Video – History of the Nissan Skyline

Posted on July 4, 2007 by Van

youtube_01.jpg

While browsing the JNC forums, I came across a posted Japanese video about the history of the Nissan Skyline.  I’m not sure how much detail they go into – it’s tough to say, since it’s all in Japanese – but the one universal language for the car world is as clear in this video as it is in any other: the classic Skyline is a treasure.  While I’m sure grandJDM’s Lachy would get a kick out of this video from the very start, the real fun for me begins at about 3:34 when we’re treated to the sound of an L28 revving hard in park.  Moving forward to about 4:12, and we see the car flying down the road.  The moment it steps out from behind a truck and shoots past the camera is a heavenly scene!

There’s a lot more from there, and newer Skylines too – when you see the boso style C110 (and its crazy gear stick), you’ll laugh and love it all at once – so Jump on over to YouTube to check it out.

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Featured Car: Arnel’s TE27 Corolla

Posted on July 3, 2007 by Van

feature-thumb1.jpg

In 1970, the Corolla became the second best selling car in the world. Now, 37 years later, it’s the best selling car of all time – no doubt courtesy of the reputation of the Corollas of the 70s. So let’s head back to that classic time, and check out Arnel Ilog’s TE27 Corolla – popularly referred to as a “Mango”!

Continue reading →

Posted in Featured Cars, toyota | 6 Comments

Vintage Skyline Owners Club – Japan

Posted on July 3, 2007 by Van

skyline-owners-club-japan.jpg

In our travels around the net today, we stumbled across the Vintage Skyline Owners Club, a Japanese club devoted specifically to the “hakosuka” (ハコスカ) model – the KPGC10. Hakosuka is a popular name for the C10 among its fans, with “Hako” meaning box, while “Suka” is short for the word skyline – its full spelling being スカイライン; Sukairain. Which, when you pronounce it properly, is obviously a transliteration of its English counterpart. And so ends today’s lesson in Japanese (not that we know much of it)!

Of special interest on the Skyline Owners Club website is the gallery, giving a bit of an insight into what your average gathering of classic JDM fans in Japan looks like. Check it out!

Original Japanese version
Google Translated page

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The MOD Squad

Posted on July 2, 2007 by Ben Hsu

The press release about the 2007 Mitsubishi Owner’s Day has dropped, inviting Mitsu owners from all over the continent to converge on their headquarters in Cypress, CA.

Although Evos and Eclipses comprised most of last year’s 700 cars, the organizers (Mitsubishi Research & Design) are bringing out some historic cars from the company’s portfolio this year, including the 1974 Lancer GSR 1600 Safari Rally car, a Mitsubishi 500, and Paris-Dakar winning Pajero (Montero).

The event kicks off at 10:00 AM on July 14. Check out footage from 2006’s event here.

Posted in events, mitsubishi | 1 Comment

Five pages of classic JDM lovin’

Posted on July 2, 2007 by Van

Dangeruss 510 Bluebird

No no, we’re not talking about Japanese porn – though if you shoot us an email, we can point you in the right direction (kidding!). No, our friends over at TheDriftScene.com have dug deep and pulled out five sweet pages of classic JDM photos for your private-time pleasure. From boso style through to faithfully restored gans (“good as new” – I totally just made that acronym up!), there’s a hot selection to get you through the day. Well, at least ten minutes.

Jump on over to TheDriftScene.com to check it out.

Incidentally, the image we’ve used for this post is an illustration by the infamous Dangeruss, one of the best automotive and technical artists you’ve never heard of.

Posted in media, Websites | 1 Comment

Toyota Century Lovin’

Posted on June 30, 2007 by Lachy

andys-century.jpg

Andy’s first car was a Suzuki Swift “Xtreme”. It was silver with yellow stickers down the side proclaiming the car’s “Xtreme”ness. It was a good little car, but even before he got it home from the dealer he was thinking about what his next car would be. Fast-forward five-odd years and Andy couldn’t be driving a more different car! Ironically, it came from the same car dealership but that is where the similarities end.

