QotW: Which JNC should remain stock?

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Look, we know it’s fun to take a 2,200-pound car that doesn’t require any smog checks and shoehorn into it the biggest engine you can find. However, one day these cars are going to be rare (some would say they already are) and no one will know what it was meant to look like from the factory.

Which JNC should remain stock?

There were enough 510s, 240Zs and AE86s sold that chances are, somewhere out there, someone is preserving them for posterity. And now that the Toyota 2000GT is a million dollar car you can bet it and its ilk — Cosmo Sport, any S20 car — will be collected so it almost goes without saying. But a relatively affordable classic with storied racing heritage like the Mazda RX-3 Coupe? One day they will be rare. Some would say they already are. But it’s just ripe for modification on any continent it was sold, whether Japan, the US or Australia. In fact, we can’t remember the last time we saw a bone-stock RX-3 Coupe in person, unless you’re talking about wagons. Save the RX-3s!

What say you, dear reader? As always, the most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a toy. Click through to see the winner of the last QotW, “Which JNC do you most want to see in person?” 

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I guess we are spoiled here in SoCal, but we were surprised to learn so many of you had never seen cars we take here for granted — the TE27, 2000GT, hakosuka, even the relatively common 510. However, the winner this week was Victor, for whom the Mazda Cosmo Sport is literally a dream car:

For me its the Mazda Cosmo Sport. I am one of the biggest diehard rotary guys out there, The guys at RotaryNews probably know me by name from all the times I comment on their posts. To me seeing a Cosmo Sport is a dream, in fact I’ve had various dreams where I see 5 going in the opposite direction and I can’t turn around to check them out for some reason. Driving one is on my list of things I must do. Owning one is the goal.

Omedetou, Your comment has earned you a rare Hot Wheels x JNC Super Speeders mystery pack Mazda RX-7!

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32 Responses to QotW: Which JNC should remain stock?

  1. Mazdax605 says:

    Forum isn’t working this morning, or last night.

    • Ben says:

      We are aware of the problem and are trying to work with our internet provider to fix it…. they’ve been pretty slow on the responses this time but please bear with us.

  2. cesariojpn says:

    The Nissan 240SX should be saved in stock form. Tons of them are being converted into “Drift Sluts” and in the process are being slowly destroyed and sent to the scrapyard when other cars like the Mazda Miata are plentiful and cheap. Why are drifters such idiots about this?

  3. Beans says:

    Oh such a good qotw!!
    You got my attention with the rx3 wags pic, and while I am building a replica from an 808 my vote would have to be…. A 1979 series 1 rx7 Savanna GT.
    The tartan interior combined with bright green metallic paint and fender mirrors would make me so proud to have parked in my garage. There is one at the mazda museum that i would donate a kidney for!! Too many of these cars get modified in every style from massive rims and candy paint to fiberglassed touring car wannabe racers rather than be appreciated in the standard form with its sleek style and shape. They are one car that unlike many others did not look like anything else when it was released into the big wide world. And hey they still look sporty 34 years later. I could go on all day about its positives but sometimes short n sweet is best. Cheers guys.

  4. Bluebird 51 says:

    Datsun 1200 (Sunny) coupe. White, Stock 12″ steel wheels & bias ply Bridgestones. Just like the one I had when I was in High School…….(sigh)

  5. Joe Cepeda says:

    I could almost guarantee that in Puerto Rico, USA that there are at least 100 Mazda RX-3 and SP package RX-3 in 100 percent factory spec form. Most are restored in some form of course 😉

    • Victor says:

      I don’t know about a hundred in original form but yes there is a large quantity. PR is the only place I can run into one in the street.

  6. Drive510 says:

    I’m putting in my vote for:
    Toyota 2000gt
    Toyota S800

  7. acbpanda says:

    I think the best JNC to keep stock? Honda S600, wonderful old car that deserves to be kept stock, by its rarity i doubt anybody would customize the crap out of it though.

