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

[Ohighway]

...... I realized that low mileage original cars were not for me and I sold it and bought a slightly ratty '55 coupe body and frame instead as the original drivetrain was long gone and I could do what the hell I wanted to it without guilt.

And that potential guilt is what's playing in here. If I decide to just drive the car, it will be like I wasted the previous 30 years of effort on the part of the previous owner to keep the car pristine.

I do think this example has some historical significance in the context it was introduced. It was the first year for an eminently affordable utterly reliable enjoyable small sport car every other roadable small sport car aspired to be, and wasn't.

This definitely played into my decision to buy. Yeah.... 30 year anniversary of the Miata and it's a first year model and a relative early one (6-1989) at that.

In this case, I'd be inclined to keep it, but drive it all summer and stash it for the winter.

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.

We've got other stuff to drive in the winter. My current Miata, a bought new 1992 never sees winter weather. I think it's up to around 113k miles on it now.

I've been in the Miata game for .... well....... 30 years tomorrow. Signed the paperwork to buy the first one on June 7 1989 (Took delivery the following month as my car was one of the first the dealer received and they wanted it to sit in the showroom for awhile.) I was convinced blue would be the way to go (based on what I saw on a magazine cover) but when faced with one in real life waved it off quickly and asked the sales person at the dealer if the red one they had was still available. (At that moment the blue and red were up for grabs, the white was already spoken for) It was, so I got red. Also the red car was the only package B of the bunch , and had a hardtop to boot.... Blue one was a base model. Not sure what the white one was.

Flip it if you can make a profit.

A very valid point. The closest equivalent car I've seen listed as sold went for ~ $3500 more than I paid for this one, and mine has a few thousand less miles. I could possible get more..... especially since part of my car deal included a new in box genuine Mazda shortblock assembly.

Flip it for a later model driver.

No need. We already have several cars, a truck, a van, and still have our 1992 Miata.

I would say keep it even if it is butt ugly, but as it stands, meh.

. Never was a drop top guy anyway,

Agree to disagree. I think the car is beautiful and anything but meh. And after spending my formative years riding around in a 60 Impala convertible, a early Willys jeep, and a Sunbeam Tiger I can say with confidence that I -AM- a drop top guy.

 

[savatage1973]

I was convinced blue would be the way to go (based on what I saw on a magazine cover) but when faced with one in real life waved it off quickly and asked the sales person at the dealer if the red one they had was still available.

I bought the blue because it was a rather "unique" color for the time period (of course I also ended up with a teal Camaro at about the same time LOL--sold it before the novelty wore off ). If they had offered a bright yellow (like a lot of manufacturers do now), I'd have been all over that!

Send that short block out to a tuner and have it done-up for the '92. Now that you have the "new" one, you can do as you will to the "old" one!

Good Luck with whatever you decide!

 

[Ohighway]

I bought the blue because it was a rather "unique" color for the time period (of course I also ended up with a teal Camaro at about the same time LOL--sold it before the novelty wore off ). If they had offered a bright yellow (like a lot of manufacturers do now), I'd have been all over that!

Send that short block out to a tuner and have it done-up for the '92. Now that you have the "new" one, you can do as you will to the "old" one!

Good Luck with whatever you decide!

Over the years the blue grew on me a bit. They're certainly less common than some of the other colors. I grabbed the 1992 Sunburst Yellow new in 1993 from what was then known as Mountaineer Mazda in Mt. Morris, PA. (Now called I-79 Mazda) I kept passing it and seeing it from the highway on my trips back and forth to Ohio. Finally gave in to temptation.



Short block will stay in the box , still sealed in it's plastic. Probably get sold off as is at some point.

 

[Shadowdog]

Maybe don't sell off the shortblock as it was likely bought for good reason, as I remember reading about the early cars have some crankshaft weakness or design fault maybe at the front with the pulley maybe involved. It likely doesn't happen till the car has more miles so best to keep it with that 89 as the needed part. It will no doubt add to it's value as it will have the improved parts and will be a correct repair for the car. The original owner(s) likely belonged to a club and so knew all the latest on those cars.

Road & Track used to have used sports car guides in their excellent mag back in the day and that's where I believe I read it!

I sure wanted to buy one from reading the mags back in 88-89 , but had to settle for a Fiesta (Mazda 121)! LOL!

 

[3kitty]

And that potential guilt is what's playing in here. If I decide to just drive the car, it will be like I wasted the previous 30 years of effort on the part of the previous owner to keep the car pristine.

You really are a nice guy!!!

