It would take me all day to go back and search and even remember specifics. It's been hashed over a million times. 99% of it is here on the forum if you search back. Problem is it's mixed between pointless name calling (from both sides) and Adam has an un canny ability to throw up a smoke show or try and reverse critisism (you did it to smitter) when he get pinned on stuff. Adam never really will admitt to a mistake. He will admitt his "shop" made a mistake, various employees he blames or, contractors he outsourced work to will take blame that sort of thing.

I don't know Adam personally. I expect if we met again he would want to take a round out of me but........I hold no real personal animosity towards him, I mean I wouldnt try and do physical harm to him or anything like that. I have just seen to much poor work ( some his, some his employee's, all out of his shop) to reccomend anyone take their car there. Most if it is a few years ago now, I'll admitt that, but it seems every couple of months a new case sprouts up again. And it's typically not little poor craftsmanship stuff lately. Adam always has an answer for everthing, so nailing him "dead to rights" is difficult, and not really what I'm trying to do ever. Adam's big claim used to be that we ("The 4") critisized him in order to hurt his reputation because "we" were opening a shop of our own to compete against him. That was three years ago, where's our shop? Exactly. We're just like you said "backyard" enthusiasts (not butchers) and between us we have gathered a wealth of knowledge, tools, and sources of parts, that we use on our own vehicles. We are nothing more nothing less. When people ask where they should have an engine built, your free to reccomend Adam, as I am free to not reccomend him.

 

Well I gotta pipe up a little here. Adam treated "me" alright, and I have heard many different stories from many different people, but things went alright for me (if I had a problem, would things have been different, I don't know). A lot of my positive experience from Adams came from all the extra work and attention my car received from the staff he had at the time, these guys really took an interest in my project and definetly put out an extra effort. As for the gang represented by TD07, these aren't enemies of Adams, nor competitors trying to steal business, just simply knowledgeable enthusiasts (even purists) who appreciate quality workmanship and are willing to get "their" hands dirty to accomplish their desires rather than simply bucking up for someone else to do the work (no offense intended to those who do please!). Sure they have come across some mistakes that have been made, what shop doesn't make them, and they are passionate about it because they are knowledgeable about what they do. I consider myself relatively new to the rotary scene and while I prefer to be the one with dirty hands accomplishing my desires (which i do most of the time), I will admit to "bucking up" to get my engine built. Tuning, experimenting and such I accomplish on my own and have learnt a lot. Who would I choose to build my motor?? Adam built my engine, it runs smooth and accomplished my immeidate goals and within my budget. Who will build my next engine??? I will pursue Max so I can have an appreciation for both sides of the fence and compare for myself without making uneducated judgement. You have do understand, Max does not "offer" this service nor look to steal business from another, to get an engine built from him I know it will be done right, done patiently, done on his terms (meaning he will not re-use anything out of spec to save money), and he will do it out of professional courtesy. Adam fear not that his business will get stolen by Max, he is too busy with his own pursuits and taking care of a close few to take on any work from others. For those who have to buck up, you have only a few to pick from, Adam in Calgary who some swear by and some do not, and Conroy in Edmonton who a few swear by and many do not (I have both positive and negative opinions in his regard). As for the meet, this debate "never" enters into a meet out of repect for both parties. Many participants of meets are enthusiasts and owners with a common interest. It would be a shame to see this debate sway anyone from coming to a meet. PS..Adam, perhaps you'd like to sponsor some steaks for the spring bbq at Bretts.....

 

A lot of people bash my choice of going with the supercharger..........., but here was a post which had a huge influence on my choice............ especially since it seemed like a simple bolt on to me at the time........(the dots are for Smitter, lol) : This post came from Codeblue long before she became a basher of Atkins Rotary............................................ ................................................Ma ny of you know that I have a Camden supercharger on my car. Running with the 5lb pulley on my car, I’ve been asked many times to change my boost to 11lbs to see what the car will do. Well, yesterday after installing my new transmission that Atkins built for my application, I drove to their shop to get a new and improved Supercharger. They have been working on this new Supercharger since before my setup was installed on my car. I’ve been waiting for this blower and finally it happened.



