That engine bay could have been in a lot worse condition. Rats like to chew on brass and copper add aluminum I've seen a few situations where rats have chewed the radiators out of cars
My Dad drove a 1974 Mazda RX-4 wagon (4 spd Man) my entire childhood. I love rotaries. Only had 1 engine replaced under warranty! Spent a lot of grade school nights on the garage floor with dad trying to fix that POS. Brings back so many great memories. Thanks Kevin!
Tom and angus were the 2 best additions to this channel. Just the antics when the three of you are together makes it worth watching, even if the vehicle of choice isn’t something you’re into.
Rotaries are so easy. You know that baby toy where you put the square block in the square hole and the round block in the round hole? That's all a rotary is. Except you put a triangle into an oval and it's on fire. And you're on fire. And everything is in hell.
I really love that you are always giving other channels an avenue. Not just a shoutout, but give the tools for their exposure. Truly shows what kind of person you are Kevin. Also very thankful you do, I have been now watching BS and have been thoroughly enjoying it.
Yeah the reason I first started watching Pole Barn and DeBoss Garage was because of the shout outs which used to be on the end of every JYD video - it’s really cool.
When I saw the picture of the truck. I was like, "Oh, this looks like a nightmare to work on." Then I saw liquids coming out of the starter and spark plug hole and was like, "Oh, this is even worse than I thought." And it ended up with, "Oh my God, it's actually running!" This was a heck of Rollercoaster. Good stuff!
As a confirmed rotorhead- FC RX7 sitting in the garage- this was without doubt my favorite JYD episode! Love, love the REPU! It's a shame the tailgate's missing, with "Rotary Power" embossed on it.
Two things we've learned from this video: 1. Kevin can bring any engine back to life, regardless of it's condition. 2. This same Kevin, because of this ability, will forever be hounded by rotary owners who had given up on their engines. No good deed ever goes unpunished! Great show, guys!
My dads uncle had a 70's- 80's motor home at my dads business and his uncle tried to get that thing running with my dads cousins a handful of times. now i tell my dad, "JYD could've done it". Ride on fellow mechanics
One thing I've learned about my 2006 rx8 shinka with the manual. If your gonna fire it up especially if it's below 60 outside. You better let it come up to operating temp. Also never let em sit for longer then just a few days. I try not to drive it much in the winter since it's kinda my baby and I have plenty of better options. My awd diesel audi a6 is great this time of year. But there were still times i go out to head somewhere and it would just crank and crank. So you pull the fuel solenoid and slam the throttle to the floor. Crank for however long. 20 minutes most likely off and on trying to not fry your starter or wires. Make sure you have your battery boiler hooked up as well. Eventually you'll blow it out and get blue smoke. And then its fine. I also have learned that running the best fuel additive berryman b12 and keeping it above half tank helps. As well as keeping the oil changes every 5k. And adding a quarter every 1k cuz yes it drinks oil. I drove mine bone stock to 100k from 15 miles aside from changing the stereo to something inside. Then I went to the best guys out there for an entire engine overall. Bored and cleaned and honed and turbos added. 10k more into a car I bought new for 36 grand back in 2006 which was a killer deal at about 6 under msrp at the dealer I worked for. Only thing I truly wish is to find another one newer and cheap. And I wanna cut the top off and make it a convertible
@thesaltlifemanshow5522 yes sir, people would bring them to use a lot cause of not starting, we would pull the fuel relay and shoot trans fluid in the intake vacuum system and spin the over until it started and as soon as it started. Plug the relay back in for the pump. Also they would leave them in the garage for long periods of time without starting them. Big no no. Lol. I made a lot of money working on those cars. I like to see them on the road. I haven't touched one in over 20 years, I work on chevrolet and Cadillac now.
@@thesaltlifemanshow5522 Exactly what my ex kept doing to hers. She would move it on a winter day so someone else could get out of the drive way then immediately park and shut it off. Next time she would go to crank it, no compression, no start. I quickly became an expert at getting the things re-fired.
One of the top three revivals I've ever seen, dead of winter, channeling Roadkill, planned road trip to another channel, and basic principles applied with an understanding of novel technology over three long days!
"I'm not interested in rotary engines, but I guess I'll watch a little bit." to ... *"Wow, this video is really interesting."* Goes to show what an expert Kevin is at diagnosing and coming up with ideas where the rest of us would tear the engine apart at some point to figure out a solution. Steve was a great video-teammate as well.
My first car was a '73 RX2. I ran the PISS out of it and never had one issue with the engine! Paid $4800.00 for it brand new and 3 years later sold it for 200 bucks. It was a "little" rough! I used to smoke 240Z's on the highway! You brought back some very dear memories. Thank you so much! Great Vid!😁
13 B is the BB 440 of the rotary world.Old time muscle but has potential. If it cranks fast,the seals are damaged and it's almost impossible to get one started and make power. If you didn't fill the oil container ,that will eat up seals quick too. That Wiring behind the seat is probably the oil feed system. Yes these use oil like a 2 stroke.
just like 2 stroke. U can in emergency run it with just premix fuel...just with heavier oil % if u dont have working oil feed system :) like they did in the video
I have never been more proud of that moment when that engine turned over I wanted it so bad you guys are unreal. This is the best revival video I’ve ever seen. I don’t even care if that thing doesn’t pull out of the garage you got to run and that’s incredible.
