"that peeled one in the back is no good. however it was probably like that for 30,000miles... "

That's kind of like I was thinking and since the damage is not really as bad as it looks in that photo I'm thinking it might get another 20-30,000 miles if I mount the bad one in the front and the better one in the rear. Plus some practice on how to put one of these things together.

Here's a picture of that pair from the other side which shows the loss of chrome is present in a few other places and is more like just wearing through the chrome layer than from "peeling" or flaking away of the original chrome surface.

https://i764.photobucket.com/albums/...7/DSCF7135.jpg

Shoot, three out of the six rotor housings I recovered from the 3 12A's I tore down were similar or worse, and all came from running engines or from the one that recently lost an apex seal in the rear rotor (the front rotor, which was firing fine even without the rear had the same deterioration).

"there is a guy, glassman, on here, who is working on being able to rechrome the housings"

This I would be interested in, especially if the process mostly just touches up the existing chrome coating and if it has a reasonable track record. Let me know if he has figured it out!

OK I did a google search and came up with this, looks like he's still making slow but steady progress as of today. Thank for the tip J9:

https://www.rx7club.com/rotary-car-p...usings-939221/

yeah welcome to the 12A... when i bought my 83 LE it had some old mystery engine in it, and i drove it for 20,000 miles before i pulled it apart to fix the dowel pin oil leak. during that 20,000miles the engine ran great, and it would start hot with just a tap of the key.

so i was a little surprised when i pulled it apart and both housings were worse than yours!

the flaking, i think, comes from a repeated mild overheating, IE the radiator plugs up/there are air pockets from small leaks etc, and it runs a little warm for a long time.

I hear you J9.

After tearing down those three 12A's, I'm realizing that, since each of my 5 84/85 GSLs came with 100,000+ miles, chances are I've driven the last ten years and 250,000+ miles with flaking rotor housings and frozen seals.

Damn, you've got to respect the 12A, it's one robust unit. But it gives me goosebumps to think what it must be like to drive a 12A with properly functioning innards.

I'm thinking maybe even paying a professional to make me one, the rotary withdrawal is getting so bad.

and not being able to use that shift knob has got to be killing you, lol

Ray your post has got my interest, and your find was 4x better than mines.

I told you Ray, no rotary for how long? Thats the reason I haven't gotten my SA
resprayed, it would be down for so long and I wouldn't be able to drive it.

Maybe your wife needs an RX8, yeah thats the ticket.

That's a good suggestion- does Cathy still have the Protege, Ray? If so, it would be about the time for her to upgrade to a nice S2 RX8 :biggrin:

i just bought an Rx8 and its awesome, its fun in the same way the 1st gen is

Can you get the S2 RX8 in a hatchback model? I know it comes in a four door but we will be needing it to pick up hay and grain.

lol, maybe a Repu would be a better choice then... :)

That's what I'm thinking. Don't tell my wife.

yeah ray, u need a truck to do the hauling with.

OK, I've worked out my 13B urgings and returned to my senses. No pick-up trucks, RX-8's or fuel injection for me.

It's gonna' be a Nikki-fed 12A, Racing Best exhaust and upgraded suspension on a GSL chassis. White in color.

Rotary Perfection.

Thanks Dave for reminding me that this car needs to be built around that red shift knob, no compromises.

Now I just need to find one good 12A rotor housing ........

Ray,

I don't think I've got any good housings, but I'll take a look. If I find one, I'll bring it to B3R. :)

That would be sweet. Housing or no housing, if you're coming down for B3R I'll just have to put the work aside and high tail it for the mountains.

I've got a couple nice 12a housings I have ben holding onto, I may be willing to still them to some one that understands the awesomeness of the 12a. If your interisted I'll get some pics and we can talk.

Yes sir, I would be interested. Please pm some pics or send to surelypeaches@yahoo.com.

Thanks!

did u see these ray?

https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generati...sings-1015208/

Ray,

I'm definitely planning on attending B3R. :)

I see you sold your silver fb. Sad to see it go. :(

hope to see this white one on the road soon Ray!!

Michael I did see those ported housings but don't know enough about going that route to venture it. Also from the pictures the chrome looks a little thin.

I'm shooting for a 12A rebuild with two very good rotor housings, freshly lapped end housings and all new soft and hard seals. Something that will go 200,000 miles, like the original factory 12A's from the early '80's.

Dave, the White One II won't be hitting the road soon, but with some luck maybe by next summer I'll be installing that shift knob.

I'll be there Mark! Mike S. is planning on making it too, should be a very special get together.

The Silver One had to find a new home to justify buying a new car (Flipper, my 2012 Mazda3 hatchback) as well as sinking whatever resources are needed to get the White One II back in new condition (like the new out of box RB street exhaust system I picked up on ebay - I'll post pics on my next update post).

The Silver One gave me 50,000 trouble free miles, not bad for a car I bought for $1,200 and sold for $3,100.

Coming along nice Ray...pm me your address and I will send you something that will move your project along.

PM sent Colin. I love surprises!

hey ray, I relized the other week that the guy you bought the white car from also sold me the red 83 he had, lol thats where your gas tank went and a few other parts but dont feel bad it was useless the guy had cut it up to see if there was any rust in it, saying i could use sealer and put it back together. i am pretty sure he just made up a lot of crap about both cars, i was told they both had new rebuilt motors and the 83 had se suspension, at the time i knew next to nothing about the sevens, but later i learned it had rear drum breaks lol, and the car needed a good bit of work. over all though it wasnt so bad cause i learned a lot from working on that car. i had tried to get back in touch with him to see if he still had the white one but no luck, its cool to find out what happened to it i know you'll give it more love than i would have been able too. keep up all the good work i would like to see it when it's done.