Brokendownrotary

I've been lurking on here for a few weeks picking up bits of info as needed. I bought a black '04 6 speed about a month ago that hadn't run in over 4 years. It's no beauty queen but my intentions are to have a track/autocross car so no extra points for looks. I got the car for $600. When I got it home, I found that the fuel pump was seized, and just today got the new DW200 pump in the mail and installed it. While I had the pump out, I did the siphon tube mod (not sure if this actually works). The neglected battery was obviously not up to the task of turning the rotary beast over, so I commandeered the battery from my wife's car. After a few tries I realized that I was going to end up with a dead battery if I didn't connect some jumper cables to my Subaru for a little boost. Many tries and defloods later, the car finally fired up. Once running, a heater hose busted and my fuel tank QD started leaking, so the fun ended for a lengthy and stinky clean up. Research on the forums has me fairly convinced that the fuel pump nipple is probably cracked. Since I've already removed all of the A/C parts except the evaporator, I'll probably just go ahead and bin the entire HVAC system including heater core, and block off heater hose hook ups. I'm glad to have found a wealth of knowledge in this forum and I'll do my best to update on the car's progress and contribute as I'm able.

A little about me: I've been a "car guy" since I was a kid and have had a few different enthusiast type cars (modern muscle cars and imports, though this is my first "sports car"). I tend to err on the nerdy side of the car scene, and really get into the technical and engineering side of things rather than aesthetics. This is my first Mazda but was attracted by the mythical chassis of the 8, and the many challenges that the rotary represents. I am an avionics technician by trade, and have already figured out how spoiled I am with aviation wire diagrams as opposed to the poor quality prints in the automotive industry.