My first car was a 1973 Mazda B1600. 4-cylinder 4 speed. It had dual cylinder drums on all 4. I found it helping a friend. It was buried in a wood pile where it had sat for 5 years. Before that it sat for 3 years. I talked to my friend's mom and made a deal to buy it for $500. They didn't have the title but had the paperwork for it. I bled the brakes and clutch the best I could and shot transmission fluid in the cylinders and turned it over by hand a few times. 2 weeks later my stepdad helped me tow it home. We got it to the house and put fresh gas and a new battery in it and it fired right up. It had brake and hydraulic clutch issues. I ended up replacing the master and slave for the clutch and doing a rebuild on the brake master. I drove it to graduation 3 weeks later. Oh, the title? As it turns out the original owner was a guy my mom knew who worked at a local farm co-op store and we talked to him and got a bill of sale from him so I didn't have to deal with a salvage title.
I had a 1979 RX7 with a 12A, loved that car. It ran for years primarily on one rotor. The second one would occasionally come to life and it would take off. Gotta be the only engines on the planet that car run with half the motor dead most of the time. Purchased the car while I was stationed in NC and really didn’t have to cash flow at the time to restore it. Just drove it as it was and loved it.
Don't let the rotary content stop there! I want to see more rotary engines on the channel. I also want to see revivals of late 2000s engines that have been through hell and back
Those aren't Phillips screws. They are JIS. They are different and it makes a big difference to use the proper screw driver. If anyone plans to work on Japanese stuff, it is well worth the purchase.
Kevin, I started watching you in early 2020 when I was 14 thanks to a CarsandCameras video I saw about Ike's fast back mustang. Thanks to all of the knowledge I've gathered from watching you, I got my first vehicle (1984 F150 4 speed 300 6) running. Just wanted to say thanks man.
Great engine! Never exciting, but back when most American cars' engines were worn out at 120k to 160k miles, those 300 inline 6's would do 300,000 miles (if kept at low revs).
@@workingguy-OU812 Yeah. Straight 6s are my favorite engine type. Balanced well, smooth, and lots of torque down low. I'm working on making a homemade aluminum intake manifold with the lower intake from an EFI truck. We shall see if it works. I'm not going to spend $600 on an aftermarket intake.
Ive gone from seeing @RobDahm building custom Rotor builds to seeing Junkyard Digs revive a ratted out rotory. What a time to be alive! I love rotory stuff and wish there was more out there!
6:15 i wonder if those hood hinge screws are JIS (Japanese Industrial standard) instead of Philips, probably still would've stripped from rust but maybe would've had a shot with a JIS bit.
God I love these trucks sound. Friend of mine had one of these in high school, his parents lived in a nice suburban neighborhood, the truck had a header and glasspack, the neighbors hated it. All sound, no fury.
If you took the glass packs off, they'd probably be gutted by the rotary exhaust heat. Probably not great back pressure. Should have been pretty quick.
This video deserves all the views. I'm not sure if I've seen you work with more determination to see if an engine is going to show any will to live. What a cool little truck. Definitely RATory powered.
13:20 that's mazda for you. the filter on my '95 626 is right over the exhaust. So you're guaranteed to get some drops of oil on the exhaust so there's always a bit of a burning smell after an oil change. With a mazda, even if your engine doesn't burn oil, you're still going to get that burning oil smell.
That was a really fun video to watch. One of the many things that I love about watching your channel is that I always see something that I've never seen before or an explanation of something that I didn't know about before. And you do a great job of explaining how stuff works as you go along. I love the channel, and I will be looking forward to seeing your next one!
It's not that Kevin, Tom, and Steve are dumb, it's just... uh... they make some questionable decisions? But to be fair, so does Luke. For example, hanging out with Kevin, Tom, Steve, Angus, Mook, John, and all of the other friends. Jokes aside, I love this community. It's a lot like my personal friend group. Just a bunch of smart people doing dumb stuff.
Me and a buddy had to resurrect a 79 rx7 with bad spark, and a tired motor, just like this. We made the same mistakes with timing and Leading vs Trailing. These rotaries will have you convinced there's no hope, and then slap you in the face with the smoothest revving motor. Either way it's earned my heart! Thanks for the episode!
Best sounding JYD project so far IMO. Me hollering at the screen REV IT UP What a loyal little car. It was just waiting for the right custodian to bring it back to life.
From a guy who grew up abroad 🇪🇨seeing this small pick ups running every day, never even imagine they were so different than the others , GREAT EPISODE !!!!
0:42 Wow, that was a hell of a revival. Great video. I just got my 8/16 wrench in the mail a few days ago. Didn't expect a Luke Cameo. I enjoyed every second of this. I also ordered a junkyard digs sweater.
I was just thinking to myself "I'd love to see a rotary revival", and later that day JunkYardDigs comes through! :D Seeing this engine run was extremely satisfying. Great tenacity!
This is now my SECOND-FAVORITE JYD video (nothing will ever beat "The Van" !). You guys worked an automotive revival MIRACLE...and we got to enjoy it, too. Mucho thankos...
This is the funniest, most rewarding video I've seen in a long time. Thank you very much! And the cameo by Luke was pure gold. Merry Christmas to all of you.
Man, this revival was amazing! I've never owned a rotary and know zero about them but the depths you guys brought this thing back from was incredible. Now I have to see the follow up on the other channel. Great work!
