Greetings to all!!
I am beggining a frame off restoration, and have a couple of questions. So
here goes. The fram that I will be using for my restore is perfectly
straight but suffers from rust worm (pretty bad) I was intending to simply
cut the bad spots out (mostly in the back where the frame angles up) and
weld in new patches, I was considering then welding a reinforcing plate
that overlaps the good and bad areas to reinforce it. Any experience here?
My second question is, I am considering using a Mazda Wankel (Rotary)
engine as part of my conversion. Does anybody know of someone that has
done this, a web page with it, or just personal experience. My questions
concerning this are as follows. What year of Mazda rotary's are best to
use. Is it hard to convert over the fuel injected systems or is it best to
stick with carbs (what years are which). Can the Rotary be used with a
standard Spitfire transmission with overdrive or am I asking for trouble,
what about the differential. Any solutions here. I know the rotary has a
5-speed tranny but how hard will it be to convert the shifting mechanism?
Is the Mazda's clutch hydraulic, or mechanical? Also what are the
complications on using standard Smith's guages for Speed and Tach.
One last note I am looking at moving the battery to the trunk to help
resolve the weight ratio problem. I also wanted to put in A/C (since with
the Rotary I would have plenty of power) I was thinking of enclosing the
battery box and using it to hold the evaporator. Any good a/c units that
will work well with a spit. (down here in Florida, having the top down
just isn't enough!
Thanks
Patrick Bowen
'79 Spit
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