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Nevada Desert Car: 1983 Dodge Mirada

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Here’s a perfect recipe for a rust free car: never drive it and have it live exclusively in places like Nevada and Florida. This 1983 Dodge Mirada CMX here on eBay has only 29,746 miles and remains in phenomenal condition, thanks to its current owner that reversed the one negative effect of desert living: sun damage. So while a repaint means it’s not completely original, at least it’s a project the next owner doesn’t have to worry about. 

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Bidding is currently up to $1,425 and there is a reserve; the seller has listed the Buy-It-Now at $5,750. With the low mileage, I would expect slightly less wear on the front seats, but I suppose that’s another potential side effect of living where the sun shines brightly. The heavily-tinted windows are a staple of Florida living, and will certainly help preserve the interior at its current condition levels. The CMX Miradas came with the factory “Tuff” sport steering wheel, but it doesn’t appear to be present on this example.

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Interestingly, this dash plaque would indicate the Mirada was originally sold new in Florida before moving to Nevada and now ending up back in Florida. I did a quick search for Mr. Terry’s name, and it appears he sadly passed last November. My guess is he bought the car new in Florida, spent a few years in Nevada before returning to the Sunshine State, with the current seller purchasing it at an estate sale. Regardless of its history, it’s safe to say it hasn’t spent too much time in the Rust Belt.

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The seller also installed a new headliner, and the carriage roof looks pretty fresh, too. The white wall tires work well with the paint color and I don’t mind the beige roof as much as I thought I would. These Miradas may not be as fast as their looks would indicate, but it would still make for a solid cruiser without too much to worry about in the way of expensive upkeep. Hopefully, its mileage stays low and the car remains in the survivor-grade condition its currently in. When’s the last time you saw a CMX on the road?

Comments

  1. Avatar Elliott Member

    If only this were a console/buckets/tuff wheel/sans vinyl roof Mirada! Oh, well!! :-)

    Like 0
    • Avatar Blueprint

      I really like Miradas, but sadly most of them are stuck with these padded roofs. A first year CMX with the 360 is the one to catch.

      Like 0
  2. Avatar David

    Wait, what? Cars don’t rust in Florida? Well, the plastic bits, perhaps.

    Like 0
  3. Avatar Van

    Florida is great until a hurricane peals the roof off the garage and dumps the neighbors palm tree and pool furniture on the car.
    Then you drive to work on a hwy that had a 3 foot storm surge clean the roadway, with saltwater.
    then that guy in front of you that just pulled of the beach. The salty sand slinging of his tires cleaning your grill, hood and underpinnings.

    Like 1
  4. Avatar redwagon

    several styling cues on this that we see today or in the more recent past.

    consider the bold horizontal grill; on last generation ford fusion, toyota pickups, to a certain extent ram pickups and the dodge lineup.

    slab sides could be just about any midsize to smaller car. consider corolla, camry, passat, jetta, altima etc. today there is a 2 inch flat vertical strip around the wheel wells and some very flattened quarter panels and doors.

    not a good side shot to determine what it would look like with 4 doors (aka today’s most common style) but my guess is that with some minor tweaking (not twerking – get your mind out of the gutter!) of the c pillar this design could accomodate 2 doors a side.

    of course beneath the skin it’s all old school, including the rwd. and the vacuum hoses and the pathetic levels of hp and torque. nothing a 4 cylinder turbo couldn’t fix.

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  5. Avatar Billy

    I have a 1983 (In the paint shop right now as a matter of fact, needs to get purty for its 33rd birthday) Mirada, have had her for over 30 years now. I bought it when it was less than three years old, and even then they were hard to find. These are becoming increasingly rare. I doubt they will ever be as valuable as an E body, but they make up for it in its cool looks and the rareness. I have taken it to the great Iola (Wisconsin) massive car show and its the only one there out of thousands of cars. People stop all day to check her out. Hemis and big block Ford and Chevys are a dime a dozen, but here we have something truly unique. I will never sell mine, and our son says he will show it long after I am pushing up daisies. We need to preserve cars like these.. BTW, I also do not like the goofy vinyl roof. Mine is in beautiful Nightwatch Blue Metallic with a solid roof, and adorn with the great silver metallic looking band over it. That’s a great styling point.

    Like 1
  6. Avatar Joe

    Perfect case where service records and, if possible the last owner’s notarized statement, are necesssary to prove this low mileage. I highly doubt it.

    This doesn’t look like a 30K car at all. Some Captain certainly spent more than 700 hours (estimated at 40 mph average) with his behind in the leather seat, steadying the tiller of this Big Boat. And wearing out the steering wheel?

    With a Flipper Dealer and a 5 digit mechanical analog odometer, could be 130K miles ? OR most likely a junkyard speedometer change ? OR…..Oh my…could it possibly be….a rollback??

    Nooooo you can’t think this…all as pure as white snow innocence in the Sunshine State!!

    Like 0
  7. Avatar Charles

    First wife had the Cordoba version of this car. We had the top replaced when the car was 15 years old. The vinyl is glued to a fiberglass shell and the shell is fitted to the car body with rivets. The opera windows were underneath the top, and the only difference between the model with the padded top and no padded top was no trim. The car was surprisingly rust free under all of that stuff. It appeared that the design allowed water to flow though without holding any moisture in place. It was an impressive design for an 80’s car. The car was still running reasonably well when the ex sold it with 325K miles on it. The only weakness these cars have is the plastic trim. The bumper/corner fillers and plastic door trim fell apart and had to be replaced. The car itself was bullet proof.

    Like 0

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