You guys just made an old man happy on a rainy quiet night, thank you! One of the scariest fast rides I ever had ('76) was in an friends RX2 production rally car, top speed of 142mph (and hit that a few times), absolute screamers when set up right. Love this beasty, and yup, tiny motors, its been a long time but I think the Wankel in the RX2 was about 130lbs, a one man lift basically, teeny little thing, but pretty easy to swap with a spare block while you replaced the rotor tips in the one baffed out, which is more frequent the harder you beat them :) I'm less than halfway in but ya'll brought up a bunch of old memories, thanks and Merry X-mas all!
The amount of wolf creek pass references makes me so happy. Thanks jyd for being here all these years and helping me fall in love with cars and being able to work on my own stuff.
After all the revivals and work you guys have done on some pretty interesting, yet cool old vehicles, this one by far takes the cake. Best video yet in my opinion. What a cool little truck. All those rotary guys just got put in their place with this revival. Great job!
Dude! It's a legit Mazda REPU! It's the original version of the Roadkill Mazdarati! I had a 1984 RX7 that had the 11A engine with a carb and a 5 speed manual and it was really fun. It was all original with no modifications and while it was completely gutless, it was still alot of fun to rev to 7,000 RPM and slap shift it. I REALLY wanted to do a 13b turbo swap on it, but I sold it before I could do anything with it as I was young and I could've cared less at the time. It was in such good shape for an old car in the NE.
This seriously was the first really exciting and emotional video every since the good old days with Mr. Thunderhead. It is epic that he made a cameo ;)
Frikkin COOL as he//!! And Luke's 8/16 Carb Cheater wrench...EPIC! Can't wait to see this little rotary back on the road with everything in order! AWESOME video!
Well boys, going back to when I had one, and when you could still see these roaming the country side under their own power, the only way to get one of these to remember what it was would be to pull start that thing. usually 20 to 30 seconds, 20+mph, lots of mystery smoke, and the rotary engine would live again. However, you allowed me to witness the miracle of this motor coming to life without murdering the starter. Nice! You can use a compression tester, but you look for equal pulses per rotor face. Any numbers you get on that tester are just for fun. As for go fast goodies, that is a header, and just above the header- look at the three bolt triangular plate, that is an EGR delete plate. One more fun fact, the super cool upgrade is to swap that 12A electronic distributor in place of the points distributor. No idea if that information is even documented anywhere anymore, but that gets rid of all the points sadness. I would highly recommend replacing the small "black box" ignitors (mounted to the sides of the 12A distributor) and carry an extra or two (just like any ford owner with an EEC4 ignition system). Nicely done, and thanks for bringing back memories of my old truck!
the joy when it fired to life and when that last chamber caught on was so amazing to watch, definitely one of my favourite JunkyardDigs video. that rotary sounds mean
I know rotaries have a fairly well-earned reputation for being bombs, but it's honestly super impressive that an experimental engine design went through THAT and ran that well after essentially only being cleaned and lubricated.
Rotaries were never bad engines, The owners were just bad at maintaining them in the 90s. With all the information we know today rotaries can last as long as any piston engine
@@connoisseuroftigolbitts Everyone here speaks about the 90's for rotarys, owners were always bad at maintaining needy engines... mass produced rotarys started in the 60's with the NSU Wankel Spider and then the Ro80, Citroen had the M35 and the GS Birotor, Mazda had the Cosmo 110S, the RX85, RX100. All that between 1964 and 1969 (except for the GS 73-75). Mercedes was developing the C111 and it was seen as the engine of the future just like the turbine in the 50's up until the early 60's (Chrysler Turbine, Rover Jet-1, Socema Grégoire...etc).
And Oil, lots and lots and lots of oil. Get used to topping it up every week, yes week. My daily for a few years in my 20s was a clapped out 1980 rx7 with a 12A, used to raid the parts store clearance racks for oil supply for it 😂
That was bloody brilliant! I always suspected that the "rotary" gang didn't have the basic knowledge (like you two) to get those results!! 11/10 for JYD. I am so proud of you guys! I have been pleasantly surprised at some of your results in the past, but this just proved to me that (as my old employers slogan went) IF ANYONE CAN JYD (Canon) can! So happy for you. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you, Mook, Steve, Angus, Luke, and all out there. From UK.
@@JunkyardDigs that should tell the generation Gap between " PHENOMENON"( MUPPETS) EVOLVING TO "MONAHM MMNAOOOMMM" AND EVOLVING TO "ON AND ON" TOM, MYSELF AND PERHAPS YOUR DAD , KEVIN , MOOK, DYLAN AND THUNDERHEAD LUKE, SPANS 35 YEARS , JUST LIKE THE FAMOUS "WAX ON, WAX OFF" REFERNCE TO MR MIYAGI AND DANIEL LARUSSO IN KARATE KID, AND KOBRA KAI( ORIGINAL SPELLING) BEING ICONIC, THE GENERATIONS KNOW!!!
The rotor seals dry out on those when they sit recommended to lube the rotors down really good through the spark plug holes before cranking it up after sitting
I'm so happy to see Luke in the video. That old video of you and him pulling that car out of the woods is one of the best videos I've ever seen on TH-cam. I rewatch 🎉that video sometimes because it gives me a feeling I had when I was young with Friends. This made my day thanks JYD
The best reason for watching you channel Kevin is the vast array of motors you're prepared to work on, if it's called a motor you'll work on it. Good stuff ☺️
The only rotary I worked on, we filled the engine with vinegar and let it sit for 2 days, then drained it, and cranked it while we flushed ATF through it. We got it back running, and I think it would have gone awhile if the owners nephew hadn't wrapped it around tree.
