MX5 - came out when I graduated, was VERY cool with pop-up lights and would out dynamic anything else in the price range and reasonably above in its handling and driver focused feel.
Like you say, lots of parts, tonnes of driving fun and easy to work on. An ex of mine had one and when I popped the bonnet and found a dry dipstick, I was told that in 50k miles it hadn’t seen an oil change!!! [emoji33][emoji33] yet the engine was keen and didn’t smoke - I wonder why!!!
actually when we added oil it didn’t have any blue smoke, so they appear to be rock solid cars with minimalistic electronics.
Defo go that way if your budget is sub £20k and your preference is low hassle / low involvement (by that I mean not getting the spanner out) ownership.
Forgive me for saying this Mr T. (And bear in mind I love the MX5): it’s not special in the same way as an S30 - not even close. Very few cars became such an icon. The drive, the feel, the looks will never be replicated in an MX5. No MX5 feels as special to get into or turns heads in the same way.
Part of the pain and joy of ownership is parts hunting / hoarding. For me the joy is tinkering and being able to period mod and feel the difference under my right foot. 99% of the misery of ownership comes from tin worm! This is not a car you want to drive on a wet day or on salty winter roads if you don’t want to see rust appear.
Ask yourself if this is a head or heart decision?
But either way, go in with eyes wide open and don’t fool yourself into thinking you will only spend £10k on a £10k rusty car. The bug will get you and you will want to do it right. If you buy a Z, buy the most rust free possible example. If you don’t, then enjoy opening cans of worms!!!