It seems strange that someone would mark May 20 as National Be a Millionaire Day because, frankly, every day would seem like a holiday with that much money. Still, we can dream about how we would spend that kind of cash on our four-wheeled hobby. For the purposes of this exercise, your $1 million not only has to pay for your cars, but all the parts, shipping, and storage space they would need. Would you import a boatload of JDM gems? Build a giant barn? Buy every single diecast car ever made?
How would you spend $1 million on your JNCs?
The most entertaining comment by next Monday will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “Do you prefer a certain size of JNC?”
Our favorite answer this week name from Ian Newman, who has already answered this question with his enviable stable:
I suppose the stable says it all – Subaru Young SS, Honda S600 Coupe, Honda 1300 Coupe. Oh! and for day-to-day buzzing around, a reliable Suzuki Alto. Yep, although I take a size “L”, it’s size “Kei” for me!
Omedetou! Your comment has earned you a set of decals from the JNC Shop.
Easy question–I’d have the car stripped down to its shell, then rebuilt stock (new wires, paint, coatings, bushings, etc) with only my aftermarket parts added. I’d save the rest of the money for repairs.
I would have this written on my gravestone after my wife murders me, of course.
This probably disqualifies me but I would 100% seriously pick up as many NEW manual-transmission Japanese-made cars as possible: a Miata, a Mazda3 hatch, a Corolla hatch, a Civic Type R, a Honda Accord, a BRZ/86, and a WRX. I’d use any extra money to buy a barn in an rural area with mountain roads and any additional colors of those same cars.
I don’t really have an affinity of any of them except the Mazdas, but with $1 million, I need to do my part so my kids will have manual JNCs to enjoy when they grow up.
With one million dollars to spend on my JNC.. How would I spend it?
A full rotisserie restoration for the S130. Everything taken down to bare metal, repaired, and everything brough back up to 1983 spec- With the exception of the suspension- I have 1981 Turbo suspension on mine, because it was stiffer- and the Engine. The engine, I would have rebuilt, of course, but with some of the insane high-dollar period mods some L28ET guys lust after; The OS Giken twin-cam crossflow head, the OS Giken gear-driven timing set, OS Giken crank, rods, pistons. Turbocharged, of course, just to keep it fully in-period. Insanity without completely copying the Hosoki Z of Mid Night fame.
Of course, such a car would need to be driven. And a 9,000 RPM S130 would certainly turn some heads at any meets.
I would build a solid warehouse in some industrial area of some big city. Inside i would store and service the cars of my Dream List: Nissan Laurel C31 with some serious engine work (twin turbo’ed L-Series stroker); Toyota Celsior UCF10 (aka Lexus LS400) in mint condition with only minor cosmetic mods; Nissan Stagea WC34, mayby in 260RS Autech trim, but it’s not a must – just for daily comuting 😉 ;Toyota Supra A70 – defenetly in black, with turbo and manual; Nissan Z33 with pumped-up VG30TT; and last but not least: my good old Daihatsu Applause. And at the end i would find another Applause shell and build a look’a’like, but with Subaru’s EJ20TT mounted in the center instead of of the front mounted 1,6 4-pot.
Buy two NOS setsof C-pillar trims for my AW11, one for mounting and another for spares. I might need to take out a small loan on top.
Step 1:
Get my license because I can afford to pay for a bus ride to the city and a hotel room
Step 2: wait a year and before then year is up get my passport
Step 3: Go to Japan
Step 4: Visit junkyard
Step 5: Find a 1991 Nissan Skyline GT-R in rough shape
Step 6:make it look like the car a character in a story I have been writing drives through Shanghai, the Australian outback and a few other places.
Step 7: send the car back home and go find the next project:
1969 Nissan Skyline GT-X and repeat process.
Step 8: Hadn’t thought this far ahead yet.
