Square Is Fair - 1987 Isuzu Piazza Turbo

[dugong]

Are you thinking of the same calendar as the rest of us?  I thought content rather than quality was key and you've certainly got the content.

At least we agree the photo is a bit cack.

[sporty-shite]

At least we agree the photo is a bit cack.

Your perfectionist ways do not compute.

 

TOPP PHOTOE

[dugong]

Hirst found me a great photo location in his local area. Shot was done pikey style by using an old speedlight case to prop the camera up, just outside HMP Wakefield. 

 

 

 

 

The interim years between XJM and GYP has demonstrated how far my taste in cars has moved on. Make no mistake: Piazzas are not sports cars.  A widebody Starion would murder the Isuzu in a straight line and a badly driven 924S would leave it for dead everywhere else. Keep the engine within its power band and it's pretty brisk; I remember how terrifyingly fast XJM seemed back in 2008 when the fastest thing I'd driven was a Peugeot 306 TD. Get past 4500rpm and the engine rough quickly - push further and a governor begins to strangle the fuel supply. This is a car built for overtaking maneouvres on the motorway, where the turbocharger's swell of torque easily pulls you past slower traffic. On the way back from Thornes Park I made another discovery - the cruise control still works. I was wary of trying XJM's because of its horrifically hacked up wiring loom which featured a hard wired dip switch to operate the wipers. 

 

One thing that needs attention soon is the rack end bushes. The steering wheel's cock eyed and there's a queasiness that makes the car difficult to place on the road. Chasing Captain Slow in his Stag the other night was hard going - although GYP's road holding is quite good, you're never quite sure of how much lock to wind on and off around tight bends.  The fuel tank sender's gone on strike too, but that isn't strictly a problem because it drinks like a fish in town. Driving on the mileometer and filling up out of habit hasn't failed me yet. Motorway work nets you around 25mpg; given how depressing Piazza dipsomania can be, I thought I'd done alright dredging 310 miles from a brim to and from Shitefest. Fun fact: it was designed to run on 97RON. 

 

Close behind are the HBL wheels I snagged for a frankly obscene £1 several years ago. The seller was most upset: he'd just spent £270 on a set of brand new V-rated 195\60\14 tyres, never fitted them to his car and then listed them on eBay without a reserve. Either the wheels aren't seating right or I have a trio of dead valves - leave the car for more than a day and they deflate more than a farting cloud. These wheels were only meant to be a placeholder - with the spare and the other currently scrounged rims from Piazza #2 (HUL), I actually have a full set of pre Lotus alloys. Swapping these over after a good clean will be my next priority. 

 

HUL's time is running out: I'm giving up the garage it lives in this month and sending it to the weighbridge. The crusher won't be getting much; we've donated its fuel tank, rear axle, rear light clusters, head, turbo, bonnet, headlights and front bumper to the Owners' Club with me keeping its entire labrador beige and chocolate interior. With the front wheels removed, I'll have six pre-Lotus alloys with centre caps, which will satisfy my OCD when it comes to having matching spare wheels. IPTOC Clive's going to take the rear trim cards, bench and carpet out next. I'm still waiting for the V62 to come back: the log book disappeared when we had to vacate the Birkenhead unit.

 

 

 

How sad that a model's entire worth is defined by a single part that doesn't even fit the cars claimed by the pub legend.There's also the loss in social history terms; a 72,000 mile car is going to get shredded. Never again will it just nip to the shops, take the owner to work or be enjoyed on back road simply for the hell of it. Delivered new to an address less than a mile from where I grew up in Sale, the dealer that supplied it in Altrincham is now a posh Italian restaurant. I swiped the tax disc and rear window sticker; they'll live inside GYP one way or another. It came off the road a few years ago because of an altercation with a bollard which bent the crossmember. It was rusting from the inside out and the owner had the IHI turbo rebuilt and installed by a two-bit mechanic who ran it up without the banjo bolt, causing dire amounts of axial and radial play in the turbine and compressor wheels. 

 

 

 

That's an IHI VT34. When working it gives 8.7psi of boost, appearing in the Mazda MX-6 Turbo and some early Subaru Impreza WRXs. 

 

If IPTOC Clive can source a generator, we're going to chop some repair panels out and package some of the boot trim up for a member in Norway. Although the car will end up on the slow boat to China, recycling its parts will keep other Piazzas going for longer. 

 

 

 

These shots give an idea of the amount of parts HUL has given up already. 

 

 

Stuffed between the boot floor and rear drifter enchantment device, the fuel tank was grubby but saveable. As you can see, it's rather small and weirdly shaped. It also had about twenty quid's worth of grey varnish festering inside. 

 

 

 

 

Three pre axle and tank removal shots giving you an idea of how far the tin worm had advanced, chewing up most of the boot floor in the process. You can also see how ramshackle the rear suspension is in comparison to the swish bodywork up top; the shock absorber and panhard rod bushes put up a hell of a fight before they relinquished their grip. 

