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Steel bodied rotary Corvette prototype!!!!

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Old Oct 8, 2006 | 09:19 PM
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Default Steel bodied rotary Corvette prototype!!!!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/.../mfvette30.xml
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Old Oct 8, 2006 | 10:20 PM
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Great article, but I can't imagine why he wouldn't want to get the right engine for it since one's available.
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Old Oct 8, 2006 | 10:28 PM
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Very interesting article. Too bad a Corvette project Wankel engine project would be killed due to air pollution concerns. I'm sure a Wankel engine Corvetre would have absolutely zip impact on the earth's environment.

Hey! It looks like that car has an early C3 parking brake handle (emergency brake handle). I'd really like to buy one for my 70 Vette. It's handle is damaged, and all the repro handles are for later year C3's.
Just think, if I was Bill Gates, I could buy this car with pocket money and salvage that handle.
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Old Oct 8, 2006 | 10:32 PM
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Originally Posted by I'm Batman
Great article, but I can't imagine why he wouldn't want to get the right engine for it since one's available.
He should restore it to as close to factory as possible. Did you see what some of the early to mid 50's prototype cars went for at the last few B-J auctions? Looks like GM did keep some of the styling ideas from this car and incorporated them into the later Camaros.
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Old Oct 8, 2006 | 11:04 PM
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This car is probably worth a wheelbarrow full of money as is
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Old Oct 9, 2006 | 10:41 AM
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It looks more like a Camaro or Firebird than a Vette. Either way, I like the interior.
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Old Oct 9, 2006 | 11:28 AM
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I am a service manager at a Mazda dealer and trust me,you really dont want a rotary engine.I hope that this rotary powered vette deal never happens.There is a recall on 2004-2006 rx-8 engines now and not to mention we have probably replaced 12 or more this year before the recall started.....How about a small block rx8? Now that would be
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Old Oct 9, 2006 | 11:30 AM
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Originally Posted by Durango_boy
It looks more like a Camaro or Firebird than a Vette. Either way, I like the interior.
Nope, GM made that car as a Buick Skyhawk:
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2218711
I like the interior as well.
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Old Oct 9, 2006 | 11:32 AM
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Originally Posted by mkflanagan
I am a service manager at a Mazda dealer and trust me,you really dont want a rotary engine.I hope that this rotary powered vette deal never happens.There is a recall on 2004-2006 rx-8 engines now and not to mention we have probably replaced 12 or more this year before the recall started.....How about a small block rx8? Now that would be

I don't like the body or the RX8 enough to do that. I liked it in certain colors but the fender lines bug me.
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Old Oct 9, 2006 | 12:44 PM
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Originally Posted by theandies
Nope, GM made that car as a Buick Skyhawk:
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2218711
I like the interior as well.
Or a Chevy Monza.



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Old Oct 9, 2006 | 01:06 PM
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Originally Posted by 63mako
...He should restore it to as close to factory as possible....
It isn't a factory car. It's a one-off, hand-built, show car put together by the Styling Department. GM usually destroyed most of these due to liability concerns. I'm surprised this one has managed to hang around all this time.

IMHO -- the story isn't the Wankel. The story is the history of this car and how it was successfully hidden from the crusher.


Last edited by Easy Mike; Oct 10, 2006 at 01:11 PM.
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Old Oct 9, 2006 | 03:34 PM
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Originally Posted by Easy Mike
It isn't a factory car. It's a one-off, hand-built, show car put together by the Styling Department. GM usually destroyed most of these due to liability concerns. I'm surprised this one has managed to hang around all this time.

IMHO -- they story isn't the Wankel. The story is the history of this car and how it was successfully hidden from the crusher.

The story is that they crush them...most go to a salvage yard in Detroit that has an interesting habit of squirreling them away. One of the car auction companies had a big sale of prototypes and styling cars recently.
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Old Oct 9, 2006 | 04:20 PM
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Wankel...

nothx. I'll stick with pistons.
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Old Oct 9, 2006 | 04:33 PM
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Originally Posted by mkflanagan
I am a service manager at a Mazda dealer and trust me,you really dont want a rotary engine.I hope that this rotary powered vette deal never happens.There is a recall on 2004-2006 rx-8 engines now and not to mention we have probably replaced 12 or more this year before the recall started.....How about a small block rx8? Now that would be
I just don't get Mazda's thinking. They commit to the engine, but cut corners to get it to market. I have an RX-3 rotary and the same thing happened then. Cheap apex seals, inadequate cooling (oil and water) and overly complex induction and exhaust. But spend a few dollars on porting, seals and coolers and you get a bullet-proof engine that runs forever. Not a real fuel squeazer like the under powered toys in their class, but it'll embarrass lots of cars considered out of their league with a great power/weight ratio and decent brakes. Most race classes in their size and weight outlawed them years ago, or legislated them into mediocrity.

Hans
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Old Oct 9, 2006 | 04:41 PM
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I'll have to give Mazda credit on the RX-8, a little, though. This past weekend at autocross, an RX-8 had some REALLY good times, and it was STOCK!
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Old Oct 9, 2006 | 05:34 PM
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Nup, don't really like it. IMHO it looks like Euro Trash that someone has tried to make look American, sort of like a Porche with a Camaro nose

And the dash reminds me of a diner or restaurant where you slide your tray along a shelf until you have all your food, then you slide to the checkout then right beside the checkout are those metal cup thingies - one full of knives, one full of forks etc...

JMHO though
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Old Oct 9, 2006 | 05:37 PM
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Originally Posted by saudivette
Nup, don't really like it. IMHO it looks like Euro Trash that someone has tried to make look American, sort of like a Porche with a Camaro nose

And the dash reminds me of a diner or restaurant where you slide your tray along a shelf until you have all your food, then you slide to the checkout then right beside the checkout are those metal cup thingies - one full of knives, one full of forks etc...

JMHO though

Don't forget the cup full of spoons...and then there's the one with the straws...oh, and the ketchup...
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Old Oct 9, 2006 | 05:44 PM
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Exactly! You have a quick look to make sure they're all clean but it's not until you get to your table that you find out the fork has a lump of dried "stuff" on it that's as hard as industrial diamond.

I think we're goin off topic again Durango_boy
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Old Oct 9, 2006 | 05:53 PM
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Originally Posted by saudivette
I think we're goin off topic again Durango_boy

Well, we could say that the driver of a Mazda RX3 with a rotary, works at a buffet style eatery, and doesn't clean the dishes enough, and you end up with a free nibble on the spoon. There, back on topic...
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Old Oct 9, 2006 | 05:58 PM
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Default Great story

What a cool story. Tom Falconer is the guy who wrote the authoritive 'Corvette' coffee table book. What an interesting, corvette loving guy.


Thanks for sharing that unique story!
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