HEy there everybody i am new to this site but thought i would post my website that shows the rotary conversion to my 1969 vw baja bug. I fully reabuilt teh entire rotary befroe teh conversion and designed all teh cooling systems due to teh fact that it is a front mount water cooled engine into a rear mounted aircool car. check it out any feedback would be great as this is my pride and joy and have been building it up for about 2 years now ( im only 19 )

the websire will be updated soon with teh electronics complete microtech system including dash unit and the bus transaxle gearbox conversion ( completed today )

http://groups.msn.com/GottaVW

look forward to any feed back ( note i am in australia so suspension and body mods are somewaht limited)

 

Very nice, although I found it alittle funny that you are using the stock ecu, with what looks like all the emission stuff? Not sure on aussie rules... so does this car still requier a smog check or something? I know aussie is pretty stick on emissisons and modifications.

Keep up the good work.

edit: Just noticed your going with a microtech soon.. let use know how that works out for you.

 

lol im not using any of the stock electronics at all i am using a microtech lt8 xs with the microtech harness and dash unit ( i was never able to use the stock electronics becouse to do so would meen using all the stack madza electronics in my car such as the entire dach ( otherwise the engine would run in limp mode )

also the anti polution stuff is on there mainly to help the car through queensland tranport reports ( needs to be there until it is fully modplated ) then it will all be removed

note th ecar is still a project on the go and is no where near complete

 

Your Project Looks Great. I Like Anything With A Rotary In It.
Good Luck With It. Hope You Don't Get Bashed By The Vw Guys Like I Got Bashed By The V8 GuyS For The Mustang With The 20b Engine.

 

That is sweetness yo!

 

nice project... what would it take to flip the ring gear and make the car a mid engine setup? and also how are you venting the hot air from the radiator?

 

lol nah their are a few vw fellas against it ( mainly cos it scares them - extremely light car with a rotor hahah lol and they are spending huge amounts of money on aircooled engines to get all the hp out of them possible) but on a whole alot of ppl are very interested in how the conversion was done ( not many rotary powered vw's around)

it is major work to make a midengine setup in a bug and get it mod plated cos it involves changing the whole back of the car and the engine will sit where teh back seats are

the radiator is vented through the front wheel arches above the front wheels

i still got alot to update on the site so stay tuned

ps cheers for the feed back fellas im glad you like

 

Great job so far. It looks more complicated to do that kind of swap there. Do you always have to install a full engine cage in order to blue plate a baja?

 

yeah in order for a baja to be road registed it needs to have a cage or cowling over the back that stops ppl putting their hands in the enigine ( must also span the width of the car)

Th conversion was pretty complex due to the original engine not needing a radiator - cooling lines - high pressure fuel lines and return fuel - needed a custom flywheel and adaptor plated to match the rotary to vw engine to gearbox pattern - modified rear firewall - fuel tank- front end- nose cone grill - custom exhaust- clutch ect ect it goes on and on .. all these things proved to be a major pain in the *** as they all had to be custom made cos no one makes anything like it. but it was worth it in the end

sure does scare alot of ppl out on the road to see a 1969 ve baja screeming of past them ( any recommenedations on supercharger setups for a rotary used as a daily driver?)

 

Yeah, I just installed an Atkins Camden SC in an RX-4 wagon the other day and have been fine tuning it. The extra grunt is nice, although my 750CFM carb is too big. I'll swap it down to a 600CFM and try again. It's my bro's car so he gets to worry about costs (I let him borrow my carb).

I'm also planning on doing a rotary in my baja. Naturally aspirated of course. It'll be a 4 port 13B with no porting for maximum low RPM power and reliability. If I need more top end in the future, a port job would be no problem. I've got almost everything I need except for the adaptor plate, flywheel etc (probably from KEP) and the cooling tubes. I just have to do a little more research into minimal porting configurations before I build it.

Paul Yaw said something about opening exhaust ports late and keeping them small for torque which peaks at around 4k RPM. That'd be perfect for a baja since VW trannies were designed for not much above 4500. I have a set of late opening late closing rotor housings from some J-spec engine. The ports are sorta big compared to US spec, but it's ok since US-spec is known to be restrictive. Coupled with stock 12A ports, it should have great low end. I'll smooth out the casting flash and 90° edges inside, of course. Then finish it off with a textured surface to reduce fuel wetting-out during quick stabs of the throttle.

I may even commit rotary retardation and use a beehive for simplicity. The water cooling would need to be adequate, and it obviously will since I'm building it. A radiator up front is the only way to go. The cooling tubes will increase total fluid capacity a little. A semi gutted/drilled thermostat will help with thermal shock loads (thanks ZenJoe for the idea). I can't think of anything else. Oh yeah, an FC waterpump if I can find one for a little weight reduction.

 

sounds great - to prevent themal shock i used a 6mm hole in the thermostat and it works great no bouncing of temp at all as for the radiator up the fron you will need a water reserve tank for the coolant to overflow into onc the engine is up to temp ( cos of the expanding as it gets hotter) also prevents unnesercary pressure through the pipes .

the front mount radiator works great for me had never overheated even in very heavy traffic ( 4 hours straight at 1-3 kph ) using twin thermos ( some ppl like to mount them in places such as above the gear box ect ect . good luck with your project if you get stuck send me a bell and i can no doubt help you out as my project was completed uder the garage with all the problems thought about and solved over a period of months

 

Mine will definitely have to go into the garage as winter is rolling in around here.

 

well just an update the car is goin strong and is one fast vw baja ive had it on many beach trips ( probly the only rotar to ever have been on the likes of fraser, morten and stradborke but it goes like a stung cat roostering down the beach , also been doin alot of offroad hill climbs and the likes with a heap of pics to be posted in the next few days ifanyone is interetsed

 

I'm interested.

 

Any pictures?