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!
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
Footage of Nissan, Mazda and Toyota Nostalgics
For your weekend viewing here’s some drool-inducing footage of vintage Nissan Skylines. Hakosukas, kenmeris, japans, you’ve got it all. Click through for another video with Z-cars, Celicas and the stray 810 Bluebird, Mazda Familia, Luce, RX-7 and Toyota Chaser. Thanks to zetozeto99 for the tip! Continue reading
Posted in datsun, mazda, nissan
Tagged mazda, mazda familia, mazda luce, mazda rx-2, mazda rx-4, nissan, nissan skyline, toyota, toyota celica, toyota chaser
2 Comments
Weird and Wild at the Tokyo Auto Salon
It’s Tokyo Auto Salon time again, and you know what that means. All the weird and wacky custom cars of Japan come to Makuhari Messe in Chiba to show their stuff. Reports are filtering in all over the web, but NoriYaro has a posted a few cellphone shots.
Let’s start with the craziest one first, this may look like a normal Toyota 2000GT, but walk around to the side and you see… Continue reading
Posted in honda, nissan, tokyo auto salon, toyota
Tagged 2009 tokyo auto salon, honda civic, honda civic ef, mugen, nissan, nissan skyline, nissan skyline r30, tokyo auto salon, toyota, toyota 2000gt
17 Comments
Honda USA Kicks Off 50th Anniversary Year
In 1959 Honda established a US subsidiary. They wouldn’t sell cars for another decade, but at the time they moved plenty of motorcycles. Now, a half century later, they’re the second best selling Japanese brand in America.
On New Year’s Day 2009, Honda sent a 50-foot robot to destroy all humans kick off its 50th anniversary year at the Rose Bowl Parade. Today, they released this logo accompanied by not much else in terms of info.
We’re hesitant to get too excited about what this birthday party may entail, because with the state of the auto industry right now, Honda probably can’t afford much celebrating. It’s already pulled out of F1 and killed the next NSX. Earlier this week, plans for future rear-wheel-drive models like V8 luxury sedans and an S2000 successor were rumored to have been axed as well. But then another rumor said at least some of those projects were on again. Only time will tell, but even if Honda isn’t quitting enthusiast cars old turkey, we’ve been disappointed before.
It kind of sucks to start what should be a momentous year in such a downer mood, so we hope that we’re proven wrong. Happy anniversary, Honda!
Mecha-Godzilla Attacks! Nissan GT-R SpecV
What do you do when regular pudding just isn’t enough? You get Giga Pudding. What do you do if Nissan’s AWD twin-turbo supercar that everyone is calling “Godzilla” just isn’t enough? You get the GT-R SpecV. The spiritual successor of the hakosuka hasn’t even cooled down from its Nürburgring laps yet and Nissan is already unleashing a more nutso version.
Posted in nissan
Tagged giga pudding, nissan, nissan gt-r specv, nissan r35, nissan skyline gt-r, nissan skyline gt-r specv
14 Comments
1969 Mitsubishi Colt 1100F Article
Here’s a great little article on a car that rarely gets any love, the Mitsubishi Colt. But it’s not the Colt you’re thinking of. While the US was getting Mitsus branded as Dodges and Plymouths, Australia got these exports straight from JDM-land. The US market Dodge Colts were called by other names like Lancer and Galant in Japan.
This car debuted in 1965 in as the Mitsubishi Colt 800 due to its 800cc motor. It was a sporty two-door coupe with styling inspired by the jet age. By 1966 the engine grew to 1000cc and it became known as the Colt 1000F. Finally, in 1969 it got another 100cc bump and was called – you guessed it – the Colt 1100F, which is the white one pictured here. You can see several posts in the JNC forum from our Aussie readers regarding these cars, including the sedan version. For more information, check out OldColts Australia.
Nostalgic Drift!
Alexi, a good friend of mine runs the excellent Nori Yaro – Japan Car Life Blog. An expat Australian in Japan, Alexi’s living the life drifting and immersing himself in grassroots car culture over there. Last weekend, he spotted this nostalgic ride at a local drift meet at Nikko Circuit. More details and pictures here.
C’mon Ben, your wagon’s cryin’ out for this treatment!! Check out Nori Yaro too, it’s the next best thing to living there.
Posted in toyota, Websites
6 Comments
Datsun Sunny, Prestigious Pakistani Taxi
According to one Datsun Enthusiast who was visiting relatives in Pakistan, one of the most prestigious taxis around is the Datsun Sunny B110 4dr. Yes, we’re talking currently, not 20-30 years ago.
