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[Datsun 1200 encyclopedia]

Rotary engine

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Categories: General Information | Nissan Engines | Historical

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31 May 1974: Nissan Junking Rotary Engines<br>[http://datsun1200.com/modules/myalbum/photo.php?lid=25292 http://datsun1200.com/uploads/thumbs/25292.jpg]<blockquote>Datsun "reportedly has decided to give up its plan to start production of a rotary-engine vehicle scheduled for this autumn...Nissan planned on building 3,000 rotary-powered cars a month, but is now putting off its plans because of fuel economy problems."</blockquote>[http://datsun1200.com/modules/myalbum/photo.php?lid=25293 http://datsun1200.com/uploads/thumbs/25293.jpg] 31 May 1974: Nissan Junking Rotary Engines<br>[http://datsun1200.com/modules/myalbum/photo.php?lid=25292 http://datsun1200.com/uploads/thumbs/25292.jpg]<blockquote>Datsun "reportedly has decided to give up its plan to start production of a rotary-engine vehicle scheduled for this autumn...Nissan planned on building 3,000 rotary-powered cars a month, but is now putting off its plans because of fuel economy problems."</blockquote>[http://datsun1200.com/modules/myalbum/photo.php?lid=25293 http://datsun1200.com/uploads/thumbs/25293.jpg]
 +
 +<blockquote>Nissan's apparent withdrawal from rotary production leaves Toyo Kogyo, the Japanese firm which makes the rotary powered Mazda, and General Motors as the only major auto companies remaining in the rotary engine field.</blockquote>
= Engine Swaps = = Engine Swaps =

Revision as of 21:37, 10 September 2013

Nissan Rotary Power! Whether a factory Nissan rotary engine, or a Mazda rota stuff into a Datsun 1200, excitement is sure to result.

Contents

Nissan's Own Rotary Engine

The modern rotary engine was developed by NSU-Wankel and they starte selling licenses to other companies. Nissan was the second automaker to license the Wankel engine, after Mazda. Nissan president Kawamata signed the agreement at the NSU head office in Neckarsulm, West Germany in October 1970. GM signed a similar agreement a month later.

At the Tokyo Motor Show, October 19, 1972, Nissan exhibited a Datsun Sunny PB110 with a prototype Nissan twin-rotor wankel-type rotary engine.

4949.jpg

This was during the height of the rotary-power frenzy. Wankel had the patent, and every one licensed it, from GM to Mercedes to Mazda, and also Nissan. Nissan's interest started in mid-1965

conceptnissan.com

conceptnissan.com

Datsun Sunny Rotary Prototype

Here is a picture of the prototype being tested in a Datsun Sunny 1200 (B110) coupe:

1972 October: 19th Tokyo Motor Show, Sunny Excellents were fitted with the Nissan rotary.

Datsun S10 Sylvia LS Type X

Reportedly Nissan even sold some rotary-powered Sylvias (S10/S11 models) to the public circa 1978, however, this is not confirmed. reference

b0032035_22424989.jpg

High Performance—120 Horsepower

The rotary efforts definitely did *not* stop because the rotary was a poor design. Au contraire, it was amazing!

quote:
Using peripheral ports, two plugs per rotor and a four-barrel carby its 120hp raised the top speed of the Datsun 1200 to 175km/h or 40 more than the original 1200cc four-cylinder. Nissan was setting up production facilities with the (announced) intention of producing 3000 rotary vehicles per month with either five-speed manual or three-speed auto.

8051.jpg
Driving report: 112mph and still pulling hard ... Read the entire report.

1973 Motor Show

Fuel Economy

Note that Rotaries are not more fuel-wasting than other engines of the same power output. But a 120hp rotary does use more fuel than a 69hp A12 engine, as would seem obvious once we think about it. Initially, there were problems with fuel economy, but that problem was solved by 1976.

info

Under the bonnet of this Excellent is the rotary engine used to advance the development of NISSAN's new rotary, which is based on technology from the NSU Wankel corporation. The swept volume displacement is 2 rotors of 500cc each.

End Of the Rotary Era

The wankel design has the benefit of small size, low weight, high power for the size, and smoothness of operation (they routinely rev to 9k rpm). So why did everyone except Mazda and some non-automakers stop making wankel-style rotaries? It appears to be because of a combination of factors (these are my opinions, not necessarily hard facts):

