TJ Trade Rumor Surfaces.....

[BengalszoneBilly]

I had a 1986 Mazda RX-7. Could have gotten better gas mileage since the rotary engine isn't fuel efficient, but otherwise was a perfect little sports car.

Speaking of rotary engines, we recently installed an RX-7 engine in my bosses experimental airplane. The Wankel designed engine has several major advantages over traditional designs. They are considerably simpler and contain far fewer moving parts. They have no valves, valve trains, etc. In addition, the rotor spins the driveshaft directly, so there is no need for connecting rods, and a conventional crankshaft. All of this makes a Wankel engine much lighter, and why it was chosen over normal 180 HP Lycoming aircraft engines normally found in such applications.

[preyer]

oh, man, i'd love a little helicoptor. i checked into years ago. would have bought a kit had i the money. sometimes common sense overtakes me, though, and i decided it best not to trust my life with a contraption *I* made, me being the kind of guy what causes grease fires dunking donuts in milk. best i stay away from engines period, slant, V, straight, rotary or otherwise. ironically, i build military humvee engines, but all i do is set the timing and torque nuts. not difficult.

the japanese kicked our automotive butts because of edward demming, who took his quality plan to the american manufactures and they laughed at him. we did it to ourselves. then we didn't help ourselves, and still don't, by imposing what many consider appropriate import fees. don't know if you can charge import fees when they're building these things in your backyard.

okay, a quick word (yeah right) to the wise: do NOT buy a trailblazer. i guess they'd be the '09 model. they're shutting truck and bus down where they assemble these things, and a guy i know (dubbed pittsburgh kenny) works there as the final inspector before being parked and shipped. he's irate with what they're letting through the system, but it's to be expected.

then again, i own an '02 trailblazer and i can't say i'm very impressed with that one, either. in its defense, me and a semi had a disagreement on the highway, so maybe *some* of its problems are linked to that.... still, though, it's a chevy transmission and who the hell ever heard of a 'sun shell' and it costs how much?! 'well, sir, these parts are made in china, so it's expensive to ship them over here and....'

ah, screw it. anyone have a cheap set of helicoptor blades and a rotary engine laying around?

[Wraith]

Not sure how it would work with a helicopter but if I were building a fixed wing aircraft, I would try to find a Subaru SVX that was junked because of a bad trannie

Link: http://www.prachapter34.com/converting_engines.htm

the 3.3 Liter H-6 engine is damn near bulletproof, block is rated to over 550 HP and it has a real nice torque curve for an aircraft engine. ALOT of SVXs were put to pasture because of a systematic defect in their transmissions from the factory (easily overcome by installing a beefier transmission cooler) so you can find them cheap.

Besides, anything to avoid talking about the Bengals.

[Pidge]

I drive an Alfa Romeo 159. Love it to bits. My first ever car was a 2000 BMW 740 iL. Second hand and imported from FLA. Wildly inappropriate and expensive car for a guy my age at that time. Insurance was nuts but I loved it to bits.

[gregstephens]

I drive an Alfa Romeo 159. Love it to bits. My first ever car was a 2000 BMW 740 iL. Second hand and imported from FLA. Wildly inappropriate and expensive car for a guy my age at that time. Insurance was nuts but I loved it to bits.

I've been to your fair country about six years ago. I loved the cars. I drove a Vauxhall Station Wagon. Thought it was great. Liked the little micro-VWs we don't have here.

[Pidge]

I drive an Alfa Romeo 159. Love it to bits. My first ever car was a 2000 BMW 740 iL. Second hand and imported from FLA. Wildly inappropriate and expensive car for a guy my age at that time. Insurance was nuts but I loved it to bits.

I've been to your fair country about six years ago. I loved the cars. I drove a Vauxhall Station Wagon. Thought it was great. Liked the little micro-VWs we don't have here.

Yeah, cars are much smaller over here but you know why. Practical really. Some of the smaller VWs are very nice indeed. Ze Germans have got the knack of making a small car that feels like a big car to drive.

I myself flirted with the idea of plonking $15000 down for a 69 Charger R/T when I lived in Miami in my college days. I adore American muscle cars. I didn't in the end - was coming back to London just over a year later and I couldn't have brought it back with me. Insurance, tax and near $9 a gallon was something even I couldn't justify to myself as a good idea. My college room mate had a gorgeous GTO. Still has it to this day I think.

[Pidge]

I had a 1986 Mazda RX-7. Could have gotten better gas mileage since the rotary engine isn't fuel efficient, but otherwise was a perfect little sports car.

Speaking of rotary engines, we recently installed an RX-7 engine in my bosses experimental airplane. The Wankel designed engine has several major advantages over traditional designs. They are considerably simpler and contain far fewer moving parts. They have no valves, valve trains, etc. In addition, the rotor spins the driveshaft directly, so there is no need for connecting rods, and a conventional crankshaft. All of this makes a Wankel engine much lighter, and why it was chosen over normal 180 HP Lycoming aircraft engines normally found in such applications.

Plus Wankle sounds very close to wanker, which is fun to say. A work mate has an RX7. An astonishing amount of car all round for its price. Mazdas never, ever go wrong either. Bulletproof things.

[gregstephens]

I drive an Alfa Romeo 159. Love it to bits. My first ever car was a 2000 BMW 740 iL. Second hand and imported from FLA. Wildly inappropriate and expensive car for a guy my age at that time. Insurance was nuts but I loved it to bits.

I've been to your fair country about six years ago. I loved the cars. I drove a Vauxhall Station Wagon. Thought it was great. Liked the little micro-VWs we don't have here.

Yeah, cars are much smaller over here but you know why. Practical really. Some of the smaller VWs are very nice indeed. Ze Germans have got the knack of making a small car that feels like a big car to drive.

I myself flirted with the idea of plonking $15000 down for a 69 Charger R/T when I lived in Miami in my college days. I adore American muscle cars. I didn't in the end - was coming back to London just over a year later and I couldn't have brought it back with me. Insurance, tax and near $9 a gallon was something even I couldn't justify to myself as a good idea. My college room mate had a gorgeous GTO. Still has it to this day I think.

That's what freaked me out when I went to England. We'd stop to fill up and it was, I think, 73 pence per liter. Ok, sounds alright. However, when I did the math and realized 73 p was about $1.20 American back then, and it takes four of your liters to make our gallon, I was like, "Holy crap!" We drove a total of 1300 miles through England and Scotland. Imagine the fuel expense even back then.

[Pidge]

That's what freaked me out when I went to England. We'd stop to fill up and it was, I think, 73 pence per liter. Ok, sounds alright. However, when I did the math and realized 73 p was about $1.20 American back then, and it takes four of your liters to make our gallon, I was like, "Holy crap!" We drove a total of 1300 miles through England and Scotland. Imagine the fuel expense even back then.

Yep. Pretty f**king expensive over here - it's now almost $2 a litre now. (in fairness to the oil companies they only charge about 50 cents a litre - the rest is tax)Which is why, after many "talks" with my wife, we're seriously considering moving Stateside, at least for a few years. It makes sense with two little ones running around. Plus my wife misses her family a little I think.

I would talk about British cars at this point, but we don't have a motor industry anymore.