We opened up a can of worms last month when we questioned the conventionally held belief that Albrecht Goertz designed, among others, the Toyota 2000GT and Datsun 240Z. If you want to see yet another misinformed article about this piece, or are simply looking for an excuse to bash your head against your desk, by all means read on. Continue reading
Goertz Myth Watch, Part III
Posted in datsun, nissan, toyota
Tagged albrecht goertz, datsun 240z, nissan fairlady z, toyota 2000gt
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Dogs Love Vintage Hondas
If you like dogs and nostalgics, this Honda Dog wallpaper gallery has everything you need. Full gallery after the jump.
Posted in honda
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Billet Aluminium Hakosuka Skyline
For those of you who are looking to upgrade from Choro-Qs…here’s your chance!
It’s a billet alloy KPGC10 Skyline. And if you have to ask, no you can’t afford it. Details after the jump.
Posted in datsun, minicar, nissan, Toys
Tagged nissan, nissan skyline, nissan skyline gt-r
14 Comments
OSCA Winner: Kiwi Series One Mazda RX-7
I’ve been on a SA22/FB RX-7 kick recently. I think it’s because the styling was so radical for its time, and the rotary engine suited that theme perfectly. It was practically born to race, and began taking checkered flags as soon as it was unleashed at events like the 24 Hours of Daytona, Spa 24 Hours, and various touring car championships in Australia, Great Britain and the US.
That’s why this 1978 RX-7 found on NZ Performance Car caught my eye. It has a 13B turbo running 20 pounds of boost and a list of mods almost as long as Chile. That translates to a terrifying 514 wheel hp and it looks absolutely evil. Actually, I think it’s exactly what a Series 1 RX-7 endurance car would look like if Mazda still made SA22s new.
Mark Burgess built it for New Zealand’s OSCA, or Open Saloon Car Association, series and began winning races with it as soon as he stepped onto the track, just like RX-7 drivers of yore. Remind me, why don’t Americans watch touring cars again?
1978 Plymouth Sapporo Crash Test
Due to the scarcity of old school Mitsubishi videos out there, we must content ourselves with whatever we can get:
Should this fail to get your pulse racing, feel free to review the previous blog entry for a more explosive pyrotechnic display.
Some Seibu Keisatsu for Your Weekend
Whew, it’s 2:30 AM and we just got back from a ridiculously long but productive day writing articles, scoring a free desk on craigslist for the JNC office, and attending important meetings about ad sales. Just one more day until the weekend, during which we will write more articles. Time to unwind with your Friday video!
It’s a scene from Seibu Keisatsu, the ass-kickingest Japanese cop show ever. If you thought last week’s Toyota Crown wagon jumping over an exploding police car was improbable, how about an entire box van? Did we mention it was full of bad guys lobbing grenades at hapless Nissan Cedric police cruisers? There’s some glimpses of C210 and R30 Skylines too, and of course our hero Daimon arrives in a gullwing 280ZX to save the day.
If you want more Seibu Keisatsu, and we think you do, check here, here, here and here.
Posted in datsun, nissan, seibu keisatsu, Video Games
Tagged datsun, nissan, nissan cedric, seibu keisatsu
7 Comments
Pitroad, Sunny Tuning House
Cheater_5, the JNC reader who introduced us to Auckland’s Tama Autos, has a another great post about Pitroad, the Chiba-based Sunny tuning house responsible for the pulse-quickening B310 TS Cup car pictured above. They make everything from suspension parts to bottom end internals, and can even ship you a built A-series engine if you’re serious about it.
You gotta love those squared off fender flares. Not every car can pull it off, but the B310 took Sunny styling in a boxier direction and they suit it perfectly. Even if you aren’t into the Sunny per se, there’s a large gallery of lovely TS Cup race photos on the Pitroad website. We’ve put a selection of our favorites after the jump, and also check out cheater_5’s take on the subject as someone who lives and breathes Sunnys, in other words A B110 Perspective. Continue reading
Posted in datsun, nissan, tuning shop
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Tama Autos of Auckland, New Zealand
We love checking out sites created by JNC readers and lately we’ve really gotten into cheater_5’s A B110 Perspective. As you can guess from the title, the man is obsessed with Sunnys, and he owns an uber-cool sanitora, or Sunny Truck. But in a recent post he visited Tama Autos, an Auckland, New Zealand-based Toyota AE86 specialist, where he snapped this E70 Corolla panel van on the lifts.
