I took a quick look in the FAQ and I didn't see this. I'm have the oppritunity to buy an 85 GSL for $250:



It has the 12a I'm told, it's a 5 speed and from the pics the body/interior seem to be in pretty decent shape, he tells me that the Apex seals are worn. I have a local hookup at a salvage yard that'll let me have a running (non-smoking) 13b for about $350. Now the 13b is FI and the 12A is Carb right? How hard would the swap be? Or would I be better off pulling the 12a and replacing the rotor and Apex seals. I'm pretty handy with a wrench, but I've mostly worked on Dodges and a little on Fords. So the import market is a little different to me, but the Wankle really catches my interest. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
L.D.

 

Hi, and welcome. If you wanna read up on the swaps look at the sticky at the top of the forum. Felixs site tells you all you need about that too.

But lets back up a bit. How do you know if the engine is bad? It might be perfectly fine. DOnt mess wit it till you check it, do a compression test. Dont let anyone just talk you into replacing your engine. Alot of people dont know jack about rotaries, and give bad advice.

 

Completely irrelevant, anyway...if the body IS straight, you could sell that alone for $400, so buy it no matter what at $250....you can make money here if the title is clear even if you don't want the car...

 

Drive it a bit to get the brake rotors off the rust first... Otherwise, It looks sweet.

I also agree that a lot of people are rotarded and give bad advice.

 

OK, we went to look at it and I took a battery with us. The engine spins over freely, but it won't fire. There are a few vaccum lines wern't connected, and the clutch pedal is stuck to the floor. He wants $250 for it, but I'm sure we could pick it up for less. I'm not gonna be able to buy it, but my friend is thinking about it, but he's concerned we won't be able to get it running. What do ya'll think?

 

Where in TX is this? I could make some easy cash here...

 

I have an 85GSL (among other 7s) and it is a good car: luxury interior, smooth ride, LSD. I use it as my 'sedan'.

Clutch to the floor means the clutch hydraulic circuit is empty of hydaulic fluid. thats easy to fix: get some hydraulic fluid, fill the reservoir (the round plastic tank a bout 1.5 inches in diameter, near the firewall on the pilots side) and pump it up. Bleed as necessary.

Test the apex sels before you give up on them: squirt MMO into the spark plug holes while turning the engine by hand. Then try starting it.

If it spins but doesn't start, check the 'ignitors': there's a diagram in the Service Manual, and it can be found here on the forum somewhere.

If you swap the 13B for the 12A, it may simplify the wiring and smog changes if you use a carb instead of the EFI. Hollley 650 and 48IDA seem popular.

B

 

Thanks for ideas! Couple of questons, one (pardon my ignorance) what is MMO? I'm assuming the ignitors are like the coils pack(s), and if they are bad, or not getting 12v that it would cause the car not to fire. Do I have this right?

L.D

 

MMO is "Marvel Mystery Oil". You can pick it up at Walmart or various automotive parts stores.

 

I'd grab it right away. That car is already worth more than what he's asking for it.

But yeah, do a few tests before you decide to rip the engine out, unless of course you want the beefier 13b with 135 HP.

 

get it.. you could easily fix a few things and sell it, or keep it

 

I wish I could get it It's in New Braunfels, TX if anybody is interested. I hate to see cars sit and rot. I don't think my friend is gonna buy it. It has spark, the gas has separated. I think he got kinda scared when we ran a compression test and only came up to 10psi.

 

Seein' as how that tester wasn't for a rotary and he prolly couldn't spin the engine fast enough and also didn't have MMO or ATF to at least get some kind of seal started, I would say his test was invalid...too far for me to drive, so I'm out...

 

Wait, so you can't use a regular compression tester on a Rotary?

 

get it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I really want to, I have to many projects now though. Maybe if it's still there in a month (it might) I can con the family into letting me get it.