Shoosh!

 

no, Jim..."millions of years" is the "party line"

 

No Mark, your Biblical babblings are the "party line".

 

 

to be honest, this is the most sensible answer i've heard and a good answer to my question...

 

Well, I guess it's time for me to weigh in with a response. I'm the guy (David Hayes) with the current 20B conversion.

First, I was very surprised to see this thread. And the number of pages it has grown to in such a short time rivals that of my thread! I guess the 20B conversion is a topic of discussion one way or the other.

Why did I go for the 20B conversion? I love my FD (bought it new in 1994). After 10 years, I wanted to "shake" it up a little and do something different. I'm into the rotary engine and its uniqueness, so the 20B conversion was a logical step for me. I wanted to end up with a car that was rare, unique, and fast.

I'm an excellent business person (healthcare software is my specialty) but not the best mechanic. I know a decent amount about cars and have learned a lot about the rotary engine over the past few years but there is no way I could do the conversion Pettit does by myself. There is also no way I have the time either. I've been through enough car upgrade projects to know what can go wrong so I wanted to avoid any problems with the 20B conversion. Hence, off the car went to Pettit.

You can always do it for less yourself but I personally could never do it as well as Pettit can. Cam has over 30 years expertise with the rotary engine and I've seen the quality of his work - it looks like a stock/factory job. So, when I was fortunate to be able to do the conversion, I never even thought about anyone else for the project.

Is Pettit expensive? Yes. Is it worth it? I believe so but I guess to each his own. We can all choose to spend our money on anything we wish and this has been my "dream car" project for some time. So I guess as long as I feel I didn't get "raped" on the cost, it's all good.

As for other cars, I seriously thought about selling the car a few years ago and buying something else. My friend has an M3 but I quickly ruled this out as I'm not a big fan of a boxy, 4 door "sports" car. Don't get me wrong, its performance is okay (we have raced more than a few times with me winning just about every time - and that was when my car was stock) but M3s are everywhere, at least where I live. Corvettes to me are just not up to par on looks (jimlab, don't take this the wrong way, I'm talking about the exterior and in particular, the cheesy GM interior). The only cars I was left with were the Porsche and the Aston Martin. The AMV8 isn't out yet and, with the 20B, I should have a lot of fun with the Porsches!

Anyway, that's my 2 cents on the issue.

 

thanks for chiming in . I was hoping you would respond to this thread. I completely agree with everything you have said.

 

I know im months late on this one.. but yess.. i've seen a 12 second omni on video.. i had a dodge Omni.. and still want to put a rotary engine in it...

 

My presence probably has as much to do with that as the topic.

It's been my experience that the people who make the biggest stink about "doing it yourself" are often the people who don't have the budget to pay someone else to do it.

Obviously there are people for whom that doesn't apply; they have the money but simply like to do things themselves, don't trust anyone else to work on their car, or don't see the reason to pay someone else for what they can do themselves. However, I suspect jealousy is a big part of the whining about "blank check" installs, especially when people know there's a hefty piece of change involved. You simply have to resign yourself to being resented by that type of individual.

 

I agree with you Jim. In my case, I do things because I can't trust some people to work on it.. But when I can't trust my work, thats when I have to shell out the cash and have someone else do it..

David, I don't see anything wrong with you getting your 20b conversion done by Cam.. If I had the money, I would do the same

 

I currently own a very low 12-second Omni. Well... technically it's a Shelby Charger, but it's the same platform and drivetrain as an Omni.

 

I didn't know you owned a Charger, a good friend of mine is big into turbo dodges. He owned a GLH and now currently has a Charger that should run low 12s as well (put a car on a Viper from a roll). Damn just another reason to get together, let me know if your ever back up in the area. The FD is a lot different now-a-days as well.

 

Actually, I currently own 2 Shelby Chargers (the afformentioned '86, and an '83.5 N/A), and I used to own a pristine 87 GLHS (just sold it last year). It's funny that you mention your FD has changed a lot... so has mine (I just finished the work on a major rebuild/upgrade. I need to break it in a little more before I dyno and tune it though). From the sound of your sig, your car is looking pretty sweet too. We definately need to meet up sometime.

Sorry guys, I guess we're getting a little off topic. We'll take it to PM's.

-Rob

 

I'm w/ you 100%. Unfortunately, my skills are limited, however (due to time constraints). But does that mean that just because I can't do it, it shouldn't be done? Of course not. In fact, my ultimate dream would be to take my car to Pettit or Gotham and work on my car WITH them, learning as they went through it - even though I was paying for it.

 

FDNewbie,

cool idea, learning as you go along. most mechanics, however, would charge a premium though, for the aggravation of teaching someone like me!!

 

David,

LOL...I'm sure you're not aggrevating Unfortunately my idea isn't very practical because,
1) There are usually strict insurance regulations prohibiting customers from being in the work bay at all times
2) Unless you had a good personal relationship, the mechanics would see you as baggage, slowing them down, and maybe even a liability (by making mistakes)
3) Some of the stuff they do are trade secrets, that they've learned from experience. I'm sure they wouldn't want you to be privy to those techniques and methods that distinguish them from others.

But hey...it can't hurt to ask or try!

 

Im a total FD Guy, but my dad is all about the corvette. The specs of the C6 Z06, the high performance model, were just released. It's going to have an aluminum small block 427 puttin out 512hp. An all aluminum frame, it will be under 3000lbs, and have many other tid bits which will make it among supercar status. This will for sure give almost every FD a run for the money, im not saying it will beat every one, but it will for sure give almost every one a good run for its money. They are going to be in the high 50's.

Oh yea, they are projected to run 0-60 in 3.8.....

All I can say is somebody with an FD better be able to keep those in check...

 

sounds awesome

 

we'll sick David's completed Banzai on it

 

All the more reason Mazda needs to build a 3 rotor beast to compete.















Yea I wish

 

Well I guess I'll chime in now, I agree that if you have the money and not the skills, pay someone who has the skills. In my case, I didn't have the money for a turn key, so I decided to do what work I could myself, and pay someone to do what I could not. The only difference between the two is time. When you can pay for a turn key, it is almost a 100% chance that your project will be complete'd before someone who is doing it themselves. Sure you save a few thousand dollars by doing it yourself, but guess who will be enjoying their car first. In the end, (IMO) time is the only difference.

 

I like Supras.

 

smart ***

 

FYI - I'm typing this message from Cam's PC at Pettit Racing, waiting to pick up my car. We'll soon see if the 3 rotor conversion was worth it!

 

it better be! I just went through 10 pages! lol Happy Motoring!