Rotary Midget project by Dutch 1960

4 minute(s) of a 97 minute read

Finally a day spent on the project. The strategy for the front engine mount is to use two of the RX7 Mazda factory pieces, and cut one end off of each. The Midget mounting points are farther apart than the Mazda ones, though the side from the front of the engine going to the right side of the car is just right, and it is the side going to the left hand side of the car that must be lengthened. For simplicity purposes, the two pieces will overlap, and long bolts will be used to hold both of them to the front of the engine. This will also give some adjustment to the assembly, to get the engine fitted "just right". The Mazda pieces have some angles bent into them, those were pounded out flat with some heat applied with a small propane plumber's torch, and a big stonecutter's mallet against the concrete floor (use what you have in the shop). Cutting and welding would be more elegant and lighter, but we are going with quick, cheap and easy for now.

The first photo shows the cuts (Sawzall) and the second shows how the pieces overlap. Holes will need to be drilled into the piece on the right hand side of the photo, indexed by the left side piece.

Hood (bonnet) clearance is still an issue, especially for the air cleaner assembly. A 4" floor drain piece, cut off, fit perfectly to the carburetor. A 4" cap (actually 4.5" inside diameter) is used for the cap. Duct taping them together, and then putting the hood back on to nest the pieces to clear the hood, and we find that there is quite a bit of vertical space directly above the carburetor. We can build a snorkel to an air cleaner later. It would be very elegant to use the fresh air hole in the radiator panel, to the right side of the radiator mount, if we end up keeping that front panel.

Note the notch in the piece, at the carb mount surface, to clear the fuel inlet. We don't know if the plastic will hold up to engine heat. But the reasonable vertical clearance directly above the carb suggests that a worked over factory Mazda all metal air cleaner might be able to be cut up and adapted.

Next up is to finish the front engine mount, and drill the holes for the transmission mount. Ordering the Audi radiator that fits the car (thank you Gerard's Garage link page for the idea) is also necessary (time to start spending a few bucks, finally). It looks like the radiator will take up the factory radiator position, plus one side only of the front panels on either side. We will need to see how the radiator inlet and outlet line up to the Mazda water pump housing, as well as sorting out the overflow tank mounting, before we can determine which side will go. This also suggests that only one radiator post will need to be modified.

Looks like the alternator is going to the top of the engine, to keep the right side of the engine open around the hot exhaust. Hood clearance should be tight, but ok.