....I understand your feelings in this regard....BUT the gentleman you purchased this from I'm sure realized that it would likely be driven a lot more then he did while he owned it. And once he met you and you had the exchange that you did....I am almost certain he was pleased as could be that you were the new owner and new that it would be cared for and loved in the same manner as he did....even if the miles were about to go up.

You are not dishonouring him in any way by using and enjoying this lovely car.....no guilt necessary.

....I'm trying to be helpful

 

[savatage1973]

^^^ I tend to agree. It is more likely that he would be upset if you just flipped it for cash--if he really wanted to get money out of it, he'd have held out for far more than he sold it to you for.

 

[Ohighway]

Maybe don't sell off the shortblock as it was likely bought for good reason, as I remember reading about the early cars have some crankshaft weakness or design fault maybe at the front with the pulley maybe involved. The original owner(s) likely belonged to a club and so knew all the latest on those cars.

I sure wanted to buy one from reading the mags back in 88-89 , but had to settle for a Fiesta (Mazda 121)! LOL!

Yes, the 1990 and some of the 1991 models have whats referred to as a short nose crankshaft. Best case the keyway aligning the pulley would wallow out but continue to run. Worst case the nose would break off. I think part of the problem was due to an incorrectly torqued bolt holding the pulley on. Nowadays proper torquing in conjunction with locktite is recommended when changing the timing belt.

Some cars had the problem, others not. Our first 1990 (early 1989 production) racked up 60k + miles before we sold it and never had a problem with it. Oh, BTW the original owner was privy to all kinds of information , not from a club, but because he was part owner of a Mazda dealership.

I believe the car you're referring to is the Festiva, not Fiesta. I remember seeing a Festiva at a new car show in Washington DC. Saw a 6'5" ish guy standing by it, then started to get in. I was thinking..... "yeah right" but he hopped in and fit comfortably. I was amazed.

 

[Ohighway]

You really are a nice guy!!!

....I understand your feelings in this regard....BUT the gentleman you purchased this from I'm sure realized that it would likely be driven a lot more then he did while he owned it. And once he met you and you had the exchange that you did....I am almost certain he was pleased as could be that you were the new owner and new that it would be cared for and loved in the same manner as he did....even if the miles were about to go up.

You are not dishonouring him in any way by using and enjoying this lovely car.....no guilt necessary.

....I'm trying to be helpful

I try, .... only partially succeed.... I will say I was upfront telling him that I was likely going to drive and enjoy it, not just store it.

^^^ I tend to agree. It is more likely that he would be upset if you just flipped it for cash--if he really wanted to get money out of it, he'd have held out for far more than he sold it to you for.

I believe you might be right about that. He called me back yesterday asking if all was well and if I was happy with the car etc. And probably mentioned for the second or third time since I bought it that he'd found the 'right guy' for the car.

 

[ehoove]

I will chime in here. I have a friend that owns a 1977 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud II with 40k miles on it. The car is brand new and he has owned it since new, but now has to move it on due to his age and declining ego as he says. It is so pristine if I had a three car garage I would think about buying it but that is not in the cards.
Regards,
Jim

 

[Ohighway]

I will chime in here. I have a friend that owns a 1977 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud II with 40k miles on it. The car is brand new and he has owned it since new, but now has to move it on due to his age and declining ego as he says. It is so pristine if I had a three car garage I would think about buying it but that is not in the cards.
Regards,
Jim

Hey Jim,.....Interesting. OK, in the spirit of this discussion, let's say it WAS in the cards for you and you had space for the car, etc. How would you manage the situation? Drive the heck out of it, drive it sparingly and try and preserve it, or delegate it to pure garage queen ?

 

[ehoove]

Drive it Sparingly and preserve it.
Regards,
Jim

 

[ehoove]

While it is pristine, it is not the most collectable of Rolls Royces BTW
Regards,
Jim

 

[gadget73]

Thats one great thing about my weirdo Continental, its not collectible and its not pristine so it honestly doesn't matter if I use it.

 

[Ohighway]

Thats one great thing about my weirdo Continental, its not collectible and its not pristine so it honestly doesn't matter if I use it.

Sounds like my Cavalier, or the old Ford F-150 I used to have. Useful, reliable, but both had shitty paint on them (peeling) So bumps and scratches didn't really matter.....

 

[PabloX]

My first reaction, as I read the thread, was that it heavily depends on exactly what make and model it is. As others pointed out, some old K car derivative is a whole different matter vs. a Porsche.

