[Jeff20B]

I don't know about a normal bug. This is a baja and certainly doesn't handle as well as a street bug due to being slightly lifted and all that. Also with the added weight in the back, it tends to shift the weight bias rearward a bit. Zenjoe says the rotary weighs 40 pounds more than an air cooled engine. That's all I have to go on, and I know it's probably not very accurate for my setup. I went to great lengths to keep the weight low by using the lightest side plates that were compatible (Y castings), a 2nd gen aluminum waterpump, a 1st gen aluminum water pump impeller (they're both aluminum and probably wouldn't be strong enough with a clutch fan, but I'm using electric so I'm good). The radiator is somewhat heavy(duty) out of an RX-4, but it fits the best and I didn't have to extend the push bar rearward as would have been necessary with a 1st gen radiator and bigger fans. I only added a 3" section to the upper bars to level the push bar because the PO tweaked it upward trying to gain an extra half inch of ground clearance or something. I had to level the bar because it was running into the oil pan lip. I also kept the exhaust short and sweet.

The only thing I didn't bother lightening is the intake manifold. It's just a stock aluminum one with a stock 13B Hitachi carb, so not much weight can be saved by trimming the manifold. I already trimmed another manifold of the same model for my MG Midget 13B project, which will be featured in this section next (you can't wait!). The weight difference is very small compared to the very big effort it took to trim it to fit the small engine bay of the MG. It's not worth it to trim the one for the baja.

Things like ignition coils will probably be mounted on the firewall to keep as much weight as possible away from the extreme edge of the car. I'll also eventually like to get away from the stupid fuel cell inside the car and get a high volume stock style gas tank for the front of the car to help even out the weight balance a bit.