MOUNTING 13b ROTARY ENGINE IN A 98 HYUNDAI EXCEL HATCHBACK BOOT/TRUNK??????????????

[Book him Danno!!!]

Hi all

After doing some preliminary research I have come to the conculsion I am definitely going to buy a 13b rotary engine and rebuild it. I plan to install EFI and turbo kit. Probably use original Mazda gear box. Still working out other details in relation to the rotary engine at this stage. Any thoughts would be highly appreciated.

My only problem is what body to put it in? I don't want to put the rotary in an older car body e.g. Datsun 1200 ute. I want to put the engine into a newer small car body, but I can't seem to think of any that are rear wheel drive. All the relatively new smaller cars (e.g. 5 years max) I can think of are front wheel drive?

Ideally the maximimum size car body I would like to put the rotary into is something the size of a Honda Civic 2 door hatchback but again its front wheel drive. Are there any newer small rear wheel drives made? I'm talking small to try and maximise power to weight ratio. The smaller the better. If there no newer small rear wheel drive cars in Australia I am even thinking of importing a foreign car if I have to.

If worse comes to worse and there are none, would it be possible to mount the rotary engine in the hatchback area of a 98 Huyndai Excel and turn the original engine bay into a boot/trunk? What implications will that lead to? I assume the fuel tank would then have to be moved to the front of the car? And how likely is it to get it roadworthy? I assume we are talking big bickies to do it.

Also has anyone ever heard of mounting a 13b rotary in a mini?

Cheers
Danno

[Moppie]

There is a Mini here in NZ with a 13b in it.

But, it has a custom built tube frame chassis from the firewall forward, uses a heavily modified Toyota Corona g/box, and is strictly a race car only. No chance of it ever being road legal.


To mount an engine into the back of a FWD car would require some very serious engineering.
Basicly you have to custom build all new rear subframe, rear suspension and drive line.
Its not something your going to be doing in your backyard, and deffintly not something your going to the information you need for it on the internet.

[Reed]

well the mazda 13b gearbox is a transmission setup for a front engine rear drive car, but you would need a gearbox that is a transaxle setup for either a front engine front drive or mid engine rear drive.

you could keep it all mazda and just put the 13b in a miata (they are tiny and light) i think this winter and next summer i will be doing a similar project except i will be trying to put a 13b in the back of a mk1 mr2. some other cars could be honda s2000, pontiac fiero, toyota mr2, i would love to see a 13b in an elise but i doubt that will ever happen.

[xyfalconsrock]

If you somehow got the parts to make it rwd it would never be road legal, it would have to be all professional work and that would cost you 15,000 in labour alone.

But on the other hand you could buy TX3 laser and only run it rwd(they were awd) and plonk in the rotary. Cheaper and easier.

Goood luck