My next reaction was if I'm doing an engine swap in a Miata, I'm not putting an old Capri V6 in it. If I'm going through the effort, it's going to be something actually capable of some power. A Ford Ecoboost 4 (like the one in the Mustang or Focus RS), a Honda V6 or a pushrod V8.

Given that it's an early Miata, if the price is right, I'd buy it. Realize though that cars deteriorate from age and not just mileage. Rubber vacuum lines, fuel lines, belts and seals all die from lack of use as much as use.

I did have a 94 Miata for awhile. It was a great car and I shouldn't have sold it.

 

[Shadowdog]

Right I had a Festiva and had Fiesta on the mind as I recently picked up a lightly damaged one (needs the front bumper bar, one headlight, bumper cover/grill , and maybe the hood as it's slightly damaged ) though written off 113K KM 2012 SES hatchback with the dreaded Powershift trans. Maybe a wet clutch system could be added to solve it's problems, but it worked fine when I drove it out of the local wrecking yard and It had that go cart feeling with much better quietness and ride compared to the Festiva.

Yes that Festiva fit over 6 ft people fine as it was tall at 55" for the times.

 

[savatage1973]

And that potential guilt is what's playing in here. If I decide to just drive the car, it will be like I wasted the previous 30 years of effort on the part of the previous owner to keep the car pristine.

He called me back yesterday asking if all was well and if I was happy with the car etc. And probably mentioned for the second or third time since I bought it that he'd found the 'right guy' for the car.

I wouldn't feel guilty about driving the car. You are not "wasting" the previous 30 years of preservation, as long as you maintain it--you are enjoying the car. If anything, perhaps the previous owner may be regretting not enjoying the car before he was too old to do so--and as you posted, he is a "collector", so his priorities were different.

He is obviously comfortable with how you will treat the car--mentioning that he found the "right guy" for the car. From the sounds of things, money is not an object--it is the future of the car at stake, and he picked you--not someone else's deeper pocket.

I most likely don't have anywhere near his level of financial resources, but I have sold vehicles, guns, audio gear and other "antiques/collectibles" to "the right person"--knowing damned well that I could have gotten more money via a public (anonymous) auction/sale, but "vetting" the potential buyers was more important--to insure (to whatever degree possible) that it would be taken care of in a manner "acceptable" to me.

 

[echron]

My 30 year old daily driver. (Except bad weather days) 2 seats 6 cylinder 5 speed. 27k miles on all drivetrain.

 

[savatage1973]

My 30 year old daily driver. (Except bad weather days) 2 seats 6 cylinder 5 speed. 27k miles on all drivetrain.

Nice ride! I certainly wouldn't "kick it to the curb", but I actually prefer the previous (more angular) generation, but that is just my screwy tastes.

My first reaction, as I read the thread, was that it heavily depends on exactly what make and model it is. As others pointed out, some old K car derivative is a whole different matter vs. a Porsche.

Yes and no. Sometimes there are "surprises" out there, in terms of value/collectibility. I've seen some pretty "average" or "less than desireable" vehicles go for big money at auctions. They were either "meh" or "all you could afford" when new, but now there are only a dozen left on the planet and pristine examples can fetch $$$ from the "right" person. I saw an ugly as sin (but mint w/<15K miles on it) two-tone powder blue/white AMC Pacer go for just under $20K a couple years back.

OTOH--a number of years back, I bought a Ferrari 328GTS (one owner, low miles, garage kept, dealer serviced/complete records) for less than 2/3 the price of a new Vette. It was a real Ferrari, but just a pretty "common" model--probably one of their highest production models ever, so people weren't lining up out the door to buy it.

Back in the late 90's, I bought and sold several Porsche 924/944's--not "pristine" examples, but I never paid more than $4K for one--all driveable when I bought them. I put a few bucks in them, drove them for a bit and flipped them. Fun, but nothing particularly "special". I never lost any money on them, but I didn't go running to the bank with my new-found fortune, either. Like anything else perceived to be collectible, the market can be "fickle".

 

[JD#7]

Over the years the blue grew on me a bit. They're certainly less common than some of the other colors. I grabbed the 1992 Sunburst Yellow new in 1993 from what was then known as Mountaineer Mazda in Mt. Morris, PA. (Now called I-79 Mazda) I kept passing it and seeing it from the highway on my trips back and forth to Ohio. Finally gave in to temptation.

View attachment 1529058

Short block will stay in the box , still sealed in it's plastic. Probably get sold off as is at some point.

View attachment 1529059

I had some yellow ones !
I assume you bought that '89..good score . If you don't have the maintenance records, you should do all the required stuff for a 30 year old car plus timing belt + water pump .