Hello, first off, I'd like to say that I'm a complete noob to rotaries. I've done quite a bit of searching, but I need a little help making sure I have these right. I picked up two 12A's from a gentleman in Kingman. I picked these up for my 1981 Toyota Starlet. Any help would be appreciated. If you'd like to see any close ups, or pictures of anything I missed, please let me know and I'll get some.

Engine #1 I believe to be a pre-74'. It was supposedly built for a rotary race boat by a company in Japan way back in the day. It came with the complete boat setup, but it's missing the carb. I'm looking through the boxes of stuff that he gave me and I can across a complete twin dizzy front cover. I believe it's for this engine, it looks like the front cover was re-sealed with orange RTV.

 

Engine #2, I'm unsure of the year. He said it was "frozen" but it rotates OK for me.

 

first engine is indeed pre 74, they used the JDM rotor housings, with the 3 holes instead of 1 big port.

engine 2 you will have to look at the heater hose fitting, if its been cut, its an 83-85 engine, if not 82. 83-85 had a T fitting, for the oil cooler, and 81 is a screw in

 

Would I be able to swap the rear plate from engine #2 onto to engine #1? So I can use my 5 speeds on the pre-74? Is the 3 holes vs. the 1 large exhaust port an issue? If necessary, I could pull the engines apart and machine the exhaust housing to 1 big port? If that sounds like a reasonable thing? I have access to a mill and lathe to make parts work if need be.

 

First engine is 71-73, 12A twin distributors. Second engine is between 81-85. Nothing from the first engine is compatible with the second. Plates and rotor housing are different. 12A twin distributors motor have one less tension bolt than the later engine. Plus those rotor are probably still the 6mm rotor which arent compatible with newer engine. Your best bet is to rebuild the second engine. Just my 2 cents... Good luck with the build.

 

Thank you for the relply. So with the current info, the pre-74' engine isn't compatible with anything I have. But, I like the idea of the later engine, being able to find replacement parts will come in handy.
What do you guys think a fair asking price would be for the pre-74' engine? I would reinstall the twin distributor front cover and the stock intake manifold. It would be sold without a carb, or exhaust manifold. Just looking for a rough ballpark. I'm just wanting to offer it to somebody who could use it.

 

That race engine would be great for my current project. Too bad you're in Az. look or feel inside the intake ports and see if you feel a bridge.

 

No bridge. :-(

 

I'd be willing to ship on your dime. :-)