT pipes that collects at 72" into a 3" in/out Dynomax Ultr-flow S/S muffler and out. No bends in the syytem to speak of, those few degrees of bend are all mandrel bent.

woh-hooo!! I can't wait

 

And How loud did you say that was???

hello?
hello?




I'm think of running the two long primaries into a single cat and then into one BIG stainless muffler. The muffler could occupy the space where my gas tank used to be. I wounder how that would effect the sound quality?

 

You wanna mix an '89 counter weight with an '86-'88 light flywheel?

 

Jeff,
No, we will use '89 rotors (lighter, higher compression) in my '86 motor. I want to find an aftermarket lightweight flywheel to help acceleration.

 

That's what I'm talking about. The lighter '89 rotor MUST use the correct ('89) counter weight. Otherwise it'll vibrate like my REPU engine

The type of flywheel you use does not matter. You could use the old style 215mm if you wanted to. Are you going to get an RB light steel flywheel kit? If so, get whatever will fit your tranny.