Good morning! On today’s Shitbox Showdown we’ve got two neglected, busted sporty cars, three decades apart in age. Which one will make you want to revive it? I guess we’ll see.
The final tally from yesterday’s weird yellow cars wasn’t quite as lopsided as some of you might have guessed. Yes, the VehiCROSS won, and yes, it was a landslide – but not a shutout. As of this writing, ninety-five people would rather have the bizarre little British kit car. Actually, make that ninety-six…
Faithful reader SAABStory seems to know me well:
Can’t wait to see Mark’s comment on picking the Banham instead.
Yes, I am indeed picking it. Why? Spite. That’s all. Pure, unadulterated middle-finger energy. You all picked on that poor little car so much that I feel honor-bound to vote for it. What can I say? I like underdogs.
Anyway, let’s take a look at today’s offerings. I don’t know what it is about sporty cars that makes people want to neglect them, but it seems to happen time and time again. Give a car swoopy styling and a little bit of power, and it is doomed to suffer, especially at the hands of second and subsequent owners.
Neither one of these was really meant to be a sports car, despite their styling, since the original purchasers of both chose automatic transmissions. And both appear to have been ignored and left to their own devices, and have suffered for it. Both could benefit from a true enthusiast owner, who would be willing to set things right.
2011 Mazda RX-8 – $5,000
Engine/drivetrain: 1.3 liter two-rotor Wankel, six-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Slidell, LA
Odometer reading: 170,000 miles
Operational status: Was running great, now won’t start – seller says it’s flooded
I remember the hoopla surrounding the Mazda RX-8 when it was introduced. Rotary engines were back, and better than ever, Mazda claimed, and installed in a swoopy new body with trendy clamshell-style doors. Reviewers loved it, fans drooled over it, and then the other shoe dropped: Somehow, the new “Renesis” engine was even less reliable than earlier rotaries. Apex seals and side seals were short-lived. Catalytic converters clogged, sapping power and making the seal problems worse. The bloom was off the rose before too long, and the RX-8 gained a reputation for trouble that even this improved later generation couldn’t overcome.
The seller claims to have put over 100,000 trouble-free miles on this car in the past five years, a claim which I take with a grain of salt, knowing the reputation these cars have. The flooding issue, from what I have read, seems to be related to weak ignition components, which is common in these cars. The seller says the spark plugs are new, but how old are the ignition coils? They work a lot harder in a rotary than in a piston engine, and some sources say they should be replaced every 30,000 miles as a preventive measure. There’s a chance this car could be a couple hundred bucks in parts away from purring like a kitten again.
Cosmetically, it’s in pretty good shape. There’s a decent-sized ding in the driver’s door, but you can probably live with it. And I don’t see any signs of rust, but since it’s a Gulf Coast car, you should check underneath to be sure. The interior looks pretty good, too, and I have to give the seller credit for this artsy shot:
That’s from the back seat, looking through the rotor-shaped hole in the driver’s seat headrest. Good stuff.
1981 Chevrolet Corvette – $3,500
Engine/drivetrain: 350 cubic inch overhead valve V8, three-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Laramie, WY
Odometer reading: 23,000 miles
Operational status: Not running; needs fuel system work
The original working-class sporty car, the Chevy Corvette, went through some tough times in the late 1970s and early 80s. It still looked the part; the muscular C3 body style, based on Larry Shinoda’s Mako Shark concept car, wore its five-mile-per-hour bumpers a lot better than some other cars did, but for quite a few years, the Corvette was all show and no go. This 1981 model managed 190 horsepower from its 350 small-block V8, which was actually an improvement over a few years earlier, but it still sounds awfully sad by today’s standards.
This particular car can’t even manage that – it does not currently run at all. We don’t have any information other than that it’s a “fuel system” issue. Luckily, the fuel system in this car consists of a mechanical fuel pump, a Quadrajet carburetor, and some electronic controls and emissions equipment that you can probably get rid of in most places in a car this old. Drop an aftermarket carb and intake on it, or just yank the low-compression 350 altogether and slip something much more potent under that long hood.
It’s hard to tell what condition the interior of this car is in, and this dark, grainy mess is the only photo we get. I have a sneaking suspicion that the 23,000 mile figure is accurate, and that this car has just been sitting around for a long time, in which case the interior would have suffered all the effects of age, but not much wear. It might be a bit of a time capsule in there, once you get it all cleaned up. Of course, it’s a time capsule from one of the least desirable eras of Corvette.