  • Perceived value: at first it seemed that the public would demand these engines, so every automaker figured they better get busy and offer one. The president of Mazda commented something like the following: after Mazda and NSU put these high-power engines into hundreds of thousands of subcompact cars, the economy-minded public—which expected smallcar=econobox—eventually realized that the subcompact car they bought had a high-power engine, not the economy engine they expected. Just like sticking a V8 into a small car, it was enough to give the product a bad rep. Then when the 73-74 oil crisis hit, the manufacturers realized the public was no longer demanding 'rotary' engines. Unfair? Yes, but sometimes the bottom drops out of a market. Unless people start demanding rotaries again, which seems improbably given past history, we'll never seem mass-market rotaries again.
  • During the economic recession caused by the oil crises, manufacturers tightened their belts. One way to save money was to stop developing new engines and new car models associated with it. During such times of financial crisis, most companies cut back in their R & D.
  • The piston engine worked fine (though still not as smooth as a rotary). The wankel only really offers two advantages: low weight and smoothness. For nearly all applications, bean counters can choose a piston engine instead.
  • All the auto makers were in fear of the Piston-Engine emissions control problem. Or should I say they were in fear of too-quickly acquiesing to government regulation and demands. Publicly they stated that they feared that developing slightly different controls for rotary engines would be more than they could handle. This didn't really turn out to be a problem, as the Wankel patent-pool shared the technology which solved the problem in 1972. It seems that US automakers were hesitant to admit to government regulatory agencies that any progess could be made in meeting the anti-pollution demands for piston engines. Yet Mazda met those requirements three years ahead of time, and published the fact to the world. Even so that didn't stop other manufacturers from insisting there were unsolvable problems (even though all wankel licensees had access to the solutions).

Since then, Datsun 1200 enthusiasts in every land have fitted the ubiquitous Mazda rotary engine into the lightweight 1200 body. Result: One fast little car.

1973 New York Auto Show
th_NissanRotary.jpg th_NissanRotary133226034.jpg

Oakland Tribune, 16 Nov 1972, page 29
th_120019721116rotary31623212.jpg

The Lowell Sun, 27 May 1973, page D8

25290.jpg
IN A COUPLE of Tokyo auto shows two new rotary engines were introduced -- one for a car and another for a motorcycle. Both should be on the market soon.

Nissan Motor Co. which makes Datsun will be the next auto maker to put the rotary into production. Although there are some differences the Datsun rotary is essentially the same as the Mazda using two rotor, a four-barrel carburetor, twin ignition and water colling. Where the two engines differ is that the Datsun has a peripheral port type while the Mazda is a side-intake port type. Each of the Datsun rotor housing is 500cc, slightly smaller than Mazda but Nissan is planning on surpassing Mazda's 130 horsepower rating (before the smog goodies go on).

The engine is being supplied by Toyo Kogyo (Mazda) for the Datsun.

Mazda has helped the problem of low-end torque by taking advantage of the car's wide range of r.p.m. The automatic is set to shift at 6,000 r.p.m. when the gas pedal is on the floor.

BUT DATSUN HAS a head start on Mazda. The company already has a well-organized distribution system in the United States with dealerships well-established. Mazda on the other hand had to start from scratch. see more

But only a year later, the Rotary was not seen at the Show:
25291.jpg

December 6, 1973

Where was Nissan's rotary powered Sunny featured in last year's show as a production car potential? Rumor is Nissan will put an all new rotary powered coupe on sale by the first of the year and didn't want to blow their impact by revealing it at the show.


31 May 1974: Nissan Junking Rotary Engines
25292.jpg
Datsun "reportedly has decided to give up its plan to start production of a rotary-engine vehicle scheduled for this autumn...Nissan planned on building 3,000 rotary-powered cars a month, but is now putting off its plans because of fuel economy problems."
25293.jpg
Nissan's apparent withdrawal from rotary production leaves Toyo Kogyo, the Japanese firm which makes the rotary powered Mazda, and General Motors as the only major auto companies remaining in the rotary engine field.

Engine Swaps

 See main article: Mazda rotary engine swap

Rotary-Powered Datsun 1200 photo index

Here are some pictures from our club photo album. Click a pic for larger photos, details, and discussion:


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rota 1200

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project 1200

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1200 rotary prototype.

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rotor ute

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my 2nd datsun

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my !st 1200

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supercharged 13b 1000

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oh yes ....

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datsun 1200 from guate

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black drag 1

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black drag 2

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13b 2dr blue drag 1a

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13b 2dr blue drag 1b

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13b 2dr blue drag 1c

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13b 2dr blue drag 1d

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13b 2dr blue drag 1e

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1972 1200 datsun w/rot

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1972 1200 datsun w/rot

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13b1000ute bay

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100013b interior tunne

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project 2 13bturbo 100

1820.jpg
rotary coupe w/15&quot

2049.jpg
rotary 1200 ute

2050.jpg
rotary 1200 ute

2418.jpg
my 1000 ute

2558.jpg
1000 dragsedan

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13b mounts

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pic for d

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some of the puertorica

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supercharged 13b 1000

2915.jpg
supercharged 13b 1000

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series 5 13b turbo rot

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very nice indeed!

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8 second 1200 13b turb

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coupe

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avenge

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nother 13b 1200

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1200 drag race coupe

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drag coupe

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rotary powered 1200

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supernats

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early prototype rotary

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1200 ute (perfection)

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rotary mounts in 323 s

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powercruise coup

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yellow rotary coupe

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what noisy exhaust