  8. Very few RL411 were made. Fewer still exist with the original Type R 1600 cc engine [too many senseless “upgrades”]. Few still have the original “Porthole” wheel covers [same as the 310 Fairlady with 1500 cc engine]. I’m keeping mine stock.

  9. Nigel says:

    1983 Honda Prelude in silver with a sun roof.
    (And a maroon interior).

  10. j3wman says:

    AE86 Corolla and the Nissan 240SX S13. Those 2 cars have been completely ruined by drifters, AE86 is now an endangered species, i’m not against modifying them but some examples should be left stock. My only issue is when you want to drive them at a wall and try to slide out but eat sh#t and ruin the car. Perfect example of why S13s should be kept stock:

    17 year old kid who shall remain nameless (lets call him Bobby Hill) buys a ’93 240SX hatchback with HICAS 4 wheel steering and the HUD that shows the speed on the windshield, the car has no rust, 86000 miles, it looks like it just came off the showroom and was imported from Canada (We live in MN). Rare as hell, I explain this to him and how much this car is worth if its not ruined. He puts 18″ Kazera rims on it, a second set of fog lights (which he drilled into the bumper to install and wired via the headlight relay) and a muffler tip pointing down off the stock exhaust, trying to make the car faster he deletes the EGR, buys Bosch Double Platinum plugs and puts on an Autozone intake. 3 Months later (between May and August) I see the car at a local meet at Sonic, it has rust bubbling up (where there wasnt even any rust on the back side of the fender before) from where as he explains it “the rim chipped the paint and i didnt repaint it yet” and there is a nasty dent in the passenger fender from a drift attempt. I cant believe how its gonna look come march, hopefully he will give up and it will go into caring hands.

    This is an example of a car that should be left in perfect showroom stock condition, instead of being abused by 17 year old kids with illusions of having the last name Yoshihara. I know there are more AE86 stories like this than you can fathom, personally when i hear a story like this, its like hearing about a girl getting raped, it is the most foul despicable action you can take, and i am by no means a purist of any brand but there are limits to what i will modify.

  11. Kevin Harris says:

    I will also have to say the AE86. I just traded for an 16v swapped 1985 SR5, so I have a more personal prospective.
    I wanted this car because I need a daily driver that is good on gas, my current daily is a 79 Corona with a 1jz swap. Another reason is so I can run in a better class for SCCA. But before I even register the car I want it to run like stock… I know, blasphemy in the AE86 community. I am close but until I change the rear end it will continue to be a GT-S that can not put down what little power it has.
    Here’s the issue I have with the Hachi; It is one of the best looking examples of a running AE86 I’ve seen in person and it still had about 20 things wrong. I am having joy out of “modifying” the vehicle to stock parts and stock behavior. I don’t understand how one can do an engine swap, with an engine that came in that chassis, and have more exposed wiring than the Back to the Future DeLorean. It came with a 5 gallon boat fuel cell with fuel lines ran through the cabin right next to an unsecured aftermarket fuse block (again, inside the cabin) that was wire directly to the battery. I was told these “modifications” were done for drift status purposes.
    The AE86 is an example of a giant killer in stock form, but with wrong modifications it can easily become horrible. I am on a mission to make my Hachi look stock. And no I don’t want to drift it!

  12. invinciblejets says:

    Any early mazda rx should definitely be saved actually anything rotary should be but its hard to resist the tuning bug with rotarys..

    Also agree with guys choice of 240sx I can’t remember last time I saw a stock one

  13. Dave says:

    CR-X! It’s such an iconic car, and such a great car. Yet 9 out of 10 that I come across are anything but stock. Sometimes they’re decently, maybe even tastefully, modified; this seems rare to me. Period-correct parts like Mugen body kit or rims are awesome, but you almost never come across one wearing those. Most of the time they’re overdone, sometime horrendous. Rare bone-stock and well-preserved ones I’ve seen are hence a bit pricey. I think it’s worth the investment, though. There’s basically no other car like it, and so many ’80s children love them. They need to be preserved.

  14. Dutch 1960 says:

    FD RX7. When a beautiful woman is wearing a sheer silk dress, strappy heels, and just the right amount of jewelry and makeup, anything you do from there is only going backwards.

