memphisrain

Hi all, I'm new here and I'm considering a rotary engine for my current hotrod project. Here's the scoop;



I'm currently building '32 Ford roadster and I'm thinking of putting a rotary engine in it. I'm tired of the countless number of old Fords with small block Chevys in them. Anyways, I've got very limited knowledge of the Rotary engines (other than how they work, etc.) and I need some guidance. What I want to do is run a 13B with standard 4-barrel carb, and eventually would like to supercharge it. So my questions are:



What year(s) were normally aspirated/non-turbo 13B's?

Any years better than others?

Did Mazda make them with automatic tranny's?

What should I be thinking of when I do a rebuild?

3mm apex seals?

What type of porting?

What type of tollerances?

What type of boost is realistic for these motors?

What kind of HP are we talking here?

What haven't I thought of?



I will likely be fabricating the intake and exhaust manifolds from scratch since this is a relatively low budget build. (Time, talent, and dedication I've got, money... well not so much





Hey I really appreciate any and all info you can give me. Websites with any info on the above questions would be appreciated. I've searched quite a bit, but the info seems to be somewhat limited.



Thanks,

mR

89 Rag

take a look here



My two cents...



Auto trans and the supercharger would be a waste of time and money.



A peripheral port 13b with a side/down draft carb set-up will give you about 300 hp but the power is all up top for the most part (higher rpm)



Many people seem to fab thier own parts, but there are good parts out there that won't break the bank too.

memphisrain

Hey thanks for the link. The automatic transmission is more for easy drivability since the 32's passenger compartment is pretty small.







mR

89 Rag

No problem, hopefully you found some good info in there..and Welcome to Nopistons!



I understand where you're coming from on the auto trans, i'm working on a 33 with my father,



but the P-port 13b will give you the most bang for your buck in a naturally aspirated rotary platform, i'm just not sure the stall technology can accomodate the rpm range (up to 10,000 rpm) in otherwords the auto trans could limit the performance of the engine.

rowtareh

Agreed with 89 Rag. You are going to have NO torque with a peri-ported 13b. Not like rotaries have any torque to begin with. How much room do you have to work with under the "hood"??? I am thinking a N/A 20b platform would be a great idea, and they came with auto transmissions.



Got any pictures of the 32? My pops used to have a 21 T-Bucket kit car that was grouped with an original 392 Hemi from an older Chrysler 300 from the 1950's.



Welcome to nopistons.com by the way, and good luck on your project.

j9fd3s

the 13b's come in several flavors, and they can be mixed and matched for the most part.



74-78 (82 in japan), 4 barrel carb stock, 125ish hp, came in the rx4,5 and pickup. kinda hard to find these days, but can be made from 12a steels and 13b rotor housings



84-85 gsl-se 13b. its like the previous engine except they introduced the "6 port" intake setup, where a 3rd set of engine ports opens up at high speed/load. this gives the motor more low rpm power and more high rpm power. along with efi, these engines made 135hp@6500 and 133lbsft @2700, so its got a broad power band



86-88 13b. its a slightly better gsl-se engine, its got lighter rotors (think lighter pistons), flywheel, better injection, better apex seals (2mm from 3mm), and 146hp



89-91 13b, again improved. 160hp, revs to 8200now



PP motors, the factory housings with a 48ida weber will give you 300hp@9000rpms, peak torque is 8000, so its peaky. efi will broaden it out a bit, and add a little hp

Nospig

A 32 with an fd engine running a single turbo with lots of polished bits.

My dad had a 32 rod , but he let it rust away then sold it. If he had kept it i would put a rotary in it.

Some photos of progress would be great.

memphisrain

Hey I'm glad to see you guys are interested. I wasn't sure what type of reaction I was going to get. It's not a common thing to do what I'm trying to do.







rowtareh,



Space shouldn't really be an issue because I've seen everything form Small Block fords to blown Hemi's in these cars. It's really all about the fabrication.



I don't have any pictures yet, but I'll try and post some in the next month or two.



j9fd3s,



Thanks for laying it out for me like that, it makes it much easier for me.





Is it a big deal to convert the EFI to carburation? I wouldn't think so as long as the air/fuel mixture is right.





Thanks agian,

mR

Jedi

Good god I want to see this happen

memphisrain

Oh it will happen, if I can find the info needed to do it right. The car is what I call "junkyard engineered" so putting a standard V-8 in it just wouldn't do it justice. It has so many cool parts on it already, it would be a shame to assimilate it like the rest





Any further info/suggestions would be appreciated!



mR