Japanese Nostalgic Car

Kidney, Anyone? 22,000-mile 1974 Toyota Celica ST

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Ben Hsu

In Ashland, Kentucky right now there sits a gorgeous 22,000-mile daruma waiting for a new owner. The 1974 Toyota Celica ST is as mint as mint can be and swathed in a period brownish-green. Everything is original except for the Cragar wheels, but it appears that the original steelies and hubcaps still reside in boxes stowed in the trunk. Perhaps the only downside is the fact that it’s equipped with a 3-speed slushbox, but luckily early Toyotas have a pre-punched hole in the firewall to pass a clutch master through. Just be sure to save the rubber plug for posterity’s sake. As of this writing, its reserve has been met and exceeded at $13,050. See more photos on eBay. Continue reading →

Posted in for sale, toyota | Tagged celica, daruma, kidney anyone, ta21, toyota | 4 Comments

Friday Video: The development of the Toyobaru Neo-hachiroku

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Ben Hsu

As we gear up for Toyotafest this weekend, watch this promotional video in which engineers describe incredible feats of packaging that made the Subaru BRZ and neo-hachiroku twins smaller than a Scion tC. This is the Steve Jobs-level passion for and/or obsession with a vision — beancounters and focus groups be damned — that is absolutely critical if we ever hope to stem the tide of rolling social networking pods being heaped upon the clueless driving public. Continue reading →

Posted in Friday Video, subaru, toyota | Tagged ae86, brz, fr-s, Friday Video, gt 86, scion, subaru, toyota, toyota 86 | 15 Comments

JNC “RWD Toyota” shirts will debut at Toyotafest this weekend

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Yee

Three letters — RWD. That says it all for the shirt we’re debuting at Toyotafest this Saturday, May 5. The lightweight rear-wheel-drive sport coupe is the magic formula that made us fall in love with old school Japanese cars in the first place, and after a decade-long absence it will return to the automotive world when the Scion FR-S arrives at dealers next week.

To celebrate, our new JNC RWD Toyota design features the Americanized Toyota 86 and the cars it drew on for inspiration — the Sports 800 for its FR boxer layout, the 2000GT for its Nozaki arc, the hachiroku for its namesake, and the TE27 for originating the affordable twin-cam Toyota.

The design works from a distance, where “RWD” in bold letters draws the eye. Those well-versed in automotive lingo will get it right away. Up close, the words “light,” “quick,” and agile describe what makes these cars the stuff of driving dreams. We used only rear 3/4 views to emphasize the driven wheels, and they’re charging straight into the owner’s heart. Continue reading →

Posted in jnc, nostalgic wear, toyota | Tagged 2000gt, ae86, corolla, fr-s, gt 86, jnc, levin, mf10, RWD Toyota shirt, scion, sports 800, sprinter, te27, toyota, toyota 86, trueno, up15, yotahachi, zn6 | 12 Comments

EVENTS: Datsun Roadster Classic of Solvang 2012

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Dan Hsu

Dragging a non-car nut spouse to a car show is a hairy proposition, usually resulting in paying back a day spent gawking at old metal with some proper romance. That’s why we recommend killing two birds with one stone by dragging your spouse to the Datsun Roadster Classic in romantic Solvang, California. Continue reading →

Posted in events, nissan | Tagged 510, 710, auster, bluebird, bre, datsun, datsun roadster classic, fairlady roadster, frank monise, n320, nissan, nl320, peter brock, solvang, sp310, sp311, spl310, spl311, sports 1500, sports 1600, sports 2000, sr311, srl311, violet | 15 Comments

Question of the Week: Which nostalgic had the best nickname?

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Ben Hsu

One of the most entertaining things about vintage Japanese cars is the crazy nicknames. There’s obvious ones like hachiroku, shortened ones like hakosuka, and funny ones like butaketsu. Therefore, we ask you:

Which nostalgic had the best nickname?

