Hey Fran!!!

[Paul Thompson 'Hooligan']

I'm pretty aggrivated about that because I've been working my whole life for this and now when I get it, I'm going to get screwed in taxes. No good...

Brian, don't get too upset, your 'whole life' as you put it is a fraction of the time many people work, during which they can only dream of achieving the sort of results/returns you are hoping to receive shortly.

Nice result, regardless of taxes.....enjoy...

 

[Mike Christian]

"getting screwed in taxes" is part of the price you pay for getting the opportunity to succeed financially.

you just need to make even more $$ to offset the tax "loss"...

 

[Jack]

Agree with both of the above! Live the dream and it will come to you...

 

[Rick S.]

be thankful that you have the ability to pay these kinds of taxes! Be Proud!

I'll be looking for my tax break....

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

Well...Brian...come on....whens the big day??

 

[Brian Hamilton]

Still waiting for some final paperwork to get done, then once that is in play it usually takes a few weeks for it to close. The buyer is going through a divorce, so that's slowing things down a touch. I'd say 60 days or so. At least that's what we put on the Earnest Money Contract. I should know a little more later today. I'll keep you guys up to date.

I spoke to Pineapple Racing yesterday, great guy over there. He's hilarious. Anyway, he was very excited about working with me and said he'd put a couple of quotes together for me on a few different configurations. He said he has gotten the peripheral port rotarty engine down so that it can be run as a daily driver. As I said before, rotaries are completely new for me, but the fact that it's so light and makes so much power for the small displacement sounds like a winning combination to me. I'll post the quotes once I get them.

I'll keep you guys up to speed. I promise!!

Laters,

Brian

 

[Dutton]

Brian,

First, congrats on your recent success in the real estate business. It's nice to see good things happen to other members of the forum.

The engine choice for your SLC sounds like a winner... light and powerful.

Years ago while working turns at SCCA events out here in the Pacific Northwest, there were some remarkable rotary-powered cars, running in the GT2 I think. Brutally fast cars (and I do mean fast). Given that we're talking rotary power, what I still remember is how controlled the exhaust note was... they weren't agonizingly loud as were so many of the 'typical' Mazda's of the day.

Might be worth looking into.

Best,

T.

 

[Brian Hamilton]

Brian,

First, congrats on your recent success in the real estate business. It's nice to see good things happen to other members of the forum.

The engine choice for your SLC sounds like a winner... light and powerful.

Years ago while working turns at SCCA events out here in the Pacific Northwest, there were some remarkable rotary-powered cars, running in the GT2 I think. Brutally fast cars (and I do mean fast). Given that we're talking rotary power, what I still remember is how controlled the exhaust note was... they weren't agonizingly loud as were so many of the 'typical' Mazda's of the day.

Might be worth looking into.

Best,

T.

Thanks so much! I'm trying to figure out the exhaust in my head right now. What kind of muffler to use, how to set it up for easy removal of the cat for racing, if headers can be fabricated to be used if & when I go turbo, etc. I think I'm going to have to take a trip up to visit Fran again when this is all said & done to go over everything. I'll need him to fab the exhaust, that's for sure. I hope that new guy who's been posting pictures of his headers does it. His work looks amazing!!

No updates today really.

 

[Jack]

Brian
Please look into the exhaust temperatures generated by the modified rotary engines.
It is something you have to consider and be painfully aware of. They are quite high as I recall. High enough to burn bodywork on rotary powered GTP cars.

Jack..

 

[Brian Hamilton]

Brian
Please look into the exhaust temperatures generated by the modified rotary engines.
It is something you have to consider and be painfully aware of. They are quite high as I recall. High enough to burn bodywork on rotary powered GTP cars.

Jack..

Ah yes, thank you very much sir! Definitely something we will have to watch out for. I'm thinking we're going to have to build some sort of heat shielding for it. Or I'm going to have to have the whole thing ceramic coated.

 

[Tim Kay]

Regarding exhaust heat. My experience with 13b turbo rotary, 480 hp (amazing when considering it the equivalent to a 1300 cc combustion motor!) is that true the exhaust temp may be high but when combined with a turbo it won't be any more than any other turboed motor. If the GTP cars were burning paint it was due to the turbo heat. We all know how turbos glow red hot under boost in all conditions.

I have been operating my off-road car under Wankel power for many years and it still awes me with it's power.

 

[Jack]

Yes Tim, it was from the turbo no doubt. I stand corrected.

 

[Brian Hamilton]

Just went up to the office at 8:00pm - 9:00pm to watch the signed contract faxed to me. Tomorrow I scan it in my computer to email a copy to my seller along with the one he has in his hands that I faxed to him. Then spent time on the phone with both buyer & seller to reassure them everything is golden. We are well on the way now my friends. It won't be long now.

Still trying not to get too excited. But my God it's hard...

As for the turbo...

I'm really still on the edge about aspiration of this thing. It all depends on how crazy I want to go. What do you guys think. Honestly. 650hp NA or 950+hp turbo?

I want honest opinions.

 

[Jac Mac]

650 NA, that way you might live long enough to sign another contract!

In the real world excitement & hardness come & go- not always together!

 

[Dutton]

...650hp NA or 950+hp turbo? I want honest opinions.

Actually, Bruno, 650hp and 2000 lbs should move along nicely. On the other hand, is there ever such a thing as too much horsepower? I think not.