Chevy added this bubble-back window to the C3 in 1978, adding some much-needed cargo space, but then didn’t actually make the window open until the year after this one. You’ll still have to cram stuff in behind the seats. And yes, it is beige – but I see this as an advantage. Build up or swap out the engine, and you’ve got a sleeper that no one would suspect.
Yeah, I know – two cars that would be a whole lot more interesting if they were stickshifts. But these are what we’ve got, sorry. But hey, there’s a rotary and a V8 to choose from, so that’s not all bad, right?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
Wellthe RX8 started cool and went south due to poor maintenance. The C3 started out as crap and will always be crap without at least one wheelbarrow full of cash.
Corvette. Unusual for a non running Vette of this vintage is that it’s all there. It’s not a basket case missing scads of unknown parts. Even it the parts need replacing, good to have them there.
and the RX8 is not that cheap for a non running automatic.
Voted for the Mazda because I’ve never owned a rotary. But the correct answer here is both. Swap the engines from one to the other, simply to piss off the jort wearers, but also to put a reliable engine in the Mazda.
Also, I’ve always loved the shape of this era of vette.
Corvette, please.
It’s very inexpensive and – as has been mentioned by about 50 other people 🙂 – it can be made to go fast quite easily and for minimal money. It’s kind of a blank (okay, beige) slate for modifications.
However, I do want to take a small issue with this statement:
The fuel system also includes the tank and the lines that run to the front of the car; this C3 has been sitting long enough for both of those items to be completely perished. If it were mine I would plan to replace them before trying to get it running, rather than trying to troubleshoot a varnished and/or rusty mess.
OK, good point. Still a lot simpler and cheaper than having to do the same on a fuel-injected car.
Oh, definitely.
I think parts (in general) should be fairly inexpensive for a C3, and they are not complicated cars – with the possible exception of the vacuum lines.
For the price delta, the C3, swap in a used LS and a 5 spd and have some dollars left for gold chains and a couple of poly shirts.
Don’t forget a pair of New Balance, or is that only for owners of C6 and above?
C6, the C3 era was platform shoes. I didn’t get into the platforms being 6’5 in bare feet.
This old Corvette I’m thinking break out the Members Only jacket
I never put mine away 😉
I’ve long thought it would be fun to get a nice example of the worst Corvette made then show up at all the events being all “One of the Guys..Wow..Hey..I have a Corvette too!”
No buy a Chevette and change the first 3 letters. You will cause many blown gaskets
And now you know how I feel about being the proud owner of an XJ40 code XJ6 at Jaguar events. Genuinely, no regrets. I used to compare it to someone proudly showing off their 4-cylinder powder blue Mustang II Ghia at the Mustang show.
Would rather the Muppet car vs either of the floating turds.
Fight me?
No fight here, it’s a reasonable statement.
Based on the registration sticker and those white letter Goodyears, the Vette has been sitting for a looooong time. But I’d still take it over the RX-8. Getting a SBC running decently is a far easer task than dealing with the temperamental rotary.
I don’t really care for either, but for the money I’ll pick the Vette. It’s hard to beat the SBC for ease of upgrade and repair, this shouldn’t be too hard at all to get running, with significantly more juice than stock. Or throw in a junkyard LS if one has the skill/tools.
To me the Mazda is just a shell, I’d want nothing to do with the wankel even if it DID run. This definitely needs a motor swap to be cool, so 5K seems like a lot for just a shell.
Somehow, against every fiber of my being, I went with the C3. I don’t have much animosity towards Corvettes, but what little I do have is towards the later C3s and the early C4s (I’m looking at you, Crossfire Injection). HOWEVER, the RX8 is a car that, like the S2000, has a specific set of criteria and circumstances where it is awesome. Unfortunately, those circumstances require an idiotic amount of maintenance to achieve, as well as the manual – the automatic just sucks the fun out of it. With the Vette, it’s just some decked heads, a cam, a shift kit, and a Holley EFI away from being a decent Radwood entry.
