Watching my neighbor's miata rot...

Awhile ago I noticed a purple"M" model miata down the street. I don't know all of the acronyms that the rest of you do, suffice to say its the early body style.

At one point in time the rear fender got banged up. So they did nothing and its still mangled but now its rusted.

At another point in time, they decided to let it sit outside and it didn't move for a few years.

Now the rear window has been cut out and so they just leave it sit on the street with rain pouring into it.

I hate having to watch this car deteroiate and not get used.

I looked up their names and wrote them a letter and asked if they wanted to sell it about year ago. I had some previous bad experiences with asking people and I thought they would respond to the letter. They never did.

I think I will go down and ask them about it, but it looks like they've moved out.

Sucks having to see a good car go to waste...

In 1998, I noticed a '91 Miata up on jack stands with a car cover over it. It clearly had hard top on it. It never moved and about three years ago, I finally left a note in the mailbox.

I got a phone call the next day, from the owner. She was very nice and told me that she had bought it new. It was pretty clear that she really loved the car for a long time, but parked it when the clutch went. She said that she would consider selling it an said that I could stop by and take a look.

When I pulled back the cover, it was horrifying, The paint was peeling and every body panel had just enough of a ding or dent to need replacement. The windshield was cracked and the hardtop was delaminating. The interior was damp and moldy. The tires were flat, the brakes were frozen and each wheel had curb rash. It was sad. Further complicating things, it was parked next to a stone wall, perpendicular to the steep driveway on a very busy road. I wasn't even sure how to get it out of there.

I told her that if she would take two or three hundred dollars for it, I might be able to use some of it for parts. She didn't really say much, so I covered it back up and it sat there for another two years before it finally disappeared.

1995 M, in case you're wondering. There's a Torsen in there, along with some unique two-piece leather seats that the British car crowd eat up.

Shame to hear about this - not because it's an M particularly, but because that was once someone's pride and joy. Good luck with the rescue.

I also have been driving past a '65 Galaxie 500 convertible that has been parked outside with a missing rear window since at least 1997.

Around the corner from a friends house, there is a green SN95 Mustang parked under a tree right up against a fence. It's been in the same spot for over 15 years. I remember asking my friend about it the first time I went to her house. I commented that it would be a good candidate for an American Sedan build as we were both going thru SCCA drivers school at the time. That was spring 97, and she said the car was sitting in the same spot when she bought her house in 95. I can only imagine what a barn find this could have turned out for somebody if it had actually been stored in a barn. I went by her house yesterday and the car is still there. It's still green, not because of the original color, but because of the algae growing on it.

The awkwardness you feel about asking the owner, is a small price to pay for that car.

!!^^^!!

it NEVER hurts to ask!

There is an original Mach1 mustang under a tree that I drive by every day on my way to work. It was under a tarp for a few years, but it blew off and disappeared last winter.

I asked about a similar miata with a hardtop. It took a bit too get connected with the owner but after I bought it and sold it again without the hardtop I had a $300 hardtop in decent shape.

There is a 68 charger around the corner from my house that is just rotting away. It's nothing special being a 318 SE. It's been since I moved in 7 years and will probably still be there when I move from here.

There's a purple/bluish MK3 Golf here in Pekin that's been on jack stands in someone's driveway for the past 6+ years.

Any time a vehicle sits for too long it sets off an alarm in my head and I start having thoughts like, "I'll bet I could snag that for a few bucks and build it into..."

I assume I'm not the only one here with this affliction.

My Scirocco was sitting behind a shop in NJ that one of my mechanics in PA told me about. From what I gathered from registration it had done 1000 miles in the last 13 year's.

First pictures showed algae growth on the outside, the down pipe had a huge leak from some bizarre attempt to replace the flex pipe with a solid piece. And I'm pretty sure the coolant was bad before it was parked.

Swapped some bits over from my wrecked '88, swapped in a header, and full replacement of the coolant system and it felt better than my '88 ever did.

A former co-worker had a 69 Mach 1 that he bought in high school in the 70's. He drove it until the fenders started to rot, and then parked it outside next to the barn until a small tree grew thru the trunk floor . After probably 20 years, they cut the tree down, and moved it into the dirt floored barn to rot some more. It's parked next to his unrestored 70 Boss 302 that is also rotting away because it never gets driven. The last time I saw the Boss, about 8 years ago it looked great, but smelled like Jimmy Hoffa was in the trunk. Just a shame.

jhaas wrote: !!^^^!! it NEVER hurts to ask!

Well, maybe it could...

There is a property visible from a (my previous job) sales route that has...no E36 M3...a Mini, a Porsche 911, and a Volvo 1800S(or P1800) in the backyard. I was going to stop in and ask about the lot but a coworker lived close and told me that the owner was a PTSD patient and had guns! I might get brave enough to take a picture for "Ran When Parked" some day.

This thread needs Photos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And I will now add one. There is a red early 90's late 80 GTA down the street from me that has been sitting for at least 15 years maybe 20. It has not moved at all. I have watched the paint slowly come off so it is now a lot more grey primer than red. There does not look like there is any rust. I saw it with a for sale sign on it about 7 years back but by the time I got around to stopping in the sign was gone. I will get a photo. A small part of me wants this car. It is probably only a parts car at this point.

bmw88rider wrote: There is a 68 charger around the corner from my house that is just rotting away. It's nothing special being a 318 SE. It's been since I moved in 7 years and will probably still be there when I move from here.

Any B-body Mopar is special.

Edit for content: Had a customer with a Cabrio. One of the last of the CIS models. The top was green fungus, the floor was rust where it wasn't air, the interior was mildewy and cracked and everything was coated with that vinyl-outgassing slime, and it suffered from a bad case of 50 miles a year style mechanical neglect.

She wanted to sell it, and put it up for $3500.

I'd say some people just see the car it used to be and not the car it was, but... it sold a month later.

dean1484 wrote: This thread needs Photos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i couldnt agree more here are some and all these cars are still there

at least he mows around it

this has been sitting for two years owner is going to fix :)

i tried buying this 6 years ago

this one i tried buying 12 years ago it still sits

this is the one that really hurts tried buying over 13 years ago and every year since it was a nice car when parked

Sadly, we can't save them all.

@cutter67

I think we need to put a thread waring on this for Javlin.

my uncle bought this new...

it's a 350, 4-barrel, 4sp, posi-trac, car. And no other options. No a/c, no p/s, no p/b... nothing.

It's sitting on the edge of a corn field. he mows around it. won't sell it for anything.

This one still makes my brain hurt.

my word.

I know of three Mustangs within a few miles of my house that haven't moved in years. My g/f often mentions a '69 Mach 1 near her childhood home that hasn't moved from its spot in a neighbor's driveway for as long as she can remember (she's 41).

Fortunately, I'm off the beaten path or folks might comment about my 1800ES that hasn't moved from its spot in my back yard since 2009. Fortunately, stripping the interior out seems to have kept any further rot at bay and when the wind blows the cover off now and then it doesn't look any worse than when I moved it there. Parking it on 2*12's seems to have helped as well.