I am having serious trouble getting t his 12a to run shes being that old wife you just want to let go.

So I was wondering has anyone on here done an electric conversion on the SA? I have a 1985 and am thinking the gas tank/spare tire area would be perfect for batteries, just need to remove that metal in the way...

Any thought from anyone here? Please don't grab your pitchforks and burn me for being a heretic. I love the Wankel I really do she is just being a pain and I need a RUNNING vehicle ATM.

 

If you can't get a 12a to run there is no chance you have the skill to do an electric conversion.

 

look into the "what did you do to your fb today" thread.. Dougingraham (spellcheck) has an Electric~powered first gen rx7 that may be of interest to you.

 

Cool I will try that out see if I can find him Thanks for the positive response

to the guy saying "if you cant get a 12a to run" I have WAY more experience with ELECTRIC motors then I probably ever will with internal combustion. I understand every iota of how Electric motors run I know the physics behind them I understand the math involved, the difference between AC, AC 3-phase, and DC

I do NOT understand WHY my 12a is having a sealing problem with one of the APEX seals. I have triple checked clearances and checked to see that ALL seals move freely. I am going to take it apart AGAIN and check all the Springs... maybe one was bad and is now flat? the point is that in an electric I dont have to deal with constant repairs... just refill battery water MAYBE replace a battery here and there...

 

Brushes, armatures, corrosion, over charging, dust contamination, speed controlers, cooling (batteries and motor)......... Not saying you can't do it just saying it isn't an over night fix like fixing a rotary engine.

^^
I'm done hating now.




Now if you wanna spend less than $2k...

Get 6 golf cart batteries and drop them in a cage under the spare tire. Then make a custom drive shaft to the rear end. Power it with a golf cart motor and a nice speed controler. BOOM under two grand and gets you around in style.

Wanna go faster (I can only assume that the above method would render a 30 or 40mph max) .... Need MORE money. "Just like the sign says 'Speed is a question of money; how fast can you go?'" \m/

 

Ive seen it done with a 1st gen. Seems like he spent close to $10,000 though. It was about 5 years ago...

 

Read all the chapters. Only took $30,000!!

Zero Emission Vehicles Australia

 

If this was the case you wouldn't be asking questions, you'd be doing it. I understand electric cars very well, however I don't (and many others as well) have the cash necessary to afford such a project. There is a reason there only a handful of home made electric cars compared to gasoline projects.

 

I do admit taking that rotary apart the first time took like 3 hours and rebuilding it took under a day while being extremely meticulous. but then I had to spend 3 days troubleshooting WHY she wouldn't START found out an apex wasn't sealing maybe I shall take her apart a third time... not looking forward to it takes more time to take the engine out of the car then it does to rebuild it haha.

 

Dude.... took me 3 trys to get it right. Don't feel bad.

I don't know what I did wrong the 2nd time, but I didn't do it wrong the 3rd. And I ran it to work and back all winter without a hitch (summer is motorcycle time). Give it another shot. You'll get it.

After 3 removal/rebuilds back to back you'll be able to do the whole process in under 10 hours like me.

EV is rediculously expensive, but it IS doable. A golfcart EV like I said would "work" it just wouldn't be fast at all. It would be a real cool thing if you lived like <5 miles from work.