OMC's 4-Rotor Wankel Racing Engine - The Real Story

[jackiewilson]

Oh I forget Johnno, where in the hell could you find a V8 that got anywhere near 600hp---------be lucky to get any more than 300, and that's pushing it. (In my opinion).

[STEVERINO]

C'mon Johnno, you cannot be serious, one quick first lap at Parker-----what happened to the mighty ROTORY the next time round,---stopped for a drink and a sandwich did we?
6 wins out of eight starts 40 + years ago and your still celebrating ,----3of those were at backyard events with minimum opposition
Windermere was by default after the opposition broke, hells teeth I was in the first five with a 1000 BP, DRIVING SO SLOW GG SACKED ME.
Never been to Provo, but every time WILLABEE and you get into it there is conflicting memories of the event.
Mercury probably won over 1,000 races worldwide that year (' cos that's what they do ) hell of a lot more than 6.

First of all Jackie I never new you were so talented with these works of art they look pretty good to me I would like to see pictures of all of them..Now thinking back to the Windermere Grand Prix of 1973 was the year the Rotarys won.The little black 1000SBP Molinari sprint boat you ran at Windermere was in 1971?

[jackiewilson]

[QUOTE=STEVERINO;2604540]First of all Jackie I never new you were so talented with these works of art they look pretty good to me I would like to see pictures of all of them..Now thinking back to the Windermere Grand Prix of 1973 was the year the Rotarys won.The little black 1000SBP Molinari sprint boat you ran at Windermere was in 1971?[/QUOTE

If that's the year Shakey copped it then your right Steve, didn't race at all in 1973 so I owe R/J a huge unreserved apology-------big Mouth WILSON. The little grey cells are turning white.

[Rotary John]

[QUOTE=jackiewilson;2604555]

First of all Jackie I never new you were so talented with these works of art they look pretty good to me I would like to see pictures of all of them..Now thinking back to the Windermere Grand Prix of 1973 was the year the Rotarys won.The little black 1000SBP Molinari sprint boat you ran at Windermere was in 1971?[/QUOTE

If that's the year Shakey copped it then your right Steve, didn't race at all in 1973 so I owe R/J a huge unreserved apology-------big Mouth WILSON. The little grey cells are turning white.

Jackie: I thought for a moment you were so slow with that Merc BP that you were still trying to finish in '73 having started in '71. Seems to me it was you a few posts ago saying 100HP from a V-8? Karl used to line them up on the dock just to prove they were available; 600 HP marine V-8's. Hell damn; you can get that much HP today in a Corvette that's emission legal.

[jackiewilson]

[QUOTE=Rotary John;2604600]

Jackie: I thought for a moment you were so slow with that Merc BP that you were still trying to finish in '73 having started in '71. Seems to me it was you a few posts ago saying 100HP from a V-8? Karl used to line them up on the dock just to prove they were available; 600 HP marine V-8's. Hell damn; you can get that much HP today in a Corvette that's emission legal.

That's today Johnno, Doubt if a Keith Black lump would give 300 in 1972.
Reason I was slow , Shakey Bill had just disappeared into the depths of Windermere ( to be discovered 20 years later) and my heart was not in it.
that is what GG and I had the argument about, it came close to a fist fight and I got thrown out of
the brownies.

[ndwoods]

Back in the 70's, I was in Key West. A outboard race was held in a small bay between Boog Powels Marine and Boca Chica key. I atched from a spit ofdry land at Boogs. The guys in black were present with the big factory haulers. All the black motors had cow bells and sounded awesome. The OMC guys had one boat and it was plain jane. The race started and boy what a surprise. The start was even and the turn speeds were even but on the straights it looked like the Merc's threw out a sea anchor. I knew about the Mazda engine but had no idea some gear heads had bolted it to a transom. They lapped the field several times until something put a hole in the hull and a stream of water shot up through the cockpit. Some how the driver got it into the shallows close to where I was. The crew all jumped in and kept the power head above water and saved it. Thanks for the history and evolution of the marine rotary. After the above event I never heard anything else about it. I often mentioned this to other folks and usually got a are you crazy look.

[FUJIMO]

Back in the 70's, I was in Key West. A outboard race was held in a small bay between Boog Powels Marine and Boca Chica key. I atched from a spit ofdry land at Boogs. The guys in black were present with the big factory haulers. All the black motors had cow bells and sounded awesome. The OMC guys had one boat and it was plain jane. The race started and boy what a surprise. The start was even and the turn speeds were even but on the straights it looked like the Merc's threw out a sea anchor. I knew about the Mazda engine but had no idea some gear heads had bolted it to a transom. They lapped the field several times until something put a hole in the hull and a stream of water shot up through the cockpit. Some how the driver got it into the shallows close to where I was. The crew all jumped in and kept the power head above water and saved it. Thanks for the history and evolution of the marine rotary. After the above event I never heard anything else about it. I often mentioned this to other folks and usually got a are you crazy look.

