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Thread: Hello!
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YAAAABUDDY03
Newbie
Posts: 5
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posted May 08, 2004 12:12 PM |
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Hello!
Whats up everyone. I am a new REPU owner. Actually it was my grandfathers, and he left it to me when he passed away. It is a 1974 repu with the rotary engine in it. He did a motor swap on it in the mid 80,s and hasn't driven it much sense then. I hope I can get some info on these things, cause I would like to fix it up as a daily driver kindof. I own a dodge dakota, and I am a huge enthusiast for dakotas, I want to keep my dakota as nice as possible. I love small trucks with lots of power, and as I've read, I am understanding that these little Repu's were the fastest in their class in their day.
Paul
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kansei
Redlining
Wankelized
Posts: 423
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posted May 09, 2004 07:19 AM |
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YEP!
They certainly were. Welcome to the club, so to speak. The guys here on the forum are going to be an invaluable source of info and assistance on restoring/modifying your REPU. Where abouts are you located? Just outside Grand Rapids, Michigan, here.
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Neal A.E. Swigert
Greenville, Michigan
1974 REPU Resto Project
1976 808 Wagon
1977 Cosmo
1978 Savanna RX-7 GT
1980 Leather Sport RX-7
1980 Petty Targa RX-7 #11
1985 GSL-SE RX-7
1988 RX-7 10th Ann
1993 RX-7 VR Touring
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YAAAABUDDY03
Newbie
Posts: 5
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posted May 09, 2004 04:04 PM |
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quote:
They certainly were. Welcome to the club, so to speak. The guys here on the forum are going to be an invaluable source of info and assistance on restoring/modifying your REPU. Where abouts are you located? Just outside Grand Rapids, Michigan, here.
Why are they going to be invaluable sources for info on my truck? I mean this site is dedicated toward these trucks. It just doesn't make sense to me when www.dakotausa.com is such a great website for mine. Granted there are more dakota owners... but still.
I am located in College Station, Texas. Ever heard of Texas A&M University.... ya.. I'm located in the same town as that college. The truck has been located in Carlsbed, New Mexico sense my grandfather bought it brand new in Roswell, New Mexico, and it's been garaged every sense. It's in perfect condition alto there is a small crack in the dash board. I am interested in knowing how rare these little trucks are. I plan on either completely getting it back to brand new condition(which it's not far from that) or doing a motor swap and making it show worthy.
Thank you for replying to my message, I was beginning to think all the REPU guys were unable to type or something.
Paul
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Klaus43
Rotorhead
Posts: 1259
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posted May 09, 2004 05:00 PM |
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We're not all online at the drop of a hat...
...or all the time... but we're 'here'! Welcome... Congrat's on your inheritance, and condolences on your grandfather's passing. Here's to continuing where he left off with the REPU! Just don't be swapping in anything not rotary, or smaller than a 13B...
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yaaaabuddy03
Newbie
Posts: 5
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posted May 09, 2004 06:19 PM |
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quote:
Just don't be swapping in anything not rotary, or smaller than a 13B...
Would a chevy 350, or an old hemi be ok?
Paul
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Mazdarx605
Redlining
Posts: 314
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posted May 10, 2004 03:24 AM |
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No it would NOT be O.K.!!!!
Keep it rotary or sell it.I doubt you grandfather would have ever put any other engine in it aside from what is already under the hood.The rotary engine in this vehicle is what makes it unique.Without that it is just like any other old import truck.You would be stealing it's soul.These trucks are far too rare to be tearing them up unless they are already torn up then by all means.But from what you have said the truck is in really good shape,so I would stay away from ruining it.
To me putting a V-8 in any old school mazda rotary powered car is like taking an old Hemi 'Cuda and putting a Ford engine in it.Yeah it will still be fun to drive and probably still fast,but it isn't a unique car anymore.
Please leave the V8's in the Dakotas.
Chris
74 REPU
83 RX-7
92 Dodge Ram Cummins turbo diesel
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Jeff20B
Moderator
Posts: 661
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posted May 10, 2004 11:08 AM |
 Edited By: Jeff20B on 10 May 2004 11:13 |
Not to be offensive, but if you put a V8 in your inherited REPU, I won't feel like offering any advice. I doubt many here would. In other words, you're on your own.
