Even though I own a red car, in most cases I don’t like the color. It’s loud, hides the taillight design, and generally makes it seem as if the car is trying to compensate for something, whether it’s speed or exoticness. Also, as a BASF chemical engineer once told me, there the pigment itself is particularly sensitive to ultraviolet light, which is why most older red cars end up fading into pink. There are exceptions of course, and on the proper car red can look stunning. Mazda has adopted Soul Red as its trademark color and despite everything I wrote above, I kind of dig it. Continue reading
KIDNEY, ANYONE?: 48k-mile 1989 Mazda RX-7 Turbo II
As JNCs become bona fide as collector vehicles we’re beginning to see more well-preserved examples come out of hiding and onto the market. 15 years ago, a well-preserved JNC was usually owned by some little old lady who drove it to the grocery store and back once a week. Today, the well-preserved cars hitting the market were owned by people who have been storing and caring for them for years, waiting for the right time to sell them to their next caretaker. This RX-7 Turbo II for sale in the San Francisco suburb of San Carlos falls into the latter category. Continue reading
QotW: Take the JNC Challenge, Part 08
During the JNC Challenge Part 07, we were given the “tough” challenge of spending money on the newly-purchased AW11 (pictured above). In fact, we had a whopping $1500 to spend! Stuart Kayrooz gave several cosmetic suggestions as our winner. Here are the results below.
At first, we thought to get a widebody kit to help hide the rusty bits in the rear fenders and allow us to get some meatier tires. The engine is a stock “redtop” but we can pull quite a bit of power from the 4A engines (Formula Atlantic proved that..) The problem is, body kits are hard to come by, let along a widebody. Also, the ones floating around are pricey and frankly, ugly. They round all the edges and mute everything that makes the AW11 a wedge spacewhip… (yea, you read that right).
So, after looking around a bit, we settled on getting some generic “Japanese” overfenders, most likely re-purposed from a 240z that have been slapped on just about any J-tin you can think of. They were just a few hundred bucks for some thicker examples, which helps if we are a little rough with them. We can get a couple of fellow JNC’ers to help us trim the bananas to fit. Since the fenders are toasty, we don’t mind sinking some rivets in it. We dropped nearly $1000 on a set of T3 performance lower control arms and tension rods along with camber plates on all 4 corners. This beast is getting setup for a long overdue upgrades in “nimble”. Oh, and don’t worry, we replaced the fluids, pads and rotors.
So, here’s this weeks challenge. We are prepping the AW11 to have some serious agility and need to address the rims and tires. The overfenders will give around an inch of extra width to play with. What size rims do we go with? Offset? Vintage? “New vintage”? New School? What say you? Post up with links to pics for extra points. We have $800 to spend!
What wheels should we put on our overfendered-AW11?
The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What are your JNC plans this 4th of July?”
Happy 710 Day from JNC
A JNC public service announcement: On this and very 710 Day, please make sure you fill up whatever’s under your 710 cap.
Image: NICO Club
TOUGE CALIFORNIA: Roundels not round this year
Touge California has a tradition of using large magnetic roundels to identify cars participating in the rally. They are not for sale and only available to participants of the event. For this year’s event, which will take place July 15, the roundel is not quite round. That’s because we are proud to be partnering with Mazda for the 50th year of the rotary engine. Continue reading
RIP John Knepp, 1942 – 2017
It is with sadness that we report the passing of John Knepp, a pivotal figure in Nissan’s growth into a motorsports powerhouse in the United States. A founding partner in legendary engineering firm Electramotive, Knepp was an unsung hero of the turbocharging revolution that would propel Electramotive’s famous red-white-and-blue Nissan 280ZXs and GTP-ZXs to victory at racing’s highest levels. Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged 280zx, 510, datsun, Electramotive, imsa, john knepp, nissan
8 Comments
MINICARS: Hot Wheels R33 Nissan Skyline GT-R revealed
Hot Wheels is well on their way to completing every generation of Nissan Skyline, and the latest is a beauty. For the 2018 model year, the R33 GT-R joins the lineup, beautifully proportioned and in the traditional dark blue metallic of the Hot Wheels race team. Some say the R33 is the least attractive of the modern Godzillas, but at least in Hot Wheels form, it’s gorgeous.
Image: Hot Wheels Dream Team
EVENTS: 2017 Nissan Jam, Part 02 — Celebrating 50 years of the Datsun 510
This year’s Nissan Jam celebrated the 50th anniversary of a very special model, the Datsun 510. Released in 1967 in Japan and arriving in the US for the 1968 model year, it is the car that did the most to change people’s minds about Japanese cars. It’s hard to believe it’s half a century old. Continue reading
VIDEO: The traffic to Tokyo Disneyland in 1985 was JNC heaven
Were you lucky enough to have a four-day Independence Day weekend? In Japan, one of the biggest tourism holidays is Golden Week, which takes place in the spring. So here, for your viewing pleasure, is a home video of what seems like all of Tokyo trying to go to Disneyland on the same day during Golden Week 1985. Tokyo Disneyland was only two years old back then, and the traffic jams were an asphalt sea of JNCs. Continue reading
Happy 4th of July from JNC
Here’s some red, white and blue on the most American 240SX ever — an IMSA race car, not a drift missile — in honor Independence Day. Happy 4th of July from JNC.
Happy MX73 Day from JNC!
