Boyd Coddington Custom 17 & 18 Inch Celica Supra Wheels

Posted on October 28, 2010 by Ben Hsu

The Toyota Celica Supra P-Type is one of the best looking OEM wheels ever made. The classic four-spoke alloy was delivered stock with the MA61 from 1982 to 1986, and although the L-Types had a 15×6 option, the wider P-Type 14×7 is the most desirable. Almost 30 years after their introduction, they’re a staple of any self-respecting Toyotaku’s garage stash, and make appearances on everything from AE86s to Cressidas.

Now, some enterprising enthusiasts on CelicaSupra.com have remade them in 17- and 18-inch sizes. Continue reading →

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What a Datsun 240Z Looks Like Going 173 MPH

Posted on October 27, 2010 by Ben Hsu


Remember the Datsun 240Z that recently broke the F/GT Class record at the Bonneville Salt Flats? Here’s a video on Rebello Racing of what that looks like from the cockpit. Or is that footage from a Space Shuttle launch? No, it’s the Z.

[Image: ClassicZCars]

Posted in motorsports, nissan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Mazda Assembly Lines Through the Ages

Posted on October 26, 2010 by Ben Hsu


Straight outta Hiroshima, let’s take a journey through Mazda’s assembly lines over the years. The above is a 1980 plant churning out the SA22C RX-7 Savanna by the boatload. Continue reading →

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Awesomeness Lurks at the Swiss Toyota Museum

Posted on October 25, 2010 by Ben Hsu


It’s been a while since we checked into the Swiss Toyota Museum, but this photo from their newsletter that recently landed in our inbox makes us want to pack our bags and high-tail it to the Alps. Here is a list of their cars and more photos await below the fold. Continue reading →

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Friday Video: Datsun 260Z Drifts Through Zandvoort, Sorta

Posted on October 22, 2010 by Ben Hsu


If  anything, the Dutch rival the Japanese for television weirdness, so we’ll ignore the plot of this Bassie & Adriaan episode and cut straight to the chase. In it, a Datsun 260Z pursues a clown in a Matra Rancho. There are some primitive attempts at drifting and pointless 360s, but it’s fun to watch this brown bandit scooting across the Netherlands’ Zandvoort circuit. Video below the fold. Continue reading →

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Gallbladder, Anyone? Citrus Green Datsun 280ZX

Posted on October 21, 2010 by Ben Hsu


Would you rather have: a super low mileage gem, or an ultra rare color? Citrus Green is likely the rarest color ever to grace a Datsun 280ZX, excluding the one-off specials. It’s the color I’d have because I dig oddball hues that have no business coating a modern car, but seem oh-so-right for its era. It was available only in 1979, and according to some sources there were fewer than 100 Citrus Green 280ZXs sold in the US, surpassing in rarity the 10th Anniversary Black & Red cars (of which there were 500). And unlike the 12,000-mile Turbo we saw recently, this is a 5-speed. See more photos below or at the auction on eBay. Continue reading →

Posted in datsun, for sale, nissan | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

Enkei Wheels Resurrects Enkei 92 Mesh Rim

Posted on October 20, 2010 by Ben Hsu


Need some nostalgic meshies that haven’t seen one too many pothole and aren’t stricken with a classic case of curb rash? The old school revivals keep on coming with the (re-)introduction of the Enkei 92! Continue reading →

Posted in wheels | Tagged , , | 22 Comments

Japanese Nostalgics at the 2010 Art Center Classic

Posted on October 19, 2010 by Ben Hsu


The Art Center College of Design is one of the top transportation design schools in the world, and each year the Art Center Classic gathers some of the world’s best automotive forms in a show that would make Jeremy Clarkson weep with envy. Continue reading →

Posted in datsun, events, nissan, toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The Toyota Truck: Weapon of Choice

Posted on October 18, 2010 by Ben Hsu


Car enthusiasts have long noticed that news footage from war-torn regions inevitably result in grainy shots of heavily armed men overflowing from the beds of Toyota pickups. Whether it’s rebels, guerillas, insurgents, counterinsurgents or, on occasion, the US Special Forces, the Toyota truck has become as ubiquitous on the battle field as the AK-47. Now Newsweek is taking an in-depth look at the history of Toyotas on the war front. Continue reading →

Posted in toyota, trucks | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Friday Video: How to Kill a President

Posted on October 15, 2010 by Ben Hsu

Before the feds kick down our door, let’s clarify: a Nissan President. Although the hero Nissan Leopard F31 (aka Infiniti M30) never comes face to face with said President in this episode of Abunai Deka, it does chase down a freight train laced with explosives and a koala bear ordinance. Video below the fold. Continue reading →

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Event Horizon for the Weekend of October 15, 2010

Posted on October 14, 2010 by Dan Hsu

The Art Center Car Classic is a design focused car exhibition that features high end European and American classics.  This year, nostalgics will be making a strong case for Japanese automotive design.  Among others, see the Toyota 2000GT and Lexus LFA this Sunday in Pasadena!

