new to rotary.

i purchased this thing wrecked. so it sat for only about 2 months. i was able to get it running, and it idled for about a minute, revs were about 2500RPM, and i blipped the throttle to get them to 1200ish. but when i turned right, the engine cut off. wasn't able to restart, just cranks.

someone said just change the spark plugs. is that viable, or is there somewhere else i should be looking once i get a front end on this thing?

also...do they make a 1 piece front end? thanks in advance...

 

Do not run that car until the front end has been properly disassembled and examined. It looks to me in the photo that the rad has been pushed inwards (although you cant really tell from that angle). Even if there is no fluid leaking, I would not run that until you have examined every possible part that could have been damaged. Also, to my knowledge there are two electric fans on the FD. Make sure they are working and unobstructed.

 

On the side that's been damaged there's vital electrics that give power to the engine to start, you could have damaged wiring....you'll need to take the front end apart and examine everything closely, it could be anything

 

You could start at the EGI fuse. If that's blown you probably have a short somewhere.

 

battery was pierced, and 1 fuse was broken from the impact, along with basically everything in front of the pulleys being pushed/bent/tweeked/etc...

i've pulled most of the front end stuff off to pull the car on a frame rack. need to find somene in florida with a '99 front end and hood, along with the gauge cover and some other missing parts.

good advice, though...stuff to check through. my radiator is toast, my a/c lines are toast...i have quite a few parts to get this back up and running. radiator is ready, will have to run a pair of slim fans, as these stockers are destroyed.

thanks for any ideas/input...this will be a slow project to get back up and driveable.

 

ordered the drivers' fender today. hoping the mazda partshouse actually sends me what they said they will be sending me...always a crap shoot with 20 year old part ordering online.

 

Man it is so painful to see such a great car in this condition.

It's reassuring though to see people who want to bring them back to their former glory!

 

If you're staying with a Stock-mount IC, I strongly recommend you NOT run aftermarket fans. The stock fans and shroud are robust and efficient and nothing I've seen works as good or better. Get an aftermarket radiator designed for the car (KOYO and FLUIDYNE are popular) and source a used fan assembly. They're available, mostly from guys who run v-mount or front-mounts and MUST change them.

 

You may have actually lucked out with only bent front cross members (don't think these are structural). The lower one is bolted and is there to hold the IC and air cleaner. The upper front one is welded, but should be able to find a replacement and have it rewelded. You should have someone assess if there is any structural frame damage though.

I would drain the coolant (including the coolant in the block) while you make the repairs. You should also have a compression test done to assess the overall health of your engine. Don't be in rush to start driving it around. If it's original, it may need a lot of work (engine rebuild, vacuum hoses, coolant hoses, etc)