So there’s a 1973 Datsun 240Z with only 19,000 miles on eBay right now. The bad news is, it looks about as subtle as a late 70s porn star. Not only does it have an “IMSA body kit” and enough stripes to cover a 1977 Dodge conversion van, you also get a whale tail spoiler and a mural of a half-naked barbarian in a fuzzy codpiece on the hood. Classy! It was halfway into a small block Chevy swap so it doesn’t come with an actual 19,000 mile engine per se, but it does come with an inexplicable “TURBO” decal on the side. And just in case you couldn’t tell that it’s awesome, it says so, right there on the front air dam. Oh, it’s located in New Joisey too, so interested parties better snap it up quick because it’s “EXTREAMLY UNIQUE AND IN EXTREAMLY GOOD CONDITION…A ONCE IN A LIFETIME FIND.” Let’s hope so.
1973 Datsun 240Z, 19,000 Miles on eBay
Posted in datsun, for sale, nissan
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Canada May Halt 15-Year Import Law
Oh Canada! For so long you have tempted us with your lax car import laws and maple syrup. Alas, now it appears that forces within your health-care providing government are plotting to away with your 15 year rule, which allowed everything from R32 Skyline GT-Rs to Honda Beats to pour over your borders like the waters of the Niagara River.
Don’t be like us Canada, and increase your import age to 25 years or older. We know your government is saying it knows what’s best for you, that it’s for safety reasons, since many of these cars haven’t been through your crash tests. But isn’t a 15-year-old car almost certainly safer than a 25-year-old one?
We’ve heard it may be because the auto industry feels threatened (jealous, maybe?) that you aren’t buying as many new cars as you once did. We know, it’s hard to stay true when the world is your oyster and such a wide selection can be sampled. Look at Australia. They’re slowly suffocating themselves with a move to a 30 year rule. Do you really want to end up like them? Do you think that’ll make them happy?
Yes, but the safety. Your government wouldn’t lie to you, would it?
[Source: The Toronto Star]
Posted in laws
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Tamiya Radio Control Toyota Hilux is Back
When were were young all we got in terms of radio controlled vehicles was a crappy G.I. Joe-branded Jeep that broke within three hours of its emergence from the box. It sat there, mocking us with its uselessness, for the rest of our childhood and was probably the reason we never got into hard core r/c-ing. Fortunately, not all of our readers had such poor experiences with their EM wave-guided minicars.
From the JNC Tasmanian Devil Bureau, seventhskyline brings us news that the Tamiya 3-speed Hilux is back. We have to admit we didn’t even know it was here the first time, but apparently it had such a following that even after it went out of production it was still trading as high as $1200 Australian, which at today’s exchange rates equals about, oh, $1200 American. Then stationwagonguy went and dug up this awesome vintage commercial in which 14 Tamiya Hiluxes pull one 1:1 scale Hilux. Dammit, G.I. Joe Jeep, see what you made us miss out on?
Also, first JNC’er who can name the white car in the Tamiya building parking lot gets an invisible cookie.
Massive Lot of Toyota Parts on eBay
One of our readers needs to get this, right now, and share the wealth. It’s a huge collection of NOS (new old stock) 1960s to early 80s Toyota parts from a closed dealership. The seller says it consists of a little bit of everything for old Corollas, Crowns, Land Cruisers, Starlets, Coronas, Carinas, Hiluxes and Cressidas. The actual mountain of parts includes taillights, headlights, exhausts, service manuals, relays, switches, trim, and sheetmetal. In other words, all the hard to get stuff. For anyone who has ever tried to restore an old car, you know this is a once in a lifetime chance. We already know we’ll be kicking ourselves in the future for passing on this opportunity. Someone buy this, please!
[Source: eBay]
Posted in for sale, toyota
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All Japan Day – Adelaide, Australia
While we here in North America were busy with Datsun Madness weekend that had shows for Z-cars, Roadsters and 510s, on the other side of the world Aussies in Adelaide were out in full force for All Japan Day. Thanks to our marsupial-cohabitating readers from down under, there’s galleries galore here, here, here, here, and here. Take a gander and thank them for sharing in the spirit of international cooperation.