The owners I worked for built the engines. They rubbed every little part with lube before assembly. When they quit....we often dumped them full of ATF high detergent to clean...then had to lube the crap out of them.
I had a mazda once... I bought it used and before I had gone 5,000 miles, it quit on me. At the time I had no clue about how to work on a rotary engine... and it pretty much came down to having to replace the engine... not like it could be rebuilt like a regular engine... or at least not by me. So... I wish you luck on this one, and I'm going to be following along to see how you get this back on the road. I loved those mazda pickup trucks!
This episode was awesome! I've always been fascinated by rotaries, and this was one of the best videos I've ever watched about working on one. Great work!
Use code JYD130 to get $130 off across your first 4 boxes of Good Chop at bit.ly/3WcBaiC
BuildSeason doesn't have the video on his channel yet
Just put in an order thank you for the suggestion. 😊
That's because we haven't filmed it yet
130 because 13b?
Like all your vids, this is first time ever seeing anyone take on reviving a Mazda rotor engine, Really interesting ❤❤❤
I spent a solid two hours cleaning out that engine bay just to make sure it still had a rotary in it.
That engine bay could have been in a lot worse condition. Rats like to chew on brass and copper add aluminum I've seen a few situations where rats have chewed the radiators out of cars
@@tunerrestorationsI think it’s from corrosion not from chewing.
God I bet, thanks for bringing this sucker to us!!
@JunkyardDigs when will we see the 65 f250 again?
@@joshmanis9860teeth marks on the lead solder say it was chewing. They love to eat that old lead solder. Taste sweet.
That new/used reman starter deserves a medal of honor
nah it deserves a purple heart
That starter is the mvp
If you wanna know the real MVP starter watch the can we get abandoned tow trucks to run series
Well it's not like it had to fight any compression for the first 48hrs.
Great video
@@jdj5952Exactly... And the speed in which it turned over would suggest to anyone with half a clue, it lacked compression lol...
No mention of the heroics that battery performed
My Dad drove a 1974 Mazda RX-4 wagon (4 spd Man) my entire childhood. I love rotaries. Only had 1 engine replaced under warranty! Spent a lot of grade school nights on the garage floor with dad trying to fix that POS. Brings back so many great memories. Thanks Kevin!
Tom and angus were the 2 best additions to this channel. Just the antics when the three of you are together makes it worth watching, even if the vehicle of choice isn’t something you’re into.
A wild thunderhead289 appeared with a mythical 8/16 wrench lol
A true legend
It's a wild wrench size adventure Morty
You're only charging $10 for those? You need to pump those numbers up! Fortunately I bought one before you had a chance to wise up.
going to candy mountain o.0
dang, needed a 5 deciinch wrench
Rotaries are so easy. You know that baby toy where you put the square block in the square hole and the round block in the round hole? That's all a rotary is. Except you put a triangle into an oval and it's on fire. And you're on fire. And everything is in hell.
yep
But I thought you put it in the square hole?
But.. everything goes in the square hole...
😂😂😂
The likes for this comment are 420 lol
I really love that you are always giving other channels an avenue. Not just a shoutout, but give the tools for their exposure. Truly shows what kind of person you are Kevin. Also very thankful you do, I have been now watching BS and have been thoroughly enjoying it.
I know how hard it is to get started allll too well!
That's a rare truck, only ever saw 1 a owner of a motorcycle shop had back in 90's!😊
Yeah the reason I first started watching Pole Barn and DeBoss Garage was because of the shout outs which used to be on the end of every JYD video - it’s really cool.
I found you through Cars and Cameras. Ive had a channel for about 10 years. Im almost at 2k@JunkyardDigs
@@markhoffman9674 havnt seen one since the 70's or early 80's,as I recall the tailgate used to say Rotary instead of Mazda.there wasnt many around
When I saw the picture of the truck. I was like, "Oh, this looks like a nightmare to work on."
Then I saw liquids coming out of the starter and spark plug hole and was like, "Oh, this is even worse than I thought."
And it ended up with, "Oh my God, it's actually running!" This was a heck of Rollercoaster. Good stuff!
As a confirmed rotorhead- FC RX7 sitting in the garage- this was without doubt my favorite JYD episode! Love, love the REPU! It's a shame the tailgate's missing, with "Rotary Power" embossed on it.
Two things we've learned from this video:
1. Kevin can bring any engine back to life, regardless of it's condition.
2. This same Kevin, because of this ability, will forever be hounded by rotary owners who had given up on their engines. No good deed ever goes unpunished!
Great show, guys!
Bring it on😂😂
My dads uncle had a 70's- 80's motor home at my dads business and his uncle tried to get that thing running with my dads cousins a handful of times. now i tell my dad, "JYD could've done it". Ride on fellow mechanics
As a Kevin I approve this message (and no my last name is not sellsit ... Unless you're buying brushless motor controllers).
I worked for Mazda for 10 years In the 90's and we use to pump trans fluid in Them to swell the apex seals to get them running g.
