Yes, it’s just going to be Nissans all the way down for this post. All the classic / weird ones that crossed my path over the past couple of months. You’d think that there would be as many (if not more) noteworthy Toyotas, but no. The number two carmaker, in the present case, was the clear number one. Might as well kick things off with a sexy Fairlady Z32 (or 300ZX, for you foreign folks).
Was there a Fairlady festival in Tokyo over the months of May and June? Not that I know of, but you’d be forgiven for thinking otherwise.
All the Zs were out in force, but the Z31 (1983-89) was the most ubiquitous. This one was a bit on the tired side, but they weren’t all like that.
This T-top was more of a looker and was also much more mobile.
Going back another generation to the 1978-83 S130, also known as the 280ZX. Love the headlight covers on this one.
Going back yet another generation with this 2-litre Fairlady that has been dressed to look like a ZG if you squint a little.
Last of the post and first of the nameplate, the sad remains of a late ‘60s Fairlady 2000 roadster that looks to have been picked clean of its most valuable parts.
Right next to the remains of that Fairlady was a pretty complete (but very dead) 1967-71 A30 Gloria saloon.
And here is another one of these out and about. Seems like a 1969 model, according to the license plate. I really have a thing for these. Biding my time and hoping I find a stationary one soon to give it the CC post it deserves.
Just a small tangent, but when I came upon this 1970-82 Nissan Junior 140 full-size pickup, it really gave an A30 Gloria vibe with those stacked quads.
But back to the Cedric / Gloria chapter of this post, with the indispensable, the indestructible and inescapable Y30 wagon. Only two this time, starting with a lovely white Gloria getting a deep clean.
And this interesting Cedric version, also sporting a few mods here and there – notably the wheels, which I’m quite keen on, for once.
Not as keen on that aftermarket steering wheel that seems to be obligatory for 90% of JDM classic car customizers, on the other hand.
And here’s the Y30 again, but in standard saloon form, which is much less common than the wagon.
So ‘80s and impossible to kill… it’s like a Volvo 240 dressed in a kimono.
To counter all this boxiness, here’s a nice and rotund Figaro.
And here’s a second one – in much less mobile guise. That interior looks like it has a serious mold problem. Yuck!
The original Pike car will always be the Pao.
And I keep running into them regularly. Some are in decent nick, others less so. But they certainly have an avid fan base in their home country.
Let’s stick with the Micra/March vibe for a bit with this Herbie. Every time I see one, it reminds me more of a Renault 4CV than a Beetle. With a little extra chrome and a pointier schnozz, it would be a dead ringer for the French car.
Mitsuoka (and many others) took the March-based retro/Pike concept and ran with it, in a way. But Nissan still cashed in on the craze they themselves initiated with the likes of the March Bolero. In very good condition like this one, even a 20-year-old example still has an arresting presence.
And then there are the ones I’m only discovering now. No idea who made this, for example – could be a one-off, for all I know. Certainly not discreet, and that’s a good thing! The tortoise emblem reminds me of Gordon-Keeble… and/or Super Mario Bros.
What a trio! The Silvia’s the cheapest, but it’s probably the one that caught my attention the most.
Yes, one of these is not like the others, but I’m sure it could be Integrated into the group.
More 180SX goodness is forthcoming, worry not. How about a shiny black one, for instance?
Or this completely FUBARed version? I was clearly trespassing when I took these pics, but curiosity got the better of me. Not for the first time, nor the last.
You see, there was this gorgeous mid-‘60s 410 Bluebird. I found it where I found a bunch of other classics, close to where I live (I’ll have to do a post about that specific parking space someday), but it was always behind a gate and out of reach.
I even got lucky when they parked it nose-in first once, so I got a few decent butt shots. The revised taillights makes this a 1966-67 411, I believe.
But then I got unprecedented access once when the gate was opened due to maintenance. I just moseyed on in and took a couple extra pics. I screwed up the interior one, unfortunately, so I’ll just have to hope for another 410 encounter to dedicate a full post to these lovely cars.
