Forgotten 70’s and 80’s Japs

[GrumpiusMaximus]

Camel's 'Nude' is a concept album based on his story.  If you're into semi-obscure Prog...

[StescoG66]

On 1/6/2020 at 7:34 PM, DVee8 said:

Datsun Bluebird sss coupe.

Why oh why have I taken sooo long to find this thread...... I loved these (not that colour though.....), and did flirt with the idea of trying to find one not too long ago. I remember seeing one a maroon outside a cottage near Drumoig a few years back, by the time I got round to going to enquire it was gone........ Rarer than an honest politician it would seem.......... Love the old Japanese stuff and have quite a history of Datsun/Nissan in both my history and the family. 

Warning - Long boring list alert......

HGA679N - Datsun 120Y 2 door saloon

TGE414R - Datsun 120A FII Coupe in pale metallic green

GGA788T - Datsun 140Y Coupe in metallic jobbie dogleg 5 speed and reverse buzzer -cool as fuck to the 10 yr old me....

Sold to make may for YSU 689S Sherpa camper, less said the better.......

Then a succession of 910 Bfuebirds

VGG766W - Silver 4 door 1.8GL 4speed

FGD515X - Dark blue 4 door1.8GL 5 speed

PGA655Y - Light blue big bumper 1.8GL 4 door

C495SSG  - Nissan Bluebird 2.0GL 

then I started driving

E509XYS - light blue NIssan Sunny 1.3LX 3 door

E754ASU - white Nissan Micra 1.0L (mums car)

G125SGD - white Nissan Sunny 1.4LS 3 door (that 1.4 12 valve engine was a little treasure....)

G303THS - dark green Nissan Sunny 1.6GSX 5 door (dads car - 1.6 12 valve that was nowhere near a sweet as the 1.4 I had)

J210FGE - red Nissan Sunny 1.4LS 3 dr 16V that was a bag of shite - carb and cat couldn't be made to run right. Horrendous misfires.

+ J613ESU - black Nissan Sunny 1.6GS 5 door (dads car - strangely no cat on this one......)

H303CNS - grey Nissan Primera 2.0eZX 4 door - absolutely fantastic car, I should never have sold it........

R651MRS - Black Nissan Primera 2.0GX 5 door (dads car)

N268JFC - burgundy Nissan Micra 1.3GX (H303 sold for this due to impending house purchase)

L390XSU - red Nissan Primera 2.0eGT 5 door (written off by driving like a total fanny.........)

X507FBL - Silver Nissan Almera 1.8 Sport

SC04NJN - Grey Nissan Primera 2.2DCi 5 door (bag o'shite, my last Nissan. The DCI sttod for daft cunt inside by the time I finished with it....)

SE02MGO - gold Nissan Primera 1.8SE 4 door (dads car)

SC09FMY - burgundy Nissan Micra 1.2 3 door (mums still current car......)

I may have missed a couple.......... Pics of some somewhere, but god knows where.........

 

[DVee8]

5 hours ago, StescoG66 said:

Why oh why have I taken sooo long to find this thread...... I loved these (not that colour though.....), and did flirt with the idea of trying to find one not too long ago. I remember seeing one a maroon outside a cottage near Drumoig a few years back, by the time I got round to going to enquire it was gone........ Rarer than an honest politician it would seem.......... Love the old Japanese stuff and have quite a history of Datsun/Nissan in both my history and the family. 

Warning - Long boring list alert......

HGA679N - Datsun 120Y 2 door saloon

TGE414R - Datsun 120A FII Coupe in pale metallic green

GGA788T - Datsun 140Y Coupe in metallic jobbie dogleg 5 speed and reverse buzzer -cool as fuck to the 10 yr old me....

Sold to make may for YSU 689S Sherpa camper, less said the better.......

