Er, how many kidneys does a human body have? Whatever it is we hope you’ve got enough, cause hidden gems are surfacing left and right this week. Hot on the heels of yesterday’s unmolested FC RX-7 comes a trio of Honda S600s in Temple City, California.
Honda’s first sports car was also his company’s first car, period. An icon of Japanese motoring, its highly advanced engines featured tech plucked straight from Old Man Soichiro’s mad (but successful) desire to dominate the world’s greatest motorcycle races. Sadly, they were never officially sold in the US.
Now’s your chance to own three, as long as you’re willing to do some assembly. The cars are in various states of dismantlement, but the seller is including blocks, transmissions, heads, and other assorted bits. Hey, it could be fun. These things are so small it’s like building a model kit. You could probably make two complete cars by using the included parts and cannibalizing the rest from the third, but then the question is, “Which two?”
The yellow car is said to be a special edition 1964 SM600, which came standard with amenities like reverse lights, a radio and speaker with visor-mounted antenna, heater, cigarette lighter and firmer seats. We’re pretty sure these never came in yellow though, and a peek under the hood confirms its original color is a silver-blue.
The red car seems most complete and it’s the sole LHD model of the group, a rarity.
The white one has the gorgeous classic red interior combo later evoked in the Honda S2000. Decisions, decisions! Which two would you choose to restore?
P.S. Whoever ends up with the lot should definitely contact Brian Baker at Honda Sports Registry, the country’s foremost expert on these cars. He’ll be able to tell you which random piece of trim goes to which car off the top of his head.
[via Bring a Trailer]
Based on descriptions alone I’d restore the white on and the red one. The yellow one can give up its life so that others may live.
No! Leave the Red one out!
i agree with _John
I would restore the 3… the yellow and red for now, and the white for later…
The Yellow one is the rarest, so I’d consider restoring around it’s chassis first.
For any San Francisco area buyers, a purchase qualifies you to join us in our quasi-semi-annual Honda S600/800 lunch on July 12. We’re expecting an overload of 4 diners, but we can always squeeze in one more.
Who ever gets this is so lucky….I wish east coast had more j tin gold like this..
Dude (or Invince),
This amounts to a trailer full of treasure, cars and parts, and your S600 mentor is in NY, have these cars brought to you. If you’re like me (Boston), any local J gold you find will have some rust, as well. If you want J gold, go where the gold usually is – AZ, CA, FL. Sometimes, it’s worth the airfare(to inspect it) and the shipping(to bring it to you). Can I book you a flight?
Just saw these cars in person and I am just shocked at what else he has.
White car has the original hard top that is not included in the sale.
Put two back to OEM standard, use the third shell to shoehorn a F20C.
The 6 is amazing. Even more amazing, it has no reason to be. But Mazda has a long history of building ostensibly dull things that have the charm and verve of sports cars. No one seems to know how they do it — it’s difficult enough to make a sports car that feels like one, let alone a sedan or SUV — though it’s definitely in the company’s culture. The ads claim that more Mazdas are raced by Americans than any other brand, and it’s believable largely because the cars are cheap, fun, and durable. Mazda’s PR chief and more than a few of its American engineers are amateur racers, and the brand sponsors the Mazda Road to Indy, a ladder-climbing program designed to get young drivers to the Indy 500. Hell, I used to race one, and I’m not even a fanboy. It just made sense.