To be honest, I sat here for a while and thought about what to say. I have two REPUs and have considered installing a 20B, but its length would require cutting the firewall of the truck. Every other dimension would fit. Should I do it? Well, not in my good condition truck. As for my beater, I don't know. You're talking about installing somthing that will require all sorts of cutting. Since there's no room for a regular header, a spaghetti mess of exhaust pipes will end up going through the inner fender wells and look like crap. The stock large radiator will be in the way of the waterpump, so a smaller capacity one will have to be moved forward. The tranny you'll use will most likely be an automatic (YUCK!). I've seen a Courier with a V8 in it once, so it can be done, but it's clear you don't know enough about rotaries to know how good they are. Ignorance is bliss?
Please check out some RX-7 forums for more rotary specific info. http://www.rx7club.com/forum/index.php
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'74 REPU
'76 Cosmo
'77 MG Midget 13B
'81 RX-7
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YAAAABUDDY03
Newbie
Posts: 5
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posted May 10, 2004 07:39 PM |
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holy cow. I didn't mean to step on any toes. I've seen it done, so I figured more people were doing it. :scratches that off list in fear of getting murdered in his sleep: I guess the 350 swap would be a bad idea. Ok then,... now... what about the rotary's.... I've heard some BAD stories about them blowing up. I saw a 13B on ebay for like $2600, I'm sorry but to spend that much money on a motor thats just going to blow up in another 50,000 miles is crazy. So how can I keep my engine from "blowing up". It's not like I run it hard,... cause thats what the dakota is for, but still.
Paul
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admin
Administrator
Posts: 446
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posted May 10, 2004 08:44 PM |
Edited By: admin on 10 May 2004 20:44
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Only poorly maintained rotaries, and turbo-charged rotaries tend to blow. I had a 2nd gen with 150,000 miles on it before I sold it... a 1st gen with 175,000, my dad has a 185,000 mi 2nd gen, and my 3rd gen went to 125,000 mi before **I** blew it up by accidentally overboosting.
I've said it before, but I'll say it again, putting a piston in a REPU is like putting a d!ck on a chick... It's like looking at some pic of a beautiful asian, then scrolling down to see a shlong down there. Yuck! I was at the Rotary Revolution in Indy early this month, there were a couple V8 RX-7's there... it really did NOT fit the car's overall theme (light weight, smooth. My girlfriend said they sounded "gross"
N/A rotaries are reliable. If you are looking to do a rebuild or buy a rebuild, quality, of course, will get you further in the long run. And this means paying a little more than a rebuilt piston... but with a rotary you don't have to worry about cams, heads, lifters, valves, timing chains, etc...
So... Here are a few links to get you started with the hunt for a good engine:
http://www.atkinsrotary.com
http://www.mazdatrix.com
http://www.rx7.com <-- just outside of Dallas
http://kdrotary.com
So, welcome to the club... hope you find the truck as fun, if not more than, your Dakota! :D
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I'm The Admin, thats why!
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Jeff20B
Moderator
Posts: 661
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posted May 11, 2004 12:03 AM |
Edited By: Jeff20B on 11 May 2004 00:04
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I'd never spend good money on a piston engine. I see no point in trying to work around the inherent deficiencies of piston engine design, but that's just my experience talking.
Rotaries are actually very easy to rebuild. They're also very easy to get rather large power gains with only a little time spent with a Dremel tool (porting) and bolt-ons (carb and exhaust). I don't know of any piston engines with as long a run with the same basic dimensions, and has powered as many different kinds of vehicles as a rotary, except maybe the ACVW.
As for me, I have four four port 13Bs, a 12A and one 20B. I have like one rotary specific tool, which is a 2 1/8" impact socket for installation and removal of the 54mm nut on the flywheel. Everything else is basic garage type stuff (engine crane, floor jack, creeper etc). I don't need piston honing apparatus or line boring whatevers (ok, that's just ignorance on my part hehe).
Well, I guess I've typed enough for now. Later.
____________
'74 REPU
'76 Cosmo
'77 MG Midget 13B
'81 RX-7
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rotormunky
Redlining
Orlando, Florida
Posts: 424
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posted May 11, 2004 01:12 AM |
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Well to interject a little of what I would call reason at least . . .