 

 

Next week I'll try to remove the rust witness marks from the paint and cut it back to see if I can bring it up a little. There's lots to do, but it's manageable in small chunks. In August the gearbox is receiving attention; they're a Piazza weak point and the input shafts begin to 'sing' past 80k or so; blame the engine oil they're lubricated with. GYP's is on 150k and beginning to get notchy.

[dugong]

Remember Norm? He's holding a set of these for me:



This is why GYP wears four HBL wheels - IPTOC Clive wasn't willing to let the 'waffles' go with the car (understandable given that he currently owns the only set in the country). 



Here's what mine currently look like. Sourced from all over the USA, I'm looking for another pair to complete the 'spare wheel plus one' set. 

[dugong]

This is the last picture I have of XJM before it left the country. I found it on an old hard drive. 

[dugong]

Wow. A massive update and this is on page three?

 

Nice baps.

[DVee8]

I took these at a show a couple of weeks ago

 

 

[phil_lihp]

When I was a kid, one of our neighbours had a white one like yours, pretty sure it wore the same alloys as the XJM car.  Must have been early nineties so it would have been quite new but even then it was a rare and striking thing, I don't honestly recall ever seeing another one.  Perhaps it was the brand that put people off, Izuzu didn't have much sports car pedigree and became synonymous with boxy 4x4s but they could certainly get the styling right.

 

Incidentally, this is a fantastic photo:

 

Hirst found me a great photo location in his local area. Shot was done pikey style by using an old speedlight case to prop the camera up, just outside HMP Wakefield. 


 

[Ghosty]

There aren't any wheels that Pizzas don't look good on.

[dugong]

There aren't any wheels that Pizzas don't look good on.

CHANNELLENNGHE

[Guest Breadvan72]

ZOMG RWD DRFT WPN CRU!

[dugong]

A few posts back I mentioned Isuzu wheeled the Asso di Fiori out for public consumption.

The event was called Historic2Days and was held last year. All round excellent bod (and massive Piazza fan) Taishi Matsunaga took the following photos:

 

 

You can see how little of the frontal aspect changed for production. The headlamp eyebrows were shortened and the bonnet moved upward to comply with lighting regulations. The door handle arrangement differs; Isuzu switched to another lock and handle set to save money.

 

 

Even the Asso's alloys survived the transition between Italdesign and Isuzu's assembly line in Shinagawaku; the early G200W (DOHC) Piazza XEs used the same wheel design. In 1981, however, these rims were made of metal rather than cleverly painted acetate and clay. They're known as tic-tac-toe wheels, for obvious reasons. I've never seen a set for sale, not even on Rinkya or Buyee.

 

 

 

Weirdly enough, the Turbo (introduced in late '84-'85 in Japan) appeared to crib its wheels from an early Giugiaro design, the Lancia Medusa

 

 

 

 

The interior changed the most twixt Asso and Piazza, although the basic elements are all there - the twin satellite dashboard, the massive door cards - even the leather interior appeared in the Japan only XJ-S and Yanase models.

 

The Asso was rumoured to have been built on a heavily modified Gemini floorpan; the pedals are of the same type at least.

[dugong]

There aren't any wheels that Pizzas don't look good on.

 

I've never posted this picture up of XJM before.

How about some really chavvy white Alltechs? These came with XJM when I bought it, the originals (supplied in the boot) scrubbed slick by this kind of moronic tosh:

 

 

 

Can you say 'mega bodge'? The rubbers above indicate where the back box should sit: XJM had a pigeon-welded scaffold bar with the remains of a pair of Simonz cans tacked on for good measure.

 

 

 

An incredibly expensive (and poorly photographed) in joke! I might take GYP back to Manchester to repeat this shot.

 

 

I also bought some incredibly poor FWD-offset faux-Watanabes for it.

[dugong]

 

Have a typically mental Japanese pre-Turbo Piazza model range. ITEC stands for 'Isuzu Total Electronic Control'.

[dugong]

The British teaser brochure was a bit more restrained:

 

 

 

 

The red BYV car was tested by the press and doesn't exist any more. The IPTOC are going back to Bourton-on-the-Water where that promo photo was shot fairly soon.

[vulgalour]

You know the panel in between the rear lights that says Piazza on it, is that solid colour or transparent?  I'm thinking that if it's see-through-able it would make a neat number plate case on a number of modified vehicles.

[Ghosty]

One concurs....

[dugong]

You know the panel in between the rear lights that says Piazza on it, is that solid colour or transparent?  I'm thinking that if it's see-through-able it would make a neat number plate case on a number of modified vehicles.

Its opaque, and rare as hen's teeth. Weird thing to focus on.

 

I think we may have identified the Piazza's problem. People don't see them as complete vehicles, they just want parts to customise other cars with.

