Hi All,

  I want to thank Jim Mosur <jmosur@interlog.com> for refreshing in my mind what I am trying to accomplish.  I just came a gnat's eyelash from purchasing a complete 1985 RX7 (not running) for about $400 USD.  What put me off was that the owner said it had a 12a engine.

  It looks like I could still buy it, as it was still in yesterday's paper.  But why?  Well, for one, it's an automatic - a real rarity in Arizona - so it already has the correct flywheel and counterweight.  I also get an oil cooler, something the salvage yards want extra $$$ for.
But, it has a carburator and distributor, each of which means fewer ponies.    I have a multiple-part question: (A) Since my intention is to use Tracy's EC, I'd expect to have to build a custom intake anyway; but can I use the distributor as a crank angle sensor, much the way that Chrysler point distributors could be upgraded to hall-effect sensors for it's electronic ignition?

(B) Leon, in an exposition about a year and a half back, rated the 12A at 125 HP; is that before or after mods such as removal of mufflers and smog equipment, and/or porting?  All the tables I've seen rate the 12A at only 101 HP.  Moving from 125 to 160 HP (the minimum for a COZY) seems fairly doable; from 101 does not - at least within my budget.

(C) I understand I can use the center and end housings with 13B rotor/housings and end up with a four-port 13B, but would I also have to come up with a 13B eccentric shaft?  If so, does that mean that my flywheel and counterweight are now useless?


  In case y'all haven't already figured it out, I'm building my COZY on a shoestring.  I can ill afford to make any major mistakes; so I am desparate to sort as much out before I tie up my meager funds.  It would appear that my best choice for the money is a 86-87 FI engine from from an automatic RX7.  Finding that combination has been ... an *interesting* excercise, so I'm trying to sort out reasonable alternatives.

Thanks,
Dale R.
COZY #1254