Author Archives: Kevin San
More Group A Lovin’
We’ve done a couple of articles on Group A before (here and here) and here’s a series of race highlights of Japanese Group A races which show why it was such a fondly remembered series of racing.
Posted in racing
4 Comments
Project Hakosuka: we’re getting there….
The jobs that had to be done before we could go back for certification was to fit rear belts, convert the front belts to stalk buckles, fix the horn, and raise the front ride height. And some of those jobs … Continue reading
Posted in project hakosuka
4 Comments
History of the Z Car Documentary
Here’s a great documentary on the birth of the Z car. It’s a 1995 documentary, and has very much a US-centric focus, but since the US demand was largely responsible for the success of the 240Z, this is hardly a … Continue reading
Posted in nissan
10 Comments
Project Hakosuka: We have BRAKES!
You might recall that, in the last (and only!) time I drove the car, the brakes were awful. With the pedal going most of the way towards the floor with little feel or resistance, and not actually doing any braking … Continue reading
Posted in project hakosuka
6 Comments
Silvia 240RS: last of the oldschool rally cars
About 6mths ago, we did a feature on the Nissan FJ20 engine, and touched on the Group B rally car that Nissan campaigned in the early 80s: the S11 Silvia 240RS. It was a 2.4L DOHC, 16V four cylinder that … Continue reading
Posted in nissan
9 Comments
Old Skyline TV Commercials
Welcome back to GrandSkyline! No, not a post about Project Hakosuka today, but rather some old commercials that I found recently. We did do a piece on Skyline ad campaigns a few moons ago, but some of the Youtubes … Continue reading
Tokyo Daze: JDM Ads with Celebrities
“When it’s relaxing time, make it…..Suntory Time” Ahh, one of my favourite movies. But it reminded me the other day about Japan’s fascination with western celebrities. It seems that if you are a Hollywood movie star, you may be … Continue reading
Posted in Tokyo Daze
8 Comments
Project Hakosuka: Now Going.
After a quite a long period of firstly waiting for the car to arrive from Japan, and then a seemingly-even-longer period of fixing the various issues that the car came with, it was with a certain trepidation that I fired … Continue reading
Posted in project hakosuka
14 Comments
Project Hakosuka: Electricity Hates Me
Where we left things last was that the mechanicals were now in good shape, but the electrical system was a little haywire. Press the brake, and the headlights would come on (but not the brake lights). Turn on the … Continue reading
Posted in project hakosuka
6 Comments
Tokyo Daze: Toyota History Garage
One of the nicest places to visit if you are in Tokyo and have time to kill, is the Toyota History Garage in Odaiba. It’s a small but high quality car museum, cafe and book/toy store.
Posted in Tokyo Daze
7 Comments
New Year Meeting: Almost like being there
In late January of every year, one of the very best classic car events you will find anywhere takes place in Tokyo. It’s the JCCA New Year Meeting, and was beautifully covered by Ben and Dan of JNC. But in … Continue reading
Posted in events
2 Comments
Mitsuoka: not your typical JDM car maker
Keen students of the JDM car scene will be familiar with the name Mitsuoka. Best known for a Nissan March/Micra based Jaguar Mk2 conversion called the Viewt (above) a highly popular item in Japan, with over 1,000 sold (have a … Continue reading
Posted in Miscellaneous
10 Comments
Tokyo Daze: Honda Zoomer…50cc of customising fun
We thought we’d take a small break from the Hakosuka-only programming that we’ve been having for the past 2wks! When I was in Japan, I saw quite a few of these things, and you can see why they’re popular.
Posted in honda, Tokyo Daze
2 Comments
Project Hakosuka: .Oops. Hit a snag.
Where we left things in the last instalment was that I’d made some attempts to learn to tune the Webers, a task made somewhat harder by the discovery that the engine might be in a somewhat more hardcore level of … Continue reading
Posted in project hakosuka
9 Comments
Project Hakosuka: The Plot. It Thickens (no, still doesn’t go)
When we left Project Hako last, the carbs were in, the fuel system was all set up and we were ready to turn the key and see what happens. Of course when you do this, it’s a good idea to … Continue reading
Posted in project hakosuka
9 Comments
Project Hakosuka: ….almost going.
When we left things yesterday, the brakes were in good shape but the mastercyl needed rebuilding. The carbs had been sent off for refurbishing, but the setup that the car came with left something to be desired (apart from the … Continue reading
Posted in project hakosuka
3 Comments
Project Hakosuka: Umm….yeah. Still not going.
With the rust now dealt with, and the clutch now fixed, attention was turned to the car’s running gear. Translation: are the wheels going to fall off? Well…I hope not.
Posted in project hakosuka
6 Comments
Project Hakosuka: Nope. Still doesn’t go.
Where we left things last week were that I’d sent off the carbs to a specialist for rebuilding, and the wayward clutch was fixed. The carb guru estimated that it might take a week to re-do the Webers, so this … Continue reading
Posted in project hakosuka
12 Comments
Stelvio: love for sale (is love blind?)
A few months ago we did a feature on one of the oddest JDM cars ever. The uber-expensive, very limited edition, handcrafted-in Italy Autech Stelvio. Well…there so happens to be on for sale at the moment on Yahoo Auctions: LINK … Continue reading
Posted in nissan
4 Comments
Tokyo Daze: Tokyu Hands!
If you go to Japan, one of the JDM institutions you need to pay a visit to is Tokyu Hands. Ostensibly it’s a department store, which seems hell bent on stocking pretty much everything: from hardware, to stationery, to toys … Continue reading
Posted in Tokyo Daze
3 Comments
