CheddaKing

I dream of swapping a rotary into one of our Austin Healey "BugEye" Sprites... but not until i finish my 7 and Cadillac.

Jeff20B

iTrader: (13)

I put the old 13B back in my MG and drove it with the light steel flywheel. It helped a little, but the engine needs a port job and a set of rotor housings that aren't missing so much chrome (lol yet it still starts up fine and idles perfectly). Then it would be scary.

Bob Holton

Wish I could put one in my 65 vw bug !!!

31rx7

There used to be a kit you could buy to put a 12a in a Sprite / Midget chassis, although I have not seen it advertised since the early 90's.

In SCCA autocross, Bill King dominated E-Mod for years in his rotary 13b Sprite, and sold it to Brian Kinser from Chicago who won the National's in 1992 or so. I lost track of the car, but it was very nicely done. Not sure of the front suspension, but I believe the rear was independent Datsun Z-car.

Phil Schmidt in Toledo, OH also had a Lotus Eurpoa with a 12a in it that he ran in E-Mod. I believe he won the Nationals one year with it.

The place that sells the GM V8 to Jaguar XJ swap and GM V6 to Triumph TR7 kits may know where to find rotary to British swap info. If my aging memory serves me right, the name of this place is
"John's Cars" or something like that.

rotard

Given the existing rear suspension in the spitfire -- very crude -- I think a rear end swap would be a good idea with any engine transplant.
I had my uncle's '71 for a weekend a few years back, and had a blast, despite very limited power. I can't even imagine what a 13B would be like in there, with some suspension work. I would like to find out, though! Maybe in a couple of years...

Jeff20B

iTrader: (13)

I need to throw the carb back on my MG soon.

FD3S LIGHTNING

let him post it. I had never seen it yet

FD3S LIGHTNING

let him post it. I had never seen it yet

RexFreak00

I just resently bought some kids 1984 rx 7 GSL with a 12a engine. I only payed 150$ and my old 97' little 70cc dirtbike and the engine runs fine, it only has 100,000 miles on it. I want to fully restore this car and make it tight but i dont know where to start. Last night i took it out and was doin some donuts down my gravel road and now its not getting any gas, and its jacked up and i cant find nething wrong with the gas line where it wouldnt be getting ne gas, and when i pore gas in the cylnder it fires up for a few seconds and dies out. Also the brake calibers are fucked When its jacked up U can barely rotate the wheel but im replacing the brake calibers this weekend but i would like to figure out this problem before i do that. Also i want to put a performance exhaust on it for cheap but no idea what would sound good on this car , Ne ideas?

Xavier8

wierd place to post that. By the way, my rotary spitfire drives great, getting a lightened flywheel as soon as I can afford it.

purple82

http://www.triumphspitfire.com/engineswaplinks.html

Healeyguy

iTrader: (1)

I remember that kit. It was a texas based company and the kit had a nickname of a Ridgit kit.

If anyone ever comes across a kit that has been sitting on a shelf, let me know I'm interested.

I'm also on the lookout for a car called the "Cape Cod Bugeye" that was built in the 1980s. This guy only built about 12 of these rotary bugeyes...

tjgosurf

One day I will mate a CRX to a Northstar engine in the rear of the CRX. So it will be an AWD CRX. Make fun of hondas then!

















Actually I would still make fun of hondas myself. Telling people, "You wouldnt believe what this one idiot did."

Healeyguy

iTrader: (1)

That's not so far fetched. Ford use to sell this box of a car called the Fiesta that an afremarket builder took the Ford Taurus SHO motor and put in the back seat calling it the SHOGUN. They made 7 of them and Jay Leno still has one of the two he bought...

----------------------
The Shogun is essentially a well executed car conversion performed by a company called Special Editions in Upland, California. Notable features was the Ford Taurus SHO V-6 drivetrain installed in a mid-engine configuration within the Ford Festiva bodyshell.

The concept for the Shogun is credited to Rick Titus (drove a Saleen Mustang to become SCCA 1987 Escort Endurance Champion and magazine editor). Titus approached Chuck Beck with an idea to install a Ford Taurus SHO V-6 (4 cams, 24 valves, 220 horsepower) drivetrain in the rear of a diminutive Ford Festiva (Beck was a chassis fabricator well known for his Porsche 550 Spyder replicas and work with the Shelby GT-350 and Ford GT-40 racing programs from the Sixties).


