Casey

I'm looking for a completely rust-free 1990-1997 car (preference for '94-97 cars). Ideally it would be a car that is not in need of any paint work. I'm located in New England so there's not much for me to choose from locally but I'm willing to travel the east coast for the right car.

I'm going to rip apart the rust bucket I converted back in 2010 and re-do it with a worthy car this summer.

If anyone knows of anything I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks,
Casey

charchri4

There was a really good NB down in VA not long ago. Let me see if I can find the ad. Is your too far gone to just fix the rust?

Casey

At the moment I want to limit my search to an NA. Thanks though.

Mine is pretty bad. I repaired the rockers myself but anticipate they'll be back at some point in the not too distant future and the underside is a mess. There isn't even a place for the front fenders to bolt to the unibody behind the front wheels. Never mind it would need a paint job.

I really just want to start with a clean slate.

I did find a very clean 1996 with 151k on it locally. The paint is probably a 7/10 (that I could easily get to a 8 or 9 with a clay/buff/wax) but the underside is a 10/10. I need to discuss pricing with the seller however; he wants too much for it.

5.0MX5

Check out these two. 1990 Mazda Miata MX-5 Needs Work 147k miles

93 Mazda Miata

I know these are a long way from your shop, however a little money for shipping or time driving sure is better than fixing rust and knowing it's likely to rear it ugly head down the road.

Cars from Arkansas are generally a safe buy (if they've always been area cars) since roads here aren't generally salted due to very little snow and ice. I'd contact the owners and see if they'd make underneath photos and if no rust and a clean Carfax, start to figure out how to get one home.


GoodLuck!

RR

Casey

Thanks for the links as well as the info on Arkansas. I'm definitely looking for a car that needs less work than the white one but the black one looks nice.

I do want to exhaust all the closer options over the next couple weeks then I'll need to start expanding my range.

Gator Bait

Have you considered calling FM or exocet? They may have donor cars from exocet builds available if you just need the "tub".

Casey

Unfortunately I want the entire rear subframe and suspension too. Also, I'll have a limited timeframe to swap everything over so the most complete and unmolested car will be worth a premium to me.

charchri4

Look for automatic cars. Nowak1981 picked up one in Little Rock for 1100 bucks that had a good body and with a bad auto and everything else. I stumbled on one in North Dakota with a bad auto too that was very clean.

But also keep in mind that you really don't need one with a bad anything for it to be a good donor. If the drive train is good you get way more money for it especially when the buyer can drive the car to prove it out before you take it apart.

Casey

Thanks. I looked into this and it looks like all I'll need is manual pedals which I already have.

I've looked at a handful of cars now and currently have two potential candidates:

Car #1: 1996 Montego Blue
151k miles
NO RUST - the underside looks nicer than my garaged 2012 Wrangler. This car is not from New England. There probably isn't much that needs to be repainted under this car.
The paint needs a little TLC, particularly the rear finish panel where the clear coat has burned off. Overall I think if I clayed/buffed/waxed it, it would look great. Problem with this car is the guy wants $5k. He knows what he has from a rust perspective but I think he's still looking for close to a $2k premium on this car.

Car #2: 1993 Red
58k miles (yes, only 58,000)
This is a New England car that does not appear to have ever been driven in winter. Rear quarters are solid and the suspension components have the smallest amount of surface rust. Not quite as nice as the underside of car #1 and would probably take a little bit of work to get it to my standards but its not out of reach.
The paint on this car shines although it has a handful of dings that need to go to a PDR guy. One on the door is particularly bad and has a light crease so it may not come out 100%.
The way this car looks, I don't doubt the mileage at all.
This seller is looking for $5k and he told me upfront he'd take $4,800. I think I could probably get it for $4,500.

There's one more car relatively locally I want to look at next weekend, then I want to make a decision and start accumulating parts. I really like the Montego Blue over red but I think I'm leaning towards car #2 right now in light of the mileage.

I welcome any thoughts.

Thanks

Gator Bait

Daggun they want a fortune up there. For kicks I looked at Craigslist and went 3 cars down to find this one: 92 MAZDA MIATA

Didn't look any further, but the point is no rust cheap Miatas are all over the place here. Even with shipping you could do well.

Casey

Yup. Supply and demand at work.

My primary concern is that I'd be buying a car based on pictures, rather than seeing it in person. I could fly to pick one up but if I get there and its not what I thought it would be, I'm out time and money that easily negates the savings over finding a nice car in the Northeast.