Here’s a nice example that was spotted last year:
If you’re not B110 savvy, this is a JDM GL spec “face lift” specimen, circa 1971.
Sure, it’s a little beat up, but considering it’s haunts, it could be a lot worse. Most importantly, the car is precious to its owner; it’s not just another piece of metal. Continue reading
Old Car Disposal Programs Going National
What a way to start off the year. Politicians are at it again. Remember buybacks? These were programs offered by states like California and Texas that paid owners for their old cars. The lawmakers claimed taking these vehicles off the streets would prompt the purchase of newer ones that pollute less and get better mileage. And as for the cars turned over to the state, many of which still had miles left or could have been used as parts to keep other oldies on the road, were simply being crushed!
We’ve been following California’s program since last May and now we are sad to report, as we predicted with similar CA laws, it has gone national. Congress now wants to expand buyback programs by bundling it with an economic stimulus package. Right now, states are not allowed to use federal money for their buyback programs, but this bill, if passed, will give them the authority to do so, and give states without such programs an incentive to start one.
It’s true that modern cars do emit fewer greenhouse gases because of better fuel efficiency and emissions control. But, as we calculated in Issue 2 of JNC magazine, the typical 4-cylinder 70s Japanese import would need to be driven many years to break even with the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by factories in the construction of a new car that the states are encouraging owners to buy. Not surprisingly, auto manufacturers (who don’t make money if you don’t buy new cars) are in full support of these laws.
This issue affects owners of vintage Japanese cars particularly, because the majority of owners do not consider them valuable. The payouts offered by states often seems reasonable to the average non-enthusiast, and this will lead to a lack of parts and project starting points when it comes to nostalgics!
Fortunately, we have SEMA to lobby on behalf of enthusiasts and the automotive aftermarket industry. But it’s vital that you contact the Congressional representatives from your state as well and make your objections known. Reader NSR_S30 has posted a great set of talking points a great set of talking points to make your letter a breeze to write.
Full SEMA press release after the jump. Continue reading
Posted in laws
8 Comments
JDM Workshop Spotlight: Carcraft Yabusaki
A few months ago, we put the spotlight on Auto Service Machinaga, a Kobe bodyshop that not only did great work in restoring JDM classics, but also had the presence of mind to record their restoration process in photographs, presented in nifty slideshows on Youtube no less.
Here’s another one: Carcraft Yabusaki from Ibaraki, about 2 hours north of Tokyo.
WANT! BRIDE Goes Retro with Histrix
Bride seats are one of the mainstays of the JDM tuner scene. They come in loud, lairy colours like bright red and blue, and would be the perfect addition to something like a turbo Silvia or modern GT-R (with the matching grey and charcoal trademark Bride fabric on the door cards and rear seat of course). However, for classics, unless you’re going for the resto-mod look, Brides are they’re a little bit too out of character for our old classics.
Until now.
Posted in Uncategorized
13 Comments
Kidney Deficit! 1965 Nissan Silvia CSP311
Ok, forget the pair of Bluebirds we posted on just a few hours ago. Here’s what we really want instead, a 1965 Nissan Silvia CSP311! It’s on sale at Dallas Dream Cars for a whopping $50,000 obo. Obviously this blue wasn’t the original color as it was never offered by Nissan, so that would have to go. The engine bay reveals that the original color was gold. Nissan made only 554 of these, each one of them hand built, and only 5 or so are in the whole US so you don’t have to worry about pulling up next to one at the stoplight. It looks a bit rough around the edges, though. You can read all there is to know about the car in this thread on the JNC forum.
[BAT]
How Old is Your Car in People Years?
Does the passing of another year make you feel old? Well look on the bright side, it’s nothing compared to how your dog feels! But what about man’s other best friend, the automobile? Here’s an amusing and easy math problem to calculate how old your car would be if it was a person, courtesy of Blue Donut. Just take take your car’s mileage and divide it by its model year.
That makes our JNC wagon (a 1986 Cressida with about 109,000 miles) 55 years old. Don’t feel bad, wagon. 55 is the new 30! How old is your car?
[Blue Donut via Jalopnik]
Posted in wagons
11 Comments
Not Enough Kidneys: Datsun PL411 Bluebird
This tip was sent to us by reader supraman215. He spotted this uber-clean 1967 Datsun Bluebird PL411 on Bring A Trailer. It lives in Hawaii, looks to be in astounding shape, and is for sale if you’ve got five grand lying around. We’d love to know the mileage on it. Continue reading
Posted in datsun, for sale, nissan
Leave a comment