I would buy a 2 door hakosuka, strip it down, build it back up with just the right amount of modern and classic, I am going to daily drive it after all, so I want something dependable, but also don’t want to lose the feel of the car. AC is an absolute must. Next is to put in a heart that beats like nothing else, an L series motor with the os giken tc-24b1z head on it. 0-60, not interested, 0-hell yeah, that’s more like it. Next up is four wheel disc brakes and a roll cage, need to have something when hell yeah turns into hell no. After my car is exactly where I want it to be, I need a garage to work on it. So in comes the car lift, all the fancy and shiny tools and tool cabinets, proper lighting, and some great wall art to glance at as I momentarily give up looking for the 10 mm socket. After all of my selfish desires are met, I want to open up a classic car shop, with an emphasis on JNC’s. The shop would be used on Saturday’s to teach basic lessons to car enthusiasts on how to maintain and care for their vehicles, of course this would happen after the cars and coffee shows to be hosted in the shops parking lot. Phew that was a lot.
For 1 million I would probably make an attempt to collect every Mitsuoka possible. Since most of them are considered scrap metal nowadays I would get close. Probably the Orochi is a bit too expensive costing around 100K secondhand nowadays and also the early Mitsuoka Bubu 356 Speedster and SKK are hard to find…
$1 million is probably enough to set up a shop to make custom parts for JNCs.
That’s what I’d do.
A Mitsubishi Starion in white.
In the best possible condition, modernize engine, suspensions and all the gadgets of the 21st century.
Basically develop a “what would have been if …” of the most retro futuristic car of the 80 ‘.
The rest in making kits possible so that each owner can do the same. and if it is possible to extend it to other models, make accessible to everyone a car with personality and all the “modern” amenities to be an everyday car so cut the routine.
I’d spend it on new parts of course, as with the other answers..
And also spend that on a continuous battle against metal cancer.
With $1 million? Likely I’d just move to Japan and spend half on building a dream garage/house. Then the other half on filling that dream garage. But what to put in it? There are too many choices, and not enough time to drive them. I think I’d want no more than nostalgics, just to make sure I was going to drive them enough. Likely one absolutely stock classic. Hmmm… maybe make that an NSX, just because it’s the absolute peak. And then, some kind of Singer-ized resto-mod, but I can’t settle on what. Barikan Corona? Daruma Celica? S30? 510? Hako? Or something more modern? AE86? Early LS400? R32 sedan with a big straight six? There’s no wrong answer, but I’d have the rest of my life to figure it out.
I used to fantasize about having 10+ cars in a dream fleet, but I’ve come to learn that more cars means less time to bond with each one so its kind of sad. Like some other mentioned, I want to believe that if I had the means I would really try to start reproducing parts for the classics, as a hopefully viable money-making endeavor. AE86s are my taste, and oem-quality repro dashes have been a long time coming (as opposed to those “covers” that are out there). There are tons of suppliers who make repro things for classic European and American cars, and Zs and SA22 RX7s are pretty well served…but AE86 needs a restoration catalogue. (And I’d finally get around to building my 4-hachi fleet – kouki levin coupe, kouki trueno coupe, kouki trueno hatch, and zenki trueno hatch. one turbo, one stockish bluetop, one sr5 noob, and one 20v…) Ah lottery fantasies.
As the owner of 2 AE86s, I wholeheartedly endorse this endeavor!
I would buy Japanese Nostalgic Car, have you curate my collection of beloved imports, and live the lavish life of a semi-famous Youtube personality talking about how Japan is so awesome, my cars are so awesome, and I’M so awesome since that’s what semi-famous Youtube personalities do apparently.
And if I have some money left over I’ll build a sweet restomod Nissan Patrol diesel overlanding rig/zombie apocalypse bug-out vehicle and make sure it’s got enough room for a hot girl, a cool dog, and my copy of The Complete Calvin and Hobbes.
Agree with you! This is a good options
Agree with GSX-R35
It’s a lot of money but I would give half of it to charity and spend the other half on my dream car