One of the curious aspects of Tokyo living is the often cliched perspective of the new vs. the old. The fall-back standard for no-need-to-think international correspondents who like to show keitai girls in yukata, shinkansen and rice-fields, cosplay and temples, neon and whatever. Continue reading
Shoto Incongruities
Event Horizon for the Weekend of Apr 23, 2010
If you know of or would like to publicize an event, send us a tip at the feedback address at the bottom of this page.
This week:
- Friday, April 23 – April 25 / Solvang, CA: 23rd Solvang Roadster Classic
- Saturday, April 24 / Orange, CA: Z-Enthusiast Reunion
1976 Datsun 620 Truck Prepares for Bonneville
Guest blogger Stephen Rossini is a photographer and Datsun enthusiast from New York who has been following Bonneville hopeful Barry Brown and his Datsun 620.
Barry Brown and co-driver Jeff Benson of Riter Automotive, Rochester, New York made their first leg to get to Bonneville. Their prepared 1976 Datsun 620 truck was entered this weekend in the ECTA speed trials at Maxton, North Carolina. This being a new venue for both drivers and a new untested truck, both drivers were able to be signed off and Jeff was able to break the current record in F/PMP class with a 123 MPH run breaking the record previously held at 119MPH. Riter Automotive will now prepare the truck to run at Bonneville in the fall. Continue reading
Posted in datsun, motorsports, nissan, trucks
Tagged barry brown, bonneville, datsun, datsun 620, truck
7 Comments
Wednesday Wall(s): Vintage Subarus by BOW
Remember last week’s nostalgic Honda wallpapers by BOW? Here are some Subarus for your desktop backgrounding pleasure.
[Subaru]
Posted in Art Corner, subaru, Wednesday Wall
Tagged bow, ff-1, legacy, leone, r2, rex, subaru, subaru 1000, subaru 360, xt6
4 Comments
Nissan Says Hey, We're Doing BRE Livery Too!
Well, well, well. It seems that Nissan is not about to let Mazda usurp the iconic BRE livery after all. Just days after the announcement of a factory-backed BRE Mazda MX-5, Nissan says they will revive the graphics on a 2010 NISMO 370Z, to be unveiled at the BRE reunion dinner at the Classic Motorsports Mitty this weekend. Continue reading
Posted in datsun, mazda, motorsports, nissan
Tagged 240z, bre, datsun, fairlady roadster, fairlady z, john morton, mazda, miata, mitty, mx-5, nissan, peter brock, road atlanta, roadster, s30
9 Comments
The Straight Sixes: Hakosuka, Kenmeri, Fairlady Z
Apita is a supermarket chain in Japan, and a good a place as any to meet up for a cruise.
[Minkara]
Autoweek’s 40th Anniversary of the Nissan Z: In conjunction with the release of the 40th Anniversary Nissan 370Z, Autoweek is devoting much of its upcoming bi-weekly magazine to the Z-car.
[Autoweek]
BRE Back on Track Again! But Wait, That’s No Datto…
It’s been 37 years since factory-backed Brock Racing Enterprises livery was seen on the tracks. The weekend, BRE livery will ride again at The Mitty, where the Datsun race team of yore will be the honored racing legend this year. But instead of a Datsun Roadster, 510 or 240Z, it’ll be on a Mazda. The idea was a joint effort between Peter Brock and John Morton and Mazdaspeed, and you can read the genesis of the project in the press release below. Continue reading
Posted in datsun, event horizon, mazda
Tagged 240z, 510, bre, datsun, fairlady roadster, john morton, mazdaspeed, miata, mx-5, nissan, peter brock, roadster, s30
3 Comments
Friday Video: Bosozoku Crackdown!
Why are we so fascinated with the bosozoku lifestyle? Is it the outrageous rides, the demented hoonage, or the don’t-give-a-crap attitude? Here’s someone who is not fascinated: the police. In this footage from 1993, the Japanese constabulary put up an all-night roadblock to crack down on bosozoku antics, likely picking up every Toyota Soarer west of Narita. Continue reading
Character, I Has It: MX36 Toyota Cressida Wagon
Kidney, Anyone? Rocky Auto RB20DET C130 Nissan Laurel
We like pig butts and we cannot lie. Rocky Auto has long been the purveyors of nostalgic Nissans prepped for the Modern Age. And although the focus of their bionic creations are typically S30 Zs or hakosuka with RB26 motors in either naturally aspirated or turbo form, this time they’ve chosen a butaketsu.
But this boar’s badonkadonk is anything but piggish. It might look like your typical shakotan 1976 Nissan Laurel 2000SGX on the outside, but Rocky Auto being Rocky Auto, you’ve got RB powahh! And not just any RB, the RB20DET so it can stay in the 2000cc class! And this KHC130 can be yours for ¥3,980,000, which translates to nearly $43,000, shipping not included. More photos after the jump. Continue reading
Posted in for sale, nissan
Tagged c130, khc130, laurel, nissan, rb20, rb20det, rocky auto
11 Comments
Gasp, Foreign Street Rod! Anyone who’s been to Toyotafest or JCCS has seen the Mooneyes Toyopet Crown V8, but once upon a time it was a cover car for Custom Rodder magazine. However, the entire article is spent defending the very idea of an Japanese rod with no background on the S30 Crown itself. Yes, kids, it was a time when custom imports were simply unthinkable, and that time was, uh, 1996, actually. Read the whole article on Riverside.
