Sort of along the same lines...
How about a Jenson Healy motor in your alpine?
Since Jenson was a part of the post rootes Talbot group,
it would nearly be fitting to install such a nice motor in an alpine.
Jenson Heally made cars with the Lotus 907 engine.
The Lotus 908 was a 2.0 liter engine with dual "uhg" strombergs.
The motor is a twin cam 16 valve, and made 140 factory horses,
and with a little bit of work can be transformed into over 200BHP.
Also, the early Jenson transmision was actually a longer version of
the Rootes all synch. 4 speed.
In Europe, Sunbeam Talbot produced the Sunbeam Talbot Lotus,
which was actually a Lotus 911 powered Dodge Omni, which used
a 2.2 liter version of the above motor.
If anyone is interested, I have a friend with a fresh 907 Motor.
Jarrid Gross
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From: Curtis Fisher
To: alpines(at)autox.team.net; T, L & T Harrington; tigers(at)autox.team.net
Subject: Re: Mazda powered alpine???
Date: Tuesday, April 22, 1997 10:02PM
Mail*Link( SMTP RE>Mazda powered alpine???
Hello from Santa Clara,
Wow! this is interesting! I was heavy into my RX-7 until my painful
separation in 1987 by an unlicensed driver.
If it is an SE model, it has an open differential (no posi)
If it's a GSL model it has limited slip
The transmission was silky smooth and never missed a shift.
The stock clutch is junk. I barely made 22,000 miles out of mine. The
rotary develops its horsepower at high rpm (6,000+). That means you
need to
slip the clutch to use that horsepower at the line. If you're willing
to
sacrifice the clutch, you can get quite a few decent accelerations:)
When my stock clutch went, I had a street/strip clutch installed. It
made a
bad driver out of me instantly. It engaged (fully) in about 1/8 inch of
foot travel which meant the tires slipped or the engine stalled. After
some
practice you can master the very fine art. Nonetheless, the stronger
aftermarket clutch does a better job. In 1984, Mazda offered the 13B
motor
(vice 13A motor prior) which was fuel injected and developed about 30%
more
hp.
The brakes in back are tiny drums. Discs were provided on later models.
The stock 13A was just over 100 horsepower but its huge advantage was
rpm.
It can go right through redline and keep accelerating. So from 3,000 to
8,000 (or whatever you wanted to risk) you could stay on the throttle
(in a
decent power range) while others were looking for another gear. (You
could
always tell when they shifted because that was when you went flying by)
The later engines 1985 offered a fuel injected 13B motor which produced
more
power. Several aftermarket horsepower kits are offered for these
engines.
All the kits are based around airflow and rpm as this is how the engine
develops hp.
The rotary engine has one of the highest horsepower to weight ratios
anywhere. The only comparable engines are race prepared high
compression
special factory jobs. There are several California companies that
specialize in building rotary race engines. The turbo charging systems
offered enhance the rotary beyond wildest expectations (this is
basically an
air flow engine). At this point you are getting above the purchase price
of
your donor car.
This sounds like an interesting implant! Remember Ford and Mazda have
strong ties! Just look at their Ranger and B2000-4000 line and others.
Good luck!
Curtis B9470844
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