Then a succession of 910 Bfuebirds

VGG766W - Silver 4 door 1.8GL 4speed

FGD515X - Dark blue 4 door1.8GL 5 speed

PGA655Y - Light blue big bumper 1.8GL 4 door

C495SSG  - Nissan Bluebird 2.0GL 

then I started driving

E509XYS - light blue NIssan Sunny 1.3LX 3 door

E754ASU - white Nissan Micra 1.0L (mums car)

G125SGD - white Nissan Sunny 1.4LS 3 door (that 1.4 12 valve engine was a little treasure....)

G303THS - dark green Nissan Sunny 1.6GSX 5 door (dads car - 1.6 12 valve that was nowhere near a sweet as the 1.4 I had)

J210FGE - red Nissan Sunny 1.4LS 3 dr 16V that was a bag of shite - carb and cat couldn't be made to run right. Horrendous misfires.

+ J613ESU - black Nissan Sunny 1.6GS 5 door (dads car - strangely no cat on this one......)

H303CNS - grey Nissan Primera 2.0eZX 4 door - absolutely fantastic car, I should never have sold it........

R651MRS - Black Nissan Primera 2.0GX 5 door (dads car)

N268JFC - burgundy Nissan Micra 1.3GX (H303 sold for this due to impending house purchase)

L390XSU - red Nissan Primera 2.0eGT 5 door (written off by driving like a total fanny.........)

X507FBL - Silver Nissan Almera 1.8 Sport

SC04NJN - Grey Nissan Primera 2.2DCi 5 door (bag o'shite, my last Nissan. The DCI sttod for daft cunt inside by the time I finished with it....)

SE02MGO - gold Nissan Primera 1.8SE 4 door (dads car)

SC09FMY - burgundy Nissan Micra 1.2 3 door (mums still current car......)

I may have missed a couple.......... Pics of some somewhere, but god knows where.........

 

Jez I thought I liked a Nissan or 2.

You are right about a Primera GT/eGT  I wish I hadn't sold my ones .. and a Bluebird turbo

[Macscrooge]

Jap cars were rare (and rusty) oddities until I was in my late teens. A friend’s dad had a Mk1 Celica in red followed by a 3dr Mk2 in a rather more fetching dark blue. A girlfriend’s mum had a Mk1 V plate Toyota Starlet - she’d previously had a Honda Civic. A much older friend had a Toyota Carina estate which he had from new until it fell to bits.

My dad only had two jap cars (out of 2 dozen) - a ‘97ish Mazda 323 and a (Swindon built) ‘00 Honda Accord. 

By contrast, two-thirds of my current fleet is from the land of the rising Yen and were I spending my own money on a new or even newish car I’d struggle to look past Jap or Korean brands. Funny old world. 

[Out Run]

11 hours ago, StescoG66 said:

Why oh why have I taken sooo long to find this thread...... I loved these (not that colour though.....), and did flirt with the idea of trying to find one not too long ago. I remember seeing one a maroon outside a cottage near Drumoig a few years back, by the time I got round to going to enquire it was gone........ Rarer than an honest politician it would seem.......... Love the old Japanese stuff and have quite a history of Datsun/Nissan in both my history and the family. 

Warning - Long boring list alert......

HGA679N - Datsun 120Y 2 door saloon

TGE414R - Datsun 120A FII Coupe in pale metallic green

GGA788T - Datsun 140Y Coupe in metallic jobbie dogleg 5 speed and reverse buzzer -cool as fuck to the 10 yr old me....

Sold to make may for YSU 689S Sherpa camper, less said the better.......

Then a succession of 910 Bfuebirds

VGG766W - Silver 4 door 1.8GL 4speed

FGD515X - Dark blue 4 door1.8GL 5 speed

PGA655Y - Light blue big bumper 1.8GL 4 door

C495SSG  - Nissan Bluebird 2.0GL 

then I started driving

E509XYS - light blue NIssan Sunny 1.3LX 3 door

E754ASU - white Nissan Micra 1.0L (mums car)

G125SGD - white Nissan Sunny 1.4LS 3 door (that 1.4 12 valve engine was a little treasure....)

