2001 Miata for parts - Central Il - $1900
Fake TR3 door not included, paper mache front bumper negotiable.
With the Autobianchi in the Garage this has to go, so I put it up on Jackstands to part it out and I don't know if I have the heart to.
Lets start off with the TR3 looking elephant in the corner. I am the PO you yell about, I damaged this chassis. I cut out part of the structure behind the quarter panel and it would be entirely up to you to determine if it's repairable. I have 90% of the critical metal pieces I removed that you could weld back in or use as templates if you determined that this was safe and effective to do so. Again it's up to you. When I did it I fully intended to scrap this car but I want to give someone a chance if they would like an ambitious Miata project.
If your still interested and reading:
The chassis has ~200K miles on it (Ill put a charger on it tomorrow to get actual mileage) and was running / driving great when it met a Fox at high speed on the interstate. Said woodland / prairie land creature proceded to migrate at high velocity through the radiator resulting in instant loss of coolant (And irreparable damage to the front bumper, radiator/fans). This event occured in one of those no-shoulder area's of Chicago's interstate so the car was driven 3-5 miles to an offramp prior to shutting off. It did not restart. I measured basically no compression on 3 cylinders and some compression on 1 cylinder. The engine is dead (but possibly repairable? I dunno). The drivetrain is complete less the entire exhaust and the VVT solenoid. I may not have the strut tower brace as I think the PO kept it.
Every panel on this car is dented or damaged in some minor way. The hood is an OEM aluminum hood and is probably repairable. The trunk has a small ding above the right tailight but is otherwise straight. The rear bumper is.. Actually not bad. The front bumper is unusable. Drivers door has some small dings, Drivers Quarter has rust in the typical Miata spots. Passenger fender is very bad, passenger quarter was hacksawed by me but had a 4" deep dent in it anyway and was rusty. Passenger Door is a total loss (though I have all the window/regulator/speaker/interior panel/trim).
Front frame rails seem straight but there is some rust on the vertical faces of them in front of the strut bracket. Frame rails under the floor aren't smashed up. Tailights are in good shape, headlights have typical Miata fade but seem undamaged otherwise.
The interior is.. Okay. The seats are rough and the top is bad. Car has nearly new 16" tires on some ASA 16" basketweave wheels.
This car would be perfect if you wanted to graft a Morris Minor or similar size car onto a complete Miata "chassis" (After you cut away all the damaged body panels). It would also probably be a great basis for a LeMons car if you wanted to finish the TR3 project off. If you were really ambitious it could probably be made into a decent 2001 Miata when you where done after substantial bodywork and engine swap or mechanical work.
The car is priced to reflect the value of parts I was going to take/keep off of it. These include a 4.33 Torsen, 6 speed manual, and complete subframes / brakes as well as Bilstein Single adjustable Threaded body shocks, wheels with new tires. In fact it's probably too cheap to reflect the value of parts on the car given todays Miata values. I am confident someone with time could part the car out for good $$. Car has Title.
I have a spare black top that is in decent shape that can go with the car. I also have some 1996 M edition 15" wheels that could go with it as well to increase it's potential challenge appeal (Deals can be worked). I'll give it a bit before I start removing parts from it so speak up now if interested. If it doesn't sell this will be followed up with the part out thread with cheap Miata parts.
I can get pictures of any part of the car you are interested in.