Continue reading →

Posted in Featured Cars, toyota, vip | 10 Comments

Lazy weekend at grandJDM

Posted on June 30, 2007 by Van

C110 Stubby

No major update today, other than this badass little photochop of a C110 squashed into a chibi version of itself!  We’re guessing they simply cut out the wheels and anything else they wanted to keep the same size, then squashed the body and put the wheels back in place.  Very cool, very clever!  The larger version can be seen by clicking the “Continue” link.

Continue reading →

Posted in nissan | 2 Comments

RB30 ZED

Posted on June 29, 2007 by Lachy

RB30ZED Datsun 240Z

We’re always on the lookout for interesting JDM classics for sale – and today we have an especially unique car for sale in New South Wales, Australia. Steve’s “RB30ZED” is a famously (in Z circles) straight, clean and otherwise simply perfect modified 240Z. Unfortunately it’s time for the car to go after 22 years of ownership.

The price is something of a talking point. Surely a Z so modified & pristine is worth this much – or is it? Yes S30’s are appreciating but this is due to them being more widely seen as a collector car. Modified cars in this case tend not to see the same skyrocketing prices as original, unmolested cars. Do you think this particular car is worth the price? Would you rather an pristine original Z or a modified one?

RB30ZED Specifications & Sale Ad
RB30ZED Picture Gallery

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Want to see your car featured on grandJDM?

Posted on June 29, 2007 by Van

 Datsun 2000

There are thousands of beautiful old skool JDM cars out there – you only need to look at the photos from the various events  and shows around the world.  But, of course, getting in touch with the owners is another thing all together.

So, if you own a great example of a classic JDM car – whether it’s a sports car or a saloon, or even a truck! – and would like to see your car featured here at grandJDM, send us an email to discuss it.  We’re ideally looking for cars older than 1980, but we’re happy to discuss the possibilities for especially great examples of 80s JDM too.

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Old School Toyz

Posted on June 29, 2007 by Van

Old School Toyz

Old School Toyz, as you’ve no doubt guessed by now, is a website dedicated to old school Toyotas, from the 60s through to the 80s. While we don’t focus as much on the 80s yet here at grandJDM, we’ve got no shortage of love and envy for the bevy of gorgeous classic Toyos featured on this site. Head over and check it out!

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Impending Redesign

Posted on June 28, 2007 by Ben Hsu

Do not adjust your screen. If you’ve been noticing some screwy behavior in the blog, it’s just because we are in the process of tweaking the look and feel of the site right now. We will return to your regularly scheduled website shortly.

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Number One Crush

Posted on June 28, 2007 by Ben Hsu

Ok, so this warning about various municipalities putting modified cars into the crusher may be only tangentially relevant to owners of Japanese classics, seeing as how many of our cars are not even capable of breaking the speed limit (or even leaving the driveway, for that matter). Still, for those of you rolling old school with a 4AG or SR20 swap, we offer this public service announcement.

Last week, police from inland So-Cal counties crushed six modified cars used for allegedly containing stolen parts. In the LA Times example, Charles Hoang had the receipts to the transmission of his 350hp ’94 Integra, but the fuzz deemed it stolen and examples had to be made, so Hoang’s car was scrapyarded. Ontario (that’s CA (which means California)) Police Cpl. Jeff Higgins and clever punner says, “We’re making a dent” in street racing activity. According to the article this amounts to a roundabout attempt to curb racing, because such cars are run hard, which means they need more frequent repairs, which will more likely result in the use of stolen parts. Rube Goldberg, eat your heart out.

Not to be outdone, Ontario (Canada, this time) Attorney General Michael Bryant has warned that just plain modifying a car with speed parts is cause for a crushing, says the Toronto Star. We’ve heard Canada was socialist, but come on! Says Bryant: “Just on the balance of probabilities if we can establish that a car is being used for the unlawful purpose of street racing, we will seize it and you will never see it again,” which means that if your car even looks like it could be used for illegal racing, it’s toast. He even likened speed shops to bomb factories. Yes folks, fear of death by bomb is the new Nazi comparison.