G303THS - dark green Nissan Sunny 1.6GSX 5 door (dads car - 1.6 12 valve that was nowhere near a sweet as the 1.4 I had)

J210FGE - red Nissan Sunny 1.4LS 3 dr 16V that was a bag of shite - carb and cat couldn't be made to run right. Horrendous misfires.

+ J613ESU - black Nissan Sunny 1.6GS 5 door (dads car - strangely no cat on this one......)

H303CNS - grey Nissan Primera 2.0eZX 4 door - absolutely fantastic car, I should never have sold it........

R651MRS - Black Nissan Primera 2.0GX 5 door (dads car)

N268JFC - burgundy Nissan Micra 1.3GX (H303 sold for this due to impending house purchase)

L390XSU - red Nissan Primera 2.0eGT 5 door (written off by driving like a total fanny.........)

X507FBL - Silver Nissan Almera 1.8 Sport

SC04NJN - Grey Nissan Primera 2.2DCi 5 door (bag o'shite, my last Nissan. The DCI sttod for daft cunt inside by the time I finished with it....)

SE02MGO - gold Nissan Primera 1.8SE 4 door (dads car)

SC09FMY - burgundy Nissan Micra 1.2 3 door (mums still current car......)

I may have missed a couple.......... Pics of some somewhere, but god knows where.........

 

Nice list, mate.

eZX, eh? I still have the badge from one. I bought it to use as an engine donor for my P11 Si. The SR20DE in them was closer to 160BHP, compared to the catalyst equipped eGT, IIRC?

It was certainly sprightly in my car and used to laugh at Cavalier GSi's.

[gtd2000]

On 1/2/2021 at 3:31 AM, Austat said:

Mitsubishi Colt Galant GTO:

They were sold in the UK, but only in very few numbers:

The only place I've ever seen one of those in the flesh, was when I was based in Cyprus, during '88 & '89.

Cyprus turned up some Japanese cars I'd never even heard of, let alone spotted.

These spring to mind:

The pickup variants were quite popular.

And

 

[gtd2000]

On 1/2/2021 at 7:31 AM, Austat said:

This would be the second one I believe, an earlier 1500 unless there's another 1800 variant:

 

I drove one of these (in maroon) when I was in Zimbabwe in 1994.

It had one functioning brake on the front right and the throttle used a length of string pulled by hand - quite an interesting concept... 

[gtd2000]

On 1/2/2021 at 10:22 AM, StescoG66 said:

 

C495SSG  - Nissan Bluebird 2.0GL 

 

 

Interesting, my Dad bought C505SSG (2.0: SGL) new from Sighthill in Edinburgh given to me after my dad passed away in '88.

Here it is in East Germany - Magdeburg.

 

[gtd2000]

One of my favourite and possibly most fun Japanese cars:

[StescoG66]

On 1/2/2021 at 9:44 PM, Out Run said:

Nice list, mate.

eZX, eh? I still have the badge from one. I bought it to use as an engine donor for my P11 Si. The SR20DE in them was closer to 160BHP, compared to the catalyst equipped eGT, IIRC?

It was certainly sprightly in my car and used to laugh at Cavalier GSi's.

Yes the main difference between the eZX and the eGT was the missing catalyst and other emissions control shite on the eZX. It wasby far the better of the two I had

[StescoG66]

17 hours ago, gtd2000 said:

Interesting, my Dad bought C505SSG (2.0: SGL) new from Sighthill in Edinburgh given to me after my dad passed away in '88.

Here it is in East Germany - Magdeburg.

 

Ours was bought at Belmont Nissan on Kirkintilloch Road, Bishopbriggs. Was a bloody good car actually........

I see you took out the shitty standard stereo too - tape deck rear speakers and radio front as I recall......... I replaced ours with a Clarion M622 (how can I remember this pish............and not remember what I had for lunch)

[hairnet]

anyone know where i can buy one of these in this country?

thanks

 

Quote

 

 

[Barry Cade]

On 1/2/2021 at 10:22 AM, StescoG66 said:

Why oh why have I taken sooo long to find this thread...... I loved these (not that colour though.....), and did flirt with the idea of trying to find one not too long ago. I remember seeing one a maroon outside a cottage near Drumoig a few years back, by the time I got round to going to enquire it was gone........ 