The vehement response against pistons is to be expected, especially when you come to a rotary specific group. Something some people don't understand is that most rotary owners just love the engine. In our case we love the truck for its own unique design but also because it was the only truck to come with a rotary engine. When it comes right down to it, if you take the rotary away you've mostly got any other little truck from the 70's.
So your question re: a piston-transplant is naturally not going to go over well here. Its very much about the engine here and other rotary-sites. Much like you'd find on your hemi forums.
The reliability of the rotary was already covered by Dan but I'll add that the rotary in some ways isn't that different from owning a piston engine. The harder you push it, the shorter the lifespan. That's just machines, no knock on one or the other. In my expererience, rotaries stand up to longer lives of abuse. I beat the tar out of my 13b for 120,000 miles and it doesn't even smoke and makes just as much power now as when it was new. That's mostly because the rotary's design lets you shift at redline (I hardly every shift under 7,000 RPMs, the high revving grows on you after a while) and maintain high engine speeds for extended lengths of time without hurting it at all. 2,500rpm or 6,500rpm, there's not to much difference to the engine.
I like rotaries, and prefer them for my own reasons but I'll be the first person to tell you they aren't the absolute best for every purpose, and they aren't inherently superior in everyway. They don't make the best LARGE truck engines due to a torque deficiency. You can make some of that up with gearing and forced induction, but in the end a chevy 4.3 litre V6 puts out as much torque(250ft/lbs) as a decently modified, turbo-charged 13b. With proper care you can probably get about 150k miles out of both.
And lets me realistic, horsepower costs money. Crate 350's aren't as cheap as everyone likes to say they are, and they require a bit of additional massaging to get the HP. Take into account their weight and the rotary compares favourably. Doesn't trounce it, but compares favourably.
Try pushing big, long-term HP out of lighter LT1 platforms and you'll find that $2,600 won't even get you started.
Probably the real benefit to the rotary is that once you get to know what you're doing, you can do it all yourself. No trips to the machine shop for P&P, no blueprinting costs. Some practise with a dremel, anal-retentivness with the feeler gauges and torque wrench and you can get some great results. If you're smart enough to wire and do math, forced induction can do wonders.
In NA applications the lack of torque can be a bother at times, but on a drag strip some of teh FI guys benefit from not having to throttle back 600ft/lbs of torque and most of the power comes on once the car is aleady launched.
I don't notice it too much in roadracing/autoX because the revs never drop below 5,000rpm.
I don't see a thing in the world wrong with piston engines. They've got they're uses for me. I'll never haul my car carrier cross country with my REPU. The missus' corolla just goes and goes @ 38mpg for the last 175k miles. etc.
But I love love love my rotaries and in 120k miles I've never had to touch the engine on my '91 convertible. Ever. No head gasket, no timing belt (ha!), no nothing. And that's sort of nice.
The extremes of one camp over another sort of make me itch sometimes.
If you're looking for a small-block-in-a-small-truck-thing then you can do it to any truck at all. The REPU was the only one to come with a rotary engine and that makes it special. You don't have to worship the rotary, but respect it enough to give it a chance to be what it is.
If you rebuild it to stock form, if you can live with a peppy (not fast), useful little runner-arounder with a lot of class and style (hey I love '70s style, what can I say?), and if you maintain it regularly (keep it flushed, full and cool, and full of good oil every 3/3000) I bet you even money you get 200k miles out of it without ever having to touch the engine itself.
I've had a few mopar 318's which I dearly love for truck motors, and don't get me wrong they make the torque you want for a full sized truck, but I've never gotten to 200k without having to have at least one head off or replacing the waterpump ever 60k miles.
Like I said try to give it a chance to be what it good at being and I think you'll love it for what it is.
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-Martin
Orlando, Florida
http://www.themonkeyhouse.org/REPU
'77 REPU (Some assembly required :)
'91 Cabrio (Battered and bruised, but she's still my baby.)
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roaddancer
Hauling
Posts: 127
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posted May 11, 2004 09:26 AM |
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And last but not least, dropping a cast iron block POS into a small truck is stupid!
A friend of mine started to drop a 351 into a courier, and lost momentum with all the cutting. Personally, I can't imagine any way to make a truck that nose heavy handle.
I am thinking that a sticky set of rear tires and some tire pressure tuning might make my REPU a very effective autocrosser. It certainly corners flat enough. Just need to keep the tail under control!
