1997 Mazda MX5 1.6 Monza
I have this 1997 Mazda MX5 1.6 Monza for sale. When it arrived, it was starting to look a bit tired in places but we thought it was worth spending some time and money in order to revive it so that it could be enjoyed again. We felt that the only way to tackle this was to farm it out to our favourite MX5 restorer and get any corrosion cut out and new metal welded in place. This turned out to be a huge job involving substantial sill and floor repairs (with photos to back this up). Along the way, the car had a big service, new cam belt, tensioners, water pump, new rear shocks, new front brake discs and pads, new stereo system, a change of wheels and tyres and a host of other jobs attended to. We tracked down the correct 'Monza' body transfers which finish it off nicely.
The bodywork is in excellent order with no rust and good solid wheel arches, sills, wings etc. Its good underneath too with solid lower sills, floors and chassis rails. Paintwork is good too and it has a black mohair soft top fitted complete with zip-out rear window.
The Monza was a limited edition for the UK only with just 800 produced. There are less than 200 left on the road today. They are a 'no frills' model, so no electric windows or power steering but they are still terrific to drive. Unusually this one has tan leather seats and matching trim which works well with the British Racing Green paintwork. Its covered around 83600 miles and drives as well as it looks. Inside, seats and carpets are all in good clean order as are the various trim pieces, door cards, dashboard etc and it has a set of new carpet mats fitted. The stereo works well and has both AUX and USB ports. The headlights have been upgraded to take halogen H4 bulbs.
Mechanically its all exceptionally good. The engine pulls strongly, the gearbox feels just right as do the clutch and brakes. Its just had new oil and filter, new air filter and new spark plugs fitted. Its in fairly standard order, so no big exhaust pipes or anything else to get in the way and I reckon it drives all the better for that. Its fitted with five spoke 14" genuine Mazda alloy wheels and these have a good set of Toyo Proxes tyres fitted. As usual, I like to cover a good 200-300 miles in any car that I am to sell and thats exactly what I have done with this Monza. It means that I know for sure that it will blast along the motorway at 80mph in complete comfort, tear along country lanes and I can even confirm that it happily coped with an almighty traffic jam on the motorway where we got stuck for the best part of two hours. How I love the M1. Handling is very good too as is ride quality and its free from annoying squeaks and rattles.
As with all of my sale cars, it has been thoroughly inspected using our unique MX5-based 80+ point checklist. The point of this is to ensure that everything is inspected – from the state of coolant hoses to electrical items, hood catches, engine fault codes etc and any faults found, rectified. It means that there should be no unexpected immediate expense once you have bought the car and gives me peace of mind that the car I sell is of a good standard. It means I know the car will drive as its supposed to and will be free from any major faults. If there are any minor issues, I’ll happily tell you so you know what you are buying. As part of this process, the car is serviced and then MOT tested (until November 2025 in this case) and a background check shows it to be free from any previous accident damage or any other misdemeanours. It has its original jack, space saver spare wheel and has two sets of keys, complete with factory-fitted immobiliser. Its ready to be used and enjoyed straight away.
Price is circa £4850 which feels like a bit of a bargain for the amount of work that has been carried out.
STATUS: A deposit secures it now.
The bodywork is in excellent order with no rust and good solid wheel arches, sills, wings etc. Its good underneath too with solid lower sills, floors and chassis rails. Paintwork is good too and it has a black mohair soft top fitted complete with zip-out rear window.
The Monza was a limited edition for the UK only with just 800 produced. There are less than 200 left on the road today. They are a 'no frills' model, so no electric windows or power steering but they are still terrific to drive. Unusually this one has tan leather seats and matching trim which works well with the British Racing Green paintwork. Its covered around 83600 miles and drives as well as it looks. Inside, seats and carpets are all in good clean order as are the various trim pieces, door cards, dashboard etc and it has a set of new carpet mats fitted. The stereo works well and has both AUX and USB ports. The headlights have been upgraded to take halogen H4 bulbs.
Mechanically its all exceptionally good. The engine pulls strongly, the gearbox feels just right as do the clutch and brakes. Its just had new oil and filter, new air filter and new spark plugs fitted. Its in fairly standard order, so no big exhaust pipes or anything else to get in the way and I reckon it drives all the better for that. Its fitted with five spoke 14" genuine Mazda alloy wheels and these have a good set of Toyo Proxes tyres fitted. As usual, I like to cover a good 200-300 miles in any car that I am to sell and thats exactly what I have done with this Monza. It means that I know for sure that it will blast along the motorway at 80mph in complete comfort, tear along country lanes and I can even confirm that it happily coped with an almighty traffic jam on the motorway where we got stuck for the best part of two hours. How I love the M1. Handling is very good too as is ride quality and its free from annoying squeaks and rattles.
As with all of my sale cars, it has been thoroughly inspected using our unique MX5-based 80+ point checklist. The point of this is to ensure that everything is inspected – from the state of coolant hoses to electrical items, hood catches, engine fault codes etc and any faults found, rectified. It means that there should be no unexpected immediate expense once you have bought the car and gives me peace of mind that the car I sell is of a good standard. It means I know the car will drive as its supposed to and will be free from any major faults. If there are any minor issues, I’ll happily tell you so you know what you are buying. As part of this process, the car is serviced and then MOT tested (until November 2025 in this case) and a background check shows it to be free from any previous accident damage or any other misdemeanours. It has its original jack, space saver spare wheel and has two sets of keys, complete with factory-fitted immobiliser. Its ready to be used and enjoyed straight away.
Price is circa £4850 which feels like a bit of a bargain for the amount of work that has been carried out.
STATUS: A deposit secures it now.