The result of this was the first Shogun, the yellow prototype which was developed (in 1990) to refine the concept and to test marketability. The Shogun prototype was based on a salvaged (roll-over) Taurus that was found in Dallas, Texas. The Festiva body used for the prototype was actually a 1988 model (again, located from salvage).

The concept proved good enough, for Beck and Titus to commence production on the remaining 6 cars (a total of 7 Shoguns were built, including the prototype. All are numbered 1-7). The yellow prototype was featured in an issue of Car and Driver who quipped the Shogun was "one loose cannon" (anyone have a scan or print of this issue?). Some changes were made to the prototype not found in the later cars, primarily the fender flares/spoilers were refined and smoothed some (note softer styling lines) and the BBS 15 x8 and 16 x 9.5 honeycomb wheels (popular back then) were dropped. Peter Brock (key designer of the Shelby Daytona Coupe) was enlisted to help with the styling changes (fiberglass bodywork and interior).

All of the Shoguns were built to customer order to work around the DOT certification laws, however the car did meet emissions regulations (including California of course). The stock SHO drivetrain retained all the original emissions equipment. The Shogun's sticker price was somewhat of shock to some ($47,500 US). It is important to remember though that included in the price was a new Taurus SHO and new Ford Festiva (SHO drivetrain was new). These both were required for the conversion. The production Shoguns were not based on salvaged cars with exception of #005. The quality of this conversion done by Beck was impeccable.



The steps to make a Shogun began with the removal of the drivetrains from both vehicles. The Festiva rear floorpan was removed and a tubular rear spaceframe (with integral 2 pt rollbar) welded to accept the new powerplant. The side doors also received additional door impact beams. The Yamaha-built SHO V-6 was in my opinion, the best all around performing V-6 at the time and was a logical choice for a superb powerplant. A sweet note exited the two Supertrapp mufflers which the Shogun was equipped with (often the mufflers would get discolored a different shade due to the exhaust routing which caused the left side to run hotter than the right).





Some components from the SHO were also used for the suspension. The car used the front SHO spindles, strut housings, hubs, vented 10" rotors, and brake calipers for both front and rear. Custom made for the Shogun were the Koni strut inserts used in all four corners. The modified SHO struts were adjustable for ride height (coil-over) and were fitted with special rate Eibach springs. An additional (adjustable) front stabilizer bar is used along with the stock Festiva piece in the front. It attaches to the front struts via a link. The rear toe is set using a Taurus front tie rod end. Solid bushings are used in the rear suspension to eliminate compliance. The wheels used on the production Shogun are Boyds aluminum (billet center/spun outer). Sizes were 15 x 8 for the front and 16 x 10 for the rear. Tires used were Goodyear Eagle 205/50VR15 (front) and 245/45/16 (rear). The rear tires were actually the softer compound ("S") for added grip. The Festiva rack and pinion was retained (except for #005 car which featured a quicker ratio). The original space taken by the stock 63hp Festiva 1.3, was used mostly for a 15 or 17 gallon (not sure which) racing-type fuel cell (which is refilled by lifting the hood).



The fiberglass exterior bodywork on the production Shogun was to me, a work of automotive art. The panels just seem to suggest that they were meant to be there. Production type tooling insured quality of the exterior bodywork and the fit and finish were excellent. The front spoiler housed two round halogen driving lamps.



The fender flares were designed to end at the door seams. This allowed the doors and hatch to be left as is. Everything is functional in this respect like the Festiva. The Shogun was in every aspect, a car capable of handling daily driving chores (ride height was high enough not to worry about rough roads). The rear flares feature functional scoops. The hood featured a exit duct for hot radiator air (hints of Daytona Coupe).

MarkPerez

this thread is still alive,,,,, man.

youngfc

iTrader: (1)

i know this is old but if anyone is interested in this still i got an apprenticeship from my dads welder buddy yesterday and after talking to him he was the fab guy for the cape cod bugeye. he said he made about 15 of them using rx7 (fb) drive train pm me for questions and ill put you in contact with Rob himself.
Oliver

ray green

iTrader: (14)

No video of the MG midget with the 12A? No photos? What gives?

Directfreak

iTrader: (2)