So, i'm in the process of converting a piston engine car to a 20b rotary. I've been able to figure out most of my isues so far, but i have a couple of questions still plaging me. First one would be about the rats nest and all the vacume lines. How many can i safely remove, and which ones are needed for the engine to run. Second......The oil sending unit....can i keep the factory unit, or do i have to get an electric one? Third....what sensors am i going to need? I have the microtech ltx 12s, so all of the basic sensors are taken care of, but there are a couple that i've got on the block that i don't know if i need or if they're just kind of there. Any advice and information would be greately appreciated.

When the car is finished, i'll put some pictures up so you can see what i've been working on.

 

You can eliminate the entire rats nets as the microtech is not going to control the twin turbos or emmissions. It cannot control the OMP either, it already has an electric pump that will need to be blocked off. You need intake air temp, TPS, and water temp as far as sensors go.

We have a BOP kit for the 20B http://www.banzai-racing.com/products_cosmo.htm

 

Banzai would be a great place to send your car for the 20B conversion. Or Jesus Padilla at Kilo Racing in Orlando can do it also. Not sure how far you are into it but it is much more work and more complicated than you might think. A subframe has to be used and a bunch of stuff needs to be fabricated. Good luck though if you think you can accomplish the job and I look forward to your pics.

 

well, i'm currently halfway through the conversion. I'm in the process of getting the engine mounts made and hooking up all of the wiring. Once that's done it's off to a shop to help me with the exaust that i have to custom build. The only reason i'm not having anyone else do the build is because it's a completely custom build. No one has any parts that i can buy, and if they do they won't fit exactly right, so i have a lot of work still to do. I'll post a couple of pictures so that you can see the engine bay....if you can guess the car from that i'll give you props.

 

Here's a couple pics from last week i think. The car has seen some significant changes since then.

 

My guess..Pontiac Firebird

 

I'll second that guess. Mind readers or box readers?

 

Well your guess would be halfway right. It's not a firebird though. It's a camaro. Basically the same car though. So i guess you get the props. :-P

 

Very interesting indeed. What year Camaro is it? 80's? What made you want to pop a 20B in there? You'll definitely have a very unique car.

 

The Car is an 86 iroc z, and the reason that i'm doing the conversion is because the engine that was in it died on me. I was going to put the engine in a beat up firebird, but that one stranded me further away from home than was financially acceptable. So got rid of that and was debating on what to do with the engine, when the engine in my car gave up the ghost for no apparent reason. so i was like what the heck and decided it's getting an upgrade. So, now i'm waiting on a couple parts, and a good fab shop to do the exaust work that i need. The engine mounts are an easy fab and weld in place, so i'm going to do those myself. If anyone has any advice on what would be good for the conversion i would be glad to hear them.

 

It is interesting seeing a piston car converted to a rotary, usually it is the other way around.

 

yea, well i wanted something unique and something that would give me a challenge. So, i've got both here, especially because i'm also converting the car to a manual from an automatic.

If anyone's got an idea for me for the car, just let me know. I need some. Especially with the suspension. i've gotta replace the front springs with ones that are more suited to the weight that's in there now. either that or i can just drive around with my nose up in the air.

 

so, an update for all who are interested. I'm at the point now where i'm waiting for a couple of dollars to put some of the final pieces together. I've got mockups of the engine mounts so i can get them made. I need the drive shaft cleaned up and welded, and i need the exhaust manifold made. I also have one other thing that i have to get fixed. Since i put the engine in it the car hasn't sat right. Meaning that up until today it was sitting about 8 inches higher than it should have. Today i tried something out that i thought might work. But as you can see from the pictures, i've gotta find something else. Any ideas?

 

Ok, so a quick update for those who would like to know.....the car has been put on the back burner for a little whle, because the main issues i have now are quite large. (and expensive!) As it goes though, the engine mounts are in the car, and the engine is sitting on them. I've got the inside wiring almost done, along with the instrument cluster. I've also got the drive shaft that i have to have made, along with the exhaust manifold. Those are really what's holding me up. The rest is coming right along. The coils are in, along with the computer and all of the wiring for that. So, i've still got lots more to do, but i'm getting to the point where it's almost ready to roll :-D

 

are you going n/a or turbo? i got a exhaust manifold w/ a wastegate for sale

 

LOOK at how much space he has to work with. WOW!

 

i wish we had that much space :/

 

I'd love to go turbo, and keep it about the same pressures that came stock, because i haven't had anything done to the internals. The only problem with that though is i don't have the funds to by the turbo and all the setup for it. So i was thinking of getting the manifold, and then just running an exhaust off of it until i do have the money to do it. We shall see what comes of the turbo situation though. It's not like i'm pressed for room either

 

you have the twin turbos right?

 

Yes i do have the twins, but i don't have the factory ecu, nor do i have the factory coils. So i can't run them. I also don't have the room put the bulky assembly into the car. So, if i do go turbo i have to custom make the manifold and all the exhaust tubing. If you know someone who would want the stock turbos then let me know, cause i'm willing to sell them. along with the ac compressor, the smog pump, and the fan.

 

You don't need the factory ecu or coils to run the turbos. All you need is the engine to push exhaust through them.

Now, as for you saying that you don't have the room, I find that very hard to believe, but that would be the only legitimate show-stopper. I can't think of a single turbo that is going to be less bulky than the twins in terms of the amount of volume they take up.

 

You shouldn't have any problem running the stock twins on that motor

 

Well the stock turbos would work, except for the fact that they don't fit in the engine bay because of the position of the A frame. it goes up and I've only got like 3 inches from the exhaust manifold to the frame. But i did take the turbos apart today to find that i can run at least one of the turbos. It won't take much in the way of fabrication, and i'll be able to sit them such that everything will flow quite nicely. I just need an intercooler and the ducting and i'll be set. I went to the local driveline place the other day also, and found out that i'm going to have to have my drive shaft made from scratch. All in all it's going to cost me about 400 for that. then maybe another hundred in pipe for the exhaust. Other than that though i'm almost ready to get this project up and running.

 

Cool project. Should really **** the rednecks off! Haha but as far as springs go, use the v6 springs, that should be close to the weight of the 20b. And running only on of the turbos ain't going to work. Just notch the frame where need to clear....I do similar things when putting v8s in a s10 and have to cut the frame for oil pan, and ac clearance....keep it going though!

 

I have the stock 20b ecu and coils. I have alot of extra stock parts too.