EVENTS: JCCS 2009 Part Three: The Exotics

One of the surprising things about JCCS this year was the sheer volume of Nissan Skylines. Partly, this is because there are now shops in the US dedicated to the importation and restoration of these wondrous machines. One such shop is JDM Legends, who brought this Nissan Skyline GT-R KPGC110 clone. But they did more than just toss it on a freighter. Check out what’s under the hood.

A turbocharged RB26, baby! Obviously a car with the Skyline name would have to keep any swaps in the Nissan family, and what could be better than an organ transplant from a descendant GT-R?

The other car that JDM Legends brought with them was a DR30 Nissan Skyline RS-X. John fell in love with this car and took a ton of photos of it, and I can’t blame him. It also helped that their booth was located right beside ours.

This one is mostly stock, with the original Nissan “Plasma” FJ20ET motor. JDM Legends is located in Salt Lake City, Utah and the brainchild of Cobb Tuning founder Trey Cobb.

Bask in the glory of that angular 80s dashboard-console combo. The spring cupholders are a nice touch as well. Our Aussie readers probably don’t understand what all the hoopla is about, but DR30s are rare than hakosukas and kenmeris in the States.

This is what it looks like from the outside, resplendent in two-tone red and black. It reminds you in giant gold letters that it’s a “4 Valve DOHC RS-Turbo” on its rear flanks. Note that this is a tekamen, or “iron mask” version.

For comparison’s sake, here’s a pre-facelifted DR30. Instead of the iron mask, you’ve got a prominent grille that looks quite a bit more old school. Picking our favorite is like choosing which kidney to sever. Which version do JNC readers prefer?

Okay, enough Skylines. Toyota brought out all three of the 2000GTs in its collection. Gold may be rarest, but Pegasus White is such a classic color for the first Japanese supercar. I would give my first born for this car.

If you add Toysport‘s contribution, that’s a total of four 2000GTs! That’s at least a million dollars’ worth of J-tin right there. This car is actually the one we profiled way back when before the magazine came along.

Another new importer is RHD Japan. They’re based in SoCal and have been bringing in RHD Honda Accord wagons for mail carriers. Recently, they’ve acquired a hakosuka and kenmeri as well, which would the perfect delivery vehicle for the mail carrier with discerning tastes.

JNC reader azfast1 brought out his newly restored Mazda Cosmo 110 Sports. You may remember it from the previous year, when it was just a painted shell. Look how shiny the paint and chrome are. Absolutely gorgeous.

The restoration is impeccable, down to the last detail. This car looks like it just rolled out of Hiroshima in 1967.

Here’s another kenmeri Skyline that was found “in the field,” meaning that it wasn’t part of a vendor or automaker display like all the cars above. Despite the fender flares, modified rear wheel well and some GT-R badging, this was actually an Australian Datsun 240K.

The engine was a regular SOHC L-series. Not that it wasn’t beautifully done; the Nissan engine blue valve cover was a nice touch.

Matt pointed out an easy way to tell a kenmeri’s country of origin. If it were a JDM Skyline, it would say “Skyline” across the rear instead of “Datsun.” Barring that, check the VIN plate in the engine bay. It should be in Japanese, not English.

Kirk Hubbard‘s Toyota Century, the recipient of the JNC award last year was back again. Toyota’s original VIP sedan looks so unbelievably gangster. Looking at this car and knowing it’s not mine causes me actual, physical pain.

Let’s close out this installment with another Skyline, this time a KGC10 from the field. We were surprised to learn that there were more kenmeris than hakosukas at the show. It’s another paralyzing choice, but given that we have Kev’s hako as aproject car I’m going to have to give it to the C10.

And don’t forget, there were two more Skylines in Part One of our JCCS coverage. Part Two was here (when are we going to see a Skyline wagon in the US, by the way?).

To be continued…