Hello to all,

Has anyone seen or heard a 13b rotary engine on a Datsun Z before?

I will swap out my 83 turbo engine this summer with a rotary...

any input, good or bad, would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Cel

If I remember correctly my wife's old '82 RX7 had a 12A and my sisters '82 GL had the 13B, or was it only starting with the second generation cars. I believe they are both a 2 rotor motor at between 1.1 and 1.3 liters respectively and are not bad but unless you go with turbos I don't think it will be an improvement. I am sure they would be a lot lighter than the Z motor. It is fun to spin to 8k RPM but neither of them could keep up with my Z. It would be interesting in a 510!

By the way, when selecting an engine look for signs of oil leaking between the rotor sections. Once those seals go the oil spews everywhere and you pretty much trash it and buy another one.

Just my opinion! Have fun!

Hey Royce,

Thanks for the input.. I forgot to mention that the 13b that I'm swapping is a bridge port with a camden supercharger, 350+ hp.

I would love to test my toy with yours someday...

Thanks again,

Cel

Umm... well... maybe not! (I say hiding in the corner of the room!)

But I wouldn't mind going for a ride!

Well, the conversion has been done numerous times in a 510. I don't know that I have seen one in a Z yet. It does sound interesting though.............

You'll have to let us know how it turns out!

If my RX7 lovin' pals heard you blasphemin' like that, they would never let me live it down. Those spinich-eating weedeater powered rotarys have no business in a prescious jewell like a two-four-0!

Just kidding! It sounds like a lot of HP to play with:D Give an update if you make it happen.

Racer-19

I have raced against those darn rotary engines and as much as I hate to admit it, they can make something like an RX-3 scream. Anything that small, that can take a brick like an RX-3, and make it move like they do must have something going for it.

I will admit, the last generation RX-7 would have been on my wanted list if it had not been for the price. But then, if I had that kind of money laying around, I probably would have bought the last of the 300ZX Twin Turbo's and had something I really wanted.

A small compact engine like that in a Z does sound interesting. With the power available, and the lower center of gravity it might be something a lot of people will sit up and take notice of. But with the number of rotary engine swaps I've seen done to 510's I'm starting to wonder why there haven't been more of the later engines put in a Z. :eek:

I haven't seen a 13B in a 240, but Tod Kaneko a featured car builder in a copy of Super Street i happened to have, has one in a 510 that puts out 500hp. It's hooked up to a custom Garretts racing turbo charger. Then again he has a 240 with an L28 hooked up to a Garrett/HKS turbo that puts out the same.

modified rotary = good hp & short life

bridge port rotary = very good hp & very short life.

I believe that firewall/tunnel modifications are required to fit a 12A into a 510. I don't expect this to be the case with a S30/S130, but bear in mind that even the 13BT from the SIV & SV RX-7 was only a 200HP motor & had relatively low torque.

A 20BTT from a Cosmo would be another matter.....

Z fans,

Thanks for the response... I will update you guys with pictures when the conversion begins this summer.

Thanks,

Cel:cool:

The Z doctor in Roanoke VA did it with a 240 and a NA rotary. Then went up to a turbo rotary. It screamed!!!! It was way too fast! This is also back in 96...Rob Robinson built it (who worked for Z doc) and they could point you in the right direction.

crazymrf,

Thanks for the tip...do you have a contact number for the Z doctor in Roanoke VA??

Cel