I have featured this other 410 – an earlier two-door model – in a previous edition of the T87 Singles Collection, but I caught it again and in better definition. Delectable. And I really dig that colour, too.
There’s going to be a big gap in the Bluebird generations as we jump to this 1991-96 U13 hardtop. The standard saloon version of this platform was known as the Altima in the US, but was the Bluebird for the Asia-Pacific markets. The “pillared hardtop” variant above was a JDM exclusive, though.
Another “pillared hardtop” of the early ‘90s was the Presea, based on the Sunny. I wrote up the second (R11) generation, but this is an earlier R10 (1990-95). Very typical of the Nissan styling of the era – looks like a Y32 Cedric that shrank in the wash.
Just one Laurel made the cut this time – but I know it’ll be a hit with a certain member of CC’s Kiwi crowd. One of the few cars in this post with a leather interior, as I’m sure you’ll have noted.
I see quite a few first generation (1996-2001) Stageas around, but somehow this bright yellow one was impossible to pass up. These were the replacement model for the Skyline wagons, which will enable us to transition seamlessly to…
The Skyline part of the post, then. Let’s do this from newest to oldest, just like with the Fairlady. I’ve identified and documented the R34 (1998-2004) I want to use for a proper post, so that will happen someday.
The R33 (1994-98) is a bit less popular than other generations, but there are still a good few around, including well-preserved saloons like this one.
The R32 has a much bigger fan base, it seems. This coupé had some work done (they usually have), but it still looks like a million yen. Which isn’t all that much, if you know your currencies.
For some reason, there were a lot more R31s to be seen during this spring. A sublime fully-optioned GTS coupé like this one…
…Or a pristine bone-stock base model, which has to be quite a rare thing…
Or the famous hardtop saloon? Hard to pick one.
For the R30 (1981-85), things were a bit easier, as only two four-doors showed up. This one was a mite dusty…
Much better – and turbocharged, to boot!
Might as well put this F31 Leopard here, as it’s pretty much a Skyline platform with a different body. Will write this model up at some point – there aren’t too many about, but I have caught the one(s) I need for a post.
A President glides by on a sunny street, windows down. What do you do? Personally, I point and shoot. Call me Lee Harvey Oswald, why don’t you.
Compared to the legions of classic Land Cruisers, Cherokees and Range Rovers one encounters here, these Nissan Y60s are fairly uncommon. This is the high-roof Safari Granroad, i.e. a Patrol sold via the Prince Store network sometime between 1987 and 1993.
The usual B120 Sunny pickups, because they do look old-school cool. Whether it’s an older one pimped out to within an inch of the ground…
…Or a square-eyed one still working for a living.
We’ll finish this post on a pair of Caravans, starting with what seems like a relatively early model E24 (1986-2001) – and a high-trim version, too. Not too many of these still look as fresh as this one.
This is the previous generation E23 (1980-86), but that one has obviously had a wee bit of work done. Cool vehicles – not just the Caravans, but Nissans in general.
What, you prefer Toyotas? Wondering about Subarus? Interested in Suzukis? Well, join us tomorrow, same time and place!
That 411 brings back memories as I had one, a ’66, in the early ’80s. I would like to see more Isuzu and Hino trucks.
That Nissan March is a Tommykaira M13 model – very rare, hard to even find the specs on. The company is most famous for selling souped-up Skylines but they did work on other models as well as selling their own mid-engine roadster in the 90s.
Gran Turismo players will remember quite a few of their cars in various game releases, including the first-gen supercharged March M13.
Came down to say this, recognised it immediately as a Tommykaira M13. Even gives the brand on the turtle logo so should’ve been an easy online search.
Rarer still would be the Daewoo Matiz based M08, which only existed/was offered for a year thanks to GM Daewoo suspending imports to Japan soon after the package launched and so precious few units were tuned.
Lots to digest here, but that stacked-headlight Junior pickup is the start of the show for me. I had no prior knowledge of its existence, but then that’s not the first time that’s happened in one one of your posts.
