Rob Weinstock wrote:

I think there is a false economy in buying a rotary engine with serious road
miles for aircraft use, which generally requires the engine to be operated
continuously at much higher BMEP levels.

IMHO, for an aircraft, where a mechanical failure can mean death instead of
mere inconvenience, I would buy a dead car for the peripheral items, but get
a fresh rebuilt or new motor from Mazdatrix or similar. Note that Mazdatrix
has several options for motors, some of which use significant new parts,
such as new rotor housings. The worst case with them is perhaps $5,000 plus
shipping.

Also note that many of the peripheral items you will need to replace anyway,
such as radiator, oil cooler hoses, various sensors, etc.

Compare that with buying a junkyard motor, fiddling with it endlessly,
deciding it's really junk afterall, and then either rebuilding it yourself
or buying a rebuilt motor anyway. The only real benefit from this approach
is the personal pride you would gain from rebuilding it yourself, and the
savings of perhaps $1000 to $2000 in labor. Note that in this process, there
are many details that can be done incorrectly, which would necessitate
engine removal and partial or complete teardown to rectify. For example,
putting in a front cover O-ring incorrectly, a $2 part, can cause all kinds
of grief to correct.

I agree however, that the engine you are looking for is the 1989-1991 Turbo
II motor. Production of these models was only a fraction of the 86-88
models, however.

Regards,

Rob Weinstock

Finn Lassen wrote:

I beg to differ! If you can start the engine I doubt it matters much how nice the
rotor housings and side housings look. Do you really care how it idles below 1000
RPM?

On the other hand, peripheral items is another matter. A failing water or oil
pump, ignition coils, injectors, oil cooler or radiator is a much more likely
failure and just as serious than the much more unlikely failure if the basic
engine itself. How exactly do you expect the engine itself to catastrophically
fail?

Finn

 
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