The Nisei Showoff was back for another year because the spot where the show has been held was not redeveloped as originally scheduled. Hooray for the GFC? Anyway, old school flavor was out in full effect and seems to be getting stronger with each passing year. Continue reading
Nissan Cedrics vs Toyota LiteAce in Daitokai, The Big City
It’s odd to see a mixed-marque car chase in the heavily sponsored world of Japanese cop shows. Almost as odd as using a Toyota LiteAce as a getaway vehicle when you’re being pursued by a fleet of Nissan Cedrics. But there you have it, in Daitokai, aka The Big City. Continue reading
Event Horizon for the Weekend of August 13, 2010
If you know of or would like to tell us about an event, send us a tip at the feedback address at the bottom of this page or leave a comment below.
This week:
- Friday, August 13 – 15 / Monterey, CA: Monterey Historics Datsun Corral
- Friday, August 13 – 15 / Finland: Finn JAE 2010
- Saturday, August 14 / San Diego: 2nd Annual All Nissan Cannonball Rally
- Sunday, August 15 / Brookline, MA: Japanese Car and Motorcycle Day
The Nostalgics of BARL, Barbados Auto Racing League
Despite having an area about 1/10th the size of Rhode Island, Barbados has a strong car culture and the Barbados Auto Racing League hosts some truly insane race machines. Rotaries, Toyota Starlets, and Nissans B310s are apparently quite popular. JNC reader sickbugs recently showed us some photos from his homeland. Continue reading
1972 Nissan Sunny Calendar Found in Abandoned Yamanashi-ken House
On the dark-side of Fuji-san, a village with 200-year-old thatched-roof buildings was abandoned in the 1970s. In one of the remote and largely intact houses, hanging from the shredded shoji, in a living room full of bear- and tanuki-tossed futons and shredded straw mattresses, hangs a 1972 Nissan Sunny dealer calendar. Continue reading
Drag Racer Hakosuka Skyline
We’ve seen all sorts of C10 Skylines, from stock to shakotan, but this is the first hakosuka dragster we’ve ever come across. This doorslammer comes from a 1995 issue of Auto Works magazine, and despite its fiberglass funny car looks, underneath that hood scoop beats a thoroughly worked L28. Full article (in Japanese) below the fold. Continue reading
Posted in datsun, motorsports, nissan
Tagged auto works, c10, datsun, drag racer, dragster, funny car, gc10, Hakosuka, kgc10, kpgc10, nissan, pgc10, skyline
5 Comments
1988 JTCC Ralliart Mitsubishi Starion
Here are some videos of a the Ralliart Mitsubishi Starion competing against Ford Sierra Cosworths, MA71 Toyota Supras and Nissan Skyline RS Turbos in the 1988 Japan Touring Car Championship. You may recognize some of the drivers, such as Takahashi Kunimitsu of hakosuka GT-R fame, behind the wheel of the beast. Two-part video below the fold. Continue reading
Posted in mitsubishi, motorsports
Tagged datsun, jtcc, ma71, mitsubishi, nissan, skyline, starion, supra, toyota
2 Comments
Friday Video: AE86 Corolla on European Circuits
If you’ve gotten JNC Vol. 04 you’ll have seen our tribute to the 1985 Toyota Corolla GT-S, now officially a nostalgic in the US thanks to the 25-year rule. Though this car would become the poster child for drifting 15 years later, Toyota USA never bragged about its flingability. Not so on other continents! Check out this official video by Toyota, in which they take a pair of AE86s to Europe’s most famous circuits — Nürburgring, Spa, Zandvoort — and let famous rally drivers loose behind the wheel of some bone stock hachiroku. Happy 8/6 Day, JNCers! Video below the fold. Continue reading
Posted in toyota
Tagged ae86, corolla, hachiroku, levin, nurburgring, spa francorchamps, sprinter, toyota, trueno, zandvoort
7 Comments
Event Horizon for the Weekend of August 6, 2010
If you know of or would like to tell us about an event, send us a tip at the feedback address at the bottom of this page or leave a comment below.
This week:
- Friday, August 6 / Torrance, CA: SoCal Japanese Classic Car Meet
- Friday, August 6 / Milpitas, CA: Mogo’s BBQ Meet
- Friday, August 6 / Seattle, WA: 8/6 Meeting
- Friday, August 6 – 8 / Norway: Japan Treff 2010
- Sunday, August 8 / Sparkford, UK: Retro Rides Gathering 2010
- Friday, August 8 / Tacoma, WA: Puget Sound Toyota Owners’ Club Charity BBQ
White Whale: MS75 Toyota Crown Hardtop
Killer kujira. That is all.