That's not saying I'm not willing to go get a car from the South, it just needs to be the right car.

Gator Bait

I'd be willing to look at one if you felt good about it after pics from the owner. It'd have to be a weekend right now to see it in daylight due to work hours. Could answer questions over the phone and text pics real time. ...just a thought... Always looking to top off the Karma bucket.

This just in! I've met this guy and seen this car in person already. 1993 Miata Limited Edition - #783

Casey

Thanks. I really appreciate that. Funny I'll actually be at DFW the end of this week for work. Might be worth trying to schedule a time to look at a car or two. No worries on rust in North Texas?

For that LE, at $4400 +$800-1k for shipping, I'm probably better off with the local cars.

Gator Bait

snow/ice happens once or twice a year and they use sand. Most people bunker in place. Cars driven in snor or ice here are more likely to be beat to hell than rusted. Drivers here have no clue how to drive below freezing.

Fly-n-drive!

Casey

I actually really would like to make the drive. With current gas prices, the cost would be pretty minimal. It's just hard to find the time.

charchri4

I'm with Gator on this one totally. I also think the prices you are looking at are way out of line. You can't give the drive train away in that 93 and it's not worth anything near what he is asking IMO.

I've bought a dozen cars sight unseen from the southern side of the line and all but one came out good. It's all about doing your due diligence up front and be sure to understand photos always look better than the car. Rule 1 is have an exit plan if the car is not worth taking home and be ready to use it. All the way back to 1978 when my buddy and I set out on a 3 week hunt for the perfect 65 Mustang I have always felt it well worth the $$ to go south for a clean car. And the Internet and made it easy! However I should point out that to me this is part of the adventure. Most normal people don't find it fun to buy a one way bus ticket to Tulsa not really knowing what is going to happen.

The best 175 bucks you will ever spend is to have the car checked out by a pro. You find a good shop (car talk mechanic files is a good place to start) then get with the owner and arrange to have the car checked out. The owner gets 50 bucks for his trouble and the shop gets a couple hours to go over the car with a fine tooth comb. Make it clear up front to the shop and the owner that you alone get the report. Had my son not skipped this step with his Miata he would not have ended up paying 2500 bucks for a car with about 1500.

One more point that Gator touched on is you have a gold mine in this forum of guys that know these cars like none other. Given a choice between a shop and a V8 owner looking over a car I'll take the enthusiast every time and compensate him well for his trouble. Yes I have spent 175 bucks for nothing before but when you think about it that nothing is really a whole lot of money saved! I see it as the price of being a car nut living in the wrong side of the country!

.02 for the day...

Casey

I did swap my current car myself so I do know my way around a Miata.

Nevertheless, thanks for all the help everyone. I bought a car today. It's a white (my favorite color) 1993 with 101k mi. Originally a Texas car and has been garaged in Connecticut since it came up. It has a little rust in the engine bay on the shelf under the master cylinder but other than that it's gorgeous. Even the frame rails are perfect. It's also bone stock, right down to the radio.

Gator Bait

congratz!

charchri4

No I was referring to having qualified guys in the south check one out for you knowing the cars really well. Not that you didn't know them.

Congrats on the buy! Post up some photos when you get a chance.

Casey

Thanks guys. Here's a couple photos.







I'm excited to start with such a clean car. I spent so much time on rust repair on my first swap so this one should go together must faster.

charchri4

Wow that thing is crazy clean! It looks like a really nice car to start with for sure. I can't ever remember seeing one with no rail damage like that. So is it a craigs list find and what did it set you back?

Casey

It was a Craig's List find that was very poorly advertised. Once I get take delivery and have the titled signed over I'll share what I paid. I got a deal. It does need a top but my current car has a brand new top that I'll swap over.

Best part, it was driven by a 70 year old woman.

Casey

I got the car home yesterday and did some detailing today. I don't have time to finish getting it cleaned to my standards but I can do that this spring.

Here's a couple more photos:





This badge is in the trunk. Clearly this car was made for a SBF.



Also, I ended up paying $2300. It does have a rebuilt title allegedly from rolling backwards into a tree. I can't find any evidence of repairs to whoever did the work did a great job.

Gator Bait

awesome find.

There are videos out there on Youtube by "Miata king" for repairing that antenna.

Casey

I'm not sure the factory radio even works- or I don't know how to turn it on. It doesn't really bother me however. I'm going to install an amp with an ipod hookup and get rid of the head unit all together.