John McBeth

iTrader: (1)

Check out the April issue of "Popualr Mechanics" featuring an article from Jay Leno on Mazda Rotary Engines and his Cosmo. Unlike last months issue, this is dedicated to the history of Mazdas Rotary and his own Cosmo L10B. He states that he purchased the car from a retired U2 Pilot. The only Cosmo L10B that I remember being for sale was in fact owned by a former U2 pilot. The former owner was asking $40K for the car a few years back. This may be the only type II Cosmo in the states though.

xrotaryguy

I assume that you are talking about the 60's vintage Cosmos. There are actually 2 of them here in the Phoenix metro area. I think that they are both 67's. Is there something that makes the L10b different from these cars? I guess I don't know what all the model designations are for the Cosmos. Pretty cool that Jay is talking rotaries. Now we know that he's a REAL car guy. As if it wasn't obvious enough already.

John McBeth

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, they are a little different.
The L10A was only made in 1967 for a total 343 cars. The L10B was made from 1968-1972 for a total of 1176 cars .

The L10B had a longer wheelbase, a larger front grill, a 5 speed trans instead of the 4 speed and larger 15 inch wheels. The L10B also had power assist brakes and available A/C. Different port timing increased the horsepower to 128 up from the 110hp of the L10A.

There were 4x as many L10Bs made but where are they all!

Crit

iTrader: (6)

I picked up the April Popular Mechanics, and there's nothing there related to Jay or Mazdas. Was it another month or magazine, perhaps? My PM has an F-35 on the cover.

John McBeth

iTrader: (1)

Sorry, my goof! I had received the magazine the last part of March and assumed it was the April issue. It is actually the May issue. The cover has "The Truth About Bio Fuels" in big letters.