I have just been offered a 'fat' 12A engine. It is a 13BTengine with the 13B ground off the housings and 12A added. The story was that to transplant a 13B engine you needed an engineer's certificate for the car to get it registered as a modified car. Thus, changing the engine inscription was a cheap alternative as no one bothered to check the external dimensions of the housings. The engraved engine numbers are numeric and do not give the engine type. Several people have used 13B centres to get efi on a 12A so that is not a give away.

Has anyone else come across this practice as it was new to me?

 

That's a new one on me. We don't have to go through rego, except California, like you do to get engine swaps certified. Interesting approach. Using the SE center iron is an easy way to get FI on either a 13B or 12A, in your case, I take it it would be a 12AT center iron.

Using the FI center iron is also the 1st step in building a pre-86 13B so one can use an S4 TII intake and run 4 injectors while still keeping a stock appearence.

If you can get it past rego, I would say go for it.

 

The story I heard was the RX-3 could not be legally fitted in a 13B, so the hotshots were taking a 4p and turning it into a 12A look-a-like still using a Nikki, then later going 48IDA.

As you say, using the 13B centre iron is a good way of going efi. Hitman used to have a description on his website of an engine that went into his 808.

The regulations here on transplants are in part related to weight. You can put a 13BT into a s3 but not into a s1[your SA]. Getting an engineer's certificate is expensive US $700+ as they become liable for problems. It cost me $400 for a certificate to fit a $200 towbar! If you add an unauthorized engine it is deregistered and your insurance is invalid.

The one i am considering has a 12AT centre iron with 13BT rotors mated to a s5 gearbox. It may be too much of a mongrel but the price is right after an uninsured write-off following an ice patch experience.

Talking of 4p 13Bs, how is the REPU project going?

 

REPU is on hold until I can get some other projects out of the way and find that pot-o-gold at the end of the rainbow, I'm Irish. Since it will be a full frame off restoration, I'm not in a hurry. I thought the widebody would take 3 months to do, took nearly 9, so I'm budgeting 12-18 months for the REPU even though the body work will be easier.

The hybrid engine you are looking at is similiar to one on the list of potentials for the REPU. What is eventually installed is still up in the air. Just need to decide if I want to go NA carb, FI or build the other TII engine I have.

I think if you picked up that 'fat' engine, turboed it and put it in your wife's car, you both would be happy.

 

That's basically what I'm running. Ported 12AT plates, ported Rx-5 13B rotor housings and S5 Turbo rotors. I'm very happy with it and the power figures and response show that it's a very strong setup.

 

where do you live that has all of these laws?

where I live, I could go buy a 1984 honda accord, register it and pass saftey inspection, then put a 500HP engine in it and convert it to mid engine all wheel drive, bolt a trailer hitch to it that I found in a junkyard, and all without any legality issues as far as the government is concerned, or inspections or anything.

 

While the Aussies are crazy about thier rotarys, thier rego laws are even crazier. Don't suppose we could blame all of the rego regs on Mad Max's supercharged V8, could we?

 

I thought Paul was in the UK?

 

I thought he was mid way up north.

 

Look at his location. He's over there on

 

Where am I? Home is a little way east of Savannah. My 85 12ATconvertible is kept for my Aussie trips. Another is in Montreal. Cloud Nine and Peak of God are some of my work locations.

Jeff I love your icon, ride 30 foot surf and you know why the name is used on Surigao island.The best break in the world, may even beat driving a rotary!

 

Those rego laws sound nasty. I am happy, in NH as long as it will pass safety then all is good, so I don't have any emissions on both the 7 or celica

 

Hell here, if you have a title and get a tag you are done, they don't care what you do and there is no emmissons laws or safety inspection.