One thing I've learned about my 2006 rx8 shinka with the manual. If your gonna fire it up especially if it's below 60 outside. You better let it come up to operating temp. Also never let em sit for longer then just a few days. I try not to drive it much in the winter since it's kinda my baby and I have plenty of better options. My awd diesel audi a6 is great this time of year.
But there were still times i go out to head somewhere and it would just crank and crank. So you pull the fuel solenoid and slam the throttle to the floor. Crank for however long. 20 minutes most likely off and on trying to not fry your starter or wires. Make sure you have your battery boiler hooked up as well. Eventually you'll blow it out and get blue smoke. And then its fine. I also have learned that running the best fuel additive berryman b12 and keeping it above half tank helps. As well as keeping the oil changes every 5k. And adding a quarter every 1k cuz yes it drinks oil.
I drove mine bone stock to 100k from 15 miles aside from changing the stereo to something inside. Then I went to the best guys out there for an entire engine overall. Bored and cleaned and honed and turbos added. 10k more into a car I bought new for 36 grand back in 2006 which was a killer deal at about 6 under msrp at the dealer I worked for. Only thing I truly wish is to find another one newer and cheap. And I wanna cut the top off and make it a convertible
@@thesaltlifemanshow5522 That's awesome its always cool to hear about people who actually took care of their rx8s
@thesaltlifemanshow5522 yes sir, people would bring them to use a lot cause of not starting, we would pull the fuel relay and shoot trans fluid in the intake vacuum system and spin the over until it started and as soon as it started. Plug the relay back in for the pump. Also they would leave them in the garage for long periods of time without starting them. Big no no. Lol. I made a lot of money working on those cars. I like to see them on the road. I haven't touched one in over 20 years, I work on chevrolet and Cadillac now.
@@thesaltlifemanshow5522 i want one so bad but ive alreayd put 3k into keeping my 2nd gen dodge going 😭😭😭😭
@@thesaltlifemanshow5522 Exactly what my ex kept doing to hers. She would move it on a winter day so someone else could get out of the drive way then immediately park and shut it off. Next time she would go to crank it, no compression, no start. I quickly became an expert at getting the things re-fired.
The "I do what I want" permit was the funniest damn thing I've seen in a while. 🤣
Tom pulled Ron Swanson😂😂😂. Parks and Rec 😅😅😅
They need to be added to the merch store.
@@SHOdown13 Bro🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
tougher than chianesse algebra.
Wow, that little rotary sounds angry! I dig that you and Luke are friends. I like his channel too.
One of the top three revivals I've ever seen, dead of winter, channeling Roadkill, planned road trip to another channel, and basic principles applied with an understanding of novel technology over three long days!
I always enjoy watching you work on foreign cars. The combination of “why’s it like that?” and “aww it’s so cute” is always super entertaining.
"Oh no, it's traumatized"
lol it’s the same size as a ford ranger.
I don't know about everyone else, but I really appreciate the videos where you can see the struggle.
"I'm not interested in rotary engines, but I guess I'll watch a little bit." to ... *"Wow, this video is really interesting."*
Goes to show what an expert Kevin is at diagnosing and coming up with ideas where the rest of us would tear the engine apart at some point to figure out a solution. Steve was a great video-teammate as well.
if it has a carb and was made before 90s ill watch anything thrown my way
My first car was a '73 RX2. I ran the PISS out of it and never had one issue with the engine! Paid $4800.00 for it brand new and 3 years later sold it for 200 bucks. It was a "little" rough! I used to smoke 240Z's on the highway! You brought back some very dear memories. Thank you so much! Great Vid!😁
It's so crazy when you look at the price these days 30 to 60k an rx2
Those RX 2 ,s were fast little things actually so was the pickup !
13 B is the BB 440 of the rotary world.Old time muscle but has potential. If it cranks fast,the seals are damaged and it's almost impossible to get one started and make power. If you didn't fill the oil container ,that will eat up seals quick too. That Wiring behind the seat is probably the oil feed system. Yes these use oil like a 2 stroke.
just like 2 stroke. U can in emergency run it with just premix fuel...just with heavier oil % if u dont have working oil feed system :) like they did in the video
I have never been more proud of that moment when that engine turned over I wanted it so bad you guys are unreal. This is the best revival video I’ve ever seen. I don’t even care if that thing doesn’t pull out of the garage you got to run and that’s incredible.
My first car was a 1973 Mazda B1600. 4-cylinder 4 speed. It had dual cylinder drums on all 4. I found it helping a friend. It was buried in a wood pile where it had sat for 5 years. Before that it sat for 3 years. I talked to my friend's mom and made a deal to buy it for $500. They didn't have the title but had the paperwork for it. I bled the brakes and clutch the best I could and shot transmission fluid in the cylinders and turned it over by hand a few times. 2 weeks later my stepdad helped me tow it home. We got it to the house and put fresh gas and a new battery in it and it fired right up. It had brake and hydraulic clutch issues. I ended up replacing the master and slave for the clutch and doing a rebuild on the brake master. I drove it to graduation 3 weeks later. Oh, the title? As it turns out the original owner was a guy my mom knew who worked at a local farm co-op store and we talked to him and got a bill of sale from him so I didn't have to deal with a salvage title.
That's an awesome story.
I had a 1979 RX7 with a 12A, loved that car. It ran for years primarily on one rotor. The second one would occasionally come to life and it would take off. Gotta be the only engines on the planet that car run with half the motor dead most of the time. Purchased the car while I was stationed in NC and really didn’t have to cash flow at the time to restore it. Just drove it as it was and loved it.
