1990 Mazda Miata Mx-5 2dr 1.6l Coupe With Original Hardtop! Low Reserve! on 2040-cars

  Up for sale is my Mazda Miata.  This car has been the best car I have ever owned; the most fun, most reliable, most fuel efficient hands down.  It is, however, not a very good second car for a growing family. The “A Package” made reference to in the "trim" line above included power steering, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, aluminum alloy wheels and cassette stereo.  I have set a reserve price of 2k because I need some sort of down payment for a more family oriented car.  I believe this to be a fair price given it's condition and especially because of the fact that it has the original hard top; these tops are virtually unavailable used and around $1500 new (without hardware)  I have included a list of reasons that I found at http://www.miata.net/garage/hardtop/ as to why this option of a hard top is very nice to have.

·       The Spec Miata racing series requires Original Equipment (OE) hard tops or no top at all.

·       The hard top increases chassis rigidity and reduces aerodynamic drag for better performance.

·       The car is quieter and more comfortable on the highway with the hard top on.

·       The OE top's large window reduces blind spots.

·       The hard top has a rear defroster and is more insulated for winter use.

·       The hard top increases vehicle security. Many people never lock their cars for fear of the soft top being cut.

·       It makes the car look entirely different. I think it looks much more anonymous - I never get comments on the car when the top is on!

·       It increases resale value, since hard tops do not depreciate significantly. A 10-year old Miata with a hard top would be worth 20% more than one without!

The are two things this car needs(or can be done if you so desire)...you can recharge the A/C-because it does not blow cold...and you can repaint it-because the paint is original.  The A/C is the original R-12 system which blows colder than than the R-134a on today's car.  The compressor has a small leak that takes about a Texas summer till you need a recharge or you could fix it and be dome with it.  The paint I have never worried about because I HATE to have to park a mile away in the parking lots and get all upset when a rock chips it on the highway.  I love owning the miata but not being owned by it.

I have done no modifications to this car other then the ones I am about to list here:

1)   I have added front and rear sub-frame braces to stiffen the chassis.  I also added one in-between the seat belt towers.  These three braces have made a world of difference in stiffening up the chassis. 

2) After stripping the cockpit of seats, consoles, mats and carpet  I added b-quiet sound deadening panels (http://www.b-quiet.com/ultimate.html) to every part of the cockpit; the floor panels, firewall, behind both seats and on the package shelf where the convertible top rests when down.  I even added to the inside of the doors!  These panels are covered with another layer of sound and heat deadening material (http://www.autozone.com/autozone/accessories/Thermo-Tec-24-x-48-in-one-side-foil-thermo-guard-FR-heat-shield/_/N-269m?itemIdentifier=398829_0_0_).  The entire cockpit is completely carpeted with this material.  On top of that I re-installed the factor carpet and you would never know it was there other than the dramatic reduction in heat and noise.  I also sprayed the the inside of the trunk with boom mat (http://www.designengineering.com/category/catalog/boom-mat-acoustical-products/boom-mat-spray)  In demonstration of this I have included two pictures in the line up of photos; one shows the carpet behind the drivers seat being lifted up in order to expose the material under it and the other is of the trunk in which you can see a gray part of the trunk in the center extending past the carpet.  That is the boom mat that was sprayed on.

3) The transmission gave out about a year and a half ago.  I replaced the entire transmission with a low mile tranny out of a 1996 Miata.  The gear ratios are very different on these as opposed to the earlier modes.  The new one allows you to continue driving at a very low RPM and lower speed in second with out having any trouble.  This is helpful in lots of situations like slow traffic on the highway or a rolling stop at a stop sign. 


Well, that's it.  If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.