J-tin: what's in for under a bag of sand?

[Cavcraft]

Feeling humungous love for J-tin since seeing the 'Show us your rides' thread.Won't be until the new year most likely before I could afford owt but would I get anything useable with MOT for under a grand?Some sort of seventies obscurity would be class and it doesn't need to be anything sporty, maybe some sort of two door estate???

[CIH]

£1k should get you just about anything with atleast some test. Or, I would have thought ?Try Datman for Datsun/Nissan.

[Mat.T]

my 323 is for sale

http://oldjapanesecar.proboards.com/ind ... hread=1804

[Mash]

70s stuff is on the rise but certainly a grand should get you one of the more common models in reasonable nick, and the FWD cars like the Cherry are always cheaper. The other thing to bear in mind is that a lot of 70s J-tin is down to double figure survivors especially in estate form. Mike_D of this parish has a lovely B110 Datsun 1200 estate and these are excellent all round cars but there's about 3 left!

 

80s is your best bet if you want a daily though as they tend to be more robust bodywise and for say £500 to £750 you'll get a really nice car - that 323 GT on eBay recently was a case in point. Can't go wrong with a good Bluey though. Course the 80s cars can be a bit less wacky form the mainstream makers.

 

For me I'd look at this Accord though as it's a HUUUUGE bargain I reckon. Slushbox but I bet it's a honey of thing to drive:

 

Nice looking Accord - Want!

 

If you haven't already, go here:

 

 

http://oldjapanesecar.proboards.com/index.cgi

[Guest]

I looked at that place before, who does that "Hirst" guy think he is with his 5 stars? What a loser.

[Guest]

You could blezz about in my Piazza in dubious STYLE for about £700.Purchase price £400, 'work' including an actual MOT, tax etc, £250-300.Plus 90% of the parts you'll need are included. YEAHHHHHHHHHH! (etc).

[Ratdat]

To be honest, a grand wont get you much in the way of a RWD 70's Japanese car these days. There's so few left that the increased demand in recent years has driven prices right up. I know with stuff like my Datsun 710 SSS, a 610 SSS, big Cedric or Early laurel, a grand would get you a rusty project car if you could even find one.I think the best bet for something seventies is Mitsubish as their prices are generally a bit lower. FWD Cherries often come up in good shape for under a grand and you could probably get a half decent B210 or B310 sunny for that sort of money. Maybe also a 910 Bluebird. Not sure what the score would be with toyotas. their prices seem to be more volatile and there are quite large variations. I reckon you could land a Cressida for under a grand if you can find one.

[CIH]

That Accord is so nice.....

[mouseflakes]

A nice Mk 1 Civic? Ace little cars. Do check for rust though.

[Ratdat]

A nice Mk 1 Civic? Ace little cars. Do check for rust though.

Absolute minters make about £1300 so you should be able to find a honey for a grand. You can drop in a Triumph Acclaim engine too for about a 60% hike in power. They handle pretty good and drive much like a modern small hatchback. I love them... I've had five of them so far

[whitevanman]

A nice Mk 1 Civic? Ace little cars. Do check for rust though.

Absolute minters make about £1300 so you should be able to find a honey for a grand. You can drop in a Triumph Acclaim engine too for about a 60% hike in power. They handle pretty good and drive much like a modern small hatchback. I love them... I've had five of them so far

Passed my driving test in a mk1 Civic away, away back in the dark days of the later 70's

[pompei]

Agree with that ^ ^ ^ I had one a while ago and it was fab.

[mouseflakes]

All this Civic chat makes me wish I'd kept mine...

 

 

Note that up to '78 they had the front indicators in pods like this, plus a few other styling details that make them look better (to my eyes) than the (very) mild face-lift that followed.

 

Go on Cavette - you know you wanna!

[Volksy]

What about one of these?

 

 

Currently on the bay

[Spottedlaurel]

Lovely as 300Cs are (I've had three) I wouldn't recommend them as an easy way into Japanese car ownership. They're an amusing drive, but some parts are unique to them and difficult/expensive to find.Worth getting one if you can get one for spares or can get bits off banger racers, that being said. Though are there enough for them to get raced much nowadays?I think Ratdat's already come up with some excellent suggestions. Keep an open mind, don't get fixated on one make/model as there just aren't enough coming up for sale. You'll definitely get more value with something FWD (Mat's 323 being a case in point, and I can vouch for it being a great drive), but RWD might be easier to sell on again. That being said, I let my tidy RWD Starlet 5dr go for £600 a couple or so years ago as I struggled to get much interest due to the extra doors and Hirst paid a pitifully small amount for the school bike Galant.I might also add Laurel C31/C32 to the list, but the latter suffer slightly with parts in the way of the 300C.

[Guest]

Yeah, the main thing is that you get what you're given - if you set your heart on something in particular, you could be waiting forever. Took me yonks to get a Charmant.Hondas are a pretty sensible choice as they're mostly quite cheap, well-engineered and have surprisingly good parts support.

[AnthonyG]

I reckon Honda have the 'old people' factor, i.e. bought it new in 1984, never took it out in the rain, put a blanket over it when in the garage etc.

[Cavcraft]

Some old Hondas are quite hot I reckon, but as a rule I can't find a great deal of love for eighties Jap stuff.I don't dislike them, and I don't for a minute suggest they're bad cars, but they just don't quite float my boat.It's the seventies sh1te I've really felt a stirring in the loins for recently but cheers for the suggestions and keep 'em coming please!

[Ratdat]

[Mike D]

Has that had the bumpers 'moved in'? It looks superb for it!! maybe an inch off the wheel diameter, but i'm being picky there!!

[Ratdat]

Not sure. You'd have to chop and shorten the wrap around on the bumpers to do it as I looked into that on mine. The very first ones sold in Japan had smooth bumpers with the indicators in them but they are 100% unobtainium...