EVENTS: Vintage Auto Salon, Part 01 – JDM Machines

013-BH7499_Nissan Skyline GC10 sedan

Vintage Auto Salon is the third show of its kind held by Historic J, the team that’s quickly becoming the de facto force for nostalgics in the Bay Area. Though co-founders James Vorasane and Ivan Jarmillo are both Americans, their events have evolved a distinct Japanese flavor that attracts both NorCal’s rare JDM machines and celebrities from within the nostalgic world. 

225-BH7450_JNC booth

They have really become can’t-miss affairs. To the SoCal-ers who couldn’t find us at 86Fest, we’re sorry but we couldn’t be two places at once. While 86 Day was being observed by our hachi-loving compadres we were headed north in a pimpmobile Sienna SE to the Baghdad by the Bay (more on this later).

004-JP0402_Nissan Skyline GC10 sedan

San Franciscan old schoolers are a bit less showy than the SoCal locals, as evidenced by this very subdued GC10 on black Wats with reasonable sidewall. It’s not for causing a ruckus but for a gentlemanly cruise around the city.

014-JP0596_Nissan Skyline GC10 sedan - Coke Pepsi can

As if its being a four-door wasn’t carrying enough JDM cred, a pair of vintage Japanese soda cans sat on the Skyline sedan’s dashboard.

097-JP0345_Nissan Silvia CSP311

We usually don’t reveal our favorites till the end, but Sean Shokouh‘s insanely gorgeous CSP311 Nissan Silvia is too stunning to resist. Its slight drop and perfectly fitted Watanabe wheels give it just the right amount of classic cool.

122-BH7367_Nissan Silvia CSP311

With only 554 hand-built examples ever made, it’s a rare sight to behold on our shores. It’s the fourth one imported that we are aware of. Given the legacy the Silvia name carries, this first generation forefather should be on any serious Japanese car collector’s must-have list.

147-JP0530_Toyota Corolla TE27

Long time readers are probably very familiar with what is probably the most famous TE27 Corolla in the US. Patrick Ng‘s orange mango has undergone a few upgrades since we last saw it and we will have an in-depth look in the near future. It was still one of the stand-out cars at the show, and likely the finest example of a ninana stateside.

172-JP0494_Nissan Skyline R30

A large selection of obscure RHD cars has become a trademark of Historic J gatherings, and the R30 Skyline is no exception. Red-on-black two-tone is a classic scheme and gold Watanabes match the gold “DOHC RS-Turbo” lettering nicely. Match it with a gullwing S130 and you’re ready to take on western Tokyo’s worst criminals!

322-JP0605_Yoshiya Watanabe-Rocky Auto

The celebrity guest this year was none other than Yoshiya Watanabe of famed Nissan tuning house Rocky Auto. Fans lined up to get memorabilia autographed by the renowned resto-modder. One Miata owner even purchased an L-series valve cover from the swap meet just to have Rocky-san to sign it that day.

037-JP0194_Toyota-Celica A20 2TG039-JP0616_Toyota-Celica A20 2TG

One of the most proper Celica builds in the US is still Ed Dizon‘s daruma. What started out as a USDM Celica ST was painstakingly converted to TA22, complete with JDM Yamaha-Toyota 2T-G twin-cam and loads of period correct TRD parts.

346-JP0679_Vintage Auto Salon-Historic J

Official Vintage Auto Salon event shirts featured an S30 Fairlady Z and a Japanese oni, or demon. The black shirts wrapped in plastic showcased details found on the hakosuka Skyline.

231-JP0396_Toyota Sports 800

A rare LHD Toyota Sports 800 made a showing, and we thought it looked familiar. Turns out the owner used to have slot mags on it and showed it at the now-defunct Motoring J Style show six years ago.

344-JP0677_Vintage Auto Salon-Historic J

Historic J also sold back issues of both Nostalgic Hero and 80s Hero magazine. We prefer the front-view studio-shot covers of the early editions over the more generic rolling shot covers of the more recent ones.

288-JP0498_Nissan-Datsun 240Z

We last encountered this true S30 Fairlady Z at the Bayline Gathering last summer, and it’s nice to see the project completed with proper Watanabes. The RHD specimen sports an expensive stainless steel replica of the competition double pipe exhaust. Proper period Nissan Performance seats and smaller-diameter steering wheel give it that Japanese authenticity that still proves elusive with many stateside Z-cars. That hard-to-nail look combined with a Rebello tuned L-gata made this one JNC minicar expert Ricky Silverio’s favorite of the show.

162-BH7394_Nissan Skyline KGC10 hakosuka166-JP0491_Nissan Skyline KGC10 hakosuka

Before we conclude Part 01 of our Vintage Auto Salon coverage, let’s feast our eyes on this brilliant hakosuka Skyline. Its body-colored flares and deep dish gold Wats exude the perfect balance of old school class and street fighter menace.

We’ll have more Vintage Auto Salon coverage coming up. Stay tuned.

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16 Responses to EVENTS: Vintage Auto Salon, Part 01 – JDM Machines

  1. Lupus says:

    That white GC10 at the beginning has an awsome plate. 😉
    Wonderfull car.

  2. Pengwynn says:

    anyone else notice that every shot excluding the Toyota Sports 800 has the same wheels in it?

  3. Tyler says:

    I’m curious why the four door hako has radiused rear fenders. Was that a special trim level deal? I usually see an intact surf line on the four doors and black rear flares on a GT-R (if they even made 4dr GT-R’s).

    Time to pay more attention in Japanese Car History class.

  4. invinciblejets says:

    The Silvia is perfect. The wats look great on it. I’d want mine in Nissans color for the r34 only I think??? ….millennium jade… best color ever

  5. xs10shl says:

    This was a great show. I got there late and several cars had left, but there was still plenty of eye candy. Hopefully the trend will continue!

  6. Brad D. says:

    Anyone know how long that Silvia has been in the country? Looks very similar to the one I saw at the Mitty 6 or 7 years ago down at Road Atlanta. If so it had stock wheels on it then. Such a gorgeous car!

  7. Moominsean says:

    Any way to get those tees online? Google search didn’t reveal anything.

  8. Nigel says:

    Crossing off the days until JCCS.
    (And looking forward to part two).

  9. angelo says:

    Nice post! I hope the Philippines have this type of meetings… Can’t wait to see the second part
    !
    Though I think that R30 wore Panasport 8-spokes with Watanabe caps, well, i don’t really know for sure 🙂

  10. John M says:

    The Silvia!!!

  11. Watanabe fits any japanese classic.

    Also ‘italianish’ Silvia looks nice. I wonder what was the range of colors, almost every Silvia CSP311 I see have the same color as in the picture. In the photos from the japanese meets, I also saw very few white and ‘some kind of blue’ Silvias CSP311.

  12. cesariojpn says:

    So, you buy a car with only 554 examples, many of which have turned into paperclips by now, and ruin the value of the car by modifying it? Corporate Logic…….

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