i had a 73 or 74(I forget) RX3 wagon. That thing went like a scalded dog.
It would backfire....A LOT.
Rotary timing was real problem, “hot spots” developed quickly on acceleration.
“i had a 73 or 74(I forget) RX3 wagon. That thing went like a scalded dog.
“...these cars didn’t hit the redline on the tachometer until 7000 rpm...”
I had a fraternity brother, John, who was a BIG motorhead — he had a RX3 wagon.
One day we drove to a supermarket to buy some beer and on the way back he said: ‘Watch This!’
He flooooooored it and we watched the tach go past 7,000 RPM (about 2 O-clock) and continue until it padded on the 0 RPM peg — we figured it was 14,000 RPM at least. “These engines really have virtually no internal parts!”
It was fun to witness.
Fast forward a week:
Another fraternity brother, Stewart, came into the study room I was in...he looked odd (I should mention that Stewart worked on a pit crew on the summer and was a motorhead as well).
I asked what was up...
He replied: “I was just out with John in his Mazda — he raved the engine up to I don’t know how fast then ‘POOF’ all the wires under the dashboard melted and the car died... The thing was filled with smoke!”
Johns next car was a beat up Blazer that he paid $400 for.
Literally a week later a drunk ran a red light, hit his car and fled the scene (he hit a few parked cars after that).
A few weeks later the insurance rep for the BAAD driver looked at the Blazer and wrote John a check for $4,000 worth of damages, no questions asked...