I don’t know what it is, but this car just calls out to me like a siren. Yes, it’s a Toyota, it’s a wagon, and it’s a vintage work vehicle — three things that instantly get my heart pumping — but there’s more to it than that. Maybe it’s the classic Techno Phantoms or that perfect shade of retro powder blue, brilliantly matched to the two-door wagon body style. Whatever it is, I want to see the completed car on the asphalt.
One more pic of the Tama Autos garage after the jump, complete with another dangerously enticing wagon. Continue reading
Posted in datsun, nissan, toyota, tuning shop, wagons
Tagged toyota, toyota corolla e70, toyota corolla ke70, toyota corolla panel van
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Nissan 370Z Designer Is an S30 Owner
Well whaddya know. Randy Rodriguez, one of the key designers of the Nissan 370Z, is an S30 fan at heart, according to this Canadian Press article. He’s owned 10 of them, in fact, and currently drives 1977 280Z that he restored himself. He says that his sketches were heavily influenced by the 240Z and the new GT-R. You might take issue with his statement that the 240Z and 350Z were the best Zs, but it’s good to know there such die-hard Datsun enthusiasts working at Nissan.
Posted in datsun, nissan
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Toyota "086A" Project On Like Donkey Kong
Hachiroku, the digits 8 and 6, are legendary in the annals of Toyotaku by simply being the chassis code for last of the great FR Corollas. The car’s demise left a gaping hole in Toyota’s lineup that couldn’t be filled by FF Celicas and high-dollar Supras. Eventually, those disappeared too. For 20 years fans pleaded for a comeback, and in 2007 rumors of a modern-day revival for the bare-bones touge-runner, built jointly with Subaru, began circulating.
But when the global economy entered meltdown, its fate was questioned. Our hopes were pinned on Akio Toyoda, self-professed car enthusiast and racer that was favored to take the reins at Toyoda. Well he got the job, and apparently one of the new President’s first orders of business was reassuring fans that the project was still on during a speech at the Tokyo Auto Salon. Continue reading
Norwegian Toyota Crown Farm
NOTE: please DO NOT contact us requesting the address, email or phone # for this farm!
Southern Norway that attracts tourists year round with its scenic hills, valleys and waterways:
However, deep in the backwoods rests an improbable Toyota Crown “Farm.” Continue reading
Posted in toyota
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Big Gallery of Airborne Nostalgics II
Back by popular demand, here’s the continuation of our Airborne Nostalgics series in which we post nothing but pictures of J-tin momentarily defying the forces of gravity. We also urge you to free any similar images you have from the confines of your hard drive and share them in Drew_TSi_Si_STi’s J-Tin Raced in Anger thread that started it all.
We just love this Datsun 610. With the sun-bleached dirt of a rally stage as a backdrop, it looks like it drove straight off the set of Mad Max. All aboard the Bartertown Express! Continue reading
Posted in datsun, isuzu, mitsubishi, motorsports, nissan, rally, subaru
Tagged datsun 160j, datsun 710, dodge colt, mitsubishi celeste, mitsubishi lancer, mitsubishi lancer celeste, nissan violet, rally, subaru gl-10, subaru leone
5 Comments
Mr. Craft Closes Its Doors
Any car nut who has been to Tokyo has surely passed through the doors of Mr. Craft, a five-story building full of toy cars in every scale, brand, and material you can imagine. Radio control, plastic model kits, diecast, wind-up toys, it was all there.
Sadly, it shuttered its decadent doors for good last September due to bankruptcy. The only remnant that remains is the Mr. Craft blog, on which you can find a ¥150,000 Choro-Q Nissan MID-4 (approximately $1500). It’s a loss to collectors everywhere, but at least we won’t be tempted to blow our life savings next time we visit Tokyo.
Collectors with minicar withdrawal can now get their fix at Ikeda Minicar Shop near Nippori Station or the Yodobashi Camera mega-retailer in Akihabara.
Posted in japan, minicars
3 Comments
Tire Stretching Guide, With Pictures
We all know there are few things sexier than stretched tires flush mounted on an old school Japanese car, right? The problem has been trying to figure out how a particular tire will look on your rim without a bunch of trial and error, or tracking down someone with a similar setup.
