Since we’ve been rerunning some of Prof. Tatra’s early JDM posts of some four door hardtops he’s found in and around Tokyo, I thought we’d have a look at the ones I’ve built. As always, this is only a selection of what’s available. A cursory browse of a Japanese website will show numerous others, in a variety of forms from CC-stock to wildly modified. With the breadth of my automotive interests, I can’t build everything!
Now, some of these are full-on American-style hardtops (like the Y30 Cedric above); others are more along the lines of pillared hardtops. I’m showing both because a) I don’t have enough models of full hardtops for a feature on them alone, and b) sometimes it’s hard to tell from the model and I need to do some online checking to verify whether there’s a pillar or not. More on that later.
Just for today, I will draw the line at Subarus though, as in the ‘classic Subaru’ era (you know what I mean) they all had thin pillars and frameless glass. Just for today. I have enough Legacys and WRXs to fill a story on their own. That’s if anyone wants me to do one.
The oldest one I have is this 330-series Nissan Cedric, 1975-8. I have an earlier Cedric, but not in four door form. Yes, the styling does look a bit dated for the mid-seventies, but remember this was the era when Nissan styling seemed to fully embrace the ‘atomic cockroach’ look. We’ve discussed these Nissans before on this site, but they were slightly smaller than a US compact, and noticeably narrower during this era. Very much designed for the Japanese market’s needs (fair enough), with exports an afterthought.
For every Cedric (from 1971 on) there was a Gloria, primarily distinguished by grille, taillights and badges. Aoshima does both, and uses the same body for each; sometimes they’ll include the parts for both versions for you to choose. I rather like the freaky looks of these 330 Nissans, so I built this Gloria last year. Just after I built this, they came out with a fully stock version. Typical!
Moving forward to 1979, Nissan came out with the much cleaner 430-series. These seem to be quite popular with Japanese modellers; as well as the four-door hardtop, recently Aoshima released a kit of the four-door sedan (with a boxier roofline, though not full US-formal) in various police and taxi forms.
1983 brought this rebody for the Y30 series. This time it’s a Fujimi kit, a version of the original 1983 tooling. Originally a motorized kit, the chassis detail is somewhat compromised as a result, and the body details aren’t as sharp as you’d expect today. Sometimes I’ll make an attempt at correcting some of these deficiencies, other times I’ll just paint in what ‘ought’ to be there. Here they’ve done away with the C-pillar window in favour of a sharply-angled wraparound rear glass.
Smaller Nissans had hardtop sedans too; well, the Laurel did. That seems a bit curious, since the platform-mate Skyline usually didn’t. Here’s a Laurel from the 1980-84 C31 generation, in 2000 Turbo Medalist trim. The two-tone paint might not exactly be correct, but it makes a ‘different’ car into an eye-catcher. I especially like the way the C-pillar windows seem to emphasize the ‘openness’ of the sides. Yes, those rear windows wouldn’t fully roll down on the real car.
Had to slip in a Skyline! The mid-late eighties R31 generation did include a hardtop sedan, which looks much sleeker than the regular pillared job. Once again, Nissan includes those fixed quarter windows behind the doors.
The R32 which followed did have a thin pillar and frameless glass, but this was the only four door style offered. But at a quick glance you could be forgiven for thinking it was a full hardtop. Possibly my favourite Skyline – if I could fit comfortably inside; they were a bit tight, so I hear.
Back to the bigger Nissans again with this Cima Impul 731S, from the 1988-91 Y31 generation. Yes, it’s a variation on the Y31 Cedric/Gloria, with more conservative front and rear styling and without the C-pillar window. Yes, this is a modified version, with a relatively-conservative bodykit and wheels. There is a kit of a stock Cima, which would be more in line with CC, but it wasn’t available when I got this.
We’ll finish the Nissan section with this Y33 Gloria, of 1996-01. By now it had become a ‘pillared hardtop’ with a thin pillar and frameless glass, but still distinct from the regular sedan. The days when Nissan could afford to offer a variety of sedan styles were coming to an end.
Let’s look at Toyota now. I don’t have as many Toyotas as I do Nissans, and I find the various generations of them confusing. I think this is because Toyota tends to incrementally refine their styling, whereas Nissan tended to almost jump around from one theme to another. Then there are the Crown Majestas which have their own styles; some attractive, others less so. Let’s start out simply.
This is an S120 Crown, of 1983-7. A rather unusual styling touch on Toyota’s hardtops in this era was the clear panel with a patterned backing adorning the C-pillar. On the sedans in a darker colour (as occasionally seen in Australia) it was scarcely noticeable. But on this hardtop, with a silver backing, it tends to leap out at you. This one was a pillared hardtop. A curious colour, I will admit.
