Before daylight broke on Saturday morning Dan, John and I were already packing up the ol’ JNC wagon. It was an ungodly early hour, even for John, who was still on Texas time. As we hit “The 5,” as Californians like to call it, we caught sight of the R Power crew rolling at least 20 vintage Mazdas deep, all heading to the greatest gathering of vintage Japanese steel on the continent: JCCS 2009!
Here in Part One of our Japanese Classic Car Show coverage, we’ll show you the more extreme side of vintage Japanese tuning, or Kyuusha Kulture as we like to call it.
Let’s begin with Mikey Castillo‘s GC10 Skyline. This is the body style that first garnered the nickname hakosuka because of it’s hako-y (boxy) shape. We gave it the coveted prestigious undistinguished JNC Award because it takes an appreciation of subtle beauty to love a four door when the unbearably sexy hardtop exists.
Plus, Mikey proved he knows Skyline history by his headlight covers and display of Japanese Grand Prix decals. He even substitute the “PMC-S” initials with those of his own local shop, a popular Japanese form of tribute/satire.
After encountering as many Z-cars as we have, we thought we’d seen it all. But everyone and their mother was blown away by what we’ve dubbed the Mad Max Z. Its brilliance lies in the fact that the basic concept of a flared S30 dumped to the floor on double-digit dishes is so simple, yet so few have equaled this execution on one of the most popular nostalgic platforms of all time.
Somehow, though, Yuta Akaishi was able to drive his ’73 Datsun 240Z all the way down from NorCal on zero ground clearance and the deepest, blackest Hayashi 505s we’ve ever seen — 15×10 -1 and 15×11 -30 to be exact.
Look past the killer stance and you’ll notice the touches that give this car Mad Max status. Those scorch marks peeking out from behind the MotorSport Auto flares are the result of fender cutting with an oxy-acetylene torch.
The hood bears a well-worn patina and the driver’s side has been patched with a metallic rust-brown fender and sugar scoop. Yuta had to remove his air dam just to leave the show grounds.
It’s a true Japanese rat rod, and unlike many rat rods, it doesn’t seem at all forced. In fact, Yuta confided that he eventually wants to paint it in its original silver. What do you guys think, should he respray it or leave it as is?
Continuing with the theme is Garage AutoHero‘s Datsun 510, another Dat rod oozing with character. The giant sakura-themed shop logo stenciled on the door has a nice fade matches the car’s patina to a T. Note the headlight screens and steampunk-ish fog light mounted on the front bumper.
This car is shop boss Ray Stonehocker’s rolling billboard for one of the Seattle area’s leading 510 builders. Almost every time you come across a random 510 spotting in the Emerald City, it’s rocking a Garage AutoHero sticker. But that’s not all they do; Roy can also put together a mean AE86 or V-mount Silvia.
The motor and drivetrain is some Frankensteinian amalgam of Bluebird and 280ZX pieces that you can read more about on MotorMavens. Despite its ratty look Roy drove his 510 20 spine busting hours from Seattle.
This Toyota Celica required a significant amount of skill and effort, but the paint (or lack thereof) completely detracts from it. UPDATE: I was under the incorrect assumption that this car’s look was intentional, but I’ve exchanged emails with the owner and he assures me that it will receive a nice glossy coat of black paint. That’s great news, because it’s an otherwise terrific build and makes a reported 700hp and can be driven on the street!
Perhaps the presence of a 1JZ under the hood can make up for the look.
A sanitora on SSR Mark IIs and rising sun mural in the back window is a very good thing. It’s basically got the face of a B110 Datsun Sunny, or 1200, but an open pickup bed in the rear. This truck belongs to a Japanese engine importer who looks stone cold gangsta.
The JCCS saw an explosion of kenmeri Skylines this year. A few actually began life as an Australian-market Datsun 240K, and were given Nissan Skyline badges They’re all C110 chassis cars, but purists might balk. Still, the utter sexiness of the kenmeri body cannot be denied.
Rumor has it that this kenmeri started life as a race car in Japan, which would explain the “Curry House” logo on the trunk. From the outside it’s all very unassuming.
Pop the hood, however, and you’ll find a V-mount SR turbo resulting from some insane fab work.
Before we go, let’s quickly look at the bosozoku style Toyota Cressidas. The long exhaust pipes are called takeyari.
In a country were the Nissan Skyline Japan was never sold, the MX73 Cressida is rapidly becoming the zokusha of choice.
We question whether we could live with takeyari several feet taller than the car itself, but this setup is something a bit more realistic. Nice wheel fitment as well.
