- Seller: Carl S (Contact)
- Location: Sewell, New Jersey
- Mileage: 279,790 Shown
- Chassis #: JM1NA3514L0114612
- Title Status: Missing
- Engine: 1.8
- Transmission: 5-Speed Manual
If you’ve been looking for a track car but are on a tight budget, this Mazda Miata project might be the perfect option. The seller has been using it as their track car for the past few years, but it recently blew a head gasket. Since they just bought our MGB project, they’ve decided they’d better let this one go. They are offering it here as a no reserve auction, in hopes that someone who can fix it and get it back on the track.
Miata’s make great track cars! They are light, nimble, easy to work on, and have incredible parts support. This one has been the seller’s track car since 2020 and until April 2025, had been running great. After installing an aftermarket high flow grille, the car overheated. The seller believed it was all right after switching back to the stock grille, but they discovered that the headgasket had failed. They believe the car will need a head gasket, an idle air control valve, and that the cooling system should be checked to ensure it is functioning properly before running it again.
The interior is a mixture of original and aftermarket parts. The door panels and rollbar are the most notable changes made to the car. It would definitely work as is for track duty, and while you could cut weight by stripping the car down to the bare essentials, you aren’t likely to see much difference in lap times by removing the carpets.
Mazda’s 1.8-liter inline-4 is a great little motor that loves to rev. For 1996, Mazda revised the engine a bit, increasing horsepower to 133 and torque to 114. That might not sound like a huge amount of power, these cars only weigh 2,180 pounds and with power being routed through a 5-speed manual gearbox, you have plenty of power to be quick and fun. As stated previously, the engine is going to need some work, but these are robust engines. The engine was rebuilt not that long ago and according to the seller, it was bored .030 over and received new pistons, rings, rebuilt fuel injectors, and the cylinder head was rebuilt with new exhaust guides. Included with the car is a Mike’s Miata ECU and coil pack, plus a new spare fuel pump. During their ownership, the seller also installed new brakes and a new windshield, a Yokohama ADVAN 195/50R15 (date code LA92021). A previous owner installed the aluminum radiator, aluminum flywheel, Exedy clutch, Enkei 15 x 7 wheels, 4-point roll bar, and the adjustable Racemark struts.
The car is currently titled, registered, and street driven with New Jersey Historic tags, but it is titled as a 1990. So while it comes with a title, we are listing it as missing. Since you don’t need a title or license plate to use the car at a race track, this seems like the best use for this car, but if you need parts for another ’96, it could also be a good parts donor. If you have any questions for the seller, please leave them in the comment section below.
I have a couple of Miatas (95 with 83K and 06 with 98K). They’re great cars. I don’t get this one….a no-rust (apparently) NJ car, clean interior, no obvious body damage and all parts there….why just as a track car? The engine was rebuilt once (the claim) and needs a head gasket (easy job) and the idle air control valve (a 10 minute replacement). It’s got a white firewall and red in the door frames with a matte black (pretty nice) paint job.
Fix it first and then offer it. These are desirable cars.
Nice car, and as others have said, the head gasket and idle air control valve are easy fixes, but why show a car with such oxidized paint? A little polishing compound and a good wax job would do wonders for the finish! Rule #1 when selling anything is to present it in the best light, both physically and metaphorically speaking. Oh, and there are kits to fix the drooping pop-up headlights!
I bought a ’93 in 1996 as my first Miata, and if I knew then what I know now, I would’ve held out for a 1994-97 example, with the bigger 1.8L engine, like this one.
I don’t think the paintwork is “oxidized”, it’s actually a matte finish.
You may be right, but it’s not my favorite. It could also be a wrap, which means it can be removed with a heat gun if that’s the case. Either way, the matte finish needs to go away, IMHO!