Its a great looking color, but me thinks I would just repaint an NA that color with the accident history, but to each his own. Maybe Mazda will buy it back? Last time it was up for sale for $35,000, now the price is down to $29,000.

ebay Link = http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...52725345#v4-40

info from the sellers eBay ad..................







1990 Mazda Miata: One-of-a-Kind Factory Color Test Car - Sunkist Orange

Truly one of a kind! This is one of the original Mazda Miata “Color Cars” that were pulled by Mazda from the Miata assembly line in 1990 to be painted alternate paint colors at full-scale, as a marketing study for potential production. Viewing was held at the courtyard of Mazda North America HQ in southern California. There were six Miata color cars in all. The colors were:
• Raspberry Metallic
• Medium Blue
• Yellow Metallic
• Teal Green Metallic
• Light Green Metallic
• Orange ("Sunkist" - this car)
On the window sticker, in the block "Color of Your New Mazda" it says "Various Test Colors". All six color cars have an "X" for the color code, and the special color status is also noted on the original window sticker (which I have, along with many other records).
These six special cars were removed from the assembly line and painted at the factory. The cars were painted completely so that the color is under the hood, inside the trunk and under the carpets. They were not painted some other color first. They were returned to the assembly line for completion and then shipped to the Mazda design studio in Irvine, California for viewing. Sunkist (the orange car) spent some 14 months at the Design Center and accumulated about 1,400 miles. When they were finished with the cars, the Design Center offered them for sale to employees, and most were bought by employees or their friends. Sunkist is an A-package car (power steering, leather-wrapped steering wheel, AM-FM cassette radio) with air conditioning.

As noted, Sunkist is the only orange car, probably the most famous of the bunch, and perhaps the most interesting of the six different test colors. The paint is bright-orange, non-metallic, and pretty close to Lamborghini Miura orange from the late ‘60s or early ‘70s.
History-wise, Sunkist was crunched hard in the front end while in the hands of its second owner. After a period of some neglect, it was painstakingly restored by the fellow my wife and I bought it from. As a result of the great care taken with the restoration, it looks, runs, and drives like a low-mileage NA Miata, without rattles, shakes, or electrical gremlins. The job was done right, and it’s a much tighter car than the all-original blue 1990 Miata that I drive every day. We have owned and enjoyed Sunkist for the past seven years.

Photo links:

Here are photo links to show you more about the car. They will take you to the Shutterfly website, where there are many more pictures of Sunkist. Enjoy!

Pictures from previous owner:

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...Ysm7dq0YsWLFmA

More detailed pictures of the rebuild:

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...Ysm7dq0YsWLFug

Select photos from our life with Sunkist, 2005-present:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...Ysm7dq0YsWLF3A

Reason for sale is that my wife and I are about 3 years out from retirement, with only a 3-car garage, and I have other car-collecting priorities resulting from over 45 years of involvement with the old car hobby. “Plan A” is to sell Sunkist, “Plan B”, if not sold, is to put it into service as a daily-driver and accept the inevitable door dings that result from life in an SUV- and truck-plagued world. Because of the quality of the restoration, the car should be preserved, and it makes better sense to pass it on to the next loving owner. We have enjoyed our time with Sunkist, and it’ll always be a special car at any Miata gathering or Japanese classic car show, such as the annual JCCS event in Los Angeles (google it).

Because the history of Sunkist is so well known, there will be questions. To answer a few now:
1. Title is “salvage”. It means is that the value of rebuilding the car at the time of the accident was more than what the insurance company thought it was worth. We've all had more than enough experience with insurance companies over the years to know how expedient and weasel-like they can be - enough said. The status of the title has not been an issue for me, as I've always focused on the car itself and the great restoration work done on it. One only has to look at current values of older Ferraris to see that accident damage, when properly repaired, does not affect the long-term value of a special car. The key thing is proper repair, and that’s what was done with Sunkist – the car drives great. Tight and without unexpected sounds or handling quirks.
2. Sunkist retains its original VIN number, and has the VIN sticker, with the special paint code for the color cars.
3. There’s a lot of the original orange color left on the interior of the car, trunk, etc. so that it can be easily seen that the exterior color is a match for the original.
4. The original engine was damaged in the front-end crunch, so when the car was restored it was replaced with the correct early-type Miata 1.6-litre engine. Twenty or thirty years from now, the judges at Pebble Beach will be looking for this.
5. Miles on the car right this second are 39,063 – but that will increase due to use, as it’s not a “garage queen”.
6. Comes with the window sticker, photos, and lots of other documentation from previous owners. Yes, this is the real Sunkist, not a clone.
7. Regular maintenance has been performed, and I can provide my service log for the car. Engine oil has been Mobil 1 10W-30 synthetic oil, changed at 3000-mile intervals, along with high-grade oil filters (NAPA Gold by Wix).

More General Notes:

The top is in very good shape, as is the back window. The roll bar was made by Hard Dog, and there’s a Racing Beat chassis brace under the gearbox. Comes with an original blue factory car cover, top boot, and a Cannon rear subframe brace. Wheels are Panasport, and you get your choice of one of two sets of Panasports: either 15x6 Pro-Rally with 45mm. NA factory offset or 15x7 regular Panasports with the 38mm. NB Miata offset. Both sets look about the same, and are in excellent condition. Tires on the 15x6 are Michelin Pilot Exalto, a few years old and the tires on the other set of Panasports are worn out – so you’ll get a $500. credit toward a new set. A set of brand-new unmounted Panasport wheel centers comes with either of the wheel sets.

There are also a lightened flywheel, uprated swaybars, and the later-design gearbox shift lever for extra driving fun. The original radio works well and has had, I believe, the Jeff Anderson modifications for increased performance and reliability. Sunkist has also had the headlight flash-to-pass mod also.

Lots more to describe about the car, and I won’t take all your time to do it here. The best thing is for you to come see and drive Sunkist for yourself, and I can show you every detail in person. It’s summer and we’re all busy, but a time can be arranged, and we’re on the way to Monterey if you’re going there in August for Laguna Seca/Pebble Beach weekend.

Price is as shown with this listing. No trades unless you have a ’24-‘29 open Packard Eight or ’28 Packard Six roadster. Yes, I know it’s a lot of money for a Miata now, but as collectible Japanese cars go mainstream in the next few years, the price of Sunkist will seem like a pittance for a one-of-a-kind Color Car Miata in this condition. The only real question is: Will Sunkist be in your garage or someone else’s?










Overseas Buyers: Your purchase of Sunkist is welcomed, as my wife and I think it might be good to share one of the special Color Car Miatas worldwide. Purchase of this car will thus include free delivery to your customs broker or point of embarkation at either Los Angeles or San Francisco. I can also deliver the car to either Portland (Oregon) or Seattle if my return airline flight expenses are paid. After the car is delivered to your shipping point, all further costs for brokerage, customs, insurance, and shipping are your responsibility.

Domestic Buyers: Sale of Sunkist is FOB our driveway in Cambria, CA, at the southernmost end of the Big Sur Coast. A scenic place to drive to Monterey or home from. We’ll also be happy to co-ordinate loading of the car with your car hauler if you prefer to ship by truck. An enclosed van is highly recommended.

Payment: Following purchase, a non-refundable downpayment of $500 (US) is to be made within 2 calendar days of the close of this listing. The downpayment may be made by cash in hand or by Paypal. The balance due for purchase of the car is to be paid within 14 calendar days of the close of the listing, and is to be paid by cash in hand or by bank wire transfer. No cashier’s checks accepted, because of the potential for fraud. Ain’t the modern world grand?


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