We know these might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but we welcome the infusion of JDM culture. Don’t worry, the cars in the next installment of JCCS coverage should be a little tamer but just as droolworthy.
Seeing 20 rotary Mazdas bombing a freeway would be a sight to see (and hear). Cool article guys, can’t wait for part 2.
BTW, either you’ve matched the wrong under bonnet shot to the C110 or you need to brush up on your modern Nissan motors, that’s an SR20DET 🙂
I’m hearing musical horns again (and straight 6’s).
JZX 71’s are cool.
That Celica is HOT! It reminds me of the cars some of my friends were trying to fix up back in my teenage years.
😳 Thanks!
Don’t take this the wrong way but maybe I just didn’t have the time to paint the car before the show? I have been to busy driving the car over the summer. The rat rod look is the farthest thing from my mind. Thanks for the photos and the mention though. It was a little harsh though!
Cary
I was one of the lucky ones to attend, and what a great array of classic japanese cars that was!
Rat rods celebrate a car’s imperfections, and sometimes things are even done on purpose to make it look “bad.” But that’s vastly different from a car that looks actually bad. This Toyota Celica required a significant amount of skill and effort, but the paint (or lack thereof) completely detracts from it = JNC Fail!
So what’s the problem Ben why is my comment not getting posted?
1JZRA21
1JZ Celica… who needs paint?!!?!?!?!
Mad Max S30 screams “give me the juice!!!!”
something for everybody…
Celica does not belong here… it is done with a serious purpose… with the workmanship to back it up
zoomie pipes and unsafe tire combo may look good to some, induce nausea to others
they are all good…
obsession with JDM “hot-rod” culture is better replaced with real US hot-rod customization: the basis of Japanese “hot-rodding”
Cool guys, wish I could have been there this year, hopefully next time though. Awesome cars.
That Celica is in primer with a black “Guide Coat” and likely will not remain like that for long. It is a step in block sanding a primer surfacer that allows you to find minor imperfections and blend the filler work with the surrounding sheet metal without ghosting. This is much different from a “Rat Rod” style car in that it is not a way that such a car would be presented. I would venture to guess that fresh paint is forthcoming within a month or two as it is not wise to leave a car in primer for too long, even if it is an epoxy primer. It is not UV resistant and will chalk and deteriorate rapidly in the sun, letting moisture attack the base metal..
Great shots as always!
Fantastic pictures of the Cressidas! 🙂
Those Cressidas will be a (small) feature on bosozokustyle.com next thursday!
Kyuusha Kai = Modified Car = Hot Rod = Tuned Car = More for the driver.
Clunkbucket has some nice coverage of the JCCS, including a linkback to this thread.
http://clunkbucket.com/japanese-classic-car-show-roundup/
Motormavens has some nice coverage, too.
http://motormavens.com/2009/10/coverage-japanese-classic-car-show-2009-pt-1/
I forgot to mention the Motormavens article also links back to this blog post.
Thanks for the links! There can never be enough JCCS coverage!
Nice photos of some gnarly cars! Wish i could of been there!
Keep it in perspective 1JZRA21, you are an exception to the show that has a focus on pre-1985 technology as many others (me included) that are not JDM focused. I think the deep dish wheels rubbing the body are actually a trend newer than ’85 but you don’t qualify there either……;-) Your car would show better as modified stock car using a 18RG with JDM parts and sick wheels 😉
Al K.
SoCal USA
’80 Celica 32v Cobra Transplant Project
http://mysite.verizon.net/respa4eb/1980celicacobraproject
Whats with all the negative feedback on the Celica? It’s a really cool car with a lot of time and effort put into it, why can’t it be left at that? Think of it this way, wether the paint is some base primer or not, you never see a car that looks like that, making it cool just for way it looks. And if it’s some unfinished project, I aplaud the owner for having the balls to roll out an unfinished car for the masses to rip apart online. Come on people, I thought the snobbery was reserved for the euro crowd!
good god…. can’t make it this year…for sure coming to this event next year with my own car
Thanks for the support on the Celica guys. For those that missed it Ben refered to my car as a Rat rod and the following comments above were in my defense. I talked to Ben Via Email and he corrected the text with the pictures to reflect that. So some of the comments made are for Text that no longer exists along with one of my prior comments as well. Its all good now but my car really does not fit into this topic very well. But yes the car will be painted over the winter in a nice glossy black and will be back out next year. Should it be out not finished sure its in five resent issues of magazines from Toyotafest and was in 2 additional shoots that day. Plus a trophy at TORQ in primer. So why not it a fun car to drive.
Cary
You should edit this entry, its RAY Stonehocker not Roy 🙂 amazing the car made it down there in one piece haha.