Inline can also run with more then one zylinder broken.
Ive seen a video where they fucked 3/4 Pistons and the damn Thing still fired up
The fact that I love CW McCall’s music just makes this video even better Wolf Creek Pass is my favorite song of his
Don't let the rotary content stop there! I want to see more rotary engines on the channel. I also want to see revivals of late 2000s engines that have been through hell and back
Those aren't Phillips screws. They are JIS. They are different and it makes a big difference to use the proper screw driver. If anyone plans to work on Japanese stuff, it is well worth the purchase.
also posted this too. honda brake rotors anyone?
@@alanprather8399 Yep, Honda rotor screws are JIS #3. It makes a difference!
Slick 50...
Smoke Machine
Impact screwdrivers, we do not care
Pro mechanic here, JIS is pronounced JIZZ, which is what you will claim they are made out of after you strip them using a Phillips bit.
Kevin, I started watching you in early 2020 when I was 14 thanks to a CarsandCameras video I saw about Ike's fast back mustang. Thanks to all of the knowledge I've gathered from watching you, I got my first vehicle (1984 F150 4 speed 300 6) running. Just wanted to say thanks man.
Heck yeah!! Glad we could help! That's why I do it
Good to hear.✌
Great engine! Never exciting, but back when most American cars' engines were worn out at 120k to 160k miles, those 300 inline 6's would do 300,000 miles (if kept at low revs).
@@workingguy-OU812 Yeah. Straight 6s are my favorite engine type. Balanced well, smooth, and lots of torque down low. I'm working on making a homemade aluminum intake manifold with the lower intake from an EFI truck. We shall see if it works. I'm not going to spend $600 on an aftermarket intake.
@@sonnycuriazza6135Sounds like something you should make a video about!
"Danger to humanifold" is a good piece of business! Haha. 19:25
Ive gone from seeing @RobDahm building custom Rotor builds to seeing Junkyard Digs revive a ratted out rotory. What a time to be alive! I love rotory stuff and wish there was more out there!
It is cool to see Luke back with JYD
6:15 i wonder if those hood hinge screws are JIS (Japanese Industrial standard) instead of Philips, probably still would've stripped from rust but maybe would've had a shot with a JIS bit.
Definitely JIS. I have a Vessel hand impact driver with JIS bits for exactly this reason.
I just posted same thing 😂
they are
I believe we had one. Never actually stripped any, but had to hand impact them all the way out
In the country that would ask "What the FUCK is a Kilometer?!", you expect them to know Japanese Industrial Standard?
God I love these trucks sound. Friend of mine had one of these in high school, his parents lived in a nice suburban neighborhood, the truck had a header and glasspack, the neighbors hated it. All sound, no fury.
Power from porting it
If you took the glass packs off, they'd probably be gutted by the rotary exhaust heat. Probably not great back pressure. Should have been pretty quick.
This video deserves all the views. I'm not sure if I've seen you work with more determination to see if an engine is going to show any will to live. What a cool little truck. Definitely RATory powered.
13:20
that's mazda for you.
the filter on my '95 626 is right over the exhaust. So you're guaranteed to get some drops of oil on the exhaust so there's always a bit of a burning smell after an oil change. With a mazda, even if your engine doesn't burn oil, you're still going to get that burning oil smell.
That was a really fun video to watch. One of the many things that I love about watching your channel is that I always see something that I've never seen before or an explanation of something that I didn't know about before. And you do a great job of explaining how stuff works as you go along. I love the channel, and I will be looking forward to seeing your next one!
Luke walks in and the IQ in the shop triples! 🙂
1x3=3!! 😂
@@JunkyardDigs, 1x1x1?=3? 🤔?
Or maybe 1x1+1+1+=3??🤷♂️😆
It's not that Kevin, Tom, and Steve are dumb, it's just... uh... they make some questionable decisions? But to be fair, so does Luke. For example, hanging out with Kevin, Tom, Steve, Angus, Mook, John, and all of the other friends. Jokes aside, I love this community. It's a lot like my personal friend group. Just a bunch of smart people doing dumb stuff.
Me and a buddy had to resurrect a 79 rx7 with bad spark, and a tired motor, just like this. We made the same mistakes with timing and Leading vs Trailing. These rotaries will have you convinced there's no hope, and then slap you in the face with the smoothest revving motor. Either way it's earned my heart! Thanks for the episode!
Best sounding JYD project so far IMO. Me hollering at the screen REV IT UP
What a loyal little car. It was just waiting for the right custodian to bring it back to life.
Me too, only time I’ve ever wanted them to rev it in a video.
@@johnnyrocket6588 Rotaries are built to have the piss beaten out of them, its probably why it didn't run and was parked anyway.
From a guy who grew up abroad 🇪🇨seeing this small pick ups running every day, never even imagine they were so different than the others , GREAT EPISODE !!!!
Amazing episode!!!! Cannot wait for the next one!!!
Where's Angus, his fans need proof of life
Never mind him , where is Mook?
@@stevecook7551baking something in the oven
@@TC-xo8ub Angus in the oven...
0:42 Wow, that was a hell of a revival. Great video. I just got my 8/16 wrench in the mail a few days ago. Didn't expect a Luke Cameo. I enjoyed every second of this. I also ordered a junkyard digs sweater.