    • pstar says:

      x1000000

      If there is any car that makes me deeply question the entire Japanese modding ethic, it is the FD. The 7-7 meets are FULL of desecrated abominations. Those 997 headlight conversions are only the tip of the iceberg, and theyre awful. And on 90% of the cars.

  15. Julian Nicoll says:

    my 1979 series 1 rx7 Savanna GT, I just need the original tartan front seats
    and the savanna wheels, I have one of them (spare with original rubber).

    I still love looking at her when I open the garage door. (my first love)
    A timeless sporty look that never dates.

  16. Ben says:

    The blue one here looks to be stock standard…

    http://www.carsales.com.au/car/mazda/rx3/

    Kind regards

  17. aaron hen says:

    Id have to say the toyota crown,
    It doesnt matter which year they should all be left alone.
    Just the stock look of them is very unique and beautiful.
    Old mazdas/hakosukas/2000gts are also very nice but theyre meant to be abused and raced!
    Crowns on the other hand,
    Theyre the japanese version of the cadillac!
    If i were to meet the president back in the 70s or 80s id arrive in a crown.
    They just have that classy and majestic look.

  18. dan says:

    Well as the owner of a preserved / stock as the day off the showroom floor 510, i like this post.

  19. Long says:

    I’d say one of each, every car has helped shape the face of the motoring world and to preserve each one for future generations to see is something I’d like to see. This however is unfeasible as it will only be the most desirable ones that will gain enough attention to become a collectors item. This being said though, you should be able to enjoy your own car and if modifying it makes you happy, why should you stop yourself from doing this.

  20. Steeko says:

    Real old guy I often see my place in a rx3 coupe, maybe orig owner.

    Still on orig wheels and paint

    Welcome to Australia 🙂

    Other oldies near me drive aw11 mr2 and some old crowns etc

  21. Victor says:

    =O was I supposed to get an email?

  22. Serg says:

    Nissan CSP311 Silvia.

    Probably one of the first cars (next to the 1st gen celicas) that hooked me on J Tin.

    Looks picture perfect just parked on the grass 🙂

  23. Tyler says:

    In my opinion any car in good condition should be maintained and possibly modified in a period-correct and reversible fasion. Don’t hack it up and don’t throw away parts. I once wanted to modify and lower my F-100 but now am quite content to keep it almost factory stock.

    I’m not asking anyone to restore the original fuel pump or anything, but it would be nice to not have engine bays and wiring hacked to hell, bodywork ruined and door cards decimated.

    The flip side to this is if you buy a vehicle in bad disrepair and ‘bring it back to life’. If you’re saving the thing from the junkyard and it’s already been messed with, continue messing. It’s better to restomod a car than to let it rot or get involved with drifting.

    So please, keep things original if they are original, and make it possible to return to stock one day. Who knows- maybe your tastes will change, or maybe you’ll one day pass it on to a more conservative conservator who will be grateful for your work.

    • Tyler says:

      Also, drifting by itself is not bad, but I don’t like when old cars and concrete walls attempt to occupy the same space. Stop driving your cars into walls! It’s not cool!

  24. Terrance says:

    I agree 100000% with keeping the 240sx preserved i own a shop that builds these cars and i also own quite a few….one of them being a factory original 1 owner 44k 92 hatch in pristine condition i intend to keep it this way. I also agree that drifting has decimated the 240sx and the AE 86 almost to the point of extinction. I am sad to say that most of the “drift” cars that come to my shop are certified POS, I also agree that if one has to mod a car the criteria should include being able to return the car to 95% stock status. The 240sx is in a precarious position…meaning the very thing that made it so popular is also responsible for its eventual demise. The cars are extremely hard to find in stock condition here in Texas and the ones that you can find are in really bad shape. Compare that to a 510 or 240Z or 300z or a Supra, you can still find them in very good condition restored or unrestored. I understand that these cars have a different crowd that look out for them and 240 has not “put in its time” but my main fear is there will be few or none left to get to the ripe old age so that it can be restored.

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