This weekend:

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Honda Fit RS Now Road Sailing in Sunset Orange

Posted on October 14, 2010 by Ben Hsu


The Honda Fit has taken up the small-car slot that the Civic 1200 once held in the automaker’s US lineup. So it’s no surprise that when Honda resurrected the RS badge that first appeared on the 1974 Civic RS, they put it on the pocket-sized hatch. And with the recent introduction of the Fit Hybrid and mid-model update of the Fit line, there’s a new RS as well. Skorj has gone ahead and photoshopped them in a Two-Face type amalgam. Look how nicely they “fit,” har har. Continue reading →

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C31 Laurel

Posted on October 13, 2010 by Matt De Mangos


John and Ben posted the C32 earlier this week. But this C31 Laurel is badasser. Pillarless, check!

Posted in datsun, nissan | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Kobayashi Tire & Wheel: Old School Japanese Garage

Posted on October 12, 2010 by Ben Hsu

Kobayashi Tire & Wheel is totally old school. How old? According to its website, the tire & wheel shop was established way back in 1923! You can tell this isn’t your run-of-the-mill JDM version of Big O Tires, because they didn’t open up their second chain until 1997.

The best part is, they’ve taken (and developed, and subsequently scanned and posted) a Mazinger-sized library of photographs from the heyday of chrome bumpered motoring. Continue reading →

Posted in datsun, honda, isuzu, mazda, mitsubishi, nissan, toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

C32 Laurel

Posted on October 11, 2010 by Ben Hsu


Tsurikawa, check. Shako stance, check. Two-tone, check. Work Equip 03s, check. RB20DET? Possibly. Don’t get us wrong. We’re grateful for the Cressida, but sad that Nissan never brought this rival to the Toyota luxemobile stateside. There can never be too much 80s boxiness.

[iputinwork.com]

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Friday Video: Nissan Cedric vs Matsuda

Posted on October 8, 2010 by Ben Hsu


Yusaku Matsuda, to be precise. Although not a rotary-powered model, it still exhibits all the nimble handling the brand is known for. Video below the fold. Continue reading →

Posted in datsun, nissan, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Toyota Skyline, Anyone?

Posted on October 7, 2010 by Ben Hsu


Since we mentioned the BRE Mitsubishi Evo yesterday, we might as well one of the most classic examples of minicar marque-model mismatch. Zee Toys went out of business in 1996 but in its heyday the company had, among other products, an interesting lineup of cars. For a California based company in the 70s, there were a surprising number of Japanese cars in their lineup — Honda N600, Datsun pickup, and a whole mess of Toyotas like the TE27 Corolla, 2000GT, Celica and Corona.

However, as you can see from the 1979 catalog, there was an interloper in the family… the Toyota Skyline! It’s clearly a C110 or C210, but it’s even got a huge “TOYOTA” graphic on the side and “TEAM TOYOTA” writ large across the hood. Perhaps in 30 years the BRE Evo will be as interesting an oddity.

[Image: Zylmex]

Posted in datsun, honda, minicars, nissan, toyota | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

BRE Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X?

Posted on October 6, 2010 by Ben Hsu

Maisto BRE Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X BRE 2

So we were browsing the diecast aisle at Target the other day when the unmistakeable red/white/blue livery of Brock Racing Enterprises caught our eye. It was slathered over a big honkin’ semi rig with a matching smaller car on the trailer, so naturally we assumed the latter was a BRE Datsun 510 or 240Z. But upon closer inspection… Continue reading →

Posted in datsun, minicars, mitsubishi, motorsports, nissan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

JNC Z Meets Aston Martin

Posted on October 5, 2010 by Yee


As you may know, JNC’s Art Director (the one responsible for our new design and layout) owns just one mode of transportation, a 1972 Datsun 240Z. Well, technically he also owns a vintage Japanese Univega but let’s not split hairs. Living in LA with a forty-year-old kyuusha means adventure is always around the corner. Here’s Yee’s own words. -Ed.

So I was at Haus Dessert Cafe, the upscale coffee shop on 6th, and an Aston tried to overtake my parking space to no avail. The Z looks like a car Aston Martin built in the late 60s. This DB9 is closer to what a Z should be than the current 370Z, at least in triple Black Gloss PPG. That valet space is mine (though I park it myself).

Posted in datsun, jnc, nissan | Tagged , , , , , | 14 Comments

Kidney, Anyone? 2500-mile 1982 Toyota Starlet

Posted on October 4, 2010 by Ben Hsu


Who says the northeast doesn’t have any nostalgic treasures? The spectre of oxidization may loom large, but that just guarantees that when a specimen emerges, it’ll be a low-mileage garaged beauty. Unlike the $500 finds from SoCal whose odometers have rolled around the ol’ 00000 God knows how many times, this Vermont Starlet can still be considered a virgin with just 2500 on the clock. And unlike the over-tanned Los Angeles examples, this one still has an uncracked dash and wears its original, classy black-and-red interior. And unlike the 12,000-mile 280ZX we saw last week, this RWD baby rows her own gears.

It seems as if the seller has received a smokin’ offer too, because the auction has ended early. Was the opening bid of $3200 too conservative? In any case, even if this car disappears into some eccentric hermit’s private collection, we will at least have the images below the fold as reference in case anyone wants to do a proper restoration of a 1982 Toyota Starlet. Continue reading →

Posted in for sale, toyota | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments