If the cracks are severe, lets say 10mm per side, I might have the feeling when things get really warm in there they could open a bit and the sharp flakes of chrome could stick out there slightly, not enough to make it go terribly wrong, but maybe enough to accelerate apex wear in that area

 

Note the manual page C-57. Where a check is done for serviceability of the seals...
The faces are put together..... guess where that wear comes from?
How well does that seal on the housing?

And yes you could have had a 350 cu in v8. They loose 100 hp trying to the move their cam, lifters, push rods, springs, retainers and valves.

Funny how an 80 cu in rotary likes to rev and puts shame on them!

As for the cracks caused by the heat stretching the plug bore.... just cut a horizontal football shaped relief eliminating the cracks.

Barry.

 

As an update.... Here is a picture of both housings as removed.

50k miles since installed, 100k miles since new.

Barry

 

What did you modify to your housing that got such great results?

 

Check the first post. He ported passeges 3 and 5 in increase coolant flow through them since they are restricted by design. Increasing the flow in these areas seems to have lowered surface temps at the spark plug openings and reduced the crowning effect on the opening. Very cool idea.

Picture from his first post....

 

And damn those look good.

 

I use a long 1/4" carbide burr and stay clear of the plug boss as best I can.

I use the bottom of the Mazda end mill cuts as my max depth (for turbo pressures).

 

^So from looking at the above picture, it would appear as though there's a LOT of room for improvement. It looks like the area circled in RED is the original "diameter" of the coolant passageway.

Is what I've circled in BLUE the material that's safe to remove?

 

Absolutely incorrect! The area in red is already modified to the maximum allowed opening. You will cut into the spark plug boss if you remove any more. Technically there are places you can still make bigger, but it will compromise other systems/areas if you do.

-J

 

Johnathan is right. You don't want to cut into the spark-plug boss at all.

.....and think of a donut-like cut around the spark-boss... by cutting an arch into the tension-bolt bosses....
and lowering the section adjacent to the housing face to the bottom of the factory mill marks.

 

Ahhh good to know! I didn't realize that was the spark plug boss. That would be bad lol!

 

Is it possible to, and has anyone attempted to lower the raised area around the leading plug hole using basic tools in the garage?

 

More Updates

I am doing the water passage mod on some new housings and thought I would do an
update this thread with the actual results comparing stock vs modified flow.

Both tests on the same day with the same water pressure.


Notice passage 5 on the stock housings. This is the hottest portion of the housing and is receiving the least amount of flow.


Stock



Modified- now notice passage 5 has increased and 6 has diminished flow.

 

Here is a video .... maybe of the unmodded housing and then the modified one.


http://vid287.photobucket.com/albums...pslup8ujax.mp4

http://vid287.photobucket.com/albums...pshouvicly.mp4

 

Barry, I live close to you. Is this porting a service you could provide?

 

I traveled from Dallas to Slidell, Louisiana and after an arm lock and gun threats, I convinced Mr.Bordes to do this as a business.
He eventually saw it my way and he is doing the corner seal mod, water/coolant passage mod, oil pump passage mod and porting of side plates for my new spare engine.
Thank you Barry and sorry about the arm. ;-) LOL
Can't wait to go back and put it together with him.
Awesome guy to talk too.

 

Yes through Jonathan at Gorilla Racing.

Where are you located?

 

I've already been in touch with Jonathan. I'll talk to him about your porting. Thanks!

 

I owed Robert a favor for some Bilstein Shocks he generously provided for my test vehicle.

Robert made the long drive from Dallas under a terrible line of thunderstorms following all the way...
but with all brand new parts I would been afraid of shipping damage also.

When everything is ready we will build the engine together.

Some pictures of what he wants done.
(Those are his new housings being flowed after water passage porting.)

I show these pictures to help others appreciate what can be done to build a more bullet-proof engine (note- no engine is totally bullet-proof I know people that can break a rock!)
These mods would be kept super secret for most builders but I feel that they can help the DIY guys and I figure most people will not want to go to this extreme and will have someone else do the mods for them. (Like Gorilla Racing or a good builder near you).


(Pictures not necessarily Robert's)

 

I forgot the Zero Clearance Corner Seals 12 each.

 

So Barry, you're removing the oil strainer on the pickup tube?

 

Removing the screen, flaring the tube to a smooth rounded over shape, and replacing the screen.

 

Exactly.

 

Yes Rich, Andy and Robert are correct.

Check the chart below. The lower the F-value the better the flow.
As you can see sometimes simple little improvements can make a big difference.

And yes not reinstalling the screen could be disastrous!

 

Love seeing this level of thinking and experimentation still being put into these cars! Makes me want to start another build...

Barry, can you elaborate on the zero clearance side/corner seal setup?