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What would YOU do with a "time capsule" car?

Yeah--I kind of hate to see "resto-mods" built out of vehicles that didn't really need to be restored to start with. If you've got an older low-mileage example that only needs a little TLC to bring it back to near-showroom condition, why wouldn't you just do that and preserve it? Go find one (cheap) with 200K on it and maybe a couple dents and a little rust and hack it up and do whatever to it. If the intent is for it never to be "original" again, all you need is a basic chassis to start with.

But, OTOH, I know people--especially with trucks--that buy brand new vehicles with the intent of gutting it and modding the hell out of it the minute they get it home--to each their own.
 
I can't own things that I'd be afraid to use. I'd be OK with making this a sunny day good weather occasional cruiser but thats it. Not a DD, but not "stuffed and mounted" either. Cars that don't get used are just pointless for me, but at the same time that doesn't mean they have to sit outside in the weather and get driven in the snow either.


RWD, 30 years old, 'vert, and timing belt. Hm. 4 cyl Mustang or a Miata is all that comes to mind. 89 was first year Miata, but I don't believe it represents anything special in the Mustang world.
 
gadget73 said:
I can't own things that I'd be afraid to use. I'd be OK with making this a sunny day good weather occasional cruiser but thats it. Not a DD, but not "stuffed and mounted" either.
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That is exactly why I sold my last "classic muscle car" a couple years ago. I had owned it for a little over 25 years--it was an all-original, low-mileage, fairly rare-optioned Camaro. When I first bought it, I drove it fairly frequently in the nice weather, and stored it in the winters. Over the years that I owned it, the value increased dramatically, and it became more of an "asset" than a fun//cool car. I was afraid to drive it or park it anywhere out of direct eyeshot. I started trailering it to shows, and it rarely left the garage (actually being driven).

Ultimately, I made the decision to sell it (for 7X what I paid for it), just because it was "no fun" anymore--if anything, it was a sort of "liability"--lots of work to keep it "pristine", but to never use/enjoy it.

So, I sold it and bought a "modern muscle car" (my first HellCat), and I actually drove it. Now I am on my updated HellCat RedEye, and I drive it. It is new, far more advanced in performance and creature comforts, and replaceable/repairable if something happens--not afraid to drive it or park it in the grocery store lot--much more "fun" to own.
 
N8Nagel said:
I had a dilemma like that a few years back. Had a '62 Studebaker Daytona hardtop. Wiring harness caught on fire in late '60s with about 25K miles.
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Hah, I have something similar that I snagged twenty-some years ago.

Pulled off the side of the road to check out a jeep that was for sale. Turned out to be a piece of crap, but then I noticed an unusual car on the guy's lift inside the garage. A 62 Buick skylark the guy was fixing up for his wife. He then tells me he has more cars in back, and about a 63 Skylark he bought for parts but was 'too nice to part out'.

We go to the back of his lot and there sits the grubby looking 63 Skylark parked between some other parts cars. Didn't look like much but, I open the door on the car an inside it has a white bucket seat interior in solid condition. A little dirty, but a quick rub with a wet thumb proves that it cleans up nicely. The kicker, it shows 19,000 miles on the odometer. Checking the lack of wear on the brake pedal, the perfect un worn/torn interior and fresh looking carpet I determine that it is indeed 19k miles, and not 119k. I look and the car sports a Maryland dealership emblem on the trunk, yet is solid and rust free. It must have come off the road early in it's life and gotten stored away somewhere. But why? A quick look at the hood shows a blotch of paint missing, and after lifting it, unmistakable evidence of an engine fire. Harness from firewall forward is toast.
 
OK people , thanks for weighing in on this. Sorry if it seemed a bit cryptic, not mentioning car make and model, but I wanted to get folks opinion on what they'd do in the situation of finding an old/new car, not weigh in on whether they like this specific brand/model car or not.

@dcmfan , @Djcoolray and @gadget73 properly deduced what we're talking about here. A first year Mazda Miata.

In a classic 'buy first, ask questions later' fashion I already snagged this thing, and it was delivered last Wednesday. There was other interest in the car, and I got word the owner finally decided to part with it ....so.... managed to fanagle the right of first refusal.

Specifics are: 1990 (6-89 production date) Mazda Miata, red, Package A, factory hardtop, and shows 15,374 miles as I type this. Purchased from 81 year old original owner, who was a Mazda dealership owner at the time and is a serious car enthusiast (owns a 61 NCRS certified Corvette, C5 Corvette, and is part owner of a collection of 20s/30s/40s high level show cars including a 33 Cadillac that won it's class at Pebble Beach.) The car has been cared for and it shows.

So I do indeed have a decision to make. Keep it and drive the wheels off? Keep it and drive it sparingly. Flip it.

We'll see.....
 
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Ohighway said:
OK people , thanks for weighing in on this. Sorry if it seemed a bit cryptic, not mentioning car make and model, but I wanted to get folks opinion on what they'd do in the situation of finding an old/new car, not weigh in on whether they like this specific brand/model car or not.

@dcmfan , @Djcoolray and @gadget73 properly deduced what we're talking about here. A first year Mazda Miata.

In a classic 'buy first, ask questions later' fashion I already snagged this thing, and it was delivered last Wednesday. There was other interest in the car, and I got word the owner finally decided to part with it ....so.... managed to fanagle the right of first refusal.

Specifics are: 1990 (6-89 production date) Mazda Miata, red, Package A, factory hardtop, and shows 15,374 miles as I type this. Purchased from 81 year old original owner, who was a Mazda dealership owner at the time and is a serious car enthusiast (owns a 61 NCRS certified Corvette, C5 Corvette, and is part owner of a collection of 20s/30s/40s high level show cars including a 33 Cadillac that won it's class at Pebble Beach.) The car has been cared for and it shows.

