Alright Mazda and classic car fans, here’s a Mazda 808 for sale (well auction) that has everything! (Everything includes rough paint, rust, bubbles, a couple of dints and an engine that turns over but doesn’t start.) If you’re looking for a Mazda 808 project to restore then is one is for you!
Don’t let my amazing Huawei photos fool you, this Mazda 808 is a lot rougher up close when you take a good look at it…and it’s in pretty good company too, parked near a couple of 60’s and 70’s mercs that have had very hard lives (one you can’t start or get out of neutral… what fun!)
Maybe it’s Barn Finds that once drove through an actual barn sideways auction at Llyods this month (I have no idea, its my first visit for 2020) but if that’s the case then this one fits the bill perfectly!
Okay so it still stands proudly on all four wheels so it’s a far cry from a rusted shell as a project base and you could do far worse when it comes to paint on a car this old but restoring it to former factory glory would be a task unto itself and with all the cracks and occasional bubbles in the paint – you’d have to blast it all off first before anything else. And hope you don’t find Mount Bog taking up most of the underneath.
Still for all the work involved (and god only knows how much money you’ll have to throw at the engine in its unknown condition) given how popular these things are (especially for the crowd that can’t afford current Mazda Rx3 prices) it will get snapped up. Whether it remains piston powered or even 70’s gold colour remains to be seen however. (And let’s be honest, it’s more than likely going to have at least a 13B or a 13BT at some stage.)
At the time of writing it’s at 3k with 3 days to go. I expect that price to really jump in the final hours.
Oh did I mention this 78 Deluxe is showing only 15,000kms? Either the speedo stopped working back in 1979 or that’s when they parked it…and left it there. Which if that is the case then yes, that $3000 opening bid will really just be a warm up (and it will truly live up to the title of an actual Mazda related barn find.)
What about the next step up from a Mazda 808 then?
Yes if you want an actual rotor from the same era though? That’s okay – there’s one that’s already been restored inside for you! (Probably not for sale at 3k though, it’s been a very long time since anything like this has been that low..)
This was back in 2020 though..
And now that we’re well past that year (and still feeling the effects of Covid after all this time, damn spicy cough!) I’d love to know where this Mazda 808 ended up. Did you buy it yourself? Did someone you know jag it? Is it part of a collection? Does it hit the Ausrotary cruise scene (god I miss those)? And more importantly, is it now rotary powered? Let us know in the comments below!