It’s not every day you find a 1959 Datsun 1000 on eBay. This L210 is probably one of the earliest Nissan products ever sold in the US. This ancestor of the Bluebird is not for the faint of heart though. With a 37-horsepower OHV motor and four-wheel leaf spring suspension, it ain’t gonna hit the autocross like its great-great-grandson the 510. Two of these babies did, however, circumnavigate the continent of Australia in the 1958 Mobilgas Trial and one of them even won its class. Continue reading
Kidney, Anyone? 1959 Datsun 1000
EVENTS: Mooneyes Mania Cruise
Every couple of months our friends at Mooneyes holds an informal gathering near their HQ in Yokohama called the Mania Cruise. The great part about these shows is that you get to see oddball machines that tend to get crowded out at, say, the New Year Meeting. Case in point: the totally adorbs 1976 Mazda Porter Cab pickup. Two-stroke, 360cc, all style. Click on through to see some of our favorites. Continue reading
Posted in events, mazda, nissan, toyota
Tagged 240z, 260z, 280z, 720, ae71, b110, b120, b1800, b210, barikan, caravan, cedric, corolla, corona, crown, datsun, dish, e70, e71, enkei, fairlady z, gloria, hiace, longchamp, longchamps, mania cruise, mooneyes, ms50, ms55, nissan, pickup, porter cab, roadbuster, rt40, rt45, s30, s50, sanitora, slot mags, ssr, star shark, star sharks, sunny, sunny truck, te51, te71, toyota, xr-4, y30
8 Comments
Friday Video: B110 Sunny & KP61 Starlet Take to the Hills
Best Motoring may be no more, but videos like this from their heyday are what old school Japanese cars are all about! Lightweight, rear-wheel-drive, small-displacement cars that are a blast to sling through the twisties. Watch as Keiichi Tsuchiya and Takuya Kurosawa gun a KP61 Toyota Starlet and and B110 Nissan Sunny through the mountains. I’m a Toyotaku to the core but I might have to give my vote to the super-sweet white Datsun on Watanabes in this case. Watch the video below the fold. Continue reading
Posted in Friday Video, nissan, toyota
Tagged 1200, b110, best motoring, datsun, keiichi tsuchiya, kp61, nissan, starlet, sunny, takuya kurosawa, toyota
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EVENTS: Toyotafest 2011 Part 05
Our latest installment of Toyotafest 2011 coverage begins with a lovely old school Starlet. The original RWD hot hatch. You can’t miss this killer shade of Amazonian tree frog green with over-fenders and and black ATS Classics. Continue reading
New JNC Shop Open, LowLife T-Shirts Now Available
We quietly launched a new JNC Shop a few weeks ago, giving it an updated look and easier ordering process. It includes all the new gear we debuted at Toyotafest, like the Vintage Barrels II shirt, JNC X JAF decal and Racing Mate Tribute decal.
Those who stopped by our booth at Toyotafest got a sneak peek at another T-shirt design — LowLife. This one celebrates the tsurikawa, or subway grip. Decades ago, bosozoku car gangs would steal them from Japan’s ubiquitous train carriages. and hang them from the rears of their lowered cars. This served a two-fold purpose. It identified the driver as part of the criminal element, and proved his sled was truly slammed with the property of the rail system dragging behind it.
Shirts are 100% pre-shrunk cotton and available in sizes S to XXL. Gray ink on lime with maroon JNC sleeve logo. Order yours today.
The Most Painful Skyline You’ll Ever See: Hakosuka Itasha
It’s one thing to slap giant anime characters on your Suzuki Wagon R, Toyota Alphard, or even your Ferrari F430, but a KGC10 Skyline? That really hurts. This hot pink hakosuka was spotted last week at an itasha car show in Odaiba. Surprisingly, it was without Yayois.
[Image: getnews] Hat tip to toyotageek.
