Here's the crack.
Was go and pick up an RX7 in the morning to use as me donor.
Great, everything in the garden is rosey.
Bugger me, them rotary engined things tend to burn a bit of oil and chuck out a lot of crap, enough to the emissions tester cough up a lung and stamp 'GO AWAY AND NEVER COME BACK' on me forehead with a big red rubber stamp.

Have I started to ramble yet.


What i need to know is:-------
IS a D reg rotary engined kit car exempt fron the emissions tests.

I have an old version of the SVA manual ian thats what iy seems to imply.

All you speedy wealth of knowledge is welcome (more than welcome)

my spelling is atrosheses

no all engines will have to pass some kind of emissions test
how strict the test is is dependant on the age of the engine
i think its anything after 1995 and you will need a cat and injection to get through
cheers dave

the car is a D reg which is 1986-7
,a nd the bit of the SVA manual i think may let me get away with a visual test is:

All vehicles fitted with a spark ignition engine except

a rotary piston engined vehicle having an effective date before 1 August 1987 in respect of Procedure and Standards items A and B only

Rotary engines are pretty much pants up until the nex RX-8. It has ceramac tips on the rotors... they burn out pretty quicj as standard... maybe as you have found out. The Jap's are constantly trying to develop new materials to prevent this intensified overheating of thinner walled parts on a rotary engine....
Until then - we have to wait for hard luck stories....

I owned one of the early RX 7's (V reg I think?) and had no probs at all with the rotor seals. Used to need tuning fairly frequently, but IIRC the seal probs where pretty much solved by the time I bought mine. Wish I'd never sold it!

Long time ago I had an X reg RX7 the engine was blinding! The steering was crap as it had a steering box not rack and pinion. Never had a problem , in fact very reliable. Good looking too.

Thinking of getting an RX8 . Wish it didnt have a roof.

I would get an Audi TT but I'm not gay.

[Edited on 6/8/04 by Lightning]

pre 86 only require a visible smoke test for an MOT ... I'm unsure if it is the same for an SVA.

oh and tip seal problems were sorted out in the 70's ... funny how mud sticks !

[Edited on 7/8/04 by 12a RX-7]

Funnily enough I am considering building a rotary engined autograss car for the season next year. I have seen plenty of these engines in racing sports cars (lola/chevron) and they seem to be bulletproof on the reliability front. The interesting bit is that there is a company (can't remember who) making custom crankshafts to add more rotors and chambers to the engine (to make three and four rotor engines) with power figures of 400hp naturally aspirated.

3 or 4 rotors could quite happily make 150-200% more than that N/A

you can get 350+ from a twin rotor "all motor"

try www.ausrotary.com and search for IPRA (improved production racing)

There are a few companies in the UK who could sort you out with a 3 or more rotor.

[Edited on 27/8/04 by 12a RX-7]