Chuck Most Posted October 2, 2016 Share Posted October 2, 2016 The Pacer was originally designed around a Wankel rotary engine in development by General Motors. Man, imagine how awful that would have been... a rotary engine developed by Generic Motors... Anyway, GM pulled the plug, and AMC was left holding the flaming bag of dog poo... basically, the car they'd been designing as a home for the engine, the car that became the Pacer. One day I got to thinking, why not put a rotary in one? One MPC '78 reissue, one incomplete Tamiya RX-7 roadster with it's nice intercooled turbo 13b, and a little mumbling and cursing under my breath at the work bench got me to this... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charger74 Posted October 2, 2016 Share Posted October 2, 2016 That is really nice ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward Gore Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 Nice! I dig the rusting effect as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrecker388 Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 Neat! Nobody would ever expect to see a Wankel Rotary in a Pacer. You have crazy cool creativity Chuck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 As a RX-7 owner, I'm both offended and mighty impressed. Really nice work, I think this is a hoot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 Nice touch on the engine and idea Chuck! Have to give you props on the build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxer Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 superb idea !love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemodeler Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 Another creative masterpiece, complete with weathering! Love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobthehobbyguy Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 Love it. Great conept. Beautiful job of weathing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modelbuilder Mark Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 cool project idea, nice job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jantrix Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 That's awesome Chuck. I dig it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisR Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 NEAT!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike C Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 Cool. I like it. I watched a show about the Pacer recently on YouTube. GM was going to put the Wankel in car that became the Monza too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carman1 Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 neat ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rv1963 Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 Great idea, and I never new the Pacer was designed for this engine from the start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intmd8r Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 Love the "24hrs of Lemons" vibe you got going on here....I'd totally rock that at the local autocross track! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTalmage Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 Great looking build! I was thinking the same thing... totally something you would see at a 24 hours of LeMons race! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Most Posted October 4, 2016 Author Share Posted October 4, 2016 Thanks guys. I'm glad people are picking up on the LeMons element- I was trying for that kind of "vibe". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoom Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 Nice little car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 Great build. I like the idea of the 24 hrs. and the weathering. As an aside on the rotary engine GM issue. GM was going to put that engine in the Chevrolet Monza when it came out. If you can find one that hasn't rusted away look at how high the transmission tunnel was in that car. That may be why it was so easy to put a v-8 in one later. Mazda did get it right after they got the seals to stop leaking oil into the combustion chamber. No low end torque but hang on once they got wound up. Again a great build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intmd8r Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 No low end torque but hang on once they got wound up. Again a great build. One of the best events held at the Toronto Indy street track several years back was the World Challenge Trans Am cars (dont' remember what the series was called then). The one class had a privateer with a tube chassis and fiber glass Gen2 RX7 body on it. The factory powered Jag and LSX powered C5 Corvette hadded the privateer his backside in the corners, but the RX7 held its own on the straights. Remember he track anouncer saying that this little car would rev to 12,000RPM all day long. Belived it did, as it was easility one of the LOUDEST cars there, including the Indy/Cart cars. The sound was as unique as it was loud too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 One of the best events held at the Toronto Indy street track several years back was the World Challenge Trans Am cars (dont' remember what the series was called then). The one class had a privateer with a tube chassis and fiber glass Gen2 RX7 body on it. The factory powered Jag and LSX powered C5 Corvette hadded the privateer his backside in the corners, but the RX7 held its own on the straights. Remember he track anouncer saying that this little car would rev to 12,000RPM all day long. Belived it did, as it was easility one of the LOUDEST cars there, including the Indy/Cart cars. The sound was as unique as it was loud too.I had two personal experiences with Rotary engines on the street. I used to work in new car dealerships. As such I was around many different cars. One day they sold my demo so that night I just drove the trade-in as I was going out to dinner that night. It was a Mazda Cosmos with a 5-speed. I was headed north on Hwy 101 going to San Luis Obispo with light traffic. That night I got lucky because I completely ignored the speed limit and I can tell you I was amazed. It was faster than the Supra I had been driving. A couple of years later I was working at the Mazda dealership in Seaside Ca. and one of the mechanics in the shop had a Mazda pick-up that had a Rotary from the factory. He had reworked an RX-7 engine for it and it was a terror on the highway. I have always wondered why the engine never became more main stream. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucky 130 Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 GM installed a Wankel in a Monte Carlo in 70 or 71. They drove it around N.Y. city. After three trips around the block they had burnt the tires completely to the steel belts and decided it was not worth the cost of refinement. Any way that is what Car& Driver reported back then................. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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