We thought we’d seen all the clean California Celicas at JCCS and Toyotafest, but here’s an amazing 1977 Liftback that only has 22,800 miles on the clock. Apparently it came from a Texas dealership showroom last year and, according to the seller, still smells like a new car. That’s 1977 molecules wafting into your nostrils, folks! The only downside is the automatic transmission, but you probably wouldn’t really drive it anyway, right? More pics after the jump. Continue reading
Kidney, Anyone? 22,800-mile Celica Liftback
Posted in for sale, toyota
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RS Watanabe TV Commercial
How unbelievably cool is it that RS Watanabe actually aired TV commercials back in the day? Of course, they’re so expensive we’d never slap them on a rally-going 910 Bluebird and sandblast them to smithereens. You could always go with some Black Racing lookalikes, which is what drifters used to do because they too found Wats too pricey. But the pure simplicity of this ad makes us want to go out and get some nice, black 8-spokes, stat. There’s no music at all, and only the briefest of voiceovers at the very end. Racing Service… Watanabe!
[Banpei]
OG Shirt from Import Bible
Our friends at Import Bible have released another Series 2 shirt that is sure to appeal to nostalgists. The front says “OG” in big red letters and on the back, a closeup of a hakosuka grille. Killer! You can buy them here.
Posted in nissan, nostalgic gear
5 Comments
Goertz Myths Will Never Die, Part II
Oh, snap! Sound Classics has responded to our post titled “Goertz Myths Will Never Die” in which we took issue with the supposed designer of the Toyota 2000GT. Nissan/Datsun fans, you’ll want to stick around for this too.
The question that started it all goes like this:
Question: This auto company contracted Yamaha and stylist Albrecht von Goertz in 1963 to create a two seat sports car. (1 pt)
Answer: Although Toyota eventually built the 2000GT, it was Nissan which originally contracted Yamaha and stylist Albrecht Goertz in 1963 to create a two seat sports car. Backing out after the initial prototype, Yamaha approached Toyota.
Sound Classics stands by their statements and says their quiz was “worded very carefully.” Well, okay. So they don’t say “Goertz created the 2000GT!” but it sure does lead the average reader to believe so. Their wording really, really makes it seem like Toyota eventually built the car Nissan backed out of.
The real designer, Satoru Nozaki, isn’t mentioned at all. Continue reading
Random Honda 50 Years Ad
Here’s a random web banner ad we came across the other day. It’s Honda USA’s 50th anniversary and it looks like they’re starting to promote it. We’ve got our party hats on. Don’t harsh our buzz, Honda!
Posted in honda
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Krazy Kiwis and Their Rotaries
Speedhunters has some great coverage of the “V” 4 and Rotary Nationals down in New Zealand. Peep the blower on this RX-4. It could swallow a pair of low-flying geese! All it needs is switch activation supercharging and it’ll be ready to chase down those post-apocalyptic biker gangs in no time. Check their posts here and here.
Posted in events, mazda
5 Comments
Honda S-Series, Dead Again
Honda has just announced that 2009 will the the last year for the S2000 and there is no known replacement in the works. R.I.P. Honda’s brief statement acknowledged that the S2000 was originally conceived as a limited edition model for the company’s 50th anniversary back in 1999, and we were thrilled with the revival of the high-revving S-series roadsters after the last S800 was built in 1970. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait another 30 years.
[Image: Honda User’s Voice]
JCCA New Year Meeting 2009
Happy Year of the Ox, everybody! It’s time for the 2009 JCCA New Year Meeting. Loyal JNCer dsh4 took 600 pics and has posted some of them here, but he is still going through them and will add more so keep checking back. This year, the featured marques were Hino and Isuzu.
The New Year Meeting is the biggest classic car show of the year in Japan, a must see for anyone into nostalgics. If you’re planning a trip to Japan you must schedule it around this event or we will personally send the JNC ninja squad to put you out of your foolish misery. Here are some links for coverage of the 2007 (featured marque: Mitsubishi) and 2008 (featured marque: Toyota) shows.
Posted in events, new year meeting
5 Comments
Kurosawa Behind the Wheel Again at Fuji Speedway
One last video for the weekend. Here’s an old Best Motoring clip of Nissan factory racing legend Motoharu “Gan-san” Kurosawa tearing around Fuji Speedway in a GC spec hakosuka GT-R. The engine sounds are pure auditory sex, and it’s interesting to hear the then-63-year-old Gan-san bemoan how modern tires don’t suit this car because of their high grip. Continue reading
Posted in datsun, japan, mazda, nissan
Tagged fuji speedway, niss, nissan, nissan skyline gt-r
3 Comments
Cash for Clunkers: A Small Victory for Our Side
We’re still catching up from last week’s SEMA MPMC conference, but one of the important things we learned there was that the recent threat of a national “Cash for Clunkers” program has been defeated. Yay! Thanks to everyone that wrote in protesting this vintage car destroyer of a bill.
However, a new bill is being introduced, which seeks to do the same to cars getting 18mpg or less of any model year. Most of our beloved nostalgics will be safe from this, but we’re reporting it as a service just in case you have some classic Detroit iron in your collection too.
When we told conference goers who we were, we often heard responses like, “Oh, I saw a mint Mazda RX-4 Wagon at the junkyard a few months back!” likely due to these types of laws. Heartbreaking! Some yards take an impact hammer to the engine block to every car that comes in under this program (or some other measure to ensure that the vehicle can never be driven again).
And lastly, we are reminded that even though the national program is defeated (for now), nostalgic-rich states like California and Texas still have active programs going on right now! So please, tell as many people as you can about these laws. But as we all know that money talks, so help us spread the word that an old Datsun or Toyota is something worth saving, something a collector would pay good money for, and not to be tossed aside.
