Cowl Induction for Turbo Rotary Bugeye

[bugeyebug]

Hi,
I'm brand new to this forum. It's great to find other crazy British car engine swappers!

I'm (re)building my 1959 Bugeye. I've swapped in a second-gen Mazda 13B rotary engine. The engine is turbocharged, and i just finished mounting the intercooler, which is a top-mount unit located at the rear of the engine bay.

Due to the intake manifold and alternator sticking up so high, I will have to build a small hood bump or scoop. Because the intercooler is top-mounted, I figure I can use this to source outside air to draw through it. Also, because the intercooler is near the rear of the engine bay, I've been thinking about a cowl induction-type scoop.

Question: has anyone on this list done something like this before? Or know of someone who has?

I'm (hopefully) attaching a photo of the engine bay to this post...

Thanks,
Mark in Tucson

[crashbash]

Hey Mark
How 'bout a z-28 type bump, opening at low pressure area right in front of windshield. Not as obvious as some.

[roverman]

Mark, as "Socorob" recently suggested in the body section,"autospeed.com" is loaded with sound aero suggestions, like buying a used Magnehelic brand, pressure differential gage,(1"+/- of water) suitable for aero body developement.This way you'll know the best place(higher pressure), to mount that air inlet. Good Luck, roverman.

[rampant racing]

personally i would use a scoop like on a subaru and ram the air through it.an intercooler is not an engine that has a vacuum inside to help the airflow.a front open type of scoop is the only way to go.my 2008 mustang is intercooled with a fmic and i see a big difference just removing the front lisence plate to aid the airflow.

[Bugeye RX]

I like your rad!  Heres my NA 13B.  You need a project page so we can follow along.  I channeled the frame rails so the engine sits between the rails and therefore lower than the standard cradle mount set-up.   This provided about 1-1/2" clearance to the hood.  Maybe a cold air ram setup using the original heater induction hose port behind the grill could be used to get air to the intercooler.  Remember the air slug under the hood gets reaaly hot when using a rotory.  My headers get red hot and I have went to great lengths and expense to keep heat from entering the cock pit.  Good luck and cool project.