Want to buy a first gen prius with 83 000km : good or bad?

Dragonfly: N19WT - Rebuilding Log

Some major medical delays but I have the engine, Hirth 3502, radiator, and Ivoprop inflight adjustable prop. Next on deck, measuring the as-built prop, engine, and radiator with cool ant and the CG. Then build the foam-and-fiber glass engine mount and radiator ducting with provisions to adjust the thrust axis dimensions to get the CG right. Back-of-the-envelope, it should save about 45 lbs from the 695 lbs empty weight but this means the CG gets tricky.

BTW, the inflight prop is critical part of the Hirth 3502 power plant. Although it has fuel and oil injection, it is vital that the prop load be matched to the engine power setting to keep the water cooled, cylinder head and exhaust temperatures "in the green."

Depending upon how the engine mount works out, I may replace the stiff, beam, conventional gear with a hinged and adjustable shock absorbers. Rather than try to 'guess' the K-factors, I'll probably order a pair of adjustable shocks so the recovery stroke will be slower than the compression stroke. The goal is to absorb landing loads and not torque the canard up for a pogo-landing and canard fracture.

Bob Wilson

ps. I'm typing this note from my wife's room at a therapy center.

 

Best wishes on your wife's therapy...
I put a rotary in a Long Ez years ago, flew off the 40 hours without so much as a screwdriver adjustment. I used an electric water pump and Evans coolant, vapor recovery tank and disregarded coolant temp. on Evan's advice. Microtech efi, Kubota alternator, and IVO magnum prop, which I sent back because it could not absorb the hp of the rotary. CG was at aft limits and I had to keep airspeed up on take off and landing to retain control authority. It was silent and vibration free at cruise. In the end, I learned that model does not increase performance with addition of power, but by reduction of weight. But it ran great and sold well!

 

^^Light-weighting is my goal and getting rid of that 1800 cc HAPI was a big part.

Bob Wilson

 

So Chapman's got me thinking about using 110v. engine block heater year round to preheat the engine, it could be energized through an underhood 110v solenoid triggered by the unlock feature on the power door lock module in the car...click the remote 7 minutes before driving...

 

I stare at every Gen 1 and Toyota Echo (idk which models) I see until I can tell which it is. They look extremely similar. Mostly the grill is different and the vent on the driver's side behind the windows.

 

Rear spoiler. Alloy wheels.

Bob Wilson