There are so many good ones, but because this weekend is Toyotafest we’ll go with the RT40, commonly known as the barikan Corona. Apparently its angled grille reminded the Japanese of hair clippers like these 1970s Matsuokas. What say you, dear reader?

As always, the most entertaining, well-written, or inspiring comment by next Monday will receive a random JDM toy of some kind. Click through to see the winner of last week’s question, “What nostalgic race car would you have driven?” Continue reading →

Posted in Question of the Week, toyota | Tagged 787b, barikan, corona, le mans, mazda, Question of the Week, rt40, t40, toyota | 43 Comments

MINICARS: Hot Wheels bosozoku-style Mad Manga

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Ben Hsu

Holy effing crap. If you had told us a year ago that one day Hot Wheels, the most red-blooded American toy there is, would have a takeyari-equipped bubble-flared shark-nosed zokusha in its lineup, we would have called you baka. And yet, here it is — the 2012 Mad Manga. Continue reading →

Posted in bosozoku, minicars | Tagged bosozoku, c110, datsun, gurachan, hot wheels, kenmeri, mad manga, minicars, nissan, skyline, takeyari, zokusha | 22 Comments

JNC “Z Generations” shirt will debut at Motorsport Auto’s Z-car West Coast Nationals this weekend

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Yee

It’s spring and SoCal’s car show season kicks off tomorrow with Motorsports Auto‘s Z-car West Coast Nationals. The weekend of Z madness begins Friday evening with a launch party at MSA headquarters in Orange, CA. Saturday will feature dyno runs, detailing sessions, and something you won’t want to miss if you own a Z of any generation — a garage sale. The main event, an all-Z car show, takes place on Sunday, and we will be there with Project Z and to debut our new JNC Z Generations shirt. Continue reading →

Posted in nissan | Tagged 240z, 260z, 280z, 280zx, 300zx, 350z, 370z, datsun, fairlady z, JNC Z Generations, motorsport auto, msa, nissan, s130, s30, z-car west coast nationals, z31, z32, z33, z34 | 12 Comments

Donate $100 for a chance to own Victor Laury’s 1970 Datsun Fairlady Roadster

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Ben Hsu

Our friend and beloved member of California’s nostalgic car community Victor Laury is relinquishing is collection of beautiful Datsuns. Sadly, Vic suffered a stroke a while back and as a result he will no longer be able to drive his cherished cars. We recently told you about the sale of his Datsun 240Z and now the car Vic is most known for, his gorgeous 1970 Datsun Fairlady Roadster, must be passed on to a new owner as well. Continue reading →

Posted in for sale, nissan | Tagged datsun, fairlady, fairlady roadster, for sale, nissan, sports 2000, srl311, Victor Laury | 21 Comments

MINICARS: Hot Wheels Subaru BRAT & A60 Toyota Supra leaked

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Ben Hsu

At a current bid of $8,100 is yesterday’s Kidney Car a bit too rich for your blood? Perhaps then a Hot Wheels Subaru BRAT would be kinder to your wallet. Though slated for later this year, renderings have been leaked to the intarwebs. The little Gipper-mobile appears to have rollbar spotlights, roo bars and a slight lift.

MA61 fans should also hold on to their collective pants right now, because renderings for a second-gen Celica Supra have also hit the Series of Tubes. Continue reading →

Posted in minicars, subaru, toyota | Tagged a60, brat, celica, celica xx, hot wheels, ma61, subaru, supra | 21 Comments

Kidney, Anyone? 44,000-mile 1979 Subaru BRAT

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Ben Hsu

Here in SoCal, the one marque of nostalgic we rarely see is Subaru. There just wasn’t much need for 4WD passenger vehicles in the perpetually sunny climes of Los Angeles. Subaru BRATs occasionally show up in junkyards — and judging by the layers of dust only after sitting immobile for years — but I can’t even remember the last time I saw one on the street. That’s why this all-original 1979 with just 44,726 miles on the clock just blows my mind. Continue reading →

Posted in for sale, subaru | Tagged brat, kidney anyone, leone, subaru | 26 Comments

Question of the Week: What nostalgic race car would you have driven?