 

I remember that car, and speaking to the owner.. it was Wormit at that time, then it moved. I'll have a nose the next time I'm passing. There's a guy in Fife with loads of odd Jap stuff, and I reckon he's got a load of Datsuns tucked away. He's not very approachable though, but has a long line of strange jap stuff parked in a public car park,  and other stuff dotted around. 

[StescoG66]

2 hours ago, Barry Cade said:

I remember that car, and speaking to the owner.. it was Wormit at that time, then it moved. I'll have a nose the next time I'm passing. There's a guy in Fife with loads of odd Jap stuff, and I reckon he's got a load of Datsuns tucked away. He's not very approachable though, but has a long line of strange jap stuff parked in a public car park,  and other stuff dotted around. 

Last I passed it was gone. Thats not to say it isn'tin his garage though. There was an Allaggro Vanden Plas outside in that fetching contents-of-baby-nappy brown green shade last time I passed,

 

[alcyonecorporation]

Still have my pre-Lotus Piazza Turbo. 

It needs some work to the head to see the road again.

[Conan]

That is, by far, the greatest wheel design in automotive history.

[Bradders59]

Ive had a realisation while reading through this thread. In 43 years of driving, I have never owned a Japanese car !

Owned numerous Jap bikes but never a car.

Came close in 78/ 79 when I was offered a 240Z for £70. Yes really.

Went to have a look at it and decided that the only reason and hadnt actually dissolved completely was that no-one had attempted to move it for quite some time. I think a tow rope on the front would have seperated the front from the rear, so left it where it was.

It cant have been much more than 8 years old I suppose.

[StescoG66]

Wow. Post facelift Violet (pre facelift they were still badged 140J/160J if I am not mistaken). Rarer than hens teeth. Malta or Cyprus may be worth a try for one of these, There are only 5 left across all Violet variants according to How Many Left.......

 

[gtd2000]

17 hours ago, StescoG66 said:

Ours was bought at Belmont Nissan on Kirkintilloch Road, Bishopbriggs. Was a bloody good car actually........

I see you took out the shitty standard stereo too - tape deck rear speakers and radio front as I recall......... I replaced ours with a Clarion M622 (how can I remember this pish............and not remember what I had for lunch)

Yes, it also came from Belmont - think I've still got some Belmont folders somewhere in the house too?

I kept the standard stereo and simply spliced in the rear speakers to the existing rear wiring - was too much effort at the time to change it due to the factory system.

[inconsistant]

Superb thread, PROPER AUTOSHITE content! Never thought very much of Japanese cars growing up, I didn't like their flimsy feel, their crap dashboard plastics and the feeling the were for people who didn't really like cars but needed one. I was wrong, obvs. Never owned a Jap car, but did learn to drive and took my test in a driving school Sunny saloon in 87. 

Don't know if these are too Jazzy for this thread but I like these RX7s and you don't see them that often, I think they just crept in before the Gran Turismo generation of cars.

Nice Celica spotted last year in a fab green, way brighter than it came out in the pic.

 

My Clubman and chum's Corolla, mid 90s

 

Corolla BIG WORDS edition

 

 

Proper Honda Civics

 

Proper Honda Accord

 

G plate Mitsubishi (Colt?) just barely fulfils the 80s brief.

 

This is very early 90s but too good not to add.

 

My chum's older brother had one of these Toyotas in the mid 80's, except his was primrose yellow, black interior. It didn't have a badge on the back other than 'lift back' like this one so I never really knew what it was and he didn't care enough to find out. I suppose it was a Corolla of some sort but never saw another one around at that time so maybe not a common model? Loads of us, maybe 6 or 7, used to pile into it and head to the pub. The boot was tiny and an odd shape. It wasn't that powerful but he used to drive it like an idiot, I'm surprised we, and the car survived. This one was at a local show a couple of years ago and it's the only other one I've ever seen. 