So I do indeed have a decision to make. Keep it and drive the wheels off? Keep it and drive it sparingly. Flip it.

We'll see.....
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You know what I'll say....Keep - but I am a tad biased!!! :)
 
olson_jr said:
What year Capri is a 3.2 V-6 engine from?
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Special Edition models from 81-83, not the normal production models, a spin off of the Capri RS second generation that came with a 3.3...also came with a 3.4. The car was charcoal inside and out with red seat inserts. Also, if they were offering a special edition for that year you could special order a car with that equipment. I’ve dropped many 2.8’s into Miata’s also to include a turbo 4-banger from a ‘91 Capri that looked like an early fox body mustang. Three out of every ten cars sold in the US ends up in California....one out of ten is sold in California and if you were a car rebuilder you made bank. But a 3.2-3.4 engine bored with the heads ported and a 5-speed in a Miata, more power than anyone is ever gonna need. A 2.6 in a Miata from the Capri first generation, the 2.6 engine and 4-speed tranny weigh less than what the Miata came with so all you have to do is put ceramic brake pads to slow it down. Then I only modded the first generation Miata.....

It’s about the weight displacement, the weight of the Miata engine and tranny compared to Capri’s engine and tranny. You put too much weight in the front end of that car and it ruins the cornering capabilities. The only hard part is welding and spin balancing a drive shaft from the two cars....
 
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Ohighway said:
OK people , thanks for weighing in on this. Sorry if it seemed a bit cryptic, not mentioning car make and model, but I wanted to get folks opinion on what they'd do in the situation of finding an old/new car, not weigh in on whether they like this specific brand/model car or not.

@dcmfan , @Djcoolray and @gadget73 properly deduced what we're talking about here. A first year Mazda Miata.

In a classic 'buy first, ask questions later' fashion I already snagged this thing, and it was delivered last Wednesday. There was other interest in the car, and I got word the owner finally decided to part with it ....so.... managed to fanagle the right of first refusal.

Specifics are: 1990 (6-89 production date) Mazda Miata, red, Package A, factory hardtop, and shows 15,374 miles as I type this. Purchased from 81 year old original owner, who was a Mazda dealership owner at the time and is a serious car enthusiast (owns a 61 NCRS certified Corvette, C5 Corvette, and is part owner of a collection of 20s/30s/40s high level show cars including a 33 Cadillac that won it's class at Pebble Beach.) The car has been cared for and it shows.

So I do indeed have a decision to make. Keep it and drive the wheels off? Keep it and drive it sparingly. Flip it.

We'll see.....
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All options are viable. Congratulations on the score and good luck with the decision!
 
In this case, I'd be inclined to keep it, but drive it all summer and stash it for the winter. It is somewhat rare and collectible because of it being the first year, low miles and excellent condition, but there are still lots of them out there, and parts/repair are not an impossibility (as is with many collectible cars).

Don't make the mistake that I did (detailed in my previous post). It is no fun maintaining a car just to trailer it to a show and sit in the blazing sun for hours with a bunch of plaques and trophies lined-up in the back window and dash. All of the compliments and ohhs and ahhs are no substitute for actually driving it and enjoying it.

You picked a good one too (I owned one new--the obnoxious blue, but I didn't have the hard-top), and ran the wheels off of it with no major maintenance issues--had well over 100K on it when I finally sold it. Certainly--take good care of it, but drive it. But that's just me YMMV.
 
Grenadeslio said:
Flip it if you can make a profit.
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Yeah, but flip it and then buy what? The Miata is perhaps one of the most fun and reliable cars ever built in its class of vehicles--trust me on this one--I have owned MG's , Fiats's and Alfa's--oh, yeah, and one Triumph (very briefly).

If you want a small two-seater, drop-top, there is nothing better out there. If you ultimately aspire to something different, then, by all means, cash-out and get what you really want.
 
savatage1973 said:
Yeah, but flip it and then buy what? The Miata is perhaps one of the most fun and reliable cars ever built in its class of vehicles--trust me on this one--I have owned MG's , Fiats's and Alfa's--oh, yeah, and one Triumph (very briefly).

If you want a small two-seater, drop-top, there is nothing better out there. If you ultimately aspire to something different, then, by all means, cash-out and get what you really want.
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Flip it for a later model driver.
 
savatage1973 said:
Yeah, but flip it and then buy what? The Miata is perhaps one of the most fun and reliable cars ever built in its class of vehicles--trust me on this one--I have owned MG's , Fiats's and Alfa's--oh, yeah, and one Triumph (very briefly).

If you want a small two-seater, drop-top, there is nothing better out there. If you ultimately aspire to something different, then, by all means, cash-out and get what you really want.
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Something better. If it had the Wankel engine I would say keep it even if it is butt ugly, but as it stands, meh.

Three examples of cars I would rather drive, although they are not 2 seater convertibles. Never was a drop top guy anyway, most are just not as good looking or as good of a performer as the FHC version.

ebay147381630282608.jpg
280px-Opel_GT,_Bj._1973_am_16.07.2006.jpg
mazda-rx7-black-3.jpg
 
As for more smiles per miles with small underpowered 2 seat drop tops.

TR250
TR4
TR6
Austin Healey 3000
Bug Eye Sprite
Etc
Etc
Etc

Now if planning to give the car to his lady then that's a whole different kettle of fish. She would love driving her friends around in it, and the rewards could be endless lol.
 
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