[Image: OldColts.au]
Posted in events, mazda
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Jay Leno Gets Emotionally Involved with Nissans
Jay Leno. Comedian, talk show host, car nut, invoker of envy. He recently got the chance to test drive the new Nissan GT-R and in his review he revealed that his first car was in fact a Datsun 1600 Roadster. That’s right, folks, the King of Cars was a Datsun fanatic from the very start! He’s got some kind words for the little Nissan sports car, and although he no longer owns it, Leno’s still got quite the stable in the form of a Mazda Cosmo 110S and a Honda SM600, among others. We have to disagree with him about the GT-R being Japan’s first true supercar – we feel that title can go to either the Toyota 2000GT or the original PGC10 GT-R – but we can’t disagree with his unwavering love for all things automotive. Yes, we are all jealous of you, Mr. Leno.
[Source: Jay Leno’s Garage via The Motor Report]
Posted in datsun, nissan
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Jet-Powered Honda Z600 On the Move, Its Side
Last year we reported on this mysterious Honda Z600 with a jet engine protruding from where its rear window should have been. Armed only with some badly translated German, we boldly predicted “that any attempt at turning during full throttle in this thing would be [verboten] as well.” Well guess what? We called it! We called it! We called it like 1-800-Collect, baby! Ok, so it turns out you didn’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that a Garrett JFS100 turbine strapped to a kei car was not going to be a handling monster. And these imaginative Nee Zeelanders laugh in the face of rocket science, as well as in the face of their friend rolling over somewhat anticlimactically. Check out their videos here and here. And you thought this was the only jet powered Honda.
[Source: Jalopnik]
Posted in honda
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EVENTS: MSA Z-Car West Coast Nationals
Part II of the Datsun Madness weekend [LINK]
Posted in datsun, events, nissan
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Tatsuo Hasegawa, 1916 – 2008
There’s some sad news from Japan today, as we bring you news of the passing of Tatsuo Hasegawa. Hasegawa was first an aeronautical engineer, developing aircraft for the Tachikawa Aircraft Corporation. The prototype plane he worked on was scheduled to take flight on August 15 1945, precisely the day WWII ended, and thus never saw the skies. Hasegawa then took his expertise in aerodynamics to Toyota, where he headed teams responsible for many of the company’s iconic post-war automobiles, including the Publica, Sports 800, Corolla, Celica and Carina. He will be missed, but his legacy will live on in the cars that we know and love. He is survived by his wife Miyoko, 86, and his son Akio. You can read more about Hasegawa-san’s life at Akio’s site.
Special thanks to RStreet.
EVENTS: Solvang Datsun Roadster Classic 2008
A new article is up in the events section about the Solvang Datsun Roadster Classic
that took place over the weekend. [LINK]
Posted in datsun, events, nissan
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Random Junkyard Finds
The heavy damage sustained in drifting those E70 Corollas from this morning’s post reminded us of this round-headlight specimen that we saw in a junkyard last week. After we finished our first issue of JNC magazine, we finally had some downtime to hit the yards. This one was found at Crazy Ray’s U-Pull-It in Mt. Airy, Maryland and we thought we’d post it up for anyone who might be interested in recycling some parts. In fact, let’s just start a junkyard finds thread to centralize everything.
E70 Corolla Drifting
Yeah, we all know the AE86 Corolla is practically synonymous with drifting, but what if you want something that stands out from the crowd? Check out the guys from MotorFix, who specialize in sliding the previous generation E70 Corollas. Naturally, they’re all powered by the 4A-GE twin-cam from the AE86, which means old school style with slightly less old school tech. Check out Auto-Otaku for lots more pics of this crew and videos too.
[Source: Auto-Otaku]
Posted in motorsports, toyota
Tagged corolla drifting, ke70 corolla, ke70 drifting, toyota corolla, toyota ke70
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Golden Week Zoom-Zoom Parade
Golden Week, starting in the first week of May, is one of the biggest holidays of the year in Japan. This year, Mazda is celebrating with a Zoom-Zoom Parade through the main streets of its hometown, Hiroshima. The event is kicked off with classic cars (led by a Cosmo Sports in this photo) and will also honor the Demio (aka Mazda 2) being named the 2008 World Car of the Year and the launch of the new Atenza. The parade takes place on May 3.