I must say that Camden has out done themselves this time. Without changing my pulley, my car is now at 10lbs boost with no changes in drivability. I’ve seen my car go from night and day a few times, but this time, WOW! No words can describe how my car has changed again. It has gone from a supersonic jet to being a rocket. The Microtech computer didn’t have to be changed much after installing the new blower. With the new transmission, my car shifts so tight and close. Perhaps it has something to do with the new transmission being blue like my car, or maybe it was the quality of how the transmission was built. High Five to Dave Atkins for a great job on the new transmission.

I have been impressed with my Camden Supercharger before, but the Camden crew who worked on this project Gary Brooks, Andy and Mikey have made just a big difference in the performance of my setup. I will let you know how the next dyno turns out in a few weeks.

 

Did Conroy build your motor? Also is that your old motor in his garage that he is going to use in the maserati?

Conroy is an awesome guy and I get alot of parts and some advice from him. But like Rad stated, he is a very busy guy and it usually takes a while to fit stuff into his schedule.

Personally I would only build my own motor (I mean nothing offensive by that, there are alot of awesome rebuilders), that way it's not a big blame game if anything goes wrong. It's also cheaper and a great way to expand your knowledge!

 

I also plan on rebuilding myself since I am cheap and know I can do it so I would just be lazy to pay someoen else to do it, plus ther eis the "satisfaction" in it.

 

There is a lot of reward in doing things yourself. Myself, I enjoy making tuning changes and seeing the improvements myself. My next purchase is a wideband to aid in my efforts. Unfortunately, not all have the tools, experience or room to do so. And some are talented in areas other than mechanics, thus the need to have someone provide the service, and some earn ehough to have the luxury of being able to afford to have someone else do the work. No offense intended to those who "buck up" for service, we all have valid reasons for our choices and the imprtant thing is we share in the same interest on this forum, the Rx7. Bless those who pull a wrench and save'em from the crusher, thank those who fix'em nice for the wrenchless to purchase and enjoy, and god help the foolish youth who get behind the wheel of a cheap rhd fd.

 

For some though do'in it yourself is not rewarding when there is a lack of knowledge. Figure out which 6 port endplate was done with experience and which was done by a do-it-yourselfer. Careful, this might be a tough choice,LOL

 

The plate on the left was in the first gen for sale section...

 

So how much more did you have to "buck up" for the replacement supercharger and transmission? Sounds expensive and more cost to a pricey project it seems. Or was it pro-bono for the low HP that resulted from the previous setup?

 

The post I copied was from another owner of a camden. I have had no issues with my s/c.

 

A handy tip is to wrap those posts with "[quote] /[quote]" tags next time. Hard to know without it as a casual reader and not knowing of all the drama.

 

No he rebuilt my motor 3 years ago now.

R.K.

 

The fact of the matter is that unless you speak, and/or read Japanese, and spend large periods of time in Japan "apprenticing" (for lack of a better term) under the top builders there, you just won't be able to source the parts, and impliment the techniques, neccesary for a top notch engine. It's that simple, and it's what rotary builders in North America lack.

So what's the next best thing? Doing it yourself. You can take the time to source good parts, you can learn and learn and learn, and practice on scrap. Then you can take the time to build it, make sure everything measures out, make sure everything is where it should be.

 

[QUOTE=TD07]The fact of the matter is that unless you speak, and/or read Japanese, and spend large periods of time in Japan "apprenticing" (for lack of a better term) under the top builders there, you just won't be able to source the parts, and impliment the techniques, neccesary for a top notch engine. It's that simple, and it's what rotary builders in North America lack.

Really....You make it sound like every shop in North America has no clue as how to put a engine together with any kind of skill. Are you sure you wanted to say that?

 

Yup pretty darn close.

To understand why is kind of a lesson in Japanese culture. Teaching others what they know about rotary isnt high on anyones list over there. Lets say they like to keep things "In House"

Engines can be put together with skill here, but it's relative skill. It's skillfull given the limited knowledge and quality of parts. Look at the **** seals we have here. RA, Atkins, etc etc etc. Nobody in Japan would be caught dead with these poor inferior knock offs. Yet in N.A most builders push for them, and then try to sell everybody on 3mm. It's a joke at times.

I know it's hard for people over here to grasp what I'm saying. And most would be offended, understandably. It's not untill you see things first hand that you begin to see how far behind we are over here. The things we're doing here, were done and corrected in Japan 10 years ago for the most part.