 

That's the first thing people see? "Oh, that centre garnish would look good on something else."

[Jim Bell]

The rear spoiler would make a canny chin splitter for a 340 drift weapon.

[DaveDorson]

I remember seeing two of these near a mates house in Swansea at the tail end of the 1990's, possibly early 2000's

 

Always thought them to look a little awkward, but a cool thing none the less.

[warren t claim]

Its opaque, and rare as hen's teeth. Weird thing to focus on.

 

I think we may have identified the Piazza's problem. People don't see them as complete vehicles, they just want parts to customise others cars with.

That's the first thing people see? "Oh, that centre garnish would look good on something else."

The problem is as I see it is that they were never very well regarded when new. I don't ever recall seeing a group test where it came top. I even think the last of the line Capris beat it in the Motor coupe Road test.

[barrett]

NEEDS WAFFULS

 

I would quite like to have a go in this one day if you don't mind. I'm not sure I've ever seen a Piazza on the road.

[dugong]

The problem is as I see it is that they were never very well regarded when new. I don't ever recall seeing a group test where it came top. I even think the last of the line Capris beat it in the Motor coupe Road test.

The SVE Capris were highly regarded anyway, particularly the Injection and 2.8i Specials.

 

More and more people are preserving misfit cars. Seizing on the rear garnish (or back axle) of a Piazza is like keeping the rear calipers off a Princess and binning everything else.

 

Piazzas arrived too late in the UK to stand a chance against anything technologically. By 1986 naturally aspirated 16 valve engines were becoming a Japanese USP. The Toyota Celica and the Honda Prelude showed what they could do; both offered better performance than the Piazza with half decent fuel economy. The amount of petrol the Piazza drank was shocking in comparison. A 22mpg average was dire even in the mid-'Eighties. Why would you buy a dated RWD coupe when a Golf GTI 16v was quicker, handled better and could do nearly twice the mileage?

 

Live axles were also passe by then - although the Capri showed how well they could work, suitably fettled. The Handling By Lotus cars drove far better but were too little, too late.

 

Piazzas were orphans. Isuzu had no car heritage in the UK: it only had standing as a lorry and 4x4 maker. Isuzu GB went bump shortly after bringing the first batch of cars in, so these were bought wholesale by the Alan Day Group before it passed the buck and sold the lot to International Motors. The latter was only interested in the Trooper and never pushed the Piazza particularly hard.

 

NEEDS WAFFULS

 

I would quite like to have a go in this one day if you don't mind. I'm not sure I've ever seen a Piazza on the road.

That can be arranged, on both counts.

[warren t claim]

I hate to say it but as crazy as it seems now in the mid 80s RWD even in sporty cars was seen as old hat, even Toyota had binned it with the Celica.

[vulgalour]

You'll likely not like me saying it, but somehow the Piazza manages to completely avoid seeming special.  It's a smart looking thing, and ought to be interesting but it's just not as a whole.  Instead, elements of it are interesting, like that rear panel, and the wheel designs, and the funky headlight eyebrows.  Taken as a whole it just seems... well... not ordinary but not particularly remarkable.

 

Which is very strange, because it should be incredibly interesting as a machine.

[RichardK]

HBL Piazzas do go well and handle well. They were quite expensive, IIRC, though I don't think many people twigged that they were a tarted up Chevette when they were a new car, they looked so different (until you spot the inner wings).

It was a dying market, but I'd rather have a Piazza again than say, a Nissan Sylvia.

[RichardK]

How many W generator do you need? I've got a weedy 750Wish one that I generally forget exists until I get annoyed with it occupying space in the toolshed.

[Ghosty]

I also bought some incredibly poor FWD-offset faux-Watanabes for it.

 

Don't you mean Dugongs?

[sporty-shite]

I really like Piazzas and would love to own one. However, like most cars I would like to own, I fear I have missed the boat.

[dugong]

I really like Piazzas and would love to own one. However, like most cars I would like to own, I fear I have missed the boat.

Not necessarily. PM me if you want more info.

 

The rear spoiler would make a canny chin splitter for a 340 drift weapon.

The one off my breaker is going spare if you want it, for not a lot of money. UNSURE IF SERIOUS.

 

You'll likely not like me saying it, but somehow the Piazza manages to completely avoid seeming special.  It's a smart looking thing, and ought to be interesting but it's just not as a whole.  Instead, elements of it are interesting, like that rear panel, and the wheel designs, and the funky headlight eyebrows.  Taken as a whole it just seems... well... not ordinary but not particularly remarkable.

 

Which is very strange, because it should be incredibly interesting as a machine.

Fair enough - but your tastes are, er...(how do I put this diplomatically) somewhat eccentric. Not 'wrong', just different. You realise there's quite a bit of similarity between a Piazza and Princess in design terms, tailgate aside?