New to me too. That front end looks very much inspired by the 1965-66 full-size Fords. According to Wikipedia this truck is still being built in Iran, now powered by a 2.8 turbo diesel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zamyad_Co.
By coincidence I discovered the Zamyad while I was doing an internet search on the Nissan Cherry Europe yesterday (don’t ask…). It seems emissions laws got the better of it in 2020 but it had the double-stack headlights to the end. Fantastic set of photos!
I must have missed the Herbie the first time around. Interesting and not too horrible. I could dig one for cheap.
There is a March Bolero for sale cheap around here with a dead CVT. I am tempted but then remind myself I don’t need another project.
That moldy Figaro is wearing Miata rims. Not a bad look as they are sort of a Minilite tribute.
The 410 and 411 are so Lancia Fulvia got close and cuddly with Alfa Guilia. Got to be among my favourites
Here’s a Laurel I saw in California a few years ago.
More previously common cars on NZ roads the 67-71 Gloria’s were assembled here and early Bluebirds were here but rare the Gloria ute was a real missed opportunity for Datsun here given the difficulty of getting either Australian utes or any other type of pickup in that Era.
That’s a gorgeous C33 Laurel – still would like to have one of those in the driveway…
There are two types of people in this world.
Those that love the Nissan Figaro.
And those that just say they don’t.
They even look cool when imitating others.
I was hoping to see some Caravans in this collection, and wasn’t disappointed. The reason is that last week I saw one in-person for the first time. Actually, it was a Homy, which I understand is a rebadged Caravan — very neat. This one was a high-top 4wd (below), and looked well-traveled.
It’s always fun to see a car that’s I’ve never seen before… didn’t even guess the make until I got up close. I took a few pictures, so hopefully I’ll have the time to dig into these a bit further – it had a Nissan/Prince dealership sticker on the back from a dealer in Saitama (for some reason, I was surprised that dealership stickers were used in Japan).
Anyway, thanks for all of these pictures!
Yes, the Homy and Caravan were the same – I understand the different badges were for different dealer networks. The one you photographed is almost identical to one my parents owned about a decade ago. Theirs was a 1996 model, with a similar aftermarket fibreglass roof cap. It was surprisingly spacious inside and very comfy to drive (most that came here had vinyl-trimmed driving compartments, but theirs was all carpet, velour and electric everything). Very w i d e gear throw for the manual transmission.
The British and Italian influences on the early Datsuns like the 410-series Bluebirds have been well noted, but it’s interesting that the two-door could also pass for a German car.
Regarding the first pic…
Behind the red 300ZX is another red car.
Zoom in on the driver of that car and tell me if I’m alone in thinking it’s an odd image.
Cars in Japan are RHD. The driver of the red Vitz cannot be seen, what you’re looking at is potentially the most horrifying front seat passenger ever. I can’t work out what else it could possibly be.
Glad to see it wasn’t just me who saw the colorless hooded ghost-y thing.
There are many LHD cars in Japan; it’s considered a status symbol.
Ok, 99.9% of mainstream Japanese brand cars are RHD and so are most imported models. I can assure you that the Toyota Vitz will definitely be RHD.
Never saw it myself before you pointed it out. How odd.
But yes, whoever this is guy is, his deathly pallor and open maw combo make for a ghoulish result. Zombie in the Vitz?!
Late here because I’ve been in hospital (minor but painful op) but you’re quite correct Tatra87, that C33 Laurel is indeed a hit with me! 😀 It’s a facelift model (1991/2) and with the leather is probably the highest spec, the Club L (for leather, as opposed to the Club S for suede). Super-rare with the airbag steering wheel too, not that anyone other than me would care!
Great selection, as always, most have appeared here over the years but interesting to see a couple of models that I haven’t seen in the metal: the Junior pickup and the F31 Leopard. We got the earlier and later Leopards, but I’ve never seen an F31 here. The pre-facelift R33 Skyline’s the same shape and colour as my sadly-missed one, albeit this one’s a GTS25T turbo so would be worth a bit now.