There is a Mazda rotary in a bugeye that lives in Chester, CT. The
owner is a Pratt & Whitney mechanical engineer who has had many LBCs over
the years, and an immaculate BJ8 now. He loves the Midget, particularly
its handling, but did not enjoy the limitations imposed by the engine.
He removed the original engine and gearbox assy, cleaned it, painted,
prepared it for storage and crated it. Then he worked up a Mazda rotary,
painted it green, and installed it in the Sprite w/o making any cuts or
alterations to the Sprite except for bolt-ons. He installed the later
model disc brakes, of course, and a traction bar, plus making up a
radiator and oil cooler for the car. Again, everything fits the
Sprite--nothing in the car was cut to accommodate the conversion bits.
Now he can drive the car, keep up with most anything on the road, and
can return it to original when he decides to sell it. I don't think that
anyone looking at this Sprite would consider it a desecration. More
likely, the viewer would consider this an easily-reversible upgrade to
achieve utility that would otherwise be lacking because of the
limitations of the Sprite. It would not seem appropriate for an MGB
since the MGBs are more capable of being driven at today's speeds with
reasonable engine longevity.
Among his other entertainments is flying his 1920-something biplane. He
uses modern fabric on the wings.
Bob
On Fri, 29 Dec 2000 09:42:24 -0800 Stuart MacMillan <macmillan@home.com>
writes:
> All I can say is "good grief!"
>
> I remember that a few were put into MGBs back in the '70s too. What
> a
> travesty!
>
>
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5328196
10
>
> Stuart
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