Forgotten 70’s and 80’s Japs

[the hoarder]

My own Colt, not done much with it yet...as most of us too many cars. Very clean though and only around 36k on the clock.

[red5]

6 hours ago, georgeinabz said:

More info pics on linky


https://www.mitsubishi-motors.co.uk/discover/heritage/explore-mirage-colt


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Yep. Still didn't run backwards. ?

 

I spent '86 to 91  at a Colt Main dealer (Turbo). ?

[georgeinabz]

Yep. Still didn't run backwards.
 
I spent '86 to 91  at a Colt Main dealer (Turbo).

You know what I mean by backwards , more importantly I lost touch with the colts in the early 80’s so never seen a turbo , did it have the same gearbox?



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[red5]

4 minutes ago, georgeinabz said:

You know what I mean by backwards , more importantly I lost touch with the colts in the early 80’s so never seen a turbo , did it have the same gearbox?



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Indeed - the 'problem arose because they build naturally rhd drive cars, as god intended.

Yes, they had the same box..

With the same propensity to wear the taper rollers out on the main shafts. '85 was the '5' speed change - new, flat fronted beast. Went Efi* as well, which 'cured' the random boost/sideways/hedge/wall interface tendencies.

* Carb turbo - boost 'regulated' off secondary choke. Which used to stick. A lot. 

[georgeinabz]

Have 2 , CCC liked to splash the cash , sponsored the grand national around this time and had a hot air ballon , if I recall around 6000 cars imported in a year and cleared £1000 profit on each one , not bad.


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[xtriple]

Showing my age but I think I have had/owned just about every car so far listed! Had a Datsun 160J SSS with the dog leg box, several Crowns (never an estate which I always really wanted!) both early and late, Widebody Supras, Starions, Datsun 240/260/280Z/ZX a couple of 300Cs Includding an estate (known locally as 'the jig' as we used it several times to pull other cars back into shape!).

I have always liked Japanese cars and had my first ( a Crown) when I was just 19 and ran that for a couple of years, fighting rust the whole way. But it had central locking and electric windows and a fridge, I mean man, it was coooooool! It also had a new engine after it froze solid one cold night drive back from Doncaster to Scunthorpe and I ust kept drivng, too cold to stop! It did bugger the engine as though it kept on running, it was spewing oil out of the breather at an alarming rate = 2 litre pop bottle taped to the inner wing to catch it all and then empty it back into the sump until it got its new engine.

[red5]

1 hour ago, georgeinabz said:

Have 2 , CCC liked to splash the cash , sponsored the grand national around this time and had a hot air ballon , if I recall around 6000 cars imported in a year and cleared £1000 profit on each one , not bad.


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They did indeed. We used to have a Grand National edition come in. Celeste. 2.0 iirc. Gold. 

At the same time you could get Colt Sport kit, twin Weber's, Janspeed manifolds etc...

 

[red5]

Gentleman's agreement was 11,500iirc correctly, which explains the lack of some models. We sold as many Shogun's as we could get.  Rest was vans, Mirages, Starions, SpaceWagons, Cordials, Tredias, L200 and L300s Gallants, Celestes, Lancers  and Sapporos. 

Lonsdales were Australian imports so didn't come under Japanese voluntary import limits. 

[sierraman]

Ebro Trade.

[egg]

Great thread. Please people who own the cars they've posted about on this thread - talk about them more on here

[ProgRocker]

My dad traded in the tappetty Talbot Horizon for this in 1990. His only Japanese vehicle. 

This was the first vehicle I had driven at age 13 or 14, around those en bloc garages.

[georgeinabz]

Gentleman's agreement was 11,500iirc correctly, which explains the lack of some models. We sold as many Shogun's as we could get.  Rest was vans, Mirages, Starions, SpaceWagons, Cordials, Tredias, L200 and L300s Gallants, Celestes, Lancers  and Sapporos. 
Lonsdales were Australian imports so didn't come under Japanese voluntary import limits. 

I believe the CCC was founded by the BMW & Maserati importers , however would have to go some way to beat Botnar of Datsun fame , he's a thread all on his own

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[barefoot]

I remember the exotic dog leg box on the 160J SSS. Wasn't it a larger engined, coupe version of the 140 Violet? I remember it because it belonged to the father of a young girl that I sadly never shagged. It replaced his Simca 1500. With the benefit of hindsight, which was the more interesting car?