Friday Video: This Nissan Cedric Hates Bicyclists
A suspect attempts to slink away just as our heros from the Western Division arrive on the scene. Too late, he’s made. Nothing left to do but wheel that Cedric like it’s your ticket to salvation. Oh, an plow over a dozen bicycles in the process. Just another day in Seibu Keisatsu-land. Watch the video below the fold. Continue reading
Posted in Friday Video, nissan, Video Games
Tagged 230, car chase, cedric, datsun, gloria, japanese cop show, nissan, seibu keisatsu
3 Comments
Kenmeri Too: Hot Wheels KPGC110 Nissan Skyline 2000GT-R is Coming
If you guys were excited about the Hot Wheels Hakosuka, then buckle your racing harnesses because the boys at Mattel are about to double down. That’s right, they are doing a kenmeri too. Continue reading
EVENTS: Toyotafest 2011 Part 04
Our coverage of Toyotafest 2011 continues! This A40 Celica hails from the glory days of the Camel GT series. It always amazes us just how much Japanese and American tuning styles differed back then. Goodyear Eagles? Gottis? Had this Celica been race-prepped in Japan, it probably would have had massive box flares and mega-deep SSRs. Continue reading
Posted in events, motorsports, toyota, trucks, Uncategorized
Tagged 152e, 1jz, 3s-ge, a40, aar, ae86, all american racing, all toyotafest, baja, beams, camel gt, celica, corolla, corona, cressida, crown, dan gurney, fj40, fj60, fj62, fj65, fj70, gotti, hachiroku, hilux, imsa, ironman, ivan stewart, kujira, land cruiser, levin, manaray, markII, ms55, ms63, mx83, pickup, queen mary, ra21, ra29, rs watanabe, rt40, rt73, s50, s60, sj825, sparkle garage, sprinter trueno, st165, te27, te37, toyoda aa, toyota, toyotafest, toyotafest 2011, toysport, trueno, wagon, watanabe, x80, xtra cab, yaris
19 Comments
Mazda 787B Returns to Le Mans for 20th Anniversary of Victory
Twenty years ago, the Mazda 787B became the first and only rotary-powered car to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It’s also the only Japanese car to win overall what has been called “the most demanding endurance race in the world” (although the Toyota GT-One and Honda NSX have won class victories). Now, they’re inviting Mazda back. Continue reading
EVENTS: Toyotafest 2011 Part 03
We gave you a heads up that Cabe Toyota would bring a truckload of NOS parts to Toyotafest 2011 at blow-out prices. We’d like to imagine that they arrived in Cabe’s off-white Toyota Stout pick’em up. Paired with gray wheels and a vintage logo on the door, it’s the perfect ‘Yota parts hauler. If you didn’t come down to Long Beach last weekend, here’s what you missed. Continue reading
Posted in events, toyota, trucks
Tagged 1jz, all toyotafest, all-trac, cabe, celica, corolla, cressida, cresta, crown, ep90, fj40, fj45, glanza, glanza v, gt-four, hilux, kp61, land cruiser, markII, mx65, mx72, p90, pickup, queen mary, ra21, ra22, ra28, ra29, sparkle garage, st185, starlet, stout, ta21, tacoma, te71, toyota, toyotafest, x70, x80
22 Comments
Hot Wheels X JNC Hakosuka Nissan Skyline
We at JNC are very proud to announce the latest classic Japanese car to grace the 2011 Hot Wheels lineup — the legendary hakosuka. Mattel just sent us a small batch fresh off the assembly line, and has graciously allowed us to debut the Nissan Skyline H/T 2000GT-X to JNC readers first! These are the first photos of it released anywhere in the world, but the actual diecast cars will soon be appearing in your local retail stores so be on the lookout for them.
