I've actually got much love for RX7's!
Nearly purchased a series 7. It drove so nicely but was terribly uncomfortable for a 6'5 driver.
Sounds like your into playing with turbo cars?
^^^ I was back in the younger days ...... till the money fkd me lol 
Last one was a 1993 TX3 4WD, bored a bit so about 1.9L, head work, cam, good good bottom end, 240kW on avgas.
Ate CVs and driveshafts.
Show me a std motor factory built in 1991 that can make 385hp at the wheels, not the flywheel & have it do that for 12 years. Yeh rotarys must be **** or is it the people who dont know how to own & treat a rotary right. If u are rebuilding every time u fill up then u you need to become a v8 bogan head.
308 - if we're allowed to fry up the internals a touch .... 253 wasn't a bad mill if you did the same ... bit of Edelbrock yella terra Holley double pumper that sort of caper whatever your brew was 
nearly ozzy but not quite - the v6 ecotec 3.8 in my vs series 2. am at 320 000 ks and it hasnt skipped at beat. pretty good on fuel on the open rd too.
technically its a buick motor though...
253/308 & 132/202 were designed by Buick.
245/265 designed by Dodge.
V6 ecotech was a Buick as well.
rpp
True aussie tinkering, how about the drysdale 750cc v8 motorbike engine? http://home.mira.net/~iwd/750develop.html
What about the split cycle engine, anyone else familar with that story? (I saw one running once). Pity he was a typical dodgy kiwi, the engine was awesome.
By 2004, the Orbital Engine Company had accumulated losses of $480-million but Sarich had been fortunate enough to get out early. He sold his shares and did what every sensible millionaire does, he bought property in Perth's central business district.
But the perceived success of Orbital spawned a number of imitators. In 1988, another radical engine design began making headlines. Split-Cycle Technology also promised more power, fewer emissions and better fuel economy. Rick Mayne, the New Zealand inventor, has appeared in Australia two years earlier. He had previously made caravans and trailers from second-hand parts. He argued that because the material he used was second-hand, no sales tax was payable.
Mayne sold shares to the general public in his Split-Cycle venture, but he didn't go through the usual step of listing on a stock exchange. Instead, trading in the shares occurred at the Split-Cycle headquarters on the Gold Coast and during sweaty revival-hall-style gatherings in rented and packed hotel rooms.
Stimulating the interest were Mayne's confident assertions that his technology was about to be adopted worldwide. He was also publicity conscious. He enlisted the celebrity train robber, Ronald Biggs as a representative. He hired three times world Formula One car racing champion, Sir Jack Brabham, to chair the company. At its peak, Split-Cycle was valued at more than $200-million. Mayne, as the biggest shareholder, was worth $50-million. In 1993, he was named as one of Australia's richest men. That same year he was arrested when he returned to his native New Zealand, for evading a $1-million tax bill on the caravans and trailers.
I'd say Vincent Black Shadow, designed by Australian Phil Irving, but it was built in the UK.
So then I'll have a go at the Irving Vincent, currently built in sunny Victoria based on Phils 1946 Rapide.
Irving Vincent Period 4
E42d8474
Specifications:
1300cc
Bore: 92mm
Stroke: 97.7mm
Compression Ratio: 14:1
BHP: 135 at 6500 RPM
Torque: 113 ft lb at 5500 RPM
Race History:
AMCN Fourteenth Annual Island Classic, Phillip Island
26th-28th January 2008
Unlimited Classic and Post Classic
Race 1 - 1st Place
Race 2 - 1st Place
Race 3 - 1st Place
Race 4 - 1st Place
Australian Historic Championships, Eastern Creek
27th-28th October 2007
Post Classic 800cc-1300cc
Race 1 - 1st Place
Race 2 - 1st Place
Post Classic 526cc-1300cc Championship
Race 1 - DNF (battery failure)
Race 2 - 1st place
The Barry Sheene Memorial Road Race, Eastern Creek
9th-11th March 2007
Post Classic 350cc/500cc & Unlimited
Race 1 - 1st Place
Race 2 - 1st Place
Race 3 - 1st Place
AMCN Thirteenth Annual Island Classic, Phillip Island
26th-28th January 2007
Unlimited Classic and Post Classic
Race 1 - 1st Place
Race 2 - 1st Place
Race 3 - 1st Place
Race 4 - 1st Place
Irving Vincent Period 5
Eastern_creek_igp3509
Specifications:
1300cc
Bore: 100mm
Stroke: 82.55mm
Compression Ratio: 13:1
BHP: 145 at 7000 RPM
Torque: 116 ft lb at 6000 RPM
Race History:
AMCN Fourteenth Annual Island Classic, Phillip Island
26th-28th January 2008
International Challenge
Race 1 - 1st Place
Race 2 - 1st Place
Race 3 - 1st Place
Race 4 - DNF
Australian Historic Championships, Eastern Creek
27th-28th October 2007
Forgotten Era 500cc & Unlimited
Race 1 - 1st Place
Race 2 - 1st Place
Forgotten Era 526cc-1300cc Championship
Race 1 - 1st Place
Race 2 - 1st place
Lap Record 1:40.3360 set by Craig McMartin
The Barry Sheene Memorial Road Race, Eastern Creek
9th-11th March 2007
Forgotten Era 350cc/500cc & Unlimited
Race 1 - 1st Place
Race 2 - 1st Place
Race 3 - 1st Place
AMCN Thirteenth Annual Island Classic, Phillip Island
26th-28th January 2007
Forgotten Era International Challenge
Race 1 - 8th Place
Race 2 - 4th Place
Race 3 - 4th Place
Race 4 - 4th Place
you want better fuel economy? then thrash it, the warning buzzer tells you you are in the right rev range.
not quite a car engine- or the best..but 100% West Aussie
There used to be a company called "WASP ENGINEERING"
(West Australian Steel Products )
They made engines and stuff in Perth- from scratch, carbies, magneto's etc- the whole thing was made local.
They made aircompressors for farmers and light industrial use,(as well as other stuff)
The Aluminium, bronze and brass for casting was salvaged from WW2 aircraft wreckage in the north west.
A truck was fitted out as a portable foundry- they cut up the aircraft and smelted down aluminium, bronze and brass into ingots to take back to Perth.
The air compressor tanks were made from surplus aircraft bombs salvaged from Pearce airbase.
After making compressors and tyre inflating fittings- WASP made compressed air spray painting gear, degreasing spray guns, sandblasting guns and shearing handpieces.
The WASP engines were sold to local industry for gensets, lawnmowers, pumps etc.
Sadly, I doubt you could find the expertise locally these days to do anything like that.
Once import restrictions were lifted, the company could not compete with imports and eventually closed up (sound familiar)
stephen
