Rotary Engineering "Turbo Alternative"
 

Anybody know anything about this? All I know is it's a N/A 13B with a streetport and dual Weber DCDs (36DCD I guess, or 40?). How much power did it make and what else did they do? What year(s) engine did they use? Why can't I find any information on this company or anyone with a page talking about the install? Did they do all the installs themselves, or did they sell it as a kit? etc etc.

because they went the way of the dodo. i would have to wait until i go home to get my old RE catalog to get you the specs/description, but it's probably pointless. it most likely would have been based on the "old" 13B engines as those housings were still available new.

Fellas,
I'm pulling this from memory so bear with me if I make a mistake. The engine was suppossed to make around 230hp. Alot of people liked the dual 36DCDs as they are progressive dual throat carbs and when they were working properly resulted in very smooth power to the engine without much stumbling on the bottom end.
I can't remember if they used the older 9.0 compression rotors in old style 13B rotor housings or if they used the "newer" 9.4 comp rotors from a GSL-SE.
Hope this helps,
Peacedog

You're thinking 9.2 compression in the old 13Bs.

Jeff20B,
Yeah you are right. 9.2 comp rotors. I think the last time I saw one of these RE setups was 1989.
Cheers,
Peacedog

Thanks everybody!

diabolical1: It's not THAT pointless since I just bought a car that has this in it. I want to know what I got :) So, I really would appreciate any information you have.

I don't believe it really makes 220HP even at the flywheel. I might believe 180-200. 220 just seems really optimistic from a streetport NA. Eventually I'll take it to the dyno and see how it does.

"when they were working properly" doesn't sound very promising :) OK, so the DCD is like 50 years old but at least it is simple and easy to work on and you can still get parts for it.

If they used old style rotors and old style housings then it's basically an old-style motor. I guess I can believe they could make decent power out of one of those with enough porting.

Did'ya buy the FB off of eBay? If so, looked pretty nice to me. :)

Yeah. There are actually two up there, all but identical except for the interior. I bought the one in Florida, the California one hadn't gone on sale yet even though its about 2000 miles closer to me :) The Florida one is a little nicer anyway, IMO. They are really coming out of the woodwork suddenly.

okay, i apologize if it sounded abrasive - my bad. in my defense though, some people bring up all kinds of rotary relics and think that they are still available, so ... that's where i was coming from.

anyway, i am going home tonight, so i'll get the old catalog and transcribe what they wrote. i will say this much though, they never described porting done to the motor or technical details, so i hope i didn't get your hopes up for some profound data.

i believe the HP they advertise though, at least, the possibility of it. you have to remember that that engine is at least probably approaching 20 years old - assuming it was never opened after it left RE, so all kinds of things could be going on if it doesn't feel like it should.

anyway, i should post that stuff in a few hours, i'll be leaving for home soon.

Yeah, I figured as much. No worries, and thanks in advance. :)

I don't actually have the car yet - it's not even going to ship until February. So for right now I am choosing to believe that it is in perfect condition... It just seemed like the number was high. If it's really 220 HP I'll jump for joy.

okay, some bad news :( and good news :).

bad news is i didn't find my folder this weekend. i have a couple of 3-inch binders that contains nothing but Rx-7 and rotary memorabilia (articles, brochures, pics, catalogs, etc.) all of my car magazines and such are in boxes and i just haven't found my rotary stuff yet.

good news is i go home on the weekends most times, so i will keep looking for it. however, 220 sounds about right from what i remember. i'll find it though.

I used to be good friends with the owner of Rotary Engineering when they were in business. I talked with him on and off for about 10 years after they closed...

The "turbo alternative" was the streetported 13b with the webbers and the exhaust system etc... RE claimed 225 hp for the package.

Thanks guys :) I'm not in a super hurry, just... curious. But if Rotary Engineering made their own parts (I really know *nothing* about them - I guess they have been out of business longer than I have cared about rotaries!) I guess they all might as well be treated as irreplaceable one-off parts. I'll get ready to make my own gaskets, I guess, if I ever need to take it apart. What I was really hoping for was something along the lines of "it's a racing beat 3" exhaust and a custom intake manifold" sort of thing.

Mr. TT: Do you know more? What you posted there is about what I know.

I do have their old catalog and the page with the info on it. I'll try to dig it up and scan the page for you.

Here you go:

This is great! You are right, it's not exactly a shop manual, but it's still valuable information. Comes with a dyno chart too, which is a pleasant surprise.

:):):):)

The rally port configuration they refer to is what we would refer to as a streetport. Their initial streetport just changes the port timing. The rally port enlarges the intake runners a little bit on top of this. That is what your engine should have. If you notice the engine below it makes more peak power at a higher rpm but the average throughout the powerband is lower than yours. You should have a much more streetable engine than the other one.

Yeah, it's just a street car for me, and I'm not even really into horsing around. Since the body kit probably weighs a couple hundred pounds, overall performance will probably be midway between a T2 and an FD, which should be sufficiently speedy. I'm just glad the performance of the car matches the appearance :)

I only have one other question, and that is whether you know if the headers will bolt up to ordinary midpipes, or if they are incompatible in some way. I'm unlikely to try to put a cat on it, but I don't know if I'll like the exhaust it comes with.

I'm happy now. Thanks :):)

I've recently bought 2 of the old RE DCD setups, one for a 12A, the other for a 13B. Any additional info on thier setups would be greatly appreciated, included original advertisements. I have a 12A 1/2 bp that will get one setup, the other will be going in the REPU when I get around to restoring it and building a fresh sp 13B for it.