New Freiburger and JYD Vids drop on the same day HELL YEAH classic gearhead videos are BACK !!!!!!!!!!
The BRAP is real in the video
That was a damn good video he made!
Not sure if it can get any better
I was just thinking to myself "I'd love to see a rotary revival", and later that day JunkYardDigs comes through! :D Seeing this engine run was extremely satisfying. Great tenacity!
This is now my SECOND-FAVORITE JYD video (nothing will ever beat "The Van" !). You guys worked an automotive revival MIRACLE...and we got to enjoy it, too. Mucho thankos...
This is the funniest, most rewarding video I've seen in a long time. Thank you very much! And the cameo by Luke was pure gold. Merry Christmas to all of you.
Thanks!
As someone who fell in love with the quirkyness of rotaries after owning and dailiying an RX-8, this just might be one of my favorite episodes ever.
I had an RX8 too! I loved but the engine gave out every 30,000 miles. It was in an accident an totaled. I still want another one!
Man, this revival was amazing! I've never owned a rotary and know zero about them but the depths you guys brought this thing back from was incredible. Now I have to see the follow up on the other channel. Great work!
I loved the part where you guys celebrated when the motor started, just love that!!!!
We went from the lowest low to the highest high!
You guys just made an old man happy on a rainy quiet night, thank you! One of the scariest fast rides I ever had ('76) was in an friends RX2 production rally car, top speed of 142mph (and hit that a few times), absolute screamers when set up right. Love this beasty, and yup, tiny motors, its been a long time but I think the Wankel in the RX2 was about 130lbs, a one man lift basically, teeny little thing, but pretty easy to swap with a spare block while you replaced the rotor tips in the one baffed out, which is more frequent the harder you beat them :) I'm less than halfway in but ya'll brought up a bunch of old memories, thanks and Merry X-mas all!
The amount of wolf creek pass references makes me so happy. Thanks jyd for being here all these years and helping me fall in love with cars and being able to work on my own stuff.
I recently loaded in Wiggins and that song ran through my head
One of my favorite episodes so far. The joy when it fired off for the first time really came through the screen and speakers. 👏👏👏
That thing sounds unbelievable!!! You guys have so much patience! I’m surprised you didn’t go through two starters. Where’s Angus???
0:29 I thought that was Finnegan😂😂
SAME
@@mattmopar440 same
MAZDARATTI
Ran under 10’s and got kicked out 😠
I really thought it was a collaboration with Finnegan
14:32 the Wolf Creek Pass reference made this project 10x better
I bet they felt like that top row of chickens maybe at least once.
Chromium plated, fully illuminated genuine accessory shift knob...
I wondered how many would catch that.
I started scrolling down the comments to see who else caught that! I doubt many would.
After all the revivals and work you guys have done on some pretty interesting, yet cool old vehicles, this one by far takes the cake. Best video yet in my opinion. What a cool little truck. All those rotary guys just got put in their place with this revival. Great job!
Extremely great resuscitation there boys.
And Luke arriving rounded a great video off Kev .
Good to see the bronco from the $1,000 truck challenge is still around also can’t wait to see a video on that blue 78/79 f150
Dude! It's a legit Mazda REPU! It's the original version of the Roadkill Mazdarati! I had a 1984 RX7 that had the 11A engine with a carb and a 5 speed manual and it was really fun. It was all original with no modifications and while it was completely gutless, it was still alot of fun to rev to 7,000 RPM and slap shift it. I REALLY wanted to do a 13b turbo swap on it, but I sold it before I could do anything with it as I was young and I could've cared less at the time. It was in such good shape for an old car in the NE.
A new Junkyard Digs video? OF A ROTARY? Oh my, my night gets better and better!
This seriously was the first really exciting and emotional video every since the good old days with Mr. Thunderhead. It is epic that he made a cameo ;)
A rotary and an appearance from Uncle Luke, a great way to spend a Friday night.
3:02 i may have to deal with scorpions but I almost never see rust on a car! 😂
Just dry rot on tires?
Awesome video. It's great to see thunderhead 289.
long time no see........ I hope you all have a wonderful and safe holiday.....MOOOOOK
Just an excellent example of a great engine revival. When that thing finally brapped to life i was as excited as y’all were!
This episode had be buzzin' - good perseverance on a mechanical novelty and good collaboration. Thanks for sharing.
Heater in the tow truck needs some love
Frikkin COOL as he//!! And Luke's 8/16 Carb Cheater wrench...EPIC! Can't wait to see this little rotary back on the road with everything in order! AWESOME video!
Well boys, going back to when I had one, and when you could still see these roaming the country side under their own power, the only way to get one of these to remember what it was would be to pull start that thing. usually 20 to 30 seconds, 20+mph, lots of mystery smoke, and the rotary engine would live again.
However, you allowed me to witness the miracle of this motor coming to life without murdering the starter. Nice!
You can use a compression tester, but you look for equal pulses per rotor face. Any numbers you get on that tester are just for fun.
As for go fast goodies, that is a header, and just above the header- look at the three bolt triangular plate, that is an EGR delete plate.
One more fun fact, the super cool upgrade is to swap that 12A electronic distributor in place of the points distributor. No idea if that information is even documented anywhere anymore, but that gets rid of all the points sadness.
I would highly recommend replacing the small "black box" ignitors (mounted to the sides of the 12A distributor) and carry an extra or two (just like any ford owner with an EEC4 ignition system).
