That really nice 3 rotor Europa...

[katanaman]

Hi!  The ECU in the MGB's aftermarket fuel injection system finally reset and now the car is running again.  Now I can get back to work on the Europa.  Now -- for all of those pestering me about that great car in Japan...
  No!!!  Not to say that I wouldn't love to have that car, or make mine just like it.  That's not it.  Just a simple matter of $$$$$$$$$$$.  In fact I was surprised that there was a comment that someone didn't like the Porsche headlight treatment on it.  I like that a lot.  It's gotta be a lot more aerodynamic with that mod, and I think it looks great.  And I am afraid that the wheel treatment on that car is going to become the norm for all of us soon -- I heard that 14" tires were getting scarce (from the MG Experience website) well before I discovered all of the trouble I had in California getting the new Michelins in 13" for my Europa.
  Although all of that great gold colored insulating material looks great and exotic, it just underscores the concern about the gobs of heat the Mazda rotary is apt to generate.  Again, that is what concerns me too.  But mostly, I will try to deal with it in the hopes that a twin rotary might run a little cooler than a triple.  Makes me wonder if the rear suspension was modified to accomodate the extra rotor's length.  I tried to notice if the car was lengthened but couldn't tell.  Can you?  I wasn't too crazy about the rear valance, but again, know that a lot of hot air has to vacate there.  Probably well thought out.  I just like the stock rear treatment, myself...  Like I say, I will modify the dash only slightly, to use non-rocker headlight switching and therefore match with the wiper switch.  Then accomodate that rotary if I have to.  Otherwise, I want the car to look stock.  One question for all of you....   Why do all of these aftermarket wheels on Europas lack the hub caps to hide the bearing caps?  Is there something out there to do this, or are they all sold by now?         -Dan

[cal44]

Dan,

concerning cooling.  I would install electric fan in the engine bay/trunk area  to move air around the engine if heat becomes a concern.  I don't know if it would work but at least it is something.  Of course wrap the exhaust or have the system heat coated.
I just wrap the new stainless system in the Europa.  That thin stainless transfers heat out......and not in a good way.

On to the caps.  Minilite, Panasports, Roto all have caps.  Unless I am full o' beans.  Now, if the owner chooses not to use them, that indeed is a different story.  Perhaps they want to give the car a more racy look?
I wish American would start making Libre

Mike

[EuropaTC]

Wheel centers - yep, you can usually find something to fill the hole.   Whether or not it has a Lotus logo on is another thing though, but you can buy plain center caps in several sizes to suit most wheels you could buy I guess. You might need a bit of modification to get them to stay in place on an older wheel design, but nothing too drastic.  On my 1970s Cosmic wheels I just made up some blanks from sheet aluminium, stuck on a resin Lotus badge and held them in place using the original Cosmic wire spring arrangement.  (like in the attached picture). 

The 15" wheels that I will eventually get around to fitting came with domed MG centre caps because they were for an MGF.   So far I've removed the MG logo, used body filler to get a smooth finish and they'll get the same resin badge treatment after I've resprayed the wheels & caps to match.

Cooling. Well over on this side of the pond we don't have too much in the way of hot weather so I've never found a problem with engine bay temperatures !

But because you've got a different engine, I think it's just a case of making sure the transfer pipes & radiators are clear, watch out for air-locks in the heater pipework and then just seeing how it goes. There's a lot of space around the engine and you could always line the rear deck lid with aluminium foil and pull out the mesh grilles if it looks like getting too hot.

As for as the rotary itself, I wouldn't get too hung up about it, after all the engine worked well enough for Mazda to sell thousands of them to people who would just get in and drive.   So providing you have a similar heat transfer area, the same or greater volume of coolant, then I think you should get along fine. If the water pump isn't up to the job of pushing the water along the extended pipework then maybe an electric one in the circuit would speed up circulation, but I'd see how it runs first.

Brian

ps - good to hear that other British car you've got is up and running. Just think, if us Brits didn't send over all these unreliable cars to you guys, you'd have nothing to play with in the garage