Greetings all,
I don\'t post over here much, but I have received info from this board and I\'ve seen some pretty cool stuff on this board as well, so I wanted to share and maybe get some input, opinions, criticisms, etc..
I posted this up yesterday and I honestly don\'t feel like typing another mini-novel, so I decided to paste it. Please forgive me and I hope you enjoy.
QuoteAnyway, after a couple of years of thinking, planning, wishing and few attempts at trying to perform magic, I have started the process of actually doing this. I actually started this project several months ago and until my financial state stabilizes a bit, I have no reason to think that it will not be another several months before I finish. Also, I have to finish my brother’s MegaSquirt project first and that’s probably going to take me into August. I’ve been patient, so you guys will have to follow suit.
This port configuration has always intrigued me. If there is a body of information out there on it, I haven’t found it and it’s not a lack of trying. The best I could do was a few lines here and there and a few pictures from Japan and Judge Ito. However, after the unfortunate event of crashing my Rx-7 2 years ago, I got to thinking of getting off my ass and building a racecar. I decided to combine the 2 projects, so whenever this engine gets built, it will be going in my Rx-7. Though I do plan to turbocharge it some day, it won’t be anytime soon. For now I just want to build it, work out the kinks, tune it and start racing before I’m … like … 50.
Now before I start any history or self-promotion, let me officially state that I have the utmost respect for people that have made a living building race-level engines (rotary and piston), doing machine work of any sort, and welders. My God, you guys are great. If I have learned nothing in this process thus far, it\'s just how ....ing hard your jobs are and just how easy it is for someone on the outside to mistakenly think it\'s easier than it is. Keep in mind that I\'ve been building "decent" engines, myself, for the better part of about 15 years. I\'ve been building stock ports and streetports to this point - not as business, but for my own consumption and a few friends.
With that said, I think the hardest part about this whole ordeal has been locating resources. As I said, I can build engines fairly well (I finally have the confidence to say that), but this project has taken me well beyond the skills I\'ve acquired and utilized over the years. I can\'t weld - never tried and I don\'t have the equipment. I don\'t have machining tools or skills outside of the very basic. I\'ve hated the very idea of using epoxy on an engine up to now and therefore, never bothered learning what\'s involved with that either. The bottomline is I\'ve needed to find people that provide services for me and it\'s been a serious hit-n-miss affair. Some people are just: (1)clueless, (2) others are thieves, (3) others can\'t get over themselves/their skills and (4) others simply don\'t think a guy working on a rotary engine is important enough to take seriously. It is for those reasons that I\'ve been having to learn as much as I have. At this point, I take all of these disappointments as "blessings in disguise". Maybe someday someone can come to me, and I pray that I won\'t be dick if that ever happens. (And if I am, please reference this thread and call me on it).
Anyway, I\'m resisting the urge to ramble. I honestly don\'t know what people care about and what they don\'t, so let me just recap and move on. It\'s been a pretty hard road to get to this point and I\'m not done, but I think I\'m over the hump (knock on wood). I may have just jinxed myself by saying so, but I was really anticipating ....ing up the epoxy and possibly having to change the current timing specs to cover up my mistake, but I was able to get through that part just fine. So I think I’ll be able to finish up my port-work in the usual fashion.
This will be my journal of sorts. I’d love to hear comments, suggestions and thoughts. I can take positive and negative, my skin is thick, but if you can, then please keep it civil and respectful. I’ll be adding the pics as soon as I can.
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these photos are probably 3 to 9 months old. i have more recent ones - as recent as 2 days ago - plesase understand that i have many photos over the process so far and i have to sort through them so i can see what i want to post and link from my photobucket account. i\'m just saying, give me some time ...
Quote from: diabolical1;9283069some pics ...
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v227/diabolical1/Engines/September2008750.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v227/diabolical1/Engines/NYLife355.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v227/diabolical1/Engines/NYLife347.jpg)
... about the condition of the housings, let me say; "you\'re right." they\'re not in the best shape, but that\'s by design. here\'s where some of the history comes in.
these are the rotor housings from the very first motor i built back in 1994. it failed and my ignorance was to blame, but i thought it was fitting for them to help me through another major milestone in my rotary life. this is somewhat an experiment, so i\'m not trying to go all out with cost. i couldn\'t justify hacking up new housings and until this thing takes it\'s first breath, i\'m working with the assumption that i will fail. it\'s easier on my ego that way.
just be warned ... there will probably be some more photos that are not "pretty", but just keep in mind that i am aware.
some more pics
this is my epoxy work that i finished 2 days ago. i need to machine it a bit more, but haven\'t done so yet.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v227/diabolical1/Engines/June2009039.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v227/diabolical1/Engines/June2009006.jpg)
here is a partial mock assembly and it pretty much represents where it stands for now. i\'ll post some more pics when i get a chance.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v227/diabolical1/Engines/June2009044.jpg)
just a little more background on this thing:
i decided to build the semi-peripheral on a streetport base. it\'s an S4 engine. if you notice, it\'s 60% N/A and 40% T2. the N/A sections, as i mentioned, are from the first engine i ever built.
i still have major finishing work to do. i still have to put the final surfacing on the side ports and polish the exhaust ports. it kind of sucks because i actually have the time to do it, but i\'ve been trouble finding the sanding rolls from my usual local sources and it seems like such a waste to order them online.
for the peripherals, i still have some transitioning to do, then i can do surfacing and such.
at this point, i think i\'ve decided to leave it relatively rough (maybe 120, maybe 60). i could definitely do with some input on this.
also, due to the way decided to cut the ports, and my lack of true machining, the are some gaps where the port sleeve meets the port itself. most of them got filled when i put the epoxy in the passages, but there are still an existing few. i\'ll be honest, maybe inhaled too much of the stuff, but i find myself tempted to try using the epoxy to fill them. what do you guys think? i can justify leaving them alone simply because there\'s usually a gap between my exhaust ports and port inserts, but i don\'t know how big of a deal it will be on the intake side. again, input is welcome.
will continue to update as i am able.
thanks,
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