I've got a pair here with the mushroom PP that we will try. These ones we will have to repair the small cracks at the plug holes. I'll have them welded then I will leave it up to the owner to detail them before re-chrome.

 

So you take off the old chrome down to the steel insert correct? So if the chrome has flaked off but the steel under there is still fine, it should come out fine.

Whats the thickness of the new chrome coating applied out of curiosity?

Do you have pictures of the housings that Dan has used in the past 3 years? That is before and after pictures. Also have those housing been done using the old or new fixtures? Does that change anything in how good it adheres to the housings or is it more of a setup issue?

Lastly is there a reason why this chrome coating isn't as shiny as the stock one? Ups and downs of the that if any?

 

If the chrome is flaked off and there is no pitting on the insert then they will be fine.
We apply it back to factory thickness.

The housings are still in service in both engines Pineapple built so no after pics yet.

It's more of a set-up issue as a massive time saver.

Actually new housings look almost exactly like these. I'll take some pics of a new housing tomorrow in similar light and post for you to see.

 

Let me know how this work.
I have a set that was used less then 20 hour with chrome flaking on sparkplugg area becuse cooling problem.
No cracks on this pair.

 

Here,no need too.

Housing Not Mine

 

Interesting ... I've never bought a new housing before thats the only reason that I asked.

 

Thanks. I wish it was mine! The RX3 would love a pair of those.
Do you know anything about the trailing plug hole and what was done there?

 

I'm assuming that trailing hole mod is for combustion enhancement while still minimizing blow by,but other than that i wish i had more info.

 

stress riser to prevent crack propagation on the chrome due to localised overheating
for which these chrome on alum MFR's are famous for

 

Interesting. Never heard of that before. May have to give that a try on the next go-around.

B

 

its not the first time i have seen it, i have seen it in a TCP engine i pulled apart many years ago
but am dubious on its advantages in modern housings
and it requires ***** ( or deep pockets ) to take to a very expensive MFR housing !

 

The housing in that pic is not a MFR,just so you know.

 

Looks very interesting,
I would be interested in stocking, selling these in New Zealand once proven & tested etc etc. As freight costs to Canada for individuals from Nz would be extreme as well as customs issues etc.
A range of 10A, 12A & 13B (all models would be great).
Currently circuit race 500RwHp FD Rx7 Nationally in NZ. So we are out their doing it for the rotary.

Cheers.

 

Sure you could do that but your not going to get this kind of new surface on a used housing and you can't even buy 12A housings anymore.

I think it's perfect to re-chrome them, all the stresses and movement have already happened on a used housing.

 

because everyone has gone the 13b way. its not cost effective for any company to keep making things they don't sell.

 

i suppose it might be a good idea to still save 12a and 13b housings with pitting in the steel surface along the edges
( common on 12a and some 13b that have been run past the chrome or had water lay inside the housing for a while )

in the hope that even if they don't scrub up along the edges with a recoat,,
they remain candidates to cut down 5mm each edge to be able for use as composite 12a/10a engines
( with later 13b plates )

i see a whole new generation of 10a and 12a plate combos
and things like oversize seals for worn rotor slots ( such as goopy demonstrate )
may well save the 12a and provide a 10a single dizzy option

sven- what are you thoughts?
have you considered 12a over width seals and cut down 13b housings as a market?

 

Awesome point! I could see many 13B housings fit that bill. Removing 5mm per side would salvage almost any housing with edge wear and peeling. I've heard of places doing that with new housings so why not used. 13B's become 12A's and 12A's become 10A's.....I like it. Single dizzy is a nice bonus too.

If people will buy oversized seals of course we would make them. It seems now that already happens in 13B's simply by going up to 3mm. Nice thing is that with ceramics the grooves wear a LOT less.

 

Second gen 13b housings have an exhaust port which is pretty "wide" for the 12a seals once they are machined down to 12a width. The GSLSE housings are more ideal to machine down (hence why a clever rotary shop would buy most of the north american inventory of these)

 

sven - dont know how financial you are, but maybe consider offering a rebate or "store credit" to refund shipping cost and for core housings that make it to you and dont make the final grade as a1 13b candidates


that way you could build your own stock of core rebuilders for the 12a/10a recon process
and thus fully recover all the costs and margins associated with the conversion down a size
this eliminate hassles with having to ship back rejected ( for 13b ) cores
and save many 13b housings that are maybes ,, some will make it,, others will make fine 12a examples and thus take strain of existing new 13b stocks


as a hypothetical example
, if i ship you 6 housings and 3 dont make the grade for 13b A1 repair
then you could give credit for the rejected core and postage
and so own the said rejected cores to be put through process to retail again as reman 12a or 10a

that way it would be a win win situation in view of the difficulty and costs involved in accurately grading said cores and postage's backs and forths for duds


i know that is clear as mud and hope the point/idea comes across

ps
the 5mm off each side process is also going to save a lot of housings with corrosion in the coolant gallery edges

 

^Erosion is going to be the biggest enemy. We're getting so many housings in on my end that I see the true age of our cars...

 

This video is pretty neat, it shows casting and machining of rotary engine parts. (and assembly)
The steel liner in the rotary housing is actually cast into the housing not pressed in.(no details about the manufacture of the liners though)
http://www.mazda.com/mazdaspirit/rotary/howto/

I'm curious as to the process that your using to re-chrom the housings, but I presume it's top secret.

Keep up the good work/engineering!

 

Some good suggestions there and I think we might be able to implement them once we are up and running but for now it's simply not feasable for me.

I think what persons could do is send me pics of housings first and I can give my impression on getting them done. This should save some hassles on shipping certain housings that are not worth it.

 

We will have something going on this very soon, stay tuned

 

I'll be waiting!

 

bump for the ultimate possibility of keeping these rotarys on the road Looking forward to the progress.