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Ben Hsu

Okay, so you’ve invented that time machine. Oddly, it can only serve one purpose — to put you in the cockpit of any classic Japanese motorsports machine.

What nostalgic race car would you have driven?

The JNC staff (except Kev) chose to zap themselves behind the wheel of the famous KPGC10 hakosuka GT-R, for the reasons of 1.) its legendary status, 2.) the fact that it played a key role in defining the culture we revere today, and 3.) we have a Hot Wheels of it. Kev, on the other hand, chose the bonkers KDR30 Skyline Silhouette Group 5 racer (something about him owning a hako already, the bastard). What say you, dear reader?

As always, the most entertaining, well-written, or inspiring comment will receive a random JDM toy of some kind. Click through to see the winner of last week’s question, “What is the ugliest Japanese car?” Continue reading →

Posted in motorsports, nissan, Question of the Week | Tagged echo, gt-r, Hakosuka, kpgc10, mitsuoka, motorsports, nissan, Question of the Week, skyline, toyota | 52 Comments

Friday Video: Mr. Bean goes for a ride in Nissan’s Zama Warehouse

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Ben Hsu

Now that Nissan CEO Mr. Bean has revived the Datsun brand, it’s probably appropriate that he visit the Zama warehouse, where the company’s legendary collection of 400-plus classic and racing vehicles are stored. Continue reading →

Posted in Friday Video, nissan | Tagged Carlos Ghosn, datsun, Friday Video, nissan, Zama | 17 Comments

EVENTS: AE86 Nights 5th Anniversary

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Dan Hsu

SoCal may have its drawbacks, but there aren’t many places where you can put the call out for a hachiroku party and have over 100 cars show up. AE86 Nights has been doing this almost every Saturday night since April of 2007, making this past weekend their five-year anniversary. Continue reading →

Posted in events, toyota | Tagged 510, a60, ae86, AE86 Nights, bluebird, corolla, corona, cressida, datsun, e20, e70, enkei, enkei 92, gt-s, gurachan, levin, mark II, mx73, nissan, peanut, rt112, sprinter, sr-5, ssr, supra, t110, te21, te72, toyota, trueno, vip, x60, x70 | 17 Comments

Cataloguer: S130 Nissan Fairlady Z

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Ben Hsu

The S130 Fairlady Z is by no means an ugly car. In fact it was once considered the must-have car of its time. Yet nowadays it gets little to no love from the Z-car crowd, whose legion of newcomers much prefer the lighter, purer, and more O.G. S30 chassis. But just look at this photo from a Japanese S130 catalog! It’s got everything — a cool car, amazing lighting, a hot chick in a racing suit, and a damn puma. Continue reading →

Posted in Cataloguer, nissan | 33 Comments

Turn your Datsun into a Champion with the 210ZX!

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Matt De Mangos

It’s as if the planets have aligned. Just as we posed a QotW about Japan’s ugliest car, a reader unearths this long-forgotten piece of motoring history. Behold, the Datsun 210ZX! Continue reading →

Posted in nissan | Tagged 210zx, b210, datsun, nissan, sunny | 33 Comments

Question of the Week: What is the ugliest Japanese car?

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Ben Hsu

Without even reading the title, you can probably guess what this week’s QotW is just by photo alone.

What is the ugliest Japanese car?

Sorry Kev, but I’m going to have to make an executive decision on this one. The 1988 Autech Stelvio is both proof that the Italians were not infallible when it came to good design, and that there was once a time when Nissan was indeed crazy enough to green-light something like this. One of the automotive world’s great tragedies is that a road as incredible as the Stelvio Pass must now share a name with this abomination. Underneath, it’s an ¥18 million F31 Leopard/Infiniti M30, albeit one with 320hp, but as Kev has noted you could buy two NSX-Rs for that price.

