Rotary Powered 74 Manta?

[manta-pirate]

iv been getting a lot of people telling me i should put a 13b rotary in my manta...
But before i jump the gun and just slot anything in, id like to hear the opinion from fellow opel owners.
And does anybody know of someone with a similar project who might be able to give me some pointers as well as if it was a good decision?

[opelnut10]

Originally Posted by manta-pirate iv been getting a lot of people telling me i should put a 13b rotary in my manta... But before i jump the gun and just slot anything in, id like to hear the opinion from fellow opel owners. And does anybody know of someone with a similar project who might be able to give me some pointers as well as if it was a good decision?

I have had some experience with the Mazda Rotary (12A & 13B) you will not find a smoother running engine than a rotary. The down side is they are not very fuel effective, they have NO torque (Heavy flywheel will help this), you have to forget applying anything you know about a piston engine to working on one, you cannot run one hot and you must have anti-freeze in it at all times. You hop them up by lighting the rotors, pinning them so they don't walk on the shaft and moving the ports to change the firing sequince and putting more fuel in it. I have personally seen a 13B make 190HP to the rear wheels on Gasoline with a single 45mm sidedraft and a tuned header (open) at 9500 RPM, but it would have been a real bear to drive in street trim. In the case of a 50 series Opel I think there are better choices for and engine swap than the rotary. If I was inclined to swap another engine in a Manta or Ascona I would have a long look at the 4.3 Vortec V6 (IMHO)

[oldopelguy]

Biggest Issue I see with the rotary in the Manta is that by design the rotary is as big below the crank centerline as it is above the crank centerline. While overall this makes for a very small motor size, in the Manta that means it would be competing for space with either the front suspension crossmember or the firewall and swaybar. I don't like cutting the firewall unless it's going to be a pure race car, and I wouldn't want to risk ruining the handling on my Manta by cutting up the suspension.

[jtb]

I'm sure you have searched for rotary swaps already, there have been a couple of GT's done, including mine.
Just to make sure you're aware, rotaries run HOT and LOUD. So there are additional cooling and exhaust considerations that other swaps may not need.
Are you considering a carb or injected 13b? Turbo or non? Does it have to meet any emission requirements?
Just some food for thought,

jtb

[manta-pirate]

jtb, im not too sure about any emission requirements...so iv got plausible deny ability on my side

but ja,

i want to have a look at mounting a rotary in with a mazda 5 or 6 speed gearbox (manual).

how difficult was your motor swap on a scale of 1 to 10
wat diff should i use? dont want my diff exploding if its not usd to turning at high speeds lol
im thinking of staying with a carb...or in your opinion should i go injected? non turbo for now

im fairly new to the motoring world so please excuse me