Hi All,
I just tore apart my first Mazda rotary.  It's an 88 13B 6 port NA that a friend and I picked up pretty cheap off ebay.  It sat for about 2 months since it was pulled from the car.  The guy didn't drain the coolant.  Like I read on the list, this engine had coolant inside the rotor housings.  I think I got it tore down in time not to lose too much.  The rotor housings looked great.  How does the coolant get into the rotor housings once the engine is pulled?  I remember a month or so ago people talking about newly rebuilt engines doing this.  How does that happen?

There are water marks on the side housings where you can see marks from the side seals of the rotors where they were parked for a while plus where coolant sat in the rotor housings.  The front side cover is the worst.  When I looked really really closely there is very tiny pitting.  It's not bad pitting as you can barely feel it with a finger nail.  Before running my nail on it I just thought it was a dark watermark.  It might clean up with scotch brite but I ran out of time.  I oiled up all the side covers so they won't rust as I had to leave the project for a couple of weeks.  Is it best to get these ones re-worked?  Should they be flame sprayed and ground (I think racing beat might do this as they do to their aluminum ones)?  Is it better to get them surface ground and re-nitrided (loose some o-ring channel depth?  Three of the four surfaces are good (can't see ANY wear but I didn't check yet for warpage).  The fourth isn't bad but it seems like a micro pitting.  Should I do anything with these or put it together and run it this way?

The rotors were a little rusty but I think bead blasting will fix them.  The engine came with a clutch/flywheel.  I want to go with Tracy's 2.85:1 re-drive.  I need to find a flex plate and a counter weight.  If I use my rotors (88) will I need to get an 86-88 rear counterweight?  Do I need to change the front counterweight?  If I change to the higher compression 89-91 NA rotors do I need the 89-91 NA counterweight?  Are all the flex plates the same as I also need to get a starter?

Sorry for so many newbie questions.  I have rebuilt many auto engines and aircraft engines.  This wankel is the simplest by far.  My hope is to put this one in a Bearhawk.  Can I get 180hp out of a 6 port NA?  Is this reasonable with a 2.85:1 redrive?  I would love to get more but is 180 even reasonable?

Thanks,
Jeff