The REPU set so many benchmarks as the first sport truck that every one should be kept as near to intent as possible. Any rotary is good, and no pistons allowed!
My conversion to rotarys was courtesy of a '72 Rx2 that I hated and beat every day from 25,000 miles to 110,000 miles, with a total engine repair cost of 1 water pump. No piston could take the abuse I handed out, period. So much for "poor reliability". The early ones were supposed to be "fragile". Not!
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formerly
rx2/3/4/cosmo,repu,94 rx7,
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ovquick
Redlining
Posts: 253
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posted May 11, 2004 01:31 PM |
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REPU's
Welcome to the group!
No matter what you decide to do with your truck you will find that this group and those in the other Mazda forums are a very knowledgeable, capable and independant guys.
Most of us here like the REPU for what it is a limited 'distribution, relativly unknown (now),70's import, that was very quick for it's time and class.
I still have the one I purchased new in april of 74 and(I'm 60 now) it's going to someone who will swear to restore it.
I also have others that would have no restrictions on them, I also intend to surf the Dakota board for any useful ideas.WELCOME ABOARD
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rotormunky
Redlining
Orlando, Florida
Posts: 424
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posted May 11, 2004 03:07 PM |
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quote:
I still have the one I purchased new in april of 74 and(I'm 60 now) it's going to someone who will swear to restore it.
Holy Moses Ovquick! :):)
Call me in 30 years, when *I'M* 60 and I'll give the that '74 the ol' munky-makeover :)
Have you got pics of your rides?
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-Martin
Orlando, Florida
http://www.themonkeyhouse.org/REPU
'77 REPU (Some assembly required :)
'91 Cabrio (Battered and bruised, but she's still my baby.)
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ovquick
Redlining
Posts: 253
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posted May 11, 2004 05:50 PM |
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REPU
The only pics of my trucks are the ones taken by the fellow I just got the 77 from. Being digitally challenged, I haven't figured out how to post them on this forum or attach to a reply, but the're still at www.geocities.com/liveclay for now or on the other forum.
Maybe when I get some electronically enlightened neighbor to help me, I can post pics of the other 5.
Orville
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Manteca Mazda Asylum
where a boy and his cat live, without adult supervision
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Klaus43
Rotorhead
Posts: 1259
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posted May 12, 2004 07:33 AM |
Edited By: Klaus43 on 12 May 2004 07:37
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Well...
...I like what I'm hearing! 'bout the only thing I'd add for our recent arrivals is this: Beware of frauds! The fringe which we are a part of has attracted more than it's share of less-than-scrupulous characters, and like anything different, it's gotta be done right--and maintained properly--to last! Watch out for abused, unloved, and fly-by-night rebuilds, etc. ...
There's nothing worse than the sting of finding out the hard way that you paid for more than you received.
But then, it's like that with anything...
Cheers to you, Orville, for hanging on to the one you bought new! (I like cats, too...) :)
PS-- Roaddancer, a truly sticky set of rubber will quickly test the limits of a stock REPU suspension. You'll be wanting new swaybars, shocks, bushings, etc. ...not to mention you'll need a limited slip! But yes, you're absolutely correct: REPU's are a BLAST to autocross! (And, locally, at least, the 'Sport Truck' class is wide open for mod's!)
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YAAAABUDDY03
Newbie
Posts: 5
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posted May 12, 2004 11:06 PM |
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OK... thanks... Now I've got it all down. My grandfather lived by upkeep. He would do whatever it takes to make something last as long as possible. So I think my new repu will be one of few in such great condition. Not trying to brag or anything, just saying.
I have been looking for some numbers on these things. How many were built... stuff like that. I want to know how truely rare this truck is. My father is in New Mexico now taking pictures of it, so I should have pictures within the next two weeks or so. I understand history... and I also respect it. Being only 19 years old, I have not fully appritiated(sp?) the history of this truck, and I'm glad yall have cleared it up for me. I will charish this truck, and do all the proper upkeep that it needs. I'll be on a huge learning curve from now on... yay!
Paul
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admin
Administrator
Posts: 446
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posted May 12, 2004 11:47 PM |
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Wow, 19 and have a REPU!
The learning curve may be tough, but it sounds like you're already into trucks, so some things will be familiar. Just browse around this site, look through the archives.. and visit the other sites listed above... and don't forget to google!
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I'm The Admin, thats why!
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