<VV> GM Wankels, was: GM Wankles

[airvair at earthlink.net]

Man, I'm glad SOMEbody knows how the name is spelled. (see subject line)
Thanks, Tony!

-Mark

> [Original Message]
> From: Tony Underwood <tony.underwood at cox.net>
> To: <virtualvairs at corvair.org>
> Date: 4/17/2010 12:55:02 PM
> Subject: Re: <VV> GM Wankles
>
> At 11:50 AM 4/17/2010, lonzovair at aol.com wrote:
>
> >Yup, Bill is right... I had a 1974 Popular Mechanix mag years ago 
> >that showed the Wankle in the "new" 75 Monza, which is why that car 
> >had the huge floor hump, giving it that "cockpit" feel... turns out 
> >it was going to need 2 or three catylitic convertors (and just one 
> >was quite expensive, let alone multiples) and the extra costs were 
> >rather prohibitive on a "small car"... according to a later issue of 
> >PM, I believe the same year.
> >Later,
> >Lonzo
>
> Let's not forget the other Wankel proposals.    Chevy had considered 
> a Wankel powered Corvette, and AMC was originally going to power 
> Pacers with Wankels.    A motorcycle was marketed with a Wankel 
> engine, as well as a lawnmower (not by the same manufacturer though ) ;)
>
> Wankels can make a LOT of power for the displacement if you can put 
> up with the oil consumption, rotor seals, and dirty exhaust of the 
> earlier variants.     (I understand that most issues had been 
> resolved as time passed and materials improved etc but the less than 
> stellar fuel mileage aspects remained)    I read an article many 
> years ago about a guy in CA who had a modified Wankel out of an RX7 
> in a Lotus Europa and it was a rocket on wheels.
>
> Current Wankels are able to make over 230hp from less than 1.5 ltrs 
> of displacement but mileage is about the same as what you could get 
> from a new Dodge Charger with a Hemi.   Still, they're very compact 
> and light and they rev to 9000 rpm without flying apart, if that's 
> what you wanna do.  ;)
>
> One of the locals around here was toying with the idea of a Wankel 
> out of an RX7 in the back of a Corvair with a Porsche transaxle... 
> never came to pass though.    Shame, I'd liked to have seen what it 
> would have done.
>
> tony..
>