This next car comes as a tip from FuelTruck who writes: What is it with Texans in that they seem feel the need to “truckify” everything? No clue, but this thing is kinda awesome, and I want it. For half of the asking price. Find this 1997 Mazda Miata MX-5 offered for $5000 in Lago Vista, TX via craigslist.
This next car is a custom Mazda is a bit of a puzzle. It looks like the builder started to build a lightweight racing-prepared Mazda by building a tube frame cage. A few weeks later, the builder decided to tubify the rear end…and then the front…and eventually it just devolved into a tube frame-semi-unibody racer that weighs as much as the tailgate on an old truck. Find this 1995 Mazda Miata offered for $4000 in Centerton, AR via craigslist. Tip from Rock On!
You know you are in for a treat when a seller describes his car as “super” or “mega” or “monster”..and we’ve got a real treat for you today. It appears to be a Mazda Miata that has had its small 4-cylinder engine replaced by a Ford V8 mated to a 6-speed manual. But that wasn’t good enough, so the seller added a supercharger with an intercooler and claims 500 horsepower at the rear wheels. Find this 1990 Mazda MX-5 Miata offered for $15,999 in Tampa, FL via craigslist. Tip from Rock On!
If you are going to go through the trouble of dealing with the nonsense that goes with selling a car on craigslist…you’ve got to provide more than just two photos, especially if that car is an interesting looking fake Ferrari Dino built on a Mazda Miata chassis. We have so many questions, why don’t you sit down and stay a while. Find this 1995 Mazda MX-5 Ferrari Dino offered for $11,500 in Kennesaw, GA via craigslist. Tip from Graham.
The first generation Mazda MX-5 Miata (internal code NA) was launched in 1989 and sold a staggering 400,000 units through 1997. It was a surprise hit given its Skunk-Works style genesis and everyone from Mazda’s product planners to all the out of work former MG, Triumph, Fiat, and Alfa-Romeo employees were shocked that a cheap, reliable, fun, sports car could sell so well. Anyway, the good news for automotive vultures of the world (that’s us) is that Mazda sold so many that the market is flooded with cheap used examples and you get get them cheaper in bulk. Find these two 1990 Mazda MX-5 Miatas offered for $2,650 (both!) in Morgan Hill, CA via craigslist. Tip from FuelTruck.
Fiat first used the name 124 Spider on a little convertible sports car that was built from 1966 through 1985. Styling was by Dutch descended, but Detroit born Tom Tjaarda who spent most of his career with Ghia and Pininfarina. However, in 2015 the world was re-introduced to a newborn Fiat 124 with design by Virgilio Fernandez that pays homage to the original 124, but uses Mazda MX-5 ND underpinnings. Italian styling, Japanese reliability — what could go wrong? Unfortunately for Fiat, the Mazda version (MX-5 ND) is prettier, faster, sportier, and more fun to drive (that last bit is according to one famous beefsteak wielding automotive journalist.) The only thing the Fiat 124 has as an advantage is that it depreciates faster. Find this 2017 Fiat 124 Spider offered for $16,990 in Aliso Viejo, CA via craigslist.
The Mazda MX-5 Miata isn’t a car for everybody. If you are too large or if your family is too large, fuggedaboutit– you’re not gonna fit. But for all the people who want a convertible with a driving experience that is sublime, you need to at least consider a Miata. Obviously, the latest generation (ND) has the best combination of styling, performance, etc…but if you want the best bang for your buck — look to the NB generation Mazdaspeed MX-5. It was a limited production version that added a small turbocharger, Bilstein shocks, and a limited slip diff to 5428 versions equipped with the 6-speed manual for the 2004-2005 model years. Expect them to be collectible in the future, but for now, they are affordable. Find this 2005 Mazda MX-5 MazdaSpeed offered for $7,800 in Temple City, CA via craigslist.
We continue the Loony Labor Day celebrations with this next car that’ll be perfect to cruise around in the blistering heat…uggg, it is so hot right now. But you won’t worry about the heat when you’ve got a paint job like this, because you’ll be more concerned that wild animals will want to take up residence in your MX-5 or city graffiti cleanup work crews will try and remove the paint. Find this 1994 Mazda MX-5 Miata offered for $10,000 in Long Beach, CA via craigslist. Tip from Rock On!
It seems that a car auction site is popping up every time I turn my head or cough…sometimes when I turn my head AND cough, but that is a discussion for another time. This next car comes from Doug DeMuro’s carsandbids.com, which combines Doug’s infectious optimism with nifty late model cars. What we are talking about today is this bearded Spock universe Mazda MX-5 that has a Jaguar S-Type AJ30 V6 (which is actually a specialized version of the Ford Duratec V6) that puts 220 horsepower into the stock Miata 5-speed manual gearbox. The company that sells conversion kits (Rocketworks in Eugene, OR) claims twice the power and torque of the stock MX-5 and twice the fun. Find this 2002 Mazda MX-5 Miata V6 Swap bidding for $4,567 with less than a day to go, located in Broomfield, CO via carsandbids.com
This next car comes as a tip from Kester who writes: Why do I like this so much? Is it because it’s so wrong and makes no sense whatsoever? I even struggled to send this in, though I know if I bought it, my wife would have me sleeping in it for the next month (and I don’t think the seats recline far enough…) She banished me to the garage once after buying a rusty old 914, but promised to never do it again as apparently I enjoyed it too much. The answer is easy — you like the idea of a reliable MGB GT with Mazda power and the patina of a WWII era battleship for next to nothing. Find this 1970 MG B GT offered for $5000 in Boone, IA via craigslist.