Meet Me at the Virtual Toyota Museum
Japan’s version of Second Life, the virtual online world, is called MeetMe. Toyota recently set up not only a shop but an entire city where your customizable avatar can roam free in a Toyota showroom, set up residency in a high-rise condo complex, make other virtual friends, attend live virtual unveilings of new models and purchase 3D Toyotas for your collection . It’s called Toyota Metapolis and the best part is that there will also be a virtual Museum where rendered classic models go on display.
The futuristic design is by Mamoru Oshii and Production I.G., the geniuses behind the 1995 anime masterpiece Ghost in the Shell. Toyota Metapolis opens May 12, 2008 and the museum follows in the fall.
[Source: Toyota]
Posted in japan, museum, toyota
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Video: Japan's Greatest Cars, Mitsubishi Edition
From our water chestnut bureau courtesy of RedSunday, here’s a couple of great vids featuring Mitsubishis. First, a walkthrough of some of the triple diamond mafia’s greatest hits. Though we couldn’t understand anything except that the GTO MR has “dummy” hood scoops, the FTO desperately needs to be lowered on some wide wheels, and it’s hard fully grown man to squeeze into a kei-sized Mitsu 500. How did they even sell those things? There’s also a Hino Contessa Coupe and Isuzu 117 thrown in for good measure.
Follow the jump for a bonus video of an FTO owner brazenly unconcerned about bending a control arm. Continue reading
Posted in isuzu, mitsubishi
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Mmmm… Subaru 360 Cookies
Posted in nostalgic eats, subaru
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EARTH DAY: Toyota Sports 800 Hybrid
Although hybrids may still seem like new-fangled technology, they’ve been around the block. And we’re not just talking about how the Prius, which debuted in 1997, is already over a decade old. No, let’s go back 31 years to when roller discos and Star Wars were still cool and Toyota debuted its first hybrid.
Based on the Toyota Sports 800, the GT Hybrid concept did away with a conventional internal combustion engine and was powered by a gas turbine instead. But rather than scooting down the highway like a taxiing airliner, the GT Hybrid used the jet engine as part of a series hybrid configuration. That means the turbine powered an electric generator, which in turn charged the hybrid’s batteries and powered an electric motor that turned the driveshaft. When bursts of power were needed, the energy stored in the batteries provided an extra jolt. Unlike the far more common parallel hybrids of today, the turbine never drove the wheels at all. This pre-Prius was shown at the 1977 Tokyo Motor Show as a concept but never produced. Still, the knowledge gained proved invaluable when development of the Prius began in 1994.
Subaru Concerned About Toyota RWD Coupe
Ever since we began following the possible revival of a lightweight Toyota RWD sports coupe, to which names as wide-ranging as the AE86, Celica and Supra have been attached, there’s been a loyal group of Toyota enthusiasts clamoring for the car. Things started going south when it was speculated, then confirmed, that Subaru would be supplying the flat-four boxer engine, possibly some of the drivetrain, and would have their own Subaru-badged version. Some said “bring it on” while others swore that if the car was built with the Subaru engine they would never buy it on the grounds that it wasn’t a pure Toyota.
Ironically, Fuji Heavy Industries sales chief Mat Nagato has expressed that he shares the same concern that the Toyota enthusiasts do, except the brand he’s concerned about diluting is Subaru’s. “We may lose our longstanding territory, or we may lose the great niche brand image. The potential risk is there. We have to be very smart on marketing strategy,” Nagato said. Toyota has kept quiet on the subject.
[Source: Automotive News via Autoblog]
Posted in subaru, toyota
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Big Datsun Weekend Coming Up
A quick reminder: there are not one but two Datsun events coming up this weekend for you lucky folks in SoCal. First, there’s Motorsport Auto’s Z Car West Coast Nationals in Irvine, CA which is an all-weekend gala from Friday, April 25 to Sunday, April 27. Then there’s also the Solvang Datsun Roaster Show in Solvang, CA on Saturday, April 26. See our coverage from last year’s shows here and here.
UPDATE: A third show is happening in Canada! Vancouver, BC to be exact. Check out the comments for details and links to the show.
