daan
Part of things
Posts: 24
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Feb 12, 2017 17:59:15 GMT
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These rotaries are a kind of witchcraft thats always fascinated me. A mate of mine has a "stage 2 bridgeport" (whatever that means) 241 that he uses for track duties. I've always been afraid of them due to poor understanding but he swears by them with warm ups and a bit of 2 stroke in the tank As a performance engine they have an awful lot going for them. No reciprocating weight like a piston engine, very small and lightweight in general. Unfortunately they don't make very good road engines, due to their sensitivity and fuel economy. I've still got a fair bit to learn about tuning them tbh, but this motor will remain stock, until winter at least. Dan I love this! Your E21 in that colour is just great, but the interior is just perfect! Love the green carpets and trims, and those seats could have been made for it. Wow, brilliant! I wouldn't mind seeing another pic or two of that. Thank you for the kind words! The interior colour is certainly very 80's and eye catching A few more pictures for you... Little bit of progress made today. Cut up the sump. Gonna have to lose the low level sensor but hey, it's got an oil pressure gauge so, not the end of the world. No photos, but I'll make sure I get some of the finished product before it's fitted. Had a better look at the exhaust manifold, space is VERY tight.... I'm considering shifting the steering rack 1cm across, making up for the tracking with the track rod ends. But even so, I think I will need a totally custom manifold. I cut up the stock one for a trial fit and it's just so big and awkward, doesn't look hopeful... Also, got lots of pictures of the engine mount locations, engine position, sump clearance etc - for those that are interested! Engine could go back about another 2 inches (maximum) I reckon, but that would require a lot of awkward/time consuming modifications, including custom oil pick up, totally custom sump to allow more oil capacity, clutch slave cylinder, steering rack, even tighter exhaust manifold and new gearbox mount. It's current position is pretty much final position. Not ideal, but still fairly decent and without TOO much hassle.
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Last Edit: Feb 12, 2017 19:01:23 GMT by daan
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alecf
Part of things
Posts: 424
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Feb 13, 2017 22:33:32 GMT
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Propshafts wise I had a similar issue mating a Nissan 350z to a landrover prop. In the end I had a new one made just using the nissan slider part. Firow propshafts in Holmes Chapel did it. Very nice people and quick turn around and good price.
Love what your doing with it. As the little e21 will be nice and light enough for the revved lump. Got a thing from rotarys at the moment keep looking at rx7's
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froggy
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,099
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Feb 13, 2017 23:02:28 GMT
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Alter the rack mounts on the x member to turn the rack body away from the engine
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daan
Part of things
Posts: 24
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Feb 21, 2017 18:02:04 GMT
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Been busy with work so not much action recently. But today I managed to get a few bits sorted out ready for next week... I picked up my new radiator, a BMW E36 air con rad. Fit's really nicely in the E21 with minor mods, has a handy built in header tank and I think will offer slightly more cooling capacity than the RX8 rad. Despite being slightly smaller in height/width, it is nearly double the thickness. Picked up some sheet steel for my new new sump. I've decided to cut the entire sump pan off the sump frame/mount and make a new custom pan, just keeping the original frame/mount section. Sheet steel cost me £3, 2mm thick and cut to size, ready to be bent up and welded. The long part will make up the sides and the large piece will be bent as required for the bottom section. Also got my rear tyres fitted, slightly larger circumference than the fronts to try and gear it up a bit. Engine mounts are on order so they should be fitted next week. Also received some D585 uprated coils and magnecor leads for the engine. Got them for a good price and they are a known weak point of the rotary engine, so worth replacing. I know the plugs were done last year so they will be left alone. Also, I offered up the entire RX8 propshaft and it's literally just 5 inches to short. I'm wondering if it might be easier to use this prop and get a 5 inch adapter/extension piece made up... No progress made on the exhaust manifold situation but the suggestion above seems like a good starting place, so I will be looking into altering the rack mounts next week too.
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Feb 22, 2017 18:45:24 GMT
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Interesting conversion Always wanted a E21 and when the rotary engine works it's really good engine "small light and powerful for its size" and with a good exhaust they can sound good to Only problem is they eat rotor tips so not the most reliable engine
But it would be good to see it done 👍
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1992 240 Volvo T8 1955 Cadillac 1994 BMW E34 M5 (now sold ) 1999 BMW E36 sport touring x2 1967 Hillman imp Californian "rally spec" 1971 VW bay window (work in progress) 1999 Mazda 323F 1987 Jaguar XJ12 All current
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Feb 22, 2017 22:40:36 GMT
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This is a brilliant build! I'm a massive fan of both classic bmws and the rotary! Rx7 is probrably my favourite J car! Looks like good progress keep up the good work!