Not particularly beloved when new, The Cressida has gained a second life as a drift missile, zokusha sled, and bona fide classic. Happy MX73 Day from JNC!
QotW: What are your JNC plans this 4th of July?
If you couldn’t tell, this is possibly the most extreme photo of a Datsun Z overfender that also incorporates the United States flag. Why you may ask? Because July 4th is just around the corner. Even though the United States’ Independence Day lands on a Tuesday, more than likely many Americans are kicking off the festivities by taking Monday off as well. For myself in Japan, I will go to the office as usual but later I will find time to grab a burger and a beverage. Heck, I can even grab some fireworks at the local convenience store. Sadly, I will need to wait for the coming weekend to get my JNC fix. Baby steps to Saturday…
Since I must wait a bit for my plans, I want to ask about your plans. Do you have any JNC plans for the 4th of July? I can even open the question up to encompass this week for those outside the 50 states.
What are your JNC plans this 4th of July (week)?
Plans to take the JNC camping? A car show? weekly detailing? Parts install? The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “JNC Challenge, Part 07” Continue reading
JCCS 2017 registration now open
Registration for the 13th annual Japanese Classic Car Show is now open.
North America’s largest gathering of historic Japanese vehicles will be taking place at the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California on September 23, 2017.
You can register at the JCCS website. starting today.
Posted in Reminder
2 Comments
EVENTS: 2017 Nissan Jam, Part 01 — Starting with Z
Now in its fifth year, Nissan Jam has grown beyond its humble origins as a dealership show. While there’s still a ways to go before it catches up with events like Toyotafest in both caliber and scope, the Nissan, Datsun and Infiniti show looks to be on its way there. Of course, when one thinks Nissan, the Z is the image that is conjured first and foremost, and the Jam attracted a diverse gathering of Nissan’s most famous marque. Continue reading
The Datsun 620 looks pretty good as a wagon, it turns out
Your eyes do not deceive you. This is a wagon with a 620 front, and it’s not a one-off custom. It’s an actual car produced in an actual factory, and any Google searches conducted for it seem to only return this particular yellow example. Suffice it to say, it’s pretty darn rare. Continue reading
MOTORBIKES: This 50th Anniversary Special will be last Honda Monkey ever made
As we reported back in April, the Honda Monkey will be discontinued at the end of August after 50 years of production. To mark the occasion, Honda has created one final special edition of the famed mini-bike. The Honda Monkey 50th Special will be limited to just 500 units. Continue reading
KIDNEY, ANYONE? You’ll never guess how much this TE27 SR5 sold for
The rise of JNC prices continues, with this 1974 Toyota Corolla SR5 having recently sold for a truly impressive sum. While we have seen Datsuns and rotaries sell for around $20,000, it’s not that common to see Toyotas in the sporty RWD coupe class pull similar amounts. Why is this car special? Continue reading
PIXELATED: Kat’s Run Zen-Nippon K Car Senshuken
Have you ever played Mario Kart and thought, “I wish these were all kei cars.”? If so, we have a game for you. Kat’s Run: Zen-Nippon K Car Senshuken produced by Atlus Games in 1995 was available exclusively for the Super Famicom (Japanese for Super Nintendo) and featured a greatest hits of the best kei sports cars around. Unfortunately this game fell into obscurity during a flood of racing games that all came out around the same time. It’s worth understanding why this game got lost in the fray since it’s not a bad game by any means. Continue reading
Posted in Video Games
Tagged alto, Autozam AZ-1, beat, cappuccino, daihatsu, honda, jimny, kei car, mazda, minica, mira, mitsubishi, Nintendo, Sega, Super Famicom, Super Nintendo, suzuki, today, Toppo, video games, Wagon R
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QotW: Take the JNC Challenge, Part 07
Congrats goes out to Ant and Jayrdee for helping us make a purchase! We are the proud owner of a 1986 (Kouki)MR2 (AW11) after nabbing it from a police auction. I guess we felt we wanted to go in an even more sportier direction than the Shuttle 😉 This “Mr. 2” is not the cleanest, nor the prettiest like the brochure pic above, but is in the US-only metallic blue (we have a thing for blue…); It is a heck of a looker (when wet and hiding all the faults). The fenders have some dents, a little rust near the fuel door but it has the “redtop” 4AGE which coming out of the factory topped out at 115 hp. Not much was done to it other than some seat covers and APC glow kit in purple under the glovebox.
We blew $2300 (a steal!) on this little 2-seater after taxes and titling. We have $1500. Now, the easy question is, what do we do with it? Take it to get detailed, maintenance? some high octane boost to shake down the engine that reads 166,000 miles?
What do we do to our MR2 with $1500 to spend?
The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What JNC memory do you have with your Dad?”
MOTORSPORT: A history of Toyota’s heartbreaks at Le Mans, Part 02
In Part 01, Toyota ended 1992’s 24 Hours of Le Mans with a second place finish, their best to date, in the TS010. Surprisingly, a 3.6-liter Toyota 92C-V fielded by Trust (GReddy) based on the older generation of Group C racers took fifth overall and won the C2 class. A second TS010 took 8th and another 92C-V took 9th. They had finally developed competitive machines, and would mount such a siege with dedicated track weapons built specifically for the race that by the end of the decade Toyota would be a major force at Circuit de la Sarthe. Continue reading
