"Lemings, Bob" wrote:

Paul,

Any pitfalls associated with a 1985 vintage rotary, very low mileage?

Anyone else feel free to jump in as well.

Bob Lemings

Should work fine. 12A or 13B? The 12A is a bit less displacement.

Paul Lamar

Brett & Tiana wrote:

I've owned four of them. As long as well-maintained they are reliable, at
least as reliable as a 19 yr old car can be.
Some things to look out for:
Severe rust under the carpeting under the storage bins behind the seats.
This rust starts from the rear wheel wells and then devours the floor and
bin area. Very expensive and/ or labor-intensive to fix, but car looks just
fine on the outside.
Rust in unibody members in engine bay, especially where idler arm attaches.
Not worth fixing and very dangerous since this is where part of your
steering linkage is mounted.
Transmission input shaft needle bearings tend to go south after many miles.
You can hear them when you engage the clutch while in neutral.
If you have a chance to view Bruce Turrentine's rotary overhaul video, watch
the 1st 20 minutes or so--- there's valuable info on checking out the
engine's health before you buy.
And if this car is a GSL-SE in very good condition you have yourself a real
find. This is the one with the 13B mentioned by Paul. Also has fuel
injection and 135hp (vs. 101hp for the 12A). This is the one that all 1st
gen enthusiasts covet.

Brett Campbell.-- 

The AirCraft Rotary Engine NewsLetter.  Powered by Linux.
ACRE NL web site. http://home.earthlink.net/~rotaryeng/            
Copyright 1998-2003 All world wide rights reserved.