I’ve located a 1991 NA Special Edition British Racing Green, UK Market car labelled as number 35 out of 250.
This car has power steering, electric windows, and I understand air con and is fitted inside with tan upholstery inc seats, door cards, and a special leather padded item on top of the glove compartment in the central console. It is also fitted with a matching tan coloured roof and the crash pad on the front dash is tan leather too. It has original wooden handbrake handle and gear knob, plus a distinctive wood rimmed, alloy steering wheel.
It is fitted with alloy wheels but I’m not sure if they are original?
The car is NOT an import; however looking up this model on the Net, I can identify all of those items mentioned, but the details on http://www.mx5-mazda.co.uk/ltdedition.htm shows the apparent 225 that made it and stayed on these shores are all 1.8 models. This one appears to be a 1.6.
The car needs some work doing to her, but IF she is one of a special edition of only 250, then she is worth fettling and bringing back to her full glory.
Any advice appreciated; I do have the VIN number… which is JMZNA18B200117530
Does anybody know where I can get details of the specifications, including which wheels were fitted etc? I’m keen if I get it to restore to original spec
From your description it’s Limited Edition from 1991 - the first LE that Mazda UK introduced. Did you get that number from a ‘brass’ plaque on the passenger side of the dashboard? - that would confirm that it’s an LE. VIN of mine was 200117701 - which makes it only 171 away from yours, so certainly looks like yours could have been within the batch of 250 that MDL converted to LE spec.
Definitely a 1.6 - the Bourne Garage info page that you linked to has got that wrong. It did not come with AC as standard, so has either been retro-fitted (unlikely) - or it doesn’t have it. The original wheels were BBS look-alikes but the giveaway was that the areas in between the polished ‘spokes’ were painted a matching British Racing Green. They’ve suffered from corrosion badly over the years, and if they’re original wheels, I’d be wanting to keep them and restore if necessary. The hood would have been black originally, with a tan hood cover tonneau - and matching tan seatbelts. The tan padded bit in the centre console as you’ve described it is not original. Enjoy! - if you go for it.
Hi Paul - I’ve attached a picture of my Limited Edition number 131/250 to confirm wheels etc. Rare car now and worth restoring . HISVRB is correct - the brochure wrongly states 1,8 and AC was not standard. Does it still have the leather owners manual with matching brass plate and the signed certificate ? The wheels were specific to only this model and are OZ alloys of Italian origin. Hopefully you may be able to proceed with this project as it would be good to keep another one of these models in service.
Difficult to price without viewing and a proper inspection . Mileage not critical but ideally the lower the better - these engines if serviced properly are bulletproof. Bodywork / chassis condition needs close scrutiny especially sills / rear arches etc. All clean solid Mk1’s are in my opinion a solid investment and great fun .
The UK Limited edition was the first BRG coloured car introduced here and had extras inc. tan leather seats and OZ alloy wheels often mistaken for BBS. If it has a full history, reasonably low mileage and is in excellent condition with no work required they are now fetching upwards of £5k ( this comment will no doubt cause a debate) and I speak from personal experience having sold one at well above this level over a year ago within a couple of days on Car and Classic website. Having said that I’ve seen rough examples fetch under £500 . Certainly worth further investigation - you never know it might even be one of the one’s treated to some BBR enhancement from new !
My current example , number 131/250 has a Lancaster Insurance Valuation of £7500 but also has full history (inc. commentary from previous owners) and has had very substantial TLC over it’s whole 63000 mile life !
I bought the car and next day flew to cape verde so havent even driven it properly yet!
Car has 120k on the clock, looks pretty clean (will get pics up when i get a chance) and cost me £1400. There is a tear in the driver seat, but the seller also gave me an entire new seat section.
Also needs a new roof as there is a patch on it and my OCD cant leave that be! There is a specialist in wales ive read good things about so will see if i can take it down there to have the roof and seat done in one go.
Car goes in to freelance on the 31st for a full service and cambelt, and ill see what else they flag up that needs doing.
Welcome to the ‘Limited Edition’ club ! What number is it ? Make sure you register it here on the special editions register (if not already on there). There is also a fairly lengthy thread on UK Limited Editions on the Pistonheads Japanese Cars section of their ‘Gassing Station’.
Absolutely I would!! - back in 2014 I tried every which way to track it down, but with no luck. Gutted that I missed the auction, but I’ve just emailed them asking for details of the new owner - more in hope, than any expectation that they’ll actually tell me. The car is obviously very special to me, and I’d love to have it back, and restore it to ‘as new’.
I sold it (for more than the list price!) to the head of an oil company in Berkeley Square, London. Was the most nerve-wracking drive I’d done.
The MoT history tells us that it’s had some welding near to the lower seatbelt mounting points, but that’s it. The low mileage, and use of a hardtop, bode well for lack of terminal rusting in the usual areas - but who knows? The one wheel that’s clearly visible in the pics also appears to be well preserved.
Do let me know if your hear anything about it - thanks.
Did you check out the MOT history on the car pre purchase ? That usually gives some clue about potential future issues , hopefully not many (or any) problems in your case though !! Mind you , the usual areas for concern are all usually fixable at a price . And finally … what number is it !!
The nice thing was went i went to buy it all ready with my list of questions from the failed MOT, before i even mentioned anything the seller told me all about it, showed me the fail papers and explained what had been done (needed a bit of welding).
