OT-ish: Cylinders wiv holes in them...

.... to quote the guys from the Joe Bar team.

There must be something about engines that don't have valves that
brings out the worst kind of addiction in a certain type of people.

Watching Lozzo act like a kind at Christmas around Hog's RD (not to
mention a certain phone call) clearly showed how well he's got his
stroker addiction under control. I assume that the "negotiations" part
is another attempt to see how well it's under control, right Lozzo?

I would've shaken my head in sad disbelief had I not had a similar
experience with the *other* type of engine that doesn't have valves in
it.

So it appears that I should profusely apologise to all the people who
were trying their best to steer me into the direction of a sensible,
reliable and modern car. JB, Andy, Bear and Steve, I value your help
(especially JB's on the subject of E34 5-series BMWs) but it appears
you have failed.

Yes, it appears that muggins here is about to buy another rotary
provided said car passes the compression test and the "absence of
underbody rust" next week. The way the engine starts and runs, I think
for once I've found one that will not require an immediate rebuild.

I guess I'll better keep the Jetta then - the boot on that should be
big enough to lug a Mazda 13B lump around it. Just, like, in case...

 

Let the games begin.......

In all seriousness, the rotaries are excellent engines, and Mazda do seem to
have cracked the mechanical reliability issues as far as I understand it.
The only issues I've ever heard of with these have been related to engine
electrics (and these can get *damn* expensive very quickly).

Let us all know how you get on.

JB

 

JB wrote:
snip
.. The only issues I've ever heard of with these have

err.. and the starting problem if engine is run then switched off before its
warm. Buggars flood and trickery has to be used, as I understand it.

 

Scraggy scribbled on the back of a napkin:

Yes they do flood, the less compression they have the worse they are
for flooding.

That said, just about every rotaryhead I know knows that you don't fire
it up, back the car out of the garage and switch it off again.

 

JB scribbled on the back of a napkin:

Not quite yet. I'm being rather careful when buying one so unless the
compression test is satisfactory, it's a no go.

Well, most problems are due to muppethead owners. You know, the ones
that go "it's a 1.3, but I've had it bored out to 1.8 and a hot cam
fitted" type. They are a bit sensitive to driving style and you've got
to be a bit sympathetic when they're turbocharged (which this one is).

OTOH this one has been rebuilt and upgraded by someone who knows what
they're doing (as opposed to my last one which was rebuilt by someone I
now consider to be someone who rides around on horseback and chases
large bovines) and they've also done the upgrading work at the same
time.

Well, that's a new one to me. On the later ones (FD series, the twin
turbos) the vaccuum hoses are a pain in the arse as there are about 200
of them (so good luck finding a vaccuum leak) but on the one I'm
considering (FC convertible) they're not that bad. But yes, there are a
few problems with the leccy bits on some of them.

I would never consider *not* providing additional involuntary comedy
moments for UKRM.

 

He's magically transformed into a German child?

 

Pip Luscher scribbled on the back of a napkin:

Note to self: Check caffeine level before posting.