Edit: and even if the "pistons" or "rotors" are rotating, they're still there... They serve the same function; compress air/fuel mixture for combustion, and then convert that heat energy into more rotation...
I never said anything about going away from internal combustion, I merely said I was thinking of going to something without pistons to which I would assume most car nut's brains would instantly think of rotaries.
Sad to read you are wanting to sell. You have built one of the cleanest ST185s I've seen anywhere. I'd love the engine for my SW20.
Good that you are after an RX7, they are a good base to start with plus they look really unique even though they are used as a track car a lot. I can probably count on both hands the amount of real RX7s I've seen in NZ on the road. They really stand out. Good luck with the sale and search for the new car.
Thanks mate I appreciate the comments. Yeah, I'm actually sad thinking of letting it go and I'll really miss it, but there comes a time where you realise that you are letting sentimentality get in the way of making a rational decision.
First off, it spends most of it's time just sitting there. I work away, and don't get time to drive or work on it. I don't have a proper shed to store it properly and I just feel like it's wasted and only going to deteriorate.
I LOVE the way the Celica looks and I have poured a lot of money in to it (even recently with the new bumper!), done things the right way, used expensive parts that have to be sold with the car and I feel like it's a big waste, especially as I haven't had a lot of use out of it since doing it - but the car is getting on. It needs work.
The engine needs a new head - my mood actually came about yesterday at the discovery that the car is now going through coolant, likely due to the problem with the head. The driveline is old. The panel and paint is only good from a distance, the brakes are too small and overheat, the car is heavy, it doesn't have the power I want, parts are non existent and require custom solutions, and that's just the normal stuff, not including any bits to go racing.
To be fair to it, with the Teins, Whiteline sway bar and the bushings done it does feel great, and I'm not saying I'm a pro driver who's going to extract all the speed out of a better chassis or anything but I just feel like I'm missing out on what other people are talking about. I don't even care about winning.
I look at the likes of the RX-7. First off, there's the noise, it sounds bloody brilliant. And I love the idea of RWD - the Celica has an old school 4WD system, with a Viscous centre diff, open front diff and Torsen LSD in the rear. I want to become good at driving a properly sorted RWD with LSD. I want to feel the mechanical link that comes from having the gear lever operate the gearbox and not cable linkages. I want to feel how nimble a lighter chassis is with better weight distribution. I want more power, too!
I also like the idea of having a wealth of off the shelf parts like big brake kits available without having to change several other things to make them work.
Like I say though, I'm not in a rush to sell, if it doesn't get interest I'll hold on to it. If I keep up maintaining it, even in it's current state it should be reliable enough to go on cruises and such, maybe even take it to the track.
It's just that I've gone away from thinking of this as a long term car - I have a very strong dream to do time attack (even if it's not in the immediate future) and I can't see the Celica being able to cut it, even if I wish it would. I'd be too scared of something going wrong with it.
Does this make sense to anyone else? Why do we get so attached to our cars?
FD RX-7s at least look nice, but I can't forgive that horrible engine sound.
So plenty of chances for a cruise. Except for October. Crazy month. Bathurst, plus driving down to Sydney the following weekend for World Time Attack and I'm also looking after the kids for a weekend before that while Maddi goes away for a weekend so yeah. Full on.
