The 1800 sedan was a very nice looking car. Designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, it had elements of Lancia and BMW in it. The station wagon, while not nearly as sporty as the sedan, is nice looking in its own way.
The 1800 is not a quick car. The 1796cc non-rotary engine we got here in the US only makes 98 HP and it takes the car close to 18 seconds to reach 60.
This is a car you buy for its looks and rarity. As the seller points out, only 1639 of these station wagons were imported in 1971. I suspect very few are still around.Old Mazdas, like most 70s cars, rusted badly. This car appears to have very little rust, having spent its life in Texas. Unfortunately, having spent its life in Texas, parts of the interior seem to be pretty well baked from the sun.
The car was running up until 7 years ago. At one point in the listing the seller says the engine might need an "overhaul", but later states that he doesn't think it's too bad. Plan on an engine rebuild and be pleasantly surprised if it doesn't need one. The car also needs some clutch work done to it.The seller seems pretty anxious to sell this car ("I'm tired of trying to answer all these questions , somebody give me a $1000 and take this car"). As I write this there is about a day and a half to go in the listing and no one has bought the car. (It's a "Buy It Now" and not an auction.) I don't know about you, but to me $1000.00 does not seem like a lot of money for this car. (Maybe that's because I live in New England. Here, an old Mazda that has sat outside for 7 years would be nothing more than a pile of rust covered in Maple sap by now.) Somebody needs to buy and restore this car. Too many older Japanese cars get the chopped and lowered treatment these days. It would be nice to see this car, being rare and having nice lines, restored back to its original state. (In markets outside the US Mazda sold these cars with a rotary engine. I guess I wouldn't complain too much - as if anyone cares - if the new owner dropped a rotary engine into it.)
Located in Breckenridge, TX, click here to see the eBay listing.A big thanks to JaCG reader, "longrooffan", for sending me the link to this car!