Source [autoblog.com]

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KPGC10 Skyline GT-R Replica

Posted on June 27, 2007 by Van

C10 replica GT-R

Automotive news site Autoblog have stumbled across an astounding C10 GT-R replica. Considering the prices that the genuine item can fetch these days (anyone else wishing they’d bought one in the 80s/90s and held onto it?), it’s no surprise that people are choosing to go The Way of the Replica so often these days. And when it’s as lovingly done and as true to form as this example, who wouldn’t be happy to take it off his hands for the right price?

There’s some discussion in the Autoblog comments that the seller’s asking too much, but frankly, we think it’s a more than reasonable sale!

Visit Autoblog for more information and photos.

Posted in nissan | 2 Comments

Pip Pip: Goodwood Wrapup

Posted on June 26, 2007 by Ben Hsu

On Sunday, the Goodwood Festival of Speed of 2007 drew to a close. We’ve been waiting for pictures to filter in, and Autoblog, which has made no secret of how badly they’ve wanted to go after missing last year’s (sort of the position we find ourselves in right now), has posted galleries galore since their triumphant return to the States. Our favorite car in the recent photo batch has to be the 1968 Honda RA301. The F1 machine, piloted by John Surtees during the ’68 season, was notable for its water-cooled V12 and monocoque body, made ultra-light due to liberal application of magnesium. Sadly, gremlins and crash avoidance manuvers conspired to rob Surtees of several podium finishes and at least one first-place victory.

Goodwood isn’t just some fancy lawn party for jodhpur-wearing, pinky-lifting tea-sippers. To give you an idea of its significance, Nissan even brought out the clear winner of the “Most Chased by Spy Photographers, 2005-2007” award, the Skyline GT-R prototype, for the hillclimb, complete with black camouflage disguising the nose!

Jolly good, then. I think that just about does it for West Sussex. Oh, what the hell, here’s one more shot of the Toyotas up in the air.

Images courtesy of Autoblog. GT-R tip courtesy of Jalopnik.

Posted in honda, nissan, racing, toyota | Leave a comment

Semi-bosozoku style C211 Skyline

Posted on June 26, 2007 by Van

Boso-style C211 Skyline

Depending on who you ask, the C211 is possibly one of the less popular models in the lengthy Skyline history, but it’s gotta be fair to say that this particular example is stunning. While its interior and engine bay could stand a little attention, the exterior looks to be in awesome condition, and the rims and exposed oil cooler really help to set it off.

Check out The Drift Scene for more information and photos!

Posted in nissan | 1 Comment

Old Skool at JTuned

Posted on June 25, 2007 by Van

Luce at JCCS

A little time travel today, as we throw you back to October 2005 to check out an article and gallery of shots from the inaugural Japanese Classic Car Show in California, USA, by well known JDM-dedicated online magazine JTuned.

While many of the cars shown are post-1980 (technically, a classic car in the US need only be 25 years or older), there’s no shortage of sexy 60s and 70s JDM to feast your eyes on.  Get to it!

Old Skool JDM @ JTuned.com

Posted in events | 2 Comments

SR20DET powered 510-series Bluebird

Posted on June 24, 2007 by Van

SR20DET powered 510 Bluebird

“OneSickLambo” – a member of the EvolutionM.net forums – has undertaken the task of dropping an SR20DET engine into his Datsun 510, known in its homeland as a Nissan Bluebird from the 510 series. More than that though, he’s gone all out to modernise and customise the hell out of this thing. Custom dash fabrications, Bride race seats, bi-xenon HID headlight setup, what appears to be an Evo VIII centre console, the whole deal.

He’s been maintaining a very in-depth photo journal of sorts, through a thread on the forums. Jump on over there and check it out!

