Keith Richards, Tom Hanks' Castaway character, Barack Obama, these are all survivors. You can add to that list today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe Mazda RX7, but will its price survive your vote?
You know, considering all the Scooby snacks he ate, you'd think that one thing the Mystery Machine would absolutely need is a hefty shovel for scooping up all the Scooby doos. As he's a Great Dane, one of those lifting belts might be a good idea too. Zoinks indeed.
I had a good idea yesterday - a hip-hop version of the Mystery Incorporated team - and thought that our contender - a custom 1996 Chevy Van rocking more AV equipment than a private high school, and massive wheels - would have been their perfect ride. Unfortunately for its seller, 80% of you felt the only mystery that needed solving was how he would move it for anything near his twelve-five price.
Today however, we have another mystery, which is how is it that some cars seem to stand up to the test of time while others age like Lindsay Lohan? For example, this 1984 Mazda RX7 GS looks almost like it just rolled off the boat from Hiroshima. Sure, it only has 55,375 miles on the clock, but still you'd expect at least its interior to show some evidence of damage from sun and time.
Instead this series three FB looks almost pristine. It's fair to say that there's not a lot on the car to suffer the ravages of time - the ad noting that this GS lacks such modern conveniences as A/C (sorry Arizonans) and power steering (further lamentations to those with little girl arms), still that's a whole bunch of hoses, connectors and pumps that you don't have to worry about.
The lack of those convenience options may be overlookable considering the condition of the parts that are there. The powerplant is a 101-bhp 12A and that's backed up by Mazda's fine five-speed manual. The ad notes that not every part has withstood time's unstoppable march, and the tires, brake master, as some ignition bits are claimed to be all new.
The ad also says the car was driven mostly for recreation, providing justification for its low odo reading. The eighties timewarp interior - resplendent in its gold-hued center console and chiclet buttoned radio/cassette system - bears this out. The dashboards on most of these cars today typically have more cracks in them than a plumbers convention, and this one is, as noted earlier, remarkably pristine, as are the twin thrones.
Outside, the red paint looks totally serviceable, as do the factory four-spokes. This being a series III, it sports the bulldog underbite front bumper and full-width tail lamps, which may or may not be your cup of tea. You might likewise find the car's $2,500 a little too steep (see what I did there?), but of course that's what we're about to find out.
What do you think about $2,500 for this time-warp RX7, is that a clean deal for so clean a car? Or does that price make this a car you wouldn't Wankel over?
You decide!
Indianapolis Craigslist or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Matt Turner for the hookup!
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