Nicely done, and thanks for bringing back memories of my old truck!
the joy when it fired to life and when that last chamber caught on was so amazing to watch, definitely one of my favourite JunkyardDigs video. that rotary sounds mean
Satisfying to see mummies come back to life.. you guys did good, I'm a first time sub from Jamaica 🇯🇲
I know rotaries have a fairly well-earned reputation for being bombs, but it's honestly super impressive that an experimental engine design went through THAT and ran that well after essentially only being cleaned and lubricated.
Rotaries were never bad engines, The owners were just bad at maintaining them in the 90s. With all the information we know today rotaries can last as long as any piston engine
@@connoisseuroftigolbitts Everyone here speaks about the 90's for rotarys, owners were always bad at maintaining needy engines... mass produced rotarys started in the 60's with the NSU Wankel Spider and then the Ro80, Citroen had the M35 and the GS Birotor, Mazda had the Cosmo 110S, the RX85, RX100. All that between 1964 and 1969 (except for the GS 73-75).
Mercedes was developing the C111 and it was seen as the engine of the future just like the turbine in the 50's up until the early 60's (Chrysler Turbine, Rover Jet-1, Socema Grégoire...etc).
The CW McCall references were fantastic. Those made my day.
Rotary motors love fuel. So feed it a lot of fuel.
And Oil, lots and lots and lots of oil. Get used to topping it up every week, yes week.
My daily for a few years in my 20s was a clapped out 1980 rx7 with a 12A, used to raid the parts store clearance racks for oil supply for it 😂
Love seeing Thunderhead289 on the channel! We need another revival with him like the satelite!
That was bloody brilliant! I always suspected that the "rotary" gang didn't have the basic knowledge (like you two) to get those results!! 11/10 for JYD. I am so proud of you guys! I have been pleasantly surprised at some of your results in the past, but this just proved to me that (as my old employers slogan went) IF ANYONE CAN JYD (Canon) can! So happy for you. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you, Mook, Steve, Angus, Luke, and all out there. From UK.
Both a Muppets and a Wolf Creek Pass reference in the same video. Don’t get better than that!😂
Wait who made The Muppets reference 😂
@@JunkyardDigsthe old guy!!! "Phenomenon" is a FOZZIE THE BEAR AND THE OLD GUYS , OR THE HECKLERS IN THE BALCONY( I don't know their names)
@@JunkyardDigs Tom! Phenomenon turned into the Mahna-Mahna song
Oh yeah DUH 🤣
@@JunkyardDigs that should tell the generation Gap between
" PHENOMENON"( MUPPETS) EVOLVING TO "MONAHM MMNAOOOMMM" AND EVOLVING TO "ON AND ON" TOM, MYSELF AND PERHAPS YOUR DAD , KEVIN , MOOK, DYLAN AND THUNDERHEAD LUKE, SPANS 35 YEARS , JUST LIKE THE FAMOUS "WAX ON, WAX OFF" REFERNCE TO MR MIYAGI AND DANIEL LARUSSO IN KARATE KID, AND KOBRA KAI( ORIGINAL SPELLING) BEING ICONIC, THE GENERATIONS KNOW!!!
Lovin' the C.W.McCall references. Neat pickup.
The rotor seals dry out on those when they sit recommended to lube the rotors down really good through the spark plug holes before cranking it up after sitting
As he said the engine was full of oil already…
Bro this is why I love working on cars. Its therapy and just makes you happy
I'm so happy to see Luke in the video. That old video of you and him pulling that car out of the woods is one of the best videos I've ever seen on TH-cam. I rewatch 🎉that video sometimes because it gives me a feeling I had when I was young with Friends. This made my day thanks JYD
The wolf creek pass references had me rolling 🤣🤣
I’m glad to hear you’re still alive!
I'm signing up for Steve's build season now ; got to see more !! Great job.
The best reason for watching you channel Kevin is the vast array of motors you're prepared to work on, if it's called a motor you'll work on it. Good stuff ☺️
Love this !!! I’m losing fingers in my feeling!!!!
Already a Junkyard Digs classic 13 seconds in
The only rotary I worked on, we filled the engine with vinegar and let it sit for 2 days, then drained it, and cranked it while we flushed ATF through it. We got it back running, and I think it would have gone awhile if the owners nephew hadn't wrapped it around tree.
Sounds amazing so loud sounds like a greasy triple 🤤 love the rotary sound
You guys are knocking it out of the park. Be it a combine, 3 wheeler, or now a rotary! Amazing. The only thing missing is more Mook.
3:27 Chevy said good morning heat says COFFEE
The owners I worked for built the engines. They rubbed every little part with lube before assembly. When they quit....we often dumped them full of ATF high detergent to clean...then had to lube the crap out of them.
Proudly rocked my merch today!
I had a mazda once... I bought it used and before I had gone 5,000 miles, it quit on me. At the time I had no clue about how to work on a rotary engine... and it pretty much came down to having to replace the engine... not like it could be rebuilt like a regular engine... or at least not by me. So... I wish you luck on this one, and I'm going to be following along to see how you get this back on the road. I loved those mazda pickup trucks!
This episode was awesome! I've always been fascinated by rotaries, and this was one of the best videos I've ever watched about working on one. Great work!
You should go save the green squarebody at Ezras cabin in the 250 SX video.
MAZDA POG