SR20DET Bluebird @ EvolutionM.net
Nissan Bluebird 510 series @ Wikipedia
Datsun 510 @ Wikipedia

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I Say: More Goodwood Goodness

Posted on June 23, 2007 by Ben Hsu

The second day of the Festival that keeps on giving has drawn to a close. Autoblog actually has men on the estate, snapping photos and broadcasting them across the pond. The one that will probably be of most interest to us nostalgic lovers is the Mazda Cosmo 110S that was part of Cartier Style et Luxe, the Goodwood concours that literally translates to “You Can’t Afford These.” As far as we can tell, this is not part of the Mazda 40th Anniversary of the Rotary exhibit that is one of 800 plus anniversaries being celebrated this year at the Festival of Speed, which means that Japanese cars are finally being recognized in concours events!

Other birthdays include Brooklands Circuit’s 100th, the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy’s 100th (which gave Honda motorcycles much of their early fame), the Bugatti Royale’s 80th, 75 years of the Ford flathead V8, Monoposto’s 75th, 25 years of Group C racing, 50 years of Scalextric slot cars, 60 years for both Ferrari’s and Saab, and 70 years since Toyota Motor Corp’s founding (although an automobile division of Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, Ltd. in 1933).

Jalopnik has managed to dig up a Flickr pool of Goodwood photos that stretches back to previous years’ events too. Take a look. It is truly the most spectacular car party on Earth.

Image courtesy of Autoblog.

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By Jove: Goodwood Updates

Posted on June 23, 2007 by Ben Hsu

The news keeps trickling in from West Sussex. The Goodwood Festival of Speed is going on right now, as we are simulataneously typing this and kicking ourselves for not scraping together the cashish we needed to go.

Autoblog has just posted a gallery of Thursday evening’s opening night ball and unveiling of the giant torii gate tribute to Toyota, this years’s honored marque. Apparently, underneath the five Toyota race cars suspended in mid-air, sat six more significant sleds from the Big T’s past, including the 800hp 1970 Toyota 7 turbo (pictured) and a replica of the 1957 Toyota Crown that ran the Australian Mobilgas Rally and ushered in 50 years of Toyotas in motorsport.

The centerpiece of the Festival is a 1.16 mile timed competition hillclimb on the grounds of the Earl’s estate. Thus far, Anthony Reid has driven two Nissans, a 350Z GT500 and a BTCC (British Touring Car Championship) Primera to their respective class wins.

Saturday kicked off with the Cartier Style et Luxe concours, where five of the world’s six Bugatti Type 41 Royales were gathered, totalling $60 million. At the “Green Goodwood” exhibit Nissan showed off its eco-friendly Pivo Concept, a car that could have doubled as a capsule from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Next, F1 cars took to the stage, with the Toyota TF106 and Honda’s Earth-schemed RA107 driven by Ralf Schumacher and Jenson Button, but the highlight, and a sight worth the $80+ admission fees alone, must have been Mark Webber and Kazuki Nakajima drifting their F1 cars past the Goodwood House. Later in the afternoon, Rod Millen took his Pike’s Peak-winning 800hp AWD Toyota Tacoma (pictured) out for a spin.

Did we mention we were kicking ourselves yet?

Images courtesy of Autoblog and Goodwood.co.uk.

Posted in nissan, racing, toyota | Leave a comment

With a little help from our friends…

Posted on June 23, 2007 by Van

 Japanese Nostalgic Car and Auto Otaku

Even though we’ve only been going for a week so (and going strong!), grandJDM has proven to be an absolute blast for all of us.  We’ve been pushing for daily updates, and frankly it hasn’t been a challenge. There’s just so much excellent material out there!  We’ve lined up four or five beautiful cars to feature over the coming weeks, including interviews with their owners.  And even their owners have been suggesting other cars and fellow owners for us to interview!  So there’s no questioning the fact that grandJDM has some sweet times ahead.

With that in mind, we’d like to say a quick “cheers!” to a couple of our fellow websites/blogs.  Japanese Nostalgic Car, and Auto Otaku – both highly respected sites in our minds, and very much a major source of inspiration for the creation of this site right here – have both blogged about grandJDM in the past week.  This has resulted in a welcome boost in grandJDM’s traffic and exposure in the classic JDM community, and for that, we’re mighty thankful!So cheers guys, keep up the good work with your own sites, and our already healthy and growing community will only get stronger.

Japanese Nostalgic Car
Auto Otaku

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