OK so we found a Miata; one of our fellow SCCA members was offing their 91, white, decent paint, straight, 15" wheels with Falken tires, KYB AGX shocks, an extra set of stock wheels, air dam, new soft top and a spare low milage Japan import motor for $2400.
It does have 204K and the A/C isn't blowing cold. The compressor does kick in but I suspect I'll have to replace several components.
Basically we grabbed it because it left lots of room for things like a hard top, roll bar and other goodies. My son is quite happy to have it and I like that it's fast approaching a classic.
Tom