[Hat tip to Zeb Lux]
Posted in media, toyota
Tagged crown, custom rodder, mooneyes, s30, street rod, toyopet, toyota, v8
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Event Horizon for the Weekend of Apr 16, 2010
If you know of or would like to publicize an event, send us a tip at the feedback address at the bottom of this page.
This week:
- Saturday, April 17 / Los Angeles, CA: 40th Anniversary of the Z Car
- Saturday, April 17 – Sunday, April 18 / Dowerin, Australia: Theo’s Run
- Saturday, April 17 / Las Vegas, NV: Island Chain Racing 5th Annual BBQ Potluck
Wednesday Wall(s): Vintage Hondas by BOW
Kazuhiro Ikeda is one of Japan’s most well-known automotive artists. Going by his pen name BOW, he has drawn for Car, Car Graphic, Cycle World, and many others. Not only do his drawings of vintage machines look fanciful and fantastic, they drip with Rockwellian nostalgia. Honda Japan has a huge wallpaper gallery where you can download his illustrations of Hondas old and new, everything from S600 to S2000, or the mighty NSX to an unassuming lawn mower.
Saitama Air-Cooled Yard
Students of automotive design and history advise us that the death of the rear-engine air-cooled car was dictated by a number of changing fashions and requirements. Pollution and noise requirements ensured two-strokes, with their oil-burning lubrication systems, were phased out and still more stringent regulations in many jurisdictions started to enforce additional requirements. Continue reading
I Wanna Glide Down Over Mulholland
In the 80s, Los Angeles’ Mulholland Drive was the site of some epic street racing. As these videos on Jalopnik show, its winding canyon path was the perfect setting for cat-mouse chases. Datsun 510s and S30 Zs battling it out with Detroit iron. Touge in Hollywood, anyone? Several years ago, we got a letter from Winston Lieu, an old schooler who used to take his 510 up there. This card was attached: Continue reading
Posted in datsun, nissan, Nuts and Bolts, streetracing
Tagged 240z, 510, bluebird, datsun, fairlady z, mulholland drive, s30, street racing
1 Comment
The Mazda Family Tree, 1960-Present
In honor of Mazda’s 90th Anniversary, here’s the complete genealogy of every Mazda from 1960 to present day. Three-wheeled pickups from the early days are absent, but those were commercial vehicles. This family tree contains all the passenger cars, stretching from the 1960 Mazda R360 kei car to the bizarro Biante JDM minivan. You can click the image for a larger size or visit an interactive version on Mazda’s Japanese website, along with a portait gallery.
[Mazda]
Friday Video: Freeway Speedway
It’s kind of hard to believe we’ve gone this long without any mention of the Freeway Speedway series. The six films followed a young driver making his way in the illegal Shutoku battle scene of the 80s and 90s. At the time, night-time racing around Tokyo’s Shuto expressway loop was at its peak and lawbreaking displays of speed were practically a nightly occurrence.
Continue reading
Posted in mazda, nissan, toyota, Video Games
Tagged 280zx, 300zx, celica, corolla, datsun, dr30, fairlady z, freeway speedway, gt-r, mazda, nissan, r30, r32, rx-7, s130, shuto, shutoku battle, skyline, supra, tokyo speedway, toyota, wangan
13 Comments
Subaru GL Achieves Higher Consciousness with Third Eye Passing Light
A few months ago we embarked on a dusty pilgrimage to an Inland Empire junkyard. We were in search of a motor mount for a 1986 Toyota Cressida, but accidentally found enlightenment instead.
After trudging through the umpteenth corridor of sun-baked Camry skeletons, we caught a glint of chrome bumper. It was attached to a Subaru GL. Most items of value had already been plundered by earlier treasure hunters, but we were drawn to an emblem depicting the constellation Pleiades.
Continue reading
Posted in subaru
Tagged brochure, junkyard, leone, passing lamp, passing light, subaru, subaru gl, third headlight
13 Comments
EVENTS: Nos2Days 2010
We’re getting all sorts of goodies from Nippon this week. Our Japanese operative, known only as “Turbo,” snapped these photos last weekend at Nos2Days, the two-day car show put on by Japan’s OG classic car mag, Nostalgic Hero. Onto the pics! Continue reading
Posted in datsun, events, mazda, mitsubishi, nissan, prince, toyota
Tagged 240z, 252i, 510, bluebird, c10, c230, cressida, cresta, crown, crown pickup, datsun, dr30, fairlady z, gx61, gx71, Hakosuka, kei, laurel, le mans, mark II, mazda, mitsubishi, mitsubishi 360, mitsubishi 360 van, mooneyes, mx73, nissan, nos2days, nos2days 2010, police car, prince, rs watanabe, rx-7, s30, skyline, skyway, sports 800, toyota, utilitas, wagon, watanabe
13 Comments
