About six months ago now, i.e. November of last year, I discovered a very well-stocked classic car specialist shop just north of Tokyo. It’s now on the roster, so I’ve gone back up there for a visit a couple of times and found a lot of interesting cars for sale. Here’s what I found, with pricing info (if applicable/available).
Our first contender is a 1970 Cedric Super Six – yours for ¥2.29m (US$ 15,766 as of writing). There were actually two nearly identical 2-litre Super Sixes as we can see above, but only one is listed on Flex’s website.
In 1970, Nissan could also sell you a 2-litre Gloria that looked nothing like the Cedric and was all the better for it. No idea how much this one went for, but it’s already sold.
Might a late model (1975) Gloria 230 hardtop with the “big” six (2.4 litre) tempt you? At ¥3.49m (US$25k) a pop, I hope a set of proper wheels would be included.
These Datsun 1000 Coupés are so cute, like an alternate-reality Fiat. This is a 1969 car; price unknown.
But for sheer excitement, a Bluebird 510 Coupé in SSS trim, i.e. with a twin carb 1.6 litre, would be hard to top. This pristine ’69 car was for sale for just under ¥4m (over US$27k); someone who liked the beige / brown vinyl combo already bought it.
Yet another Kenmari Skyline Coupé modded to look like it’s a GT-R. I’m wondering how many are left that don’t look like this. To be fair though, this 1974 car does sport a lot of internal mods as well, including a triple-carburated 3.1 litre engine (actually a modified Nissan 2.8) mated to a 5-speed manual, so it may actually be quite a performer.
For the family man, a 1973 Kenmari saloon would be the preferable option. Yours today for a mere ¥6m (north of US$41k)…
Anther Skyline on offer – for about ¥3.2m (just under US$22k) – was this 1983 saloon with the 2-litre turbo RS 4-cyl., i.e. the sporty one. A much better deal than those Kenamris, IMHO.
No price indicated for this superbly-preserved mid-‘80s Homy SGL. Whatever they ask, it’s worth it.
Not sure if this cute little ‘70s Hijet was for sale, or just visiting. The Flex Auto folks are specialized in JDM, but also have a nice little sideline in rear-engined VWs. But those are not really our concern in this post…
The best of the kei bunch in its day had to be the Honda N360. This is a 1970 N III model, with the facelifted body. Just shy of ¥1.2m (about US$8,250) – a real steal.
They always have a Debonair or two in this place – another reason to check them out regularly. There was a silver one that piqued my interest, but it was impossible to photograph from the outside. This 1984 model, however, was much more accessible. The hubcaps and dealer plate were taken off, leading me to believe it was off to be delivered to its new owner soon.
On the Toyota front, one could find a highly sought-after 1973 Corolla Levin. I imagine it’s sought-after, because at this price (close to US$30k), it had better be something special.
Pretty much the same car, albeit with four doors and a smaller engine. And at under US$16k, dramatically cheaper, too.
I cannot find the listing for this ’76 Celica, so it might belong to someone who works there. I have a serious soft spot for these in this particular (Liftback) form…
This 1980 Mark II was an absolute time warp! Same price as the Corolla sedan, too. I’d pick this one.
Shovel-nose Coronas are a fairly common starter classic here. They’re pretty easy to live with, apparently. This ’65 model is not perfect by any means, but then at ¥1.8m or thereabouts (under US$12.5k, once you paid the extras and taxes), it’s not too expensive for what it is. Coupés are a lot more expensive.
Last car on the forecourt: a true classic in the shape of a first generation (1955-62) Crown Deluxe, though seemingly not for sale. This is the facelift version, made between 1959 and 1962.
Those are really rare in the wild now – in fact, this is the first one I’ve caught outside of a museum in five years.
That’s all that could be found at Flex over the winter. I’ll be sure to keep an eye on it and report back every once in a while. You never know, maybe a CC reader will want to import something unusual…
Would the reason for the entirely different Cedric and Gloria be that one was from “core” Nissan and the other from Prince, both designs dating to before the merger?