 

70s and 80s Jap cars are the sort of thing I make a beeline for at car shows these as there are so few about and they make a refreshing change from the rows of similar Fords/MGBs etc.

 

[MisterH]

On 1/6/2020 at 7:07 PM, sierraman said:

Remember when Japan made really offbeat cars and offered them in the U.K. over the years where they failed miserably. Like the 1988 Mitsubishi Sapporo Galant. I can only ever recall seeing one once about 20 odd years ago. 

I really have a thing for these cars, they are just so nice. I am trying to track down all the UK survivors, as I would love to add one to my collection. Trouble is they are so rare, and some of them have been modded. I hope I am not too late...

[red5]

14 minutes ago, MisterH said:

I really have a thing for these cars, they are just so nice. I am trying to track down all the UK survivors, as I would love to add one to my collection. Trouble is they are so rare, and some of them have been modded. I hope I am not too late...

Not many brought in in the first place. Most canned when the rear dampers failed or the 2.4 emptied its sump.

Superb ride.

[STUNO]

Some 80's Japs for sale in NZ now.

1980 Daihatsu Charade XG | Trade Me Motors

Honda for sale | Trade Me Motors

1988 Hyundai Excel Excel | Trade Me Motors

1989 Isuzu Bighorn 2.8Di | Trade Me Motors

Mazda for sale | Trade Me Motors

Mitsubishi for sale | Trade Me Motors

Nissan for sale | Trade Me Motors

Subaru for sale | Trade Me Motors

Toyota for sale | Trade Me Motors

Enjoy !

[TheOtherStu]

White Nissan Prairie

Ours (E***DNK - can't remember what - known as "Dinky") was registered around March 1988. I've mentioned this before. It ferried us kids around for a number of years until it was replaced around 1995 with a white N reg Rover 400 (I'd left home long before this). At this point, I seem to remember that it had about 150k on it, at which point we sold it to my uncle who drove it around Europe until it eventually succumbed to some huge failure with starship miles (he'd replaced a 300k Golf with a 280k Espace before this one). I was sure it was E51DNK or E151DNK, but both those show up as being Nissan Bluebirds,

[Tadhg Tiogar]

On 1/6/2020 at 7:07 PM, sierraman said:

Remember when Japan made really offbeat cars and offered them in the U.K. over the years where they failed miserably. Like the 1988 Mitsubishi Sapporo Galant. I can only ever recall seeing one once about 20 odd years ago. 

Where I used to live between 1989 and 1992, a near-neighbour ran a Sapporo saloon in white. Frameless door windows and also on the F-plate. She kept it tidy for years after; the last time I saw it was late 1990s.

Since then I've only spotted one other Sapporo, in black.

They were sort-of competing with things like the BMW E34 Five (just released) and were never a strong seller. I'd be surprised if the running survivors are in double figures. Nice to look at in a business-like sense.

Mitsubishi seems to have more or less given up on the British market for ordinary cars. I only ever see their badges on 4x4s like the Outlander PHEV and ancient Shoguns now.

[alcyonecorporation]

Had quite a few likes on the Piazza recently. 

An update: I still have it - it's waiting on both my and the IPTOC*'s schedules to align. 
It came off the road owing to problems with the head and fuel tank. It photographs extremely well; it is way rougher in the pictures but still basically sound. 

The 4CZ1-T (related to, but not the same as, the 1994cc N/A petrol engine in the Vauxhall Midi/Isuzu Fargo) uses thrust washers on the crank, like a Triumph 1500.  Unfortunately, when they wear out, a lot of crank end float is created. The bottom end of my engine was moving so much it was eating drive belts; one night, I had to coast to the end of a junction when it popped off and stopped driving the water pump. I think that's what caused the head to warp, or crack - I haven't properly investigated. I also had fuelling issues: I suspect the in-pump tank is clogged as I got a friend to take the external pump out to clean it with little improvement. 
Shortly after, the heater matrix failed and dumped coolant all over the passenger's footwell. It was beyond my meagre skills, so I decided to stash it away and wait for the IPTOC to finish sorting its workshop. 

