Today marks the first week in Japan that truly feels like spring is in the air. Temperatures are hovering right around T-shirt wearing digits (a JNC shirt found in the JNC Shop would do the trick). It’s time to tackle that honored tradition of taking your JNC out on a spring drive. For many of us, that first drive is more of a shakedown to prepare for summer months of mountain drives and car meets. The trunk gets filled with tools, fluids (more than usual, anyway), and an assortment of rags and drop cloths just in case.
The spring cruise can also be the first time your JNC sees light outside of a garage or car cover in months. Just yesterday, in my neighborhood I saw a C110 Skyline GT-R Kenmeri in magical metallic royal blue that any Hot Wheels fan would swoon over, rolling on deep MkII barrels with period-correct stretched tires. I’ve lived in the area for some time, but this was the first occasion seeing it roam the streets. Thanks, spring!
So JNCers, what will be your spring cruise? Will it be strategically planned around parts stores? A long run along cool breezes in the canyons? Maybe a first test for your newly purchased or restored JNC?
Where will you road trip your JNC this spring?
The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What do you put up with on your JNC?”
Last week’s QotW asked what are we willing to look past for the sake of JNC ownership. Some of you, like Geoff, withstood endless suggestions from others to change your ride for the sake of more power. Or, like jivecom, endured remarks about how your JNC is not worthy to “superior” vehicles. I think some forget that we may like a vehicle for its unique characteristics, not just specs..
Fifty5engineering puts up with a vintage packaging. As a guy who is over six feet and enjoys a few beverages, I feel your pain.
Others, like Kiran, have to put up with mistaken identity and the tropes that come with it. Fun fact: Within the first year of owning my AE86 (a car Kiran’s Cordia gets mistaken for) mine was confused with everything from a plausible Honda Accord fastback to a DeLorean. After Initial D reached US shores, my slow blue-top (at the time) Corolla GT-S actually was mistaken for a godly drift rocket meant for overtaking.
Tom Westmacott gave an all-too-familiar account of the types of drives we wished to avoid. His long trips to the repair garage, and train trips back, is possibly one of the most tolerant acts of JNC ownership we’ve encountered. The fact that Tom makes the 50-mile trek to keep an RX-7 on the road deserves a nod.
What I put up with on my RX-7 isn’t directly related to the car itself, rather it’s the 50 mile drive to the garage. Out of London on the M23, then off onto the A27 westbound along the coast to Worthing.
Find the garage tucked away behind a Citroen dealer. Leave the car, then walk to the station to catch a train, over an hour back home with the world’s least dependable train company, Southern Railways.
Then do it all again in reverse to pick the car up. The frequency of visits, often 4-5 times a year to fix sequential turbos, aircon, etc, as well as routine bi-annual servicing, means that this is easily my car’s most-traveled route, which seems ridiculous!
It’s hard to explain to other people who take their car for an annual MoT/service just down the road, but there just aren’t many places that can service turbo rotaries and get all the parts.
Omedetou, your comment has earned you a set of decals from the JNC Shop!
Road trip? Well, commuting in the Z31 doesn’t really count, but I know my family has a camping trip coming up Memorial Day weekend, but there’s also a DatsLocos show in Manteca, CA that Saturday morning. So while the rest of the family is slogging up to the lake in our Honda Odyssey Battle Wagon, I’ll be taking the Z to the show and then up to the lake afterward. Time to cruise it with the t-tops off? Heck, yes!
Taking my 1976 Mazda Cosmo to the Deals Gap Rotary Rally. It had been off the road for over a decade before I rescues it. I have mechanically refreshed it over the last 2 years. So far it has had about 500 miles, locally, put on it with nothing major other than working out some bugs.
April 26th, I’ll take it on a 500 mile round trip (not including driving the Tail of the Dragon). Oh, and for good measure, we’re putting the original rebuilt engine in it this weekend…….
Be careful on your drive, some of the “tourists” cannot drive the Dragon as evidenced by this video from a few days ago. Scratch one GTR.
No worries there.
I’ve been going for 11 years to this event. Deals Gap Rotary Rally, in various rotary rockets.
I’m working through a list of items to get my Zs ready to drive down to Zcon in Austin, in June.
Not exactly “spring”, but in terms of events, I try to balance the car stuff with other family events, and that means I try to limit myself to two “away” events per year.
My spring cruise will be later this week: driving a flatbed to the dock and pick up a JDM Sprinter Trueno AE86. Next steps are to prepare the car for import and *hopefully* still be able to drive it to the registration office during spring, get it checked and legally registered on a set of fresh license plates. 😉
That sounds like fun! I was a hair away from pulling the trigger on a V8 President to replace my M35x, but the wife wouldn’t sign off on selling the Infiniti.
Thanks! And of course it will be fun!
Yes, well the wife thing isn’t really an issue yet… One of those cars my wife doesn’t know about…yet! 😮
Right there with you man. Only I made my trip this past weekend in the rainy mountains of Maryland Lol.
Drove from KY to Baltimore MD and picked up my Levin.
Idk about you, but i’m dreading having to navigate through the DMV’s parking garage.
California! I’m gonna drive my NA out to Irvine and check out the sites at Mazda HQ in May. Should be a pretty good time.
Not sure if it’s quit in the JNC range yet but, next Tuesday i will be driving out to Nagano-ken in my 2002 Caldina GT-4 and i will be trading it in for a 98 Hilux surf ssr-g. From there me and my wife will be driving it back and then camping out for a day in Gifu-ken. I’m sure we will take some photos and i may be starting a new thread.
Aside from that i do need to take the corona out for a long drive, should go out to toyota.