Author Topic: Relocation and New Decisions  (Read 877 times)

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Offline katanaman

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Relocation and New Decisions
« on: Thursday,September 27, 2012, 01:10:28 PM »
  Hi!  At long last, the Europa is home in Ocean Park.  Got lots of comments from truck drivers in the rest stops we stayed at that noticed the little LBC on our trailer.  Odd -- the combo gained approximately 1600 pounds and a car with a drag coefficient of .29 and at times only incurred a .4 mpg loss.  It was quieter with the car on it, for sure.  Nice car to tow, first car I've towed...
  Now -- the decisions...  I do know that the car is "bastardized".  I can restore it, and would like to.  But, as my neighbors come over and peer inside, I am getting new ideas.  I have heard that new, locally available U.S.parts such as rocker switches, gauges and fuse boxes would be both cheaper and more easily attainable.  And, my MGB is mostly stock -- it has Moss' Cobalt fuel injection, but otherwise has all correct parts and looks restored.  So, I have that.  Weighing in at about 3 miles distant is a Mazda enthusiast who is telling me that a correctly restored Mazda 12A would last easily over 300,000 miles with no attention.  The modification his mentors prefer would also bring in an additional 30 horsepower.  So, twink power on a shoestring budget. www.pineappleracing.com is the website, I believe...  I do need several stock parts to complete the car.  I still need someone with a twin arm wiper set-up to go out and measure the arm length and the blade length for me, for instance.  For auto-jumble hunting.  But, for the real decisions...
  What do you think?  Restore it -- I see in the internet that there's plenty of people pulling the Renault engines and looking for others, so I think that I can acquire one sooner or later.  That's really what I want to do.  Then use my newly acquired Moss bullet connector kit and straighten out the wiring issues, restoring that poor wiring loom.  Then restore that worn out interior. 
  Or ...                                                                                                                Thanks, Dan

Offline Grumblebuns

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Re: Relocation and New Decisions
« Reply #1 on: Friday,September 28, 2012, 09:51:41 PM »
Glad to hear that the Europa made it safely home. Without seeing the car in person, it's impossible to help you make a decision on how to proceed from here but here's what I would do. Assuming that the rotary conversion was carried out competently, I would proceed and try to get the car running as is. If the conversion is a hack job, don't know, it might be simpler to return it back to stock than try to fix someone else's mess.  One final option is to sell it now and look for a better example.
 
Just to give some perspective on an engine conversion project, I'm six years into my Cosworth engine conversion for my TCS. I estimate I have another two more to go before I can call it complete. Keep us updated on your progress.

Wiper arm length is approx 14-3/4" from tip to hinge. and blade is 16", this is for a TCS I believe the S2 is the same. Also on the S2, the drivers side arm has a slight downward bend at the tip.

Joji 


Offline EuropaTC

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Re: Relocation and New Decisions
« Reply #2 on: Friday,September 28, 2012, 10:29:12 PM »
Hi Dan,

I'm glad to see you've got both yourself & the car back home, it's got to be a better prospect for working when you're in your own surroundings. 

So, don't know which path to take ?  OK, here's yet another 2c's worth of opinion to add to the mix. It seems to me the biggest decision is whether to continue with the Mazda or replace it with another unit, which could be an original Renault, a Lotus TC (expense ?) or any one of the other conversions around these days.  Lots to choose from, some well worn paths and some "adventurous" ones to test your engineering skills.

So put it all on hold for now, leave the engine (and associated wiring modifications) for a month or two.   It doesn't matter what engine you end up with you'll still need brakes, suspension and a nice interior to sit in and whatever you do in those areas will be money and time well spent. If nothing else it will give you progress that you can see and that's always important in any restoration.

And as you're scraping your knuckles on the suspension you can be mulling over the pros and cons for the existing engine, maybe get someone round who knows the ins and outs of them and can advise you if it's a good one or not.

Brian

Offline 3929R

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Re: Relocation and New Decisions
« Reply #3 on: Monday,October 01, 2012, 07:25:36 AM »
From what you've said of the car, if it were me I'd probably keep the Wankel.  If I wanted a more proper Europa, I'd probably look for another and once I found another I'd sell this one with the Wankel in it.  BUT I don't have your car in my garage so I don't know what I'd do....
Mark
Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

Offline Bainford

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Re: Relocation and New Decisions
« Reply #4 on: Monday,October 01, 2012, 08:11:54 AM »
From what you've said of the car, if it were me I'd probably keep the Wankel.  If I wanted a more proper Europa, I'd probably look for another and once I found another I'd sell this one with the Wankel in it.  BUT I don't have your car in my garage so I don't know what I'd do....
Ditto
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