As usual, the best (not the most-correct, but the most entertaining/well-written/inspiring) comment will receive a random JDM toy in the mail. Click through to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What is the most beautiful Japanese car?” Continue reading →

Posted in mazda, nissan, Question of the Week, toyota | Tagged 1500 sports, 1600 sports, 2000 sports, autech, choro-q, crown, datsun, enfini, fairlady, fairlady roadster, fd3s, mazda, minicars, ms75, nissan, Question of the Week, rx-7, s60, stelvio, toyota, zagato | 38 Comments

Friday Video: Beg for the sweet release of death after listening to the Z-Zuke song

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Ben Hsu

Drop the song title “Z-Zuke” into a translator and you get “pickled Z.” While it is true that in Japanese zuke means “pickled” as delicious in tsukemono, this little ditty is not about making a jar of preserved vegetables from your S30. Zuke also means “to absorb oneself in” (ie, to be obsessed with) as in “JNCers are all kyuusha-zuke!”

Sadly, one can get a bit too absorbed, and whoever composed this over-sugared, seizure-inducing techno tune appears to have let their love of a good G-nose completely warp their sanity. We can’t really describe the video per se, as we woke up in a puddle of our own drool after blacking out for three days, before which our last conscious thought might have been that despite a 2007 release, Z-Zuke’s production values appear to be more appropriate for a cable access show circa 1982. All we can really say is proceed to watch it at your own risk. And though it’s no Far East Movement, should the urge to listen to this song more than once actually strike you, here it is on Amazon Japan. Continue reading →

Posted in Friday Video, nissan | Tagged 240z, 240zg, 260z, 280z, 280zx, 300zx, datsun, fairlady z, nissan, s130, s30, z-zuke, z31, z32 | 23 Comments

Shakotan: Zokusha Patrol Car will make you want to get pulled over

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Ben Hsu

What in holy hell is going on here? A zokusha a police car? It’s topsy-turvy, man. Like cats playing with dogs! Shouldn’t the lowered, widened rides of the OG Japanese bad boys be the very antithesis of law-and-order establishment enforcers from one of the world’s most law abiding nations? Continue reading →

Posted in bosozoku, nissan | Tagged bosozoku, c110, datsun, garuchan, gc110, kenmeri, motorhead, nissan, patrol car, police car, skyline, takeyari, zokusha | 13 Comments

Toyota revamps development process to build bolder cars

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Ben Hsu

More good news comes pouring from the C-level offices of our beloved automakers. The latest word from Japan is that Toyota has given its product development techniques a makeover so that they’ll result in less boring cars. It appears that over the decades, the number of executives signing off on each vehicle has ballooned to anywhere from 80 to 100! Continue reading →

Posted in toyota | Tagged ae86, fr-s, gt 86, hachiroku, scion, toyota, toyota 86 | 10 Comments

Nissan design chief hints at return of Silvia or lightweight Fairlady Z

Posted on April 10, 2012 by Matt De Mangos

Over the weekend design chief Shiro Nakamura told the Sydney Morning Herald that Nissan is looking to downsize its sports cars. “I much prefer smaller sports car,” he was quoted as saying. “It is the time to look at [smaller engines]. With 370Z, we still don’t know next generation will have a larger or smaller engine.” Nakamura-san noted the importance of lightness, which would allow smaller-displacement engines for similar performance.

This led to speculation that the the Silvia would return, and we’re going to fuel that particular fire even more. Our contact tells us the word from inside Nissan is that the Silvia S16 has in fact been given the green light (again). Continue reading →

Posted in nissan, toyota | Tagged 240sx, 240z, ae86, brz, datsun, fairlady z, hachiroku, nissan, s12, s13, s14, silvia, subaru, toyota, toyota 86 | 13 Comments