[side note: This is more or less what happened to the other cars in my fleet that you haven't heard about for a while: the 305, 605, 850, Impreza, Cherokee and Amazon are all safe, in various states of disrepair, and I'll update AS on those if people want to hear about them. TL; DR - it's easier to stash and save up buying bits rather than tackling them one at a time]. 

My decision to squirrel the Piazza away coincided with the time of the first AS service station autocross events were taking place -  I thought it cruel for me to hammer the car with so much going wrong. When it goes to the IPTOC it will receive a 'new' engine with the best parts from mine transferred over. Not long before I bought GYP it received a rebuilt IHI turbo and a full service; the former will go on the replacement lump with a new head gasket, they tend to fail on 4CZ1-Ts between 100-150k, and GYP has clocked 157k. 

It'll also get the better HBL tailgate I bought very cheaply off eBay fitted (the spoilers are interchangeable with a few blanking plates) and a set of new brake discs (I warped the originals around Cadwell Park). With that work completed by the IPTOC (when it's ready, of course), it should see another MoT, so long as I have the Goodyears replaced. 

(The tyre saga is almost a tale in itself: many years ago, I won a set of shagged HBL alloys on brand new tyres on eBay; the seller had listed them without reserve and I got them for £1. He honoured the deal despite clearly being unhappy, and they sat in the dark for another three years before I bought GYP. I was Piazza-free at the time, having long sold D888 XJM, or 'Ceefax' to a long term member on Retro Rides, who bought it to hack out the running gear for a Triumph Spitfire. The car ended up in Belgium, where it was stolen from his barn in the small hours of the morning; when he went to check he ended up facing down the Belgian equivalent of the Flying Squad which were searching the premises on a suspected drug bust. XJM has not been seen since). 

As for the SVX? 
Still have that, too: it generated another comical bill for the brakes which took ages to save up for, and jiggling speaker shelf aside, is behaving itself. The specialist in Leicestershire which did the work is looking after it for me and keeps running it up and down the local area. I was to get it back this week but with the looming tanker driver shortage, running an 18mpg GT isn't the wisest or more selfless use of fuel; it's safe with them and they're happy to keep hold of it for me. It baffled onlookers at the filling station when they went to stick £30 in the tank a few weeks ago. 

*Isuzu Piazza Turbo Owners' Club 

[martc]

7 hours ago, Tadhg Tiogar said:

Mitsubishi seems to have more or less given up on the British market for ordinary cars. I only ever see their badges on 4x4s like the Outlander PHEV and ancient Shoguns now.

It's worse than you fear, Mitsubishi have completely given up on the UK market, for all models. They stopped importing last year and are selling what's left in stock, once they're gone they're gone. (All sold by this Autumn estimates Parkers ( https://www.parkers.co.uk/vans-pickups/advice/2021/mitsubishi-leaving-uk/ ))

Actually it appears to be even worse. I've had a quick look at Mitsubishi's website, a sad affair, and it looks like all models are now sold out...

This statement appears for all models... (substitute model name where appropriate). https://mitsubishi-motors.co.uk/

[17-Coffees]

The 6th gen Galant. Only one I recall seeing was an imported VR4 at a show a good few years ago.

 

Now I open my front door and see a boggo 1.8 in my driveway. 

It's not even mine. 🤨

[Quintus]

23 hours ago, MisterH said:

I really have a thing for these cars, they are just so nice. I am trying to track down all the UK survivors, as I would love to add one to my collection. Trouble is they are so rare, and some of them have been modded. I hope I am not too late...

Think I've only seen one of these on the roads in about the last twenty years, if not longer.

Reminds me of watching old Jackie Chan films. Loads of Mitsubishi stuff appeared in his movies as he did promotional work for them.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

2 hours ago, martc said:

It's worse than you fear, Mitsubishi have completely given up on the UK market, for all models. ....

That kind of explains why they sacked off their "heritage collection"