Super Bad Slammed ’73 Toyota Stout
We’re back from the SEMA MPMC conference, in one piece no less. So why not close off the week with something really cool, like this slammed Stout pickup? Once in a while the folks at Mini Truckin’ unearth a gem like this 1973 model owned by Masairo Shirato of Chiba Prefecture.
Equipped with an air suspension, this pre-Hilux Toyota pickup was slammed a whopping nine inches by Janis Car Service. Compare the ride height with this stock one that Toyota displayed at the SEMA show a few years ago. You may also notice extensive body work done to the bed, which had 3.5 inches lopped off the top and another three inches stretched between the cab and rear axle. Incidentally, that axle is from an AE86. The resulting stance and painted steelie/whitewall look give the truck a killer “rat” look. JNC approves!
For more madness from Mini Truckin’, check out this Datsun 620 and a pair of NL320s.
More pics after the jump. Continue reading
Random Bosozoku Video
Here’s something to keep you guys entertained while we head out to the final day of the SEMA MPMC conference.
Posted in bosozoku
4 Comments
JNC at SEMA MPMC Conference
We will be at the SEMA MPMC conference Tuesday through Thursday this week so our regularly scheduled blog posts may be a bit sporadic. We will return you to your normally scheduled nostalgic broadcasts as soon as possible. Thanks!
Posted in jnc
3 Comments
Goertz Myths Will Never Die
The Sound Classics Classically-Tough Trivia Challenge began in 2002. Every New Year, it asks car collectors obscure auto related questions to test their knowledge of classic cars. Some questions are easy, some our tough. We have no hope of winning it, but we do have at least one beef with the judges when it comes to J-tin. See if you can spot the problem. Continue reading
Posted in datsun, nissan, toyota
8 Comments
Nissan Launches "The Legend of Z" Minisite
To coincide with the launch of the 370Z, Nissan of Japan has launched a new minisite chronicling the racing history of the Fairlady Z on four continents.
Straight out of the box in April 1970, the Z was sent off to war at Japan’s Nippon 6hrs, which it won. But this was no ordinary Z – it was the Fairlady Z432, a JDM version with the straight six from a hakosuka Skyline GT-R hidden under the hood.
In North America, Nissan took the 1975 IMSA GTU championship with the car pictured above. In Africa, it won the Safari Rally while in Europe, Nissan 350Zs competed in the Nürburgring 24hrs.
And as you may recall from our older post, it also makes a mean drag racer. Is there any form of motorsports the Z isn’t capable of succeeding in?
Posted in datsun, motorsports, nissan
8 Comments
Sex in the Subaru
Most of us would agree that the ’73 Subaru DL (aka Leone, in other markets) is a sexy beast, particularly with the early, small chrome bumpers, but the accompanying sultry advertising pitch might leave you gasping with it’s blatantly sexist metaphors:
Okay, if you’re not outraged, you’re probably chuckling, but let’s not be judgmental of an advertisement made up during the hairy chested, Marlboro Man decade.
At the same time, you gotta wonder if more women than men were buying Subarus back then. Hmm, maybe there’s a companion ad that seduces female car buyers to tame their own hairy-chested Subaru?
More from the Tokyo Auto Salon
Speedhunters was at the Tokyo Auto Salon last weekend, and one of the many galleries they’ve assembled happens to cover the old school cars that were there. Perfect!
The biggest concentration of classics came from the G-Works booth, like this retro street racer style Nissan Fairlady Z, complete with G-nose, Techno Shadows, fender flares, racing number set askew, and awesome purple paint.
Toyota Corolla, Nefarious Nepali Taxi
Bura’s post last week about Datsun B110 Sunnys still cranking away as taxis in Pakistan reminded me of this story about an E20 Corolla used as a taxi in Nepal.
The versatility of old Japanese cars never ceases to astound us. They can be meticulously restored and taken to classic car shows, modified to be an absolute blast to drive, just plain old safe and fuel efficient transportation, or as in this case, drafted into service in the world’s most hostile road conditions. Here’s a quote from the Corolla taxi’s hapless passengers:
I am not sure how vehicles make it over what passes for a “road” here (which is basically an uneven gravel road riddled with large rocks, potholes and frequently flooded right over, shared with trains of donkeys and lots and lots of pedestrians… all of this running along a steep cliff next to a precipituous drop into a large rushing river!!)…
We travelled in ancient Toyota Corollas older than ourselves, I am sure, with broken tail lights, broken mirrors, doors that wouldn’t shut properly… and a wheezy old engine that barely made it up the steeper slopes…
Somehow we got to Pokhara in one piece, though I had reservations throughout the trip, especially when we flew through flooded roads as though we were in 4WDs instead of worn-out Toyota Corollas!
We have to wonder, what would those Nepali taxi drivers think if they saw Patrick Ng’s TE27 that was on the cover of JNC Issue 2?
Also, be sure to check out Tom Carter’s website for lots more information about the TE27 Corolla.
Kidney, Anyone? 1958 Toyota Corona on YJA
Chances are, when you think of Toyota Corona, one of these pops into your head. It’s the first model Toyota designed specifically to suit US tastes and what really got the company moving in the US market. Or you might recall the Toyota Tiara, the USDM name for the Corona of the previous generation.
But here’s one that people have rarely ever seen, even those in Japan – a first-generation 1958 Toyopet Corona – and it’s for sale at Yahoo Japan Auctions. It has about 50,000 miles on it and the seller claims the littlest spot of rust. Granted, it’s not the prettiest thing, but it’s one hell of a rarity. As Indiana Jones would say, “It belongs in a museum!” And look at the pic below the jump; it actually runs! Continue reading