And of course, we are just plain delirious with excitement that it features the JNC inkan on the doors. It has been an awesome experience working with Mattel, and we are really happy that they’re on the forefront of the nostalgic Japanese movement! Continue reading
EVENTS: Toyotafest 2011 Part 02
Welcome to Part 02 of our Toyotafest 2011 coverage. As Michio Kaku would say, let’s jump right in and take a look at some of more extreme cars that were at the show. This TE51 Corolla has exchanged hands a few times since PJ Bonifacio first debuted it a couple of years ago, but it still looks a fresh as ever, with oooh-shiny SSR MkIIs filling out the subtly flared fenders. Continue reading
Posted in bosozoku, events, toyota, wagons
Tagged 1jz, 20-valve, 2jz, 4age, 4runner, a60, ae86, ae92, all toyotafest, blacktop, celica, corolla, corona, cressida, estima, f20c, f22c, gx71, hayashi, hilux, honda, is-f, jza80, levin, lexus, ls400, lucida, markII, MkIII, mx28, mx72, mx73, pickup, previa, ra63, ra64, rays, rota, s2000, sakura, sprinter, sr5, ssr, supra, takeyari, te37v, te51, tokico, toyota, toyotafest, toyotafest 2011, trueno, vip, volk, wagon, work equip, work equip 03, x70, yayoi
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EVENTS: Toyotafest 2011 Part 01
Prepare to salivate like Pavlov’s dog in a pachinko parlor. Here are photos from Toyotafest 2011! The sixteenth annual gathering of the extended Toyota family took place this weekend at the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California, and that means lots and lots of Aichi steel. Continue reading
Posted in events, toyota
Tagged 2000gt, 2011, a20, advan, ae86, all toyotafest, august, celica, corolla, cressida, crown, feroce, fj40, gear spoke, gt-s, gx71, highlander, kluger, kujira, land cruiser, levin, lexus, lfa, ls460, ls600h, mango, markII, mesh, mf10, ms65, ms75, mx73, oni, phantom, publica, queen mary, ra21, ra28, ra29, reverse mesh, rotiform, s5, s60, sprinter, sr5, ssr, ta21, te27, techno, toyota, toyotafest, trueno, up10, work equip 01, work vs
21 Comments
JAF History and a New JNC Decal
If you’ve been around old school Japanese cars you’ve seen this blue and white logo affixed to grilles or windows in badge and decal form. The Japan Automobile Federation is Japan’s version of AAA, a motoring club that you can call for roadside assistance, travel tips, or an international driver’s license. But unlike AAA, the JAF also serves as Japan’s motorsports governing body — overseeing everything from rally to Super GT to gymkhana. Continue reading
Posted in jnc
Tagged decal, grille badge, jaf, japan automobile federation, jnc, sticker
10 Comments
JNC Vintage Barrels II T-Shirt
Ever since we released our original Vintage Barrels T-shirt, the suggestions have been flowing for a second design. So without further ado, we are proud to present JNC‘s Vintage Barrels II T-shirt! We’ll debut the new threads at Toyotafest this weekend, so be sure to stop by the booth. Can you name all the rims?
Getting Ready for Toyotafest
Posted in events, toyota
Tagged cressida, mark II, mx72, mx73, ssr, star sharks, toyota, toyotafest, x70
6 Comments
Wednesday Wall: Happy 510 Day!
In celebration of 510 Day, here’s a Wednesday Wallpaper of the very first car ever featured on Japanese Nostalgic Car, Kelvin & Jeffrey Hiraishi’s rotary-powered Datsun 510.
widescreen: 1920 x 1200
standard: 1600 x 1200
Get Ready for Toyotafest This Weekend!
This almost goes without saying, but the biggest Toyota-themed party in North America is going down this Saturday. And sponsors Cabe Toyota has announced that they will be having a blow-out sale at Toyotafest. Continue reading
1972 Mitsubishi-Built Dodge Colt Wagon Road Test
The modern JNCer may have a few bones to pick with Car & Track host Bud Lindemann. Not only does he say that all Japanese cars look as if they came from the same drawing board (excepting the Datsun 240Z), he implies that compact cars are just a fad. Despite the 1972 Dodge Colt Wagon‘s leisurely 20-second 0-60 time, the Mitsubishi does get high marks in what a small, lightweight car does best — braking and handling. It’s a formula we’ve come to know and love. Watch the video below the fold Continue reading