Kidney Anyone? Another Toyota Corona RT52 Hardtop
It’s raining Coronas! Hot on the heels of last week’s 2200-mile ’68 RT52 Hardtop Coupe comes this 1969 example with 57,000 miles. That might be 25 times the miles, but the condition actually seems to be, like the color, a slight bit mintier. In other words, it’s not something you’d bag. This one is another black plate special from California and is being offered by a reputable auction house as well. See the auction here. More pics below the fold. Continue reading
1957 Tokyo Motor Show
Here’s some rare footage of the 1957 Tokyo Motor Show, which was held outdoors in Hibiya Park. At the time, Japan’s total automotive output was only a hair over 47,000 units, about 1/130 of the US’s. Debuts included the S30 Toyopet Crown in Deluxe trim level, the T10 Toyota Corona, and the Fuji Cabin, a closed-cockpit three-wheeled RWD scooter (that bubble-looking thing towards the end of the clip). And oh yeah, and Prince Motor Company introduced an obscure little sedan known as the Skyline. Video below the fold. Continue reading
Posted in datsun, nissan, prince, Tokyo Motor Show, toyota
Tagged 1957 tokyo motor show, corona, crown, datsun, nissan, prince, skyline, tokyo motor show, toyopet, toyota
6 Comments
Bagged 'Rona: Air Suspension RT40 Toyota Corona
The RT40 Corona is not often customized in the States, but check out this bagged barikan from Japan! Deletion of fender mirrors and a JDM window visor may look like subtle mods, but this sled actually had some pretty extensive work done to it. Suspension secrets and video after the jump. Continue reading
Bonus Friday Vid: Toyota Starlet Makes Nissan GT-R Jump at the Drags
We think the blingy red wheels were the giveaway. Video below the fold. Continue reading
Friday Video: C210 Skyline Turbo vs. Fairlady Z 2+2
At last, we get to see a Fairlady Z give Daimon and his Skyline Japan Turbo a run for his money! With all the Nissan sponsorship, it’s a wonder there weren’t more Z-car pursuits in Seibu Keisatsu but we’ll take what we can get when a mysterious, Stig-like driver heels and toes his way through western Tokyo in a 2+2. Continue reading
Posted in datsun, nissan
Tagged c210, datsun, fairlady z, nissan, s30, seibu keisatsu, skyline
7 Comments
The Z Has Landed
Remember Yuta Akaishi’s Mad Max Z? Here’s another epic photo from NorCal’s Heartbreakers crew that will probably take over the Internets again. Maybe we should call it the E.T. Z now.
Event Horizon for the Weekend of July 30, 2010
If you know of or would like to tell us about an event, send us a tip at the feedback address at the bottom of this page or leave a comment below.
This week:
- Sunday, June 27 / Palo Alto, CA: Palo Alto Concours D’Elegance
- Wednesday, July 28 – August 1/ Nashville, TN: Z CON 2010
- Sunday, August 1 / Fontana, CA: Fontana Nissan’s 2nd Nissan Meet
Kidney, Anyone? Nissan Fairlady Z432
When Kev wrote that an $80,000 Tomica Nissan Fairlady Z432 made of pure platinum was still cheaper than the real thing, he wasn’t kidding. For those who want the sleek lines of an S30 Z but the fire-breathing heart of a hakosuka Skyline GT-R, and true factory authenticity, the Z432 is your answer. Basically, imagine the 1970 version of an R35 GT-R drivetrain in a 370Z and you’ve got the Z432.
The name comes from the KPGC10 GT-R’s S20 motor: 4 valves-per-cylinder, 3 carbs, and 2 cams. And with only 419 examples built, it’s rarer than a bloody slice of Kobe beef. This Grand Orange example is being offered by Bingo Sports, a Japanese dealership that usually trades in exotics like Ferrari F40s. At ¥8,800,000 (approximately $101,000) the asking price is high (though fair), so you might need to offer up more than a mere kidney. Perhaps the kidney of your first born as well. More pics below the fold. Continue reading
Kidney, Anyone? 2274-Mile 1968 Toyota Corona RT52 Hardtop
Remember that 8700-mile ’66 Toyota Corona that sold for $16000 in 2007, and then again for $32000 in 2009 with the addition of just one more mile? Well if there’s ever another that could top it, it’s this 1968 RT52 Hardtop Coupe with only 2,274 original miles! It’s a black plate California car from Fresno that has had two owners, the first of which installed an aftermarket air conditioning system. We know, we know, that means it’s not 100 percent original, but this shovelnose makes up for it by being manual shift and having two fewer doors. Care to put in your guesses for the sale price? Find the ad here.
Hat tip to 91ma70.
Gurachan Mazda Luce RX-4
Bosozoku-style C210 Skylines and Toyota Mark IIs are a dime a dozen, much to the delight (or repulsion, depending on your taste) of Nissan nuts and Toyotaku alike. For Mazdafarians there’s the occasional Cosmo AP, but here’s an even rarer beast — a gurachan-style Mazda RX-4 Luce Hardtop!
From the bubble flares to the retina-searing color to the ducktail spoiler, it’s got the gurachan look down. Even the subtle use of the Mazda decal is perfect, proving you don’t need a shark nose and four-foot exhaust pipes to look like you’re headed to FISCO circa 1975. And to round out the package, it’s even cruising with a slammed yonmeri and purple hakosuka. Short video below the fold. Continue reading
