Rodney Ellingsen comes from a loyal family of rotary lovers - you wouldn't be able to count the number of rotor motors that have passed through the Ellingsen garage! So it comes as no surprise that Rodney had to go whole-hog on at least one car - just to show the rest of the crew how it should be done!
When Rodney bought a fibreglass bogged '71 RX2 shell about five years ago, he got himself tangled into a truly monumental project. But he'd always loved the RX2 body - it's flowing lines and those "unique" taillights really did it for him. Work kicked off trying to make the shell resemble something like a car. Using three donor RX2s, Rodney and his Dad (who's a panel beater) fitted the best parts available and then shaped and sanded everything to perfection. Every curve that you see is standard. At the time of body completion, Rodney worked at MazFix - where they were still involved in spray painting. Needless to say, Rodney took his car in to work one day for a serving of "Blue-ish Green", which is based on a Mazda 121 shade (though not, necessarily, a 121 Shades!). The elected rolling stock is in-keeping with the RX2-times - 15 inch Performance Globes clad in 205 and 195/50 Federals.
The car's next trailer ride took it to Evans Trim Shop. Interestingly, Rodney decided upon a retro trim theme - sure it uses modern colours and material, but the pattern is based on the original RX2's. Neat, eh? The seats, by the way, are standard items that have been reframed and cushioned to deliver improved body support. Musical tunes are channelled through a Pioneer CD/tuner, Alpine 6x9s and concealed VDO front 2-ways. The hard-to-miss blue and black steering wheel is an unknown aftermarket brand, while the Autometer ProComp tacho, boost gauge and shift light are certainly also not Mazda OE fitment. A strong competition look is created by mounting Autometer water temp and oil pressure gauges on the outside of the windscreen, street rod style.
With a spectacularly elegant body to drive around in, it was rotor time. Rodney's first move was to go for a bridgeport'd 13B fed by a down-draft Weber carburettor. A Racing Beat based exhaust system let the lil' barrel breathe, with twin 2¼-inch primaries and twin resonators leading into a 2½ over the diff and a TripleFlow muffler at the rear. As Rodney says, it gave one helluva bass note! However, as driveability issues became too tiresome to handle, the Weber then made way for a MicroTech fuel-only computer teamed with Injection Perfection throttle bodies. Mmm, this was a nice upgrade - giving 14.3 second quarter mile performance - but, still, Rodney wasn't completely happy with the car's power, driveability and fuel economy.
Scrap the Bridgeport. Rodney flogged off the (perfectly healthy) ported motor and laid his hands on a Series 4 RX713B turb. "I saw the power that you can get out of these things and it was a bonus that it wouldn't lump and grump." The S4 unit was also Rodney's preference, as it has a lower static CR than the S5 (allowing for more boost pressure). However, being an import motor Rodney wasn't 100% sure of its condition. It was soon discovered that it was full of sludge and water - "it looked like it had been used as an anchor," he tells. (Everyone hold your tongues!) With no other alternative, the motor was thoroughly cleaned out, inspected and prepared for torture duties. Its internals were left stock.
Straight away, Rodney had the urge to go for a sizeable turbo and intercooler. A custom tubular exhaust manifold takes 13B gasses to the turbine side of a mighty big Dynamic Turbos T04E. A 45mm Aussie-made external wastegate then dumps superfluous turbine gasses. Up to 14.6 psi boost pressure is cooled by a front-mount air-to-air core. "It isn't huge, but does the job," confesses Rodney. The 2½-inch intercooler pipe into the standard throttle body is also equipped with a TurboSmart Type 2 blow-off valve. Notice that Rodney's yet to find an air filter that's small enough to fit in front of the compressor so - for now - it runs open-ended.
As you might imagine, the exhaust system has also since been revised to cope with the gas flows of the much stronger motor. There's now a MufflerMart 3½-inch mandrel pipe off the turbo with a single stainless steel packed rear muffler. And it's a big un! The exhaust also gets pretty hot, so a made-to-order heat barrier was made for the turbine and the front section of the system was lagged. Rodney's pretty confident that he doesn't have to worry about cooking the paint on the bonnet anymore! Also trying keeping a lid on temperature is a custom alloy radiator - which is soon to be upsized.
The management side of things is also vastly improved over the fuel-only and stand-alone ignition combo. Rodney has recently gone for a MicroTech MTX8 system (running off a MAP sensor load input). It's used to fire a set of big 12A turbo injectors (these are individually larger than 13B turbo items) fed by dual Carter lift pumps, a surge tank and a Bosch "big horsepower" main pump. The pumps are normally hidden out of view thanks to a trimmed boot panel. Fuel pressure is maintained by Mr Malpassi.
Drive is put through a lightened flywheel, a heavy-duty pressure plate, an aftermarket full-faced clutch, a Series 5 RX7 turbo 5-speed and a Brisbane Driveshaft thick-wall tailshaft. So far - since the fitment of the turborotor - it's held up perfectly. Out back is a Toyota diff. Namely, it's a 4.3:1 ratio Hilux LSD (which only required the ends of the axles to get "trimmed down"). Power to the wheels is healthy. There's normally an easy 356hp at the back wheels, but take out the driver's side headlight and surround (which blocks airflow into the compressor) and you're looking down the barrel at 380 horses. And that's on the same 14.6 psi boost!
Rodney isn't a total suicidal maniac, so he's wisely elected to protect his buns with some up-spec'd brakes. Up front you can find Holden VL Turbo calipers and modified aftermarket ventilated discs, while the rear possesses the dirty big drum brakes that came on the end of the Hilux axles. Controlling the movement between the sprung and unsprung mass are lowered King springs and KYB gassies all round plus Nolathane bushes. Swaybars are stock.
Two and a half years after Rodney embarked on his project, he's more than happy with the way things have been humming along. At the '97 Queensland Jamboree the car took out Top Sedan, and at the '98 Jamboree it was awarded the Encouragement award. It also took out 3
rd in the Grand Championship. Not long after hooking onto the show scene, however, Rodney got wind of all the necessary polishing and general fussing that's needed; he'll now leave those antics to people with a little more time on their hands. Instead - we're pleased to say - Rodney tries to drive the car whenever he can. But our parting note is to mention that Rodney's always looking to sell the car "at the right price". Understandably, he's not sure exactly how much that is though...
Please put any offers our way!
Contacts:
Paramount Performance
+61 7 4659 9711
Thanks to everyone that helped out with the build - especially Rodney's parents.
|