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daan
Part of things
Posts: 24
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Feb 23, 2017 14:34:01 GMT
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Interesting conversion Always wanted a E21 and when the rotary engine works it's really good engine "small light and powerful for its size" and with a good exhaust they can sound good to Only problem is they eat rotor tips so not the most reliable engine But it would be good to see it done 👍 Yeah the engines are a real peach when they are running well and looked after. I have compression tested this one and it's just above the threshold, plus I know it's good from using it my track car. I'd like to rebuild it anyway, out of curiosity as much as for reliability - hopefully it will last until winter! This is a brilliant build! I'm a massive fan of both classic bmws and the rotary! Rx7 is probrably my favourite J car! Looks like good progress keep up the good work! Thanks! I'm also a fan of both and this just seemed like an ideal project given the circumstances!
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daan
Part of things
Posts: 24
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As usual, terrible at regular updates.... I think we last left off when I was making a custom sump so the engine could sit as low and far back as possible. Pictures of said sump during and after... Sure I took some pictures of it fitted, but I can't find them now. Made up the coolant pipework using bits and bobs in my spares tub. Not filled with coolant yet as they will all be removed again for exhaust manifold work. Cut the top off the clutch slave arm so it will clear the bulkhead. Bled the clutch up and it feels good, so hopefully won't have any issues with the BMW master and RX8 slave working together. Then had the subframe modified, rack mounts extended to shift the steering rack across 15mm and make a bit more room for the exhaust manifold. Also got the propshaft measured up, decided to just use the RX8 spline shaft and not the UJ. The result is a very short little shaft which just goes from the gearbox to the centre bearing mount, shouldn't have any issues with vibration, hopefully... And, it's very tricky to get a good picture of, but the standard rx8 drivers side engine mount wraps tightly around the exhaust manifold. See below So, I decided it would be easier to make a new simple mount up and allow extra room for the exhaust manifold. Pictures of before and after, but again, not fitted, sorry! So, the big obstacle, the exhaust manifold. I had considered cutting up, modifying, re-welding etc on the standard RX8 mani, but it was just going to be too clumsy and bodged. It will be going to a friend of mine for the exhaust work to be done, but to make his life and the whole task a bit easier, I bought a 3-1 stainless manifold. It will certainly require 2 of the runners chopping and a couple of extra bends/straights welded in, but it should be a whole lot easier overall and will look 10x better. More on that once it's been to have the work done, on the 15th April... Lastly, I decided to drop the car down onto all fours again, just to remind me what it looked like as a 'car' and not a pile of curse word in the garage. Cannot wait to have it sitting nicely and sounding awesome in a couple of months time. Thanks for taking time to have a read/look through. As always, comments and advice appreciated.
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Last Edit: Apr 6, 2017 18:39:48 GMT by daan
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adam73bgt
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,869
Club RR Member Number: 58
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BMW E21 Rotaryadam73bgt
@adam73bgt
Club Retro Rides Member 58
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Love it Nice to see the Renesis being used in something different
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b3nson
Part of things
Posts: 886
Club RR Member Number: 22
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BMW E21 Rotaryb3nson
@b3nson
Club Retro Rides Member 22
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Love this idea, one of the best looking BMWs with a unusual engine swap. Will follow on Instagram too.
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'99 Fiat Coupe 20V Turbo '08 Panda 100HP
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willg
Part of things
Posts: 163
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Apr 12, 2017 17:27:27 GMT
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Stunning project! Uber cool car with an awesome motor going in it The welding looks great son the sump / shaft, is that tig welding?
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Retro is best!
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moomin
Part of things
Posts: 772
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Apr 12, 2017 17:55:51 GMT
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Sexcellent wheel choice!
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@toxicknobs
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Mark
Posted a lot
Posts: 3,818
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Apr 12, 2017 20:00:02 GMT
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Look forward to seeing how this turns out. Used to have an E21 or 9 myself.
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BMW 320d (fridge on wheels)
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Apr 12, 2017 20:48:03 GMT
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Man reads title, man subscribes for more. It would be interesting to note the weight change the engine offers too especially since the amount of power it will be giving.
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Davey
Posted a lot
Resident Tyre Nerd.
Posts: 2,230
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Amazing looking BMW with a Japanese heart, my two favourite countries coming together.
Love it great work.
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K11 Micra x3 - Mk3 astra - Seat Marbella - Mk6 Escort estate - B5 Passat - Alfa 156 estate - E36 compact Mk2 MR2 T-bar - E46 328i - Skoda Superb - Fiat seicento - 6n2 Polo - 6n polo 1.6 - Mk1 GS300 EU8 civic type S - MG ZT cdti - R56 MINI Cooper S - Audi A3 8p - Jaguar XF (X250) - FN2 Civic Type R - Mk2 2.0i Ford Focus
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Incase it's of any use the Mazda gear box spline is the same as the Ford Sierra type9 / Cortina typeE gearboxes. When I've had props made they're only about £90.
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Adey
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,345
Club RR Member Number: 171
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BMW E21 RotaryAdey
@adey1984
Club Retro Rides Member 171
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Apr 13, 2017 18:51:29 GMT
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awesome build so far,loving the fab work too, keep up the good work also following on insta
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May 28, 2017 20:40:10 GMT
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Any updates?
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