I have never been to Japan (yet) so I only get to see a VERY small snipit of the differences. I see it in the work of a co-worker, who's gained extensive knowledge living and working in Japan. That very small snipit however is enough to open up my eyes to a whole new way of looking at the rotary and it's application.

You probably won't buy any of that, it's expected, like I said till you see it first hand, it's hard to swallow.

 

I believe you

 

While I agree with you, we have to evolve like them, if it wasn't for the internet I'm sure we would still be 25years behind the times. Over there I'm sure it's more of a life style over there, rather than just a hobby over here, we have few rotary specific shops in N/A compared to Japan.

It just takes time, most trades or skilled workers aren't just going to give up their knowledge for free (the most knowledgeable people usually, do this for a living, and passing the info out would hurt their profits), or just to help someone out, thats a fact of life, knowledge for the most part is something you have to pay for, experience however is usually free.

Lets face it, if you want a V8 built where are you going? Alabama, or Japan?

 

Good point, if you wanted a great 396 built for your classic, would you get it done in japan?? Hell no? But a rotary, good point.

 

Exactly!!

That's correct.

I'm not chastising (sp?) builders over here. I just think that customers here need to be aware. We see it here in Calgary where one shop has the market cornered and everyone takes the owners word as Gospel. People may have that luxury in Japan, we do not have it here. We will always be playing catch up when it comes to the rotary, it's just the nature of the beast.

 

I'm going to play Devils Advocate here I was at work, and couldn't finish my first post:

This I really don't necessarily agree with, how about people from Puerto Rico, they don't seem to have much problem making HIGH hp either, for the most part the techniques are founded over in Japan, it's not to say that they can't be perfected here. There are plenty of people more capable of building a rotary in N/A than some in Japan, they have to learn too, Same goes for the V8's of North America, in Japan, there could be a fellow that can build a better one than here; while we may have founded the techniques they can improve on them, and maybe do better.

You are saying that if they can't read english, they can't build a V8, that I don't believe, then again they do have piston engines there, do they understand all that goes with the V8? Like the history of it, how to make max torque/HP? Who knows, it's purely a urge to learn, and an urge to perfect something. They have english, and Japanese manuals for a reason, and as long as you can comprehend you should have very little issue.

This I agree with, this allows you to have the feeling of accomplishment, and if something does "f" up, who can you blame? Nobody but yourself! All that it takes is a little patients, a good manual, tools, and the urge to learn, some times being self taught is the best thing, those guys in Japan did just that at one point in time; they felt compelled enough to go out on a limb and try something new, did it work as they thought first time around? I highly doubt it, but if so well bravo to them.



Basically all I am saying here is I'm sure they have hacks in Japan too, just like we do in N/A.

I likely contradicted myself about 50 times, oh well.

 

TD07…..Has someone told you there’s a secret way to build a rotary engine?
OEM parts are only available in Japan?
Everybody in North America uses aftermarket engine internals?

If so I have news for you…. Myself and my partner pride our self’s on the engines we turn out and use OEM parts only. For you to put all the shops in North America / or as in my case Canada on the NO Good list of yours is wrong, if you had problem’s with one shop then put the blame on them, not all of us…. also there’s no secret way to build a rotary engine, follow the procedure and spec’s in the factory work shop manual.

Over and Out…

 

TD07, where you located?

 

I figured you would take offense. No worries.

Hmmmm how to put this. OEM is not always equal everywhere. Parts available under the "Mazda OEM" veil in Japan never see our shores, I'll be giving away too much if I go any further.

I don't put all shops in Canada on the "NO Good list". There are "good" shops in N/A but it's relative, they are good compared to eachother, that's it.

I've never had personal issues with a shop, I've only built my own motor.

There is FAR FAR FAR more to building a top notch rotary engine than the factory work shop manual. I don't expect you to buy that cause your livelyhood depends on the contrary, but if you lived and worked in Japan, you would understand.

This is not a personal attack on anyone. For the most part, for the demands N/A customers put on their cars N/A engine builders can supply engines that "do the job". What I'm saying is there more out there, if someone is willing to incure the cost both financially and personally to find it.

 

Alot of bashing going on but but still no real answers. Come on guys really! I also would like to know of any builders in alberta.

 

Apparently not…. But if you want to put it on a skid and ship it to Ontario I’d be happy to build it for you and ship it back per-paid…