Hi, my name is Dan and I’m 36 years old. Just moved to Gilbert about a month ago. I have a mostly unknown YouTube channel called Faster N’ Louder (hence the user name). 😆

I’ve been into cars ever since I can remember, and I’ve learned quite a bit about working on them over the past 10 years or so, specifically. I’ve owned 5 AMC Javelins in my life, as well as a 1995 Firebird Formula, and a 2010 Challenger RT. As you can tell, I come from a muscle car oriented background. The closest I’ve ever even been to owning anything Japanese is a 2014 Yamaha R6 and my 1997 Kawasaki ZX7R.

That’s begun to change quite a bit recently, however. I have really been getting into Mitsubishi 3000GT‘s and FD RX7s. I went to a local JDM meet and saw all kinds of cars and I think I’ve found a new love. Never thought I would be saying that, either.

Anyways, I just wanted to take the opportunity to introduce myself. I am hoping I can learn a lot in the next two or three years while I save up some money for my new dream car. I’m also hoping I can meet some other like-minded individuals and current owners. Please hit me up if you’d like to hang out. I unfortunately only have a 2017 Ford focus ST, but she gets the job done. 😅

 

I saw your post on Reddit, and it's good that you are here. I don't want to sound like too much of an old guy here, but this really still is the best place for learning about these platforms. The organization and searchability of the archives is not really something new forms of social media can achieve in their current states. People often think of this as a bunch of dead, outdated information, so they look to places like Reddit and FB for "new information'.....ironically, IMO, there is actually less 'new' information in places like that. There you often just get people (often people with NO experience with the platform) parroting back dated information that they read on here. Whereas here, the people who are still active are constantly updating what we know about these engines/cars. That's not to say that there aren't people out there who are pushing the platform, and are not on here. There is certainly some of that as well. So they too are viable resources (FB is faaaarrr better than reddit though). You are doing the smart thing by doing your research before getting into the platform, and 2 years is a great timeline to really dive in and learn the myth from fact, and learn the players from the pretenders.

From your past, it looks like you may have even been into rotaries earlier in your life had GM actually succeeded in getting their rotary into the Pacer, as originally planned haha. Also, a '95 Formula was one of my very first "dream cars." I was always really into Firebirds/TAs, but that Formula car was kinda my first introduction into 'special edition' cars. The owner of our local video store had one, and I can just remember drooling over it every time we went to rent movies.

Also....getting into FDs and 3000GTs......man you're a glutton for punishment hahah.

 

I definitely agree that forums are still the best format for car related stuff! I think I’ve been a member of the AMC forums since maybe 2006. It’s just the best way to keep a repository of knowledge. I am a little concerned about rising prices for the cars currently in the US. And now there will be a 25% tariff added to the prices on Japanese imports. I don’t make as much money as I used to, so unless I want to save for a significantly longer amount of time, I may have to settle for something that’s less original or more of a project car.

One thing I was wondering about and I haven’t seemed to be able to get a good answer on, is, when a rotary engine needs to be rebuilt, is it typically just new apex seals and all the other seals in the housings and rotors and everything? I’m assuming there’s some sort of measurements that can be taken on the plates and housings to see if they need to be replaced?

I guess I’m just trying to get an idea on how much it would cost if I ended up getting a lemon from Japan. Like if it’s smoking a little bit or has bad compression, is there a very good chance it just needs to be resealed and put back together?

And yeah, AMC was supposed to put a rotary in the Pacer when they came out in 75. The engine bay was actually designed for a rotary engine, so they had to retroactively figure out how to put a straight 6 and a V8 in the engine bay. It was a tight fit for the V8. lol

Also, to touch on your point about being a glutton for punishment… It seems to be what I gravitate towards. My kryptonite is low production, hard to work on vehicles. 😆

 

So, not to get onto another soapbox, but the internet's understanding of the whole Apex Seal thing is wildly misinterpreted...I could go on a whole diatribe about that subject. But for the sake of brevity, I think of rebuilds in 3 stages:
1. A refresh. This would be when all side/corner/apex seals, along with all their associated springs, measure within spec. For this type of rebuild, you'd just need a "soft seal" kit and slap it back together. Though, even with this type of rebuild, people will generally also replace apex seals.
2 . The Standard Rebuild. This would be when there is something that caused a major loss of compression on one or more faces of the rotors. Maybe a stuck side seal, or cracked corner seal, or warped or chipped apex seal. For this type, you'll typically go all out and get all new corner, side, and apex seals and springs along with oil control rings and coolant seals. Hopefully whatever caused your issue here doesn't take any of the major components with it. For example, a chipped apex seal can take out housings and/or irons under the right conditions, but when we start talking about that stuff, I generally place that into the third category.
3. The oopsie. This would be your detonation event. If you're lucky with this one, you only loose apex seals. But most likely you'll be looking at dented rotors, scored irons and/or housings, cracked dowels, etc. These are the ones where you are really doing the math to see if just buying a new engine is more economical.

Check out the build thread section. There are a lot of them that discuss engine rebuilds and the situations that lead to them. Also, just look up Dale Clark and read all the threads he has started haha. Great threads written so the non-expert can follow and understand. He has one about rebuilding an engine yourself that discusses a lot of this stuff as well.

 

Welcome to forum