I’m really surprised Nissan developed and tooled two 2-door Bluebird 510 models, coupe and sedan, and outside of selling the 2dr sedan in America in huge numbers gave them very limited export distribution. Even markets like the Benelux countries and Switzerland that were quite open to Japanese imports with no domestic auto industry and a German-influenced history of 2-door sedans only got 4-door 510s.
Likewise, the Japanese companies all got away with some shockingly outdated high-end models going into the Bubble Era, without even the usual increasingly desperate facelifts to keep them relevant, and this at a time when widely exported mass market models were on 4-year design cycles.
That old Gloria sure looks like a 1965 Pontiac Bonneville or Catalina with the stacked headlights. Nice!
Kenmari white GTR lookalike, Honda N and Levin for the win! Prices seem quite high – is that normal?
Nice selection you’ve posted. I see an interesting Fairlady 240 tucked into the right of the Corolla. And that Debonair looks so dated, even for 1984. That’s when I was living there and would have thought of them as outdated-looking vehicles at that time.
Lovely, thank you for taking us back there, Tatra-san.
If I may be excused for offering a correction, I think that Gloria 330 hardtop is actually a late 230 – which makes it the first of this body style, and all the more rare (and valuable?) for it.
The Datsun 1000 coupe brought back memories; in the early eighties a girlfriend had one (probably the last one running in Melbourne!) and had Japanese tourists taking photos of it almost wherever she went.
Strange to see the RHD ’76 Celica has the American-look bumpers. In Australia these always had the lighter shaped chrome style. Would this be another example of the top model having larger bumpers, like on the Mark II?
And the price on that Kenmeri saloon is incredible. It looks lovely, but that’s a lot of yen. I know the hardtops have a keen almost-cult following, but had no idea that carried over to the sedans as well. The R30 with the FJ20ET would be a much better buy, if parts for that relatively short-lived engine are affordable.
The American-style 5 mph bumpers became optional for the JDM Celica GT and GTV sometime in 1976, I think only on the 2-liter Liftback body.
Wow! Thanks.
If your girlfriend was the last one running in Melbourne, I think I later caught her, as I too had a girlfriend with a 1000 coupe in the early ’90’s. Nasty and crude little fartbox (the Datsun, mostly).
Quite right you are about the Gloria’s series number, Pete.
Fixed (belatedly) with thanks!
Nice…if you come across any “Kujiras” there let me know….:-)
The hijet van is hilarious. First time in my life I’ve used the words huge and vw bus in the same sentence!
The TE27 Corolla Levin and its Sprinter Trueno twin have a pretty big collector following because they were the first of the hot twin-cam Corolla coupes, with the 2T-G engine, five-speed, stiffer suspension, and wider wheels (hence the fender flares the four-door sedan doesn’t have). It was essentially a Japanese equivalent of the Escort Twin-Cam, although the chassis wasn’t as well-sorted. (Toyota managed to make the ride painfully stiff without really producing a compensating improvement in agility.)
Cor blimey, them prices! Enough to make one’s wallet retract from view in embarrassment.
Proves that nostalgia, both real and created (by video games), is alive and just as unwell (in rationality) everywhere round the world as it is here.
My pick is the tiny Honda N360. Saw one at the Lane Motor Museum and I could not get over how small it is, a VW Beetle towers over it. They also had a Honda s600 which was also tiny and drop dead gourgeous. I dont know what the prices are like on an S600 but Id take it any day of the week over an MG or bugeye Sprite or similar 60s british iron
So many beautiful classics I’ll never be able to afford .
I’d love the 510 SSS Coupe . they were like owning an L.B.C. that didn’t leak, squeak or break .
-Nate
Nice used lot, the prices similar to what is asked for them here now, the Hi Jet does make a Kombi seem huge, people are restoring those old Jappas over here if you can find one, those Glorias with the stacked lights are really rare here now, they mostly rusted out by the mid 70s.