Good to hear a story from someone who was there then, even though it had an anticlimax. And...Welcome to Scream & Fly ndwoods.

[Mark Poole ModVP]

Jackie, a CCC V6 was probably close to 300 hp (the later versions) Something that many people don't know is that the OMC 235 production motor pulled more than 235 h.p. when it was introduced. Scared the crap out of Merc as they were sure OMC had only built a 200 h.p. engine. The later fuel injected V8 had to be cranking some serious power for Benny to do a 141 mph lap in 1986.

No doubt the rotary and the V8 helped sink OMC. The rotary project was rumored to have started in 1967 so from then until 1973 must have gone through a crap load of money. A former OMC employee told me they were spending a million $ per race for the U.S. F1 series. Fun while it lasted I guess.

[jackiewilson]

Jackie, a CCC V6 was probably close to 300 hp (the later versions) Something that many people don't know is that the OMC 235 production motor pulled more than 235 h.p. when it was introduced. Scared the crap out of Merc as they were sure OMC had only built a 200 h.p. engine. The later fuel injected V8 had to be cranking some serious power for Benny to do a 141 mph lap in 1986.

No doubt the rotary and the V8 helped sink OMC. The rotary project was rumored to have started in 1967 so from then until 1973 must have gone through a crap load of money. A former OMC employee told me they were spending a million $ per race for the U.S. F1 series. Fun while it lasted I guess.

Mark, I had 400hp and could run 125 for a week, @8,500 rpm, at that exact speed the front port sponson got well and truly out of shape. Always felt the set up would run 150+ if we could iron the problem! but it was a very short exercise, (mainly to test US reaction to the Cosworth motor) the whole project lasted less than a year, but was fun while it lasted -----whole project probably cost less than a batch of ROTORY cranks.

[powerabout]

what was the then retail price of DFV?
PS you can make 250hp from a 2.0 v4 looper with stock parts, that tends to say 500 with a behind the liner straight in front half 3.5ltr wouldnt be hard..

[jackiewilson]

what was the then retail price of DFV?
PS you can make 250hp from a 2.0 v4 looper with stock parts, that tends to say 500 with a behind the liner straight in front half 3.5ltr wouldnt be hard..

£25,000 ----under. $.40,000

[STEVERINO]

£25,000 ----under. $.40,000

. I can remember BIll Badsey in 1977 being quoted £5,000 for a OMC. 2.5 CCC engine.

[jackiewilson]

. I can remember BIll Badsey in 1977 being quoted £5,000 for a OMC. 2.5 CCC engine.

Be honest Steve-----which would you rather have, 5 x 2.5 CCC OR ONE EVERLASTING COSWORTH DFV----- no contest is it ..?

[STEVERINO]

Be honest Steve-----which would you rather have, 5 x 2.5 CCC OR ONE EVERLASTING COSWORTH DFV----- no contest is it ..?

. To be honest Jackie the Cosworth engine had a massive part to play in the history of formula 1 car racing that it would be no contest but I wish I still had that outfit today I would just like to go out and drive it. In 1978 at the World OZ championship race in the UK I am sure you finished 4th place and I finished in 5th place overall not bad to say my engine had raced about 5 international races maybe 20 hrs until I sold it.The engines that finished in the first 3 places were that highly tuned they were lucky to finish 3 hrs of racing.Going back to a earlier post about the Windermere 3hr Grand Prix in 1971 I have been trying to find Ray Bulmans race report from 1971?.

[jackiewilson]

. To be honest Jackie the Cosworth engine had a massive part to play in the history of formula 1 car racing that it would be no contest but I wish I still had that outfit today I would just like to go out and drive it. In 1978 at the World OZ championship race in the UK I am sure you finished 4th place and I finished in 5th place overall not bad to say my engine had raced about 5 international races maybe 20 hrs until I sold it.The engines that finished in the first 3 places were that highly tuned they were lucky to finish 3 hrs of racing.Going back to a earlier post about the Windermere 3hr Grand Prix in 1971 I have been trying to find Ray Bulmans race report from 1971?.

GG and Duckworth wanted Billy to try my boat, did a few laps and didn't go any quicker than me---------the boat was the limiting factor, not the motor.
Was full factory nose to nose at time and all the secret sh-t was there.
Better get off R/J site, he can get prissy real easy.