This is tough. The Mazda sounds like nothing but work, money, and then more work and more money. But the Vette is a C3, which is a particularly bad version of the Vette and because it’s a Corvette, this makes it worse than the worst versions of other cars. Being in a C3 would be a constant reminder that you’re driving a car that should be far better in every way but which is not, and that would be sad. You could swap in a new drivetrain for the Vette and have a better car but it would still look like a C3. If you’re going to do that, then you might as well do it on the Mazda and have something a bit more interesting. So RX-8 it is.
^ This is exactly how I feel too!
I can’t help it. I can’t vote for a C3. You could run a rusted-out Yugo GV colonized by plague rats, and I would vote for it over a C3. Something about that styling, inside and out, elicits the same visceral revulsion in me caused by bad polyester suits and ABBA records.
Let me guess, you still use Brylcreem in you hair too? 😉
Quite the opposite… I think growing up in the mid-80s made everything that came out of the 70s feel dated and tacky. I grew out of most of that, but not malaise-era cars. And especially not C3s.
I was just teasing you! (　◜◡‾)
Corvette. I’d LS it. That is all.
To me it’s a tossup between the two. I suspect the Vette will need a lot more work and be worse to drive overall than the Mazda. I voted for the Mazda.
I voted for the vette, but it was close. The concern with the Corvette is the birdcage. Once those rot out on a C3, the car is toast. The concern on the RX-8 is the catalytic converter, the apex seals and the other rubber bits. I suspect the RX-8 needs a rebuild on the engine, plus new cats and other bits.
Mazda probably figured the car would rust before any problems with the engine LOL
I voted for the Corvette
I live RX-8 but the autos are basically pointless. If I’m stuck with an auto I’d rather cruise in the Vette.
I know I don’t fit in it, but Heaven help me I love the looks of that era Vette. Just figure out how to make it run better/cleaner/with actual horsepower, swap in a 6-speed and enjoy.
I’d even leave it beige.
I agree with you on the looks. For me, the C3 is what a ‘vette looks like.
Get the Mazda, engine swap it. I’d actually see if there’s a way to drop in an EcoBoost 2.3. 300ish HP with better reliability. It’s a better looking car.
DAMMIT. Here I was ready to defend the RX8, especially the 2nd gen, and you showed up with an AUTOMATIC. The auto got a worse engine than the manuals. It would take a complete drivetrain swap and re-wire to make it worthwhile.
The C3 is unmitigated hot garbage, but I could more easily rectify some shortcomings and get some enjoyment out of it.
As a former RX7 owner, I’m SO MAD you made me pick a flippin’ C3 over doritos!
Yep, I had the same thought man, haha.
The worse engine for autos was gone by like 2006 or 2007, but it’s still an automatic and that isn’t something that jives well with rotaries.
I was thinking Mazda at first, but the list started piling up: troublesome engine, less than desirable body, high miles, “flooding”. I do like the styling of the malaise era ‘Vettes, and this would be pretty easy to fix up, restomod, Gamblerize, whatever you prefer.
The only thing faster than rotary engine disintegration on the RX8 was the body disintegration. These all disappeared around here quite a long time ago (except for one that has been parked in the same spot in someone’s driveway for years), which is possibly worse than ’70s malaise era survival rates (I’m pretty sure Mazda used the same rust proofing techniques as GM used for the Vega), which brings me to the easy-to-fix and fiberglass-bodied Corvette that I voted for, plus it’s more acceptable as an automatic thanks to having some actual low end torque and is better looking (and I don’t care for rubber C3s at all). Oh, it also has T-tops.
Despite it being a high price, I chose the RX8. I have a slight affinity for automatic Japanese sports cars, probably because I troll a lot and it’s bound to make someone mad, someplace.
There’s been some similar RX8’s around my area of NY where they’re perfectly running & driving cars being sold for like $2,000 at the high end. If I could, I would.
Going Vette on this one dispite being a Mazda fan.
The RX-8 was an interesting attempt by Mazda to bring back the rotary but with decidedly mixed results in the end. This one at 100k likely has a full rebuild knocking on the door if the starting problem isn’t the indicator that it’s already here. The body damage and slushbox are just extra confirmation of a thumbs down for me.
The Vette is short money and should be reasonably easy to get going again. They weren’t all that complicated and the parts should be easy to come by. Also, I’ve always been a fan of the look of C3s in general. You’re never going to track the thing, but for a weekend cruiser, I’m all in.
Simple man, Simple Comment, Simple Car, Simple Vette.