5k: Renesis Power: 1970 Volkswagen Beetle

For some reason, the Volkswagen Type 1 Beetle seems to attract Hillbillies like the Hot Pockets freezer section at your local Walmart.  After the freezer door opens, and the banjos come out, strange stuff happens.  Strange like putting a Renesis Wankel from a Mazda RX-8 into the back of a Volkswagen.  Find this 1970 Volkswagen Beetle with 13B-MSP power offered for $6,000 in San Diego, CA via craigslist.  Tip from FuelTruck.

Gone is the original air cooled flat-4 and in its place is a 1.3 liter Mazda 13B-multi-side-power “Renesis” rotary engine.  The Renesis was the final evolution of Mazda’s dabbling with the spinning fuel burners and was second only to the turbocharged 13B from the RX-7 in terms of power.  It was, however, more fuel efficient and better on emissions.  Prices for RX-8s couldn’t be better today, so yanking the Renesis and putting it in your Beetle does make some sense…but given the prevalence of RX-8 engine failure, I had always assumed I’d see a Type 1 powered RX-8 first.  With 247 horsepower (or 212 if it came from an automatic transmission equipped RX-8), this type 1 should move around nicely.

See a better place for a used rotary engine? tips@dailyturismo.com