Your position: a tasty sales commission and an indulgent wife.
Solution: two engines (and a good conversation with a life insurance agent).

Your life so sucks right now... :thumbsup:

 

[John Milmont]

As for the turbo...

I'm really still on the edge about aspiration of this thing. It all depends on how crazy I want to go. What do you guys think. Honestly. 650hp NA or 950+hp turbo?

I want honest opinions.

Heres my thoughts on the rotary (if they are worth anything!)
I have never heard of a truly streetable peripheral port (PP) engine. Usually, the overlap is so huge and the ports so big, that they don't idle much below 2000rpm, and there is zero power low in the rpm band. I know people have experimented with making a 'streetable' PP, I don’t know if there was much success. There is a reason why all the street engines have side port intakes... I think if you get a PP engine, you can expect it to be very *exciting* to drive on the street.

So maybe a more conservative porting job with a quick spooling, smaller turbo would be a more streetable route. I think those huge HP number that look really awesome on paper are going to turn out not so great on the street. With 500hp, the SL-C is going to have a better power/weight ratio then any production car EVER MADE. If you start going with more power than that, your probably going to end up like a buddy of mine who has a corvette called the 'Z07' which won the One lap of America a few years ago. That car is completely built, but has so much power he breaks things left and right.

You should probably ask for a dyno print out of the engine to see if this is something you want to wrestle with on the street. Let’s say you get a 900hp+ engine, but it makes 500hp over the span of 1000rpm.... That could be very interesting in traffic....


I wonder how much fuel the SL-C can hold... my old n/a rx-7 with 160hp got somthing like 17mpg around town. I cant imagine how much fuel it would take to keep a 600hp+ 4 rotor going for very long.
Still, I think the rotary is an awesome choice for this car and I would do it if finances permitted.

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

I built a supercharged 13b engine using an "Atkins Rotary" supercharger...it allowed larger ports without sacrifycing all the low end...and the idle was liveable....although it still "hunted" a little...

 

[Brian Hamilton]

Maybe I sould go with a Rotrex Supercharger then? But the heat energy generated by the rotary engine is perfect for turbocharging. Eh... I think I'm just going to bite the bullet and go NA. I hate saying that because I'm "Mister More Power" but I think that'll be the most simple approach and if parts break, the simplicity makes repairs easy. Plus I think that 650hp NA would be great on the track and sound insane. I do know John Camden pretty well as he worked with the shop I used to work for. I'm pretty sure I can get a manifold made up to plop a Whipple on there if need be to strengthen the bottom end performance. Can you imagine the supercharger whine along with the sound of a 4 rotor? Oh God I need to change pants now...

Wife & I had a discussion last night. She's still trying to wrap her head around the expense of this car. I can't put it into terms with anything she does, all the stuff she does is cheap. She's scared that I'm going to get involved in this sport so much that I'm going to toss aside the family. She's also afraid that I'm going to wreck and get hurt or die and then leave them alone. Neither of those options are acceptable for me, but it's hard for her to accept due to the previous relationships she's been in.

Then after the whole thing, she said, "Ok, get the car, I just want to have my husband."
I said, "I'm not going anywhere honey, you should know by now that I'm not that kind of person and when I do race the car, it's going to be in a controlled environment, not on the street. I'm doing this to have fun, not kill myself."

I think she's scared. But she's coming around. Once I get the car all will be well. I'll take her around a few times at a normal speed and then show her how safe it is at speed and then kick her out and go haul ass. She's never seen me really "drive" a car. I'm pretty good from what I've been told, but I'm not Mario or anything. I think I'll be OK. Plus we'll have to make a trip up to RCR and Fran will have to stringently point out the safety features of this awesome automobile. :thumbsup:

 

[Jack]

Brian,
I faced the same issues you describe. Took her to visit Fran's shop, let her sit in the car, etc. Then made a deal with her. I remodeled the kitchen, upgraded the flooring, etc. Now, during my (soon to be) build she will mow the grass and complete all the usual "honeydo's" with the garage "off-limits". She attended the Rennsport reunion in Daytona last year as a prelude to the above. Met folks such as Brian Redman, Derek Bell, David Hobbs, etc. and had some pretty good conversations about street driving and racing with them. She actually fell in love with the 917's.
Man, am I ever lucky!

 

[Brian Hamilton]

Brian,
I faced the same issues you describe. Took her to visit Fran's shop, let her sit in the car, etc. Then made a deal with her. I remodeled the kitchen, upgraded the flooring, etc. Now, during my (soon to be) build she will mow the grass and complete all the usual "honeydo's" with the garage "off-limits". She attended the Rennsport reunion in Daytona last year as a prelude to the above. Met folks such as Brian Redman, Derek Bell, David Hobbs, etc. and had some pretty good conversations about street driving and racing with them. She actually fell in love with the 917's.
Man, am I ever lucky!

Hhhmmm... And I thought that buying her a $300k house and paying off all her debts would do it. Guess not. LOL I do need to take her and the daughter out to some real racing. First I think I'll break them in on some Top Fuel Drag Racing, then go hang out with my Uncle Roland at some of the historic races he frequents. That will give them some insight into it. Plus of course meeting Mr. Hall will seal the deal. Hehe.

This car will see some street time, but mainly just to cruise around and park it out in front of the office. I'm going to put my company logos on it and attract some attention. That way I can write most of it off as advertising. Hehe.