Well fear no more, zetozeto99 has come to the rescue by digging up TyreStretch.com. It’s a site that takes the guesswork out of tire stretching, with a long list of wheel widths and the tire models and sizes fitted to them, complete with pics of each setup.
Amusingly, the disclaimer says “This site is for entertainment purposes only. Under no circumstances should tyres outside of manufacturers recomendations be used on the road.” Haha, shyeah right! Like you’re not gonna slap those bad boys onto your car as soon as you’re done. Just remember that if something happens to the tire, you can’t sue them. Or us. Now pass that brake cleaner!
Posted in wheels
7 Comments
MX41 Toyota Chaser Meets Crusher
Here, have a sad. This is what happens at Japanese junkyards every day. In this case, a perfectly decent-looking MX41 Toyota Chaser, a 2-door version of the Cressida that we never got, is introduced to the Grim Crusher. It was obviously loved at some point, as it wears a set of Wats, but those are removed before the car is unceremoniously dumped on its side to be gutted. Then it’s dumped into a crusher and emerges moments later as a brick of steel.
Japanese vehicle registration laws are quite strict, and often perfectly good cars are crushed simply because they don’t have the proper title or paperwork to be resold to the public. Or exported. There, your day is ruined. Thank Banpei.
Posted in japan, toyota
11 Comments
Z Club of San Diego Sweetheart Run
Just got this email from the guys at the Z Club of San Diego. Join them this Sunday if you want to drive through Temecula Wine Country. Details below. Continue reading
Posted in datsun, events, nissan
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President's Day Miracle: Nissan President Wagon
In celebration of President’s Day here at JNC we thought we’d bring you a photo of the baddest, most mind-numbingly awesomest example of Nissan’s flagship that we could find. That’s right sportsfans, it’s a 250 President wagon.
As if having the top-dog V8 sedan in Nissan’s lineup sedan wasn’t enough, this political leader/yakuza kingpin felt the need to transform it into a spacious yet practical estate. Yes, unfortunately it’s a custom and not a factory body style from Nissan, but that doesn’t stop it from being a total jaw-dropper. Whoever did it has an excellent eye for body lines and did an amazing job incorporating the original C-pillar.
As the resident wagon nut on the JNC staff, my head nearly exploded when I saw it. I think it officially gets a JNC stamp of approval and displaces the hearse we saw a while back as the best President ever. And just to make it harder to claim that this is all a clever photoshop, there’s another pic after the jump. Continue reading
Happy Valentine’s Day from JNC
Japan’s Frantz Kobe Sweets releases a popular set of chocolate tools around this time each year. It even comes with a cocoa sparkplug for lending a little spark to amorous moments with your loved one. Kev is going to present his beloved Project Hako with these tomorrow as they celebrate their one-year anniversary, to the romantic glow of a work lamp and the gentle aroma of WD-40. And Giga Pudding for desert. Shhh, it’s a surprise! Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone.
Toyota Crown on Crown Violence
It’s Friday, so here’s your weekend video. This video clip causes me actual physical pain because it combines three of my deepest loves – the kujira Crown, wagons, and vintage work vehicle paint schemes – and blows them all to Kingdom Come in one fiery crash… into another kujira Crown police car! Oh, the horror, the horror… If someone knows the name of the movie this clip originates from, please let us know in the comments section. Or, just use it to offer your condolences.
Hope your weekend fares better than this!
Posted in toyota, Video Games, wagons
10 Comments
Toyotafest 2009
Good news, guys! The 14th annual All Toyotafest is moving back to the Queen Mary for 2009! It’s the preferred venue of fans, and few can argue with the neatly trimmed lawn and cool ocean breeze we’ve come to know and love at the QM.
For all you journalism majors, here are the 5 W’s:
- WHO: Toyota, Scion or Lexus lovers
- WHAT: The 14th Annual All Toyotafest
- WHERE: Queen Mary Park, Long Beach, CA
- WHEN: May 9, 2009
- WHY: Because we LOVE Toyotas (geez, Ben should be writing this post!)
Over 370 cars will be there, and admission is free! Discounts are available for early registration, so head on over to the Toyotafest website or email events@toyotaclub.org to sign up.
Full press release after the jump. Continue reading
