rotary engine -- what's the name ??

You have a misconception that's quite common. The rotor is NOT geared to the shaft. It orbits around the stationary gear.

Here's an animation that shows it better than the Wiki article.

And if you don't have a half inch wrench handy, a 13mm open end will do most of the time.

Robert

Interesting.

You mean the meter is not quite the desired fraction of the polar circumference, I suppose? :-)

Brian W

Ah, good one John!

Count the teeth on item 5 and 7, and work out what happens if you vary the ratio. If that is what you are suggesting.

Brian W

Here's another link with photos of actual parts.

At sixty five years old, I am,,,, I am used to American measurments.Stuff I learned in my school days.It is easy for me to envision cubic inches, other American kinds of mesurments.I reckon because it has been ingrained in my mind since forever.I am not interested in the way(s) foreigners measure things.Just does not compute with me.This is America. cuhulin

I see now--it's really a reciprocating engine with a "differently abled" piston.

I've been toying with the idea of building a LoCost with a Mazda engine. Might do it once I get my current project list cleared, just to have an excuse to take one apart.

A rotory powered LoCost would be a very nice drive and a fun project.

Blame it on planetary cellulitis.

Not familiar with this name. It's not a pet name for a Lotus 7 kit is it?

Brian W

It's the car described in Ron Champion's book "Build Your Own Sports Car for as Little as UKP250". While it has a lot of similarities with a Seven and can easily be mistaken for one, it's not technically a Seven.

I still enjoy reading a book about building a race car from mini bits _ I think he called it the Terrapin - he used brazed square section tube. He worked out steering geometry etc. from articulated cardboard models. Must get Ron Champion's work too. Ouch! Amazon wanted $150 for a copy - too high.

Thanks

Brian Whatcott Altus OK

Try Amazon UK. They're listing it for about 13 UKP and 7 UKP shipping to the US.

Terrapin, sounds familar.I guess I had read an article years ago in whichever auto magazine. cuhulin

I scratched round a little and settled for an eBay.uk bid I saw Haynes is offering a new version with the same title, different author - similar illustration. I thought I would stick with your recommendation.

Brian W

Actually there are three that kind of form a set. Ron Champion's is the original. Chris Gibbs' is designed around a single-donor concept using a Ford Sierra--he also cleaned up the drawings some. Keith Tanner's is also designed around a single-vehicle donor but using a Miata. Ron's is more generic--he goes more into how to piece things together from what you find at the junk yard.

Keith Tanner also has an excellent build diary online at

Making a home-brew sports car out of a Miata? There's a concept to juggle with!

Thanks

Brian W

Don't forget about the experimental Torroidal ''Rotary'' engines.I don't think they ever went much of anywhere though. cuhulin