So my neighbour is retired and a car guy. He finished restoring a 1979 RX7 last spring and has been enjoying driving it. This brings us to his 1996 Mazda MX6 2.5l v6 with a 5spd. He's owned it since new, always kept it in his garage and never winter driven it. It's about as good a stock example as you're likely to find. He stopped me while we were out walking the dogs and offered it to me for $500. I couldn't say no. It has two issues. The first one is it won't start. It cranks but no fire. I suspect fuel pump as it's been sitting for over a year. Second issue is he tells me it sometimes jumps out of 5th gear. It appears this is a common issue with the 5th gear shift fork wearing.
I'm not in a huge rush to dive into this project, and Im really hoping this isn't a big project, but I'll try to update as I go.
I'm currently thinking I'll fix the issues and send it along to a new owner. Is there a market for these cars? It looks sharp but I don't know a lot about the late 90s Mazdas.
Sister under the skin to the Ford Probe IIRC, i haven't seen one of those around here in many years. Really sharp looking cars and parts should be easy-ish to find. Great score!
In reply to Wayslow :
pretty sure Danny Shields drove them to a couple national championships in SCCA Solo competition when they were new. Damn i love that powertrain. I'd rather have it in another Probe GT though, as i'm a firm believer in hatchbacks.
stan
UltraDork
3/2/23 1:40 p.m.
I should have kept mine. With 170 (as I remember) HP and low drag/ light weight it could be a fun car for you. Keep us posted.
Pictures? If I remember correctly that engine has a nice sound for a V6.
It's currently parked at his place. I'll drag it over sometime in the next couple of weeks then I'll post some pictures.
My ex-wife had one of these. It was really fun to drive. The only issue we had with it was the distributor. The car started losing power in left hand turns. Then it just went poof and refused to start. Check for spark as well as fuel pressure. That really is a good score for $500.
Really pretty bodywork on these. $500 from the original owner? And it's a manual? What a deal! Congrats!
Congrats! I really dig these and their probe siblings.
$500 is a solid buy. What color is it? Any rust?
I had a 96 Probe with the same setup. I bought it with the same crank but no start issue. It ended up being the distributor. Factory distributors are not really available and when they are they are $$$. I found a cheap aftermarket one that ended up working just fine.