 

[hairnet]

On 1/7/2020 at 2:42 AM, ChinaTom said:

 

what the fuck is that?

want

[warch]

Isuzu Florian 

[hairnet]

and there was one in the malta pics

youre all pervs

you too nigel @Spottedlaurel 

how has bicklemeister not said anything when the florians/bellets etc were posted

 

[Spottedlaurel]

5 hours ago, barefoot said:

I remember the exotic dog leg box on the 160J SSS. Wasn't it a larger engined, coupe version of the 140 Violet? I remember it because it belonged to the father of a young girl that I sadly never shagged. It replaced his Simca 1500. With the benefit of hindsight, which was the more interesting car?

Correct, and there were a couple of variants:

1974 Datsun 160J SSS (710), Billing JAE 2001 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Followed by this hatchback:

Datsun 160J SSS (A10) by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

The latter was one of my favourite Datsuns, I did around 20k a year in it during the mid '90s. Buzzer on reverse, as it was where first would be on most other cars thanks to that dogleg 'box.

[DavidB]

 

 

 

[Spottedlaurel]

Good old Medler's had a couple of those Cordias:

1983 Colt Cordia x2 c.1996 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

And a Tredia, of course:

1984/85-ish Colt Tredia Turbo c.1997 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

A page or two back I think someone mentioned the stack-light Mazda 929. We did briefly get the estate here:

1979 Mazda 929 Estate c.1998/99 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

[barefoot]

3 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Correct, and there were a couple of variants:

Followed by this hatchback:

Datsun 160J SSS (A10) by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

The latter was one of my favourite Datsuns, I did around 20k a year in it during the mid '90s. Buzzer on reverse, as it was where first would be on most other cars thanks to that dogleg 'box.

It was this version.

Interesting how relatively small engined & slow Japanese cars looked so much like fast Americana.

 

[Tadhg Tiogar]

2 hours ago, barefoot said:

....Interesting how relatively small engined & slow Japanese cars looked so much like fast Americana.

Someone once called it "Yokohama-Detroit styling"

[motorpunk]

Saw this and thought of this thread;

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1192324

damn cool.

[Tadhg Tiogar]

3 hours ago, motorpunk said:

Saw this and thought of this thread;

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1192324

damn cool.

Seller wants top dollar for it, though:

Quote

with a few grand spend to make it perfect this is a £10000 / £12000 car, and if you think im talking rubbish
i sold my 1977 civic 1200 hondamatic last year for £10500 so this far rarer 1500 is worth the money !

a really amazing investment opportunity and a superb piece of honda heritage

a car for the honda classic enthusiast

the car will need to be trailered away die to being in storage 13 years

a phenomenaly rare civic for

£4950.00

Are smoll Mk.1 Civics really worth that?

The cynic in me thinks the only investment opportunity in this car has already been taken by the seller. Everyone else after him will be running at a loss.

[georgeinabz]

Are smoll Mk.1 Civics really worth that?
The cynic in me thinks the only investment opportunity in this car has already been taken by the seller. Everyone else after him will be running at a loss.

You’re not Cynical , 3 dr manual would be nice , at this price you could pick a a nearly new Kia picanto and get a similar yet more refined experience and no grievance with rot.


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[robinmasters]

On 1/9/2020 at 5:41 PM, sierraman said:

You know there’s websites for that kind of thing?

Datsuns? I don't want  that in my browsing history. 

[GeordieInExile]

On 1/15/2020 at 10:40 AM, motorpunk said:

Saw this and thought of this thread;

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1192324

damn cool.

The dashboard in that is flipping lovely. Did everything in the seventies have a nice, simple dash?

[tooSavvy]

6 hours ago, GeordieInExile said:

The dashboard in that is flipping lovely. Did everything in the seventies have a nice, simple dash?

Hmm... Nice to hop into a neat AllAggro and be greeted by a dash like that, eh

[sierraman]

Have any of the stacked headlight 929’s survived?

[MorrisItalSLX]

50 minutes ago, sierraman said:

Have any of the stacked headlight 929’s survived?

I believe there was one in the eBay tat thread recently.

Edit: It was a German saloon.

https://autoshite.com/topic/34511-ebay-tat-volume-3/?do=findComment&comment=1953554

[JeeExEll]

For the money, the most fun you can have sitting down.