Moving on to the next generation, here’s an S130 I built after seeing Tatra-san’s find. The corners of the previous generation seem to have been rounded off, with a conventional C-pillar. Quite a nicely-integrated, inoffensive style; and again, a pillared hardtop. And an inoffensive colour scheme.
Stepping down a market segment, Toyota offered ‘proper’ hardtops in the Mark II/Chaser/Cresta ranges -sometimes. Here is a GX61 Chaser from the 1980-84 generation. You can see traces of the Cressida styling here and there if you squint. Once again this was an old Fujimi kit of a ‘period’ Japanese street machine. No stock version available? Hmm, let me have a go at it….
Moving on a generation, here’s a Mark II hardtop, with that odd pillar treatment like the S120 Crown. And an even odder colour choice. This one was a pillared hardtop. I didn’t have the patience to return this one to stock, so just detailed what was there.
Jumping forward to the X100 generation of the late nineties, we had this Mark II pillared hardtop. These seem to have been popular as drift cars, to judge by the kits available. This one’s stock except for the wheels. The kit ones were probably correct, but seemed a bit on the small side.
And to bring us to a close, here’s the S140 Crown Majesta of 1991-5. Kind of Toyota’s answer to the Nissan Cima, I think. A step above the regular Crown, with a V8 available, but not quite up to Lexus LS/Toyota Celsior level – let alone the mighty Century. The Japanese market seems to fragmented into so many size classes…
That’s it for today. Might do another colour theme next time.
That’s a good survey. The boxy Cedric and Gloria hard tops occasionally show up in Oregon as gray imports since they are popular with the tuner crowd. Not everyone needs or wants a Skyline GT-R.
Thanks. There’s such a wide variety of cars that were never sold outside Japan.
Cool, that does show the various styles with out seeing whole full size cars lined up which do exist in NZ but all at once nope, Nissan extended their hardtop builds into the Bluebird range which are rare now too,
Thanks.
I invariably learn something (many things) each time I visit this site. Today, the bit that made me slap the side of my head was the part about the C pillars on the ’80s Crowns. Had to google them to see what I’d been overlooking all these years. Doh!! Thanks again and best wishes…
I never realised it until I built the model. Then read up on the S120, and realized what I’d always thought of as an odd separate panel on the C-pillar was actually a subtle decorative applique.
That Edsel jumped out at me in one of the photos. We’d like to see that one closeup sometime please.
Edsel, Edsel (scrolls up…) Ah, that Edsel.
Good call, Moparlee. She’s a beaut. Tip of the cap, Mr. W.
Thanks!
One minor quibble: the dark blue Mark II is an X90 (equivalent generation to the S140 Majesta below it).
Whoops! Sometimes the generations are so similar I get them wrong! Thanks for the correction.
I like these JDM hardtops from the 1970s and 80s, but it’s clear why they were never exported to the US or Europe. While sized correctly for much of the Japanese population and certainly conforming with the laws in place at the time, they were simply too small inside to accommodate larger Western bodies. Cab rides in the sedan versions of these back in the day revealed lack of head and leg room in the rear seat in particular.
Oddly, I tend to favor the Cedric/Gloria twins to the competing Toyota products of this era. They seemed more distinctive while the Toyotas were bold but inoffensive. Of these here, my vote goes to the 1979 Cedric, which is similar to one I had the pleasure to ride in back when it was new.
You make a good point about interior space. I seem to recall the original Lexus ES was tighter in the back than an equivalent Camry. I’m only 177cm/5’10, but I felt it. I guess if you lower the roof, for all that you juggle the back seat position, you’re bound to lose space somewhere.
I’ve noticed with Nissan styling they often seemed to step boldly ahead of the rest of the industry, then seem uncertain what to do when it was time for a new model.
Yes, the V20 hardtop body sacrificed about 55 mm (2.1 inches) of rear legroom because the rear seat was mounted farther forward to maintain headroom under the lower, more rakishly sloped roof. Shoulder room was reduced by a nominal 10mm, which I don’t think most people would notice. Rear headroom was the same UNLESS the car had the power moonroof, which cost 20mm because the headliner was lower to accommodate the sliding roof. (That part was also true of a Camry or Vista sedan with the moonroof, and is one of the intrinsic tradeoffs of that style of sunroof, along with the irritating penchant for dribble-over leakage.)
Cedric & Gloria – what a couple! LOL. I remember seeing the various years of Nissan Laurel from that year I lived abroad in the mid 1980s, and I can’t remember taking note of their hardtop rooflines. I did think the Laurel (from ’77 on) was an exceptionally good-looking car. Great assortment as usual, Peter!
Thanks Joseph. The previous generation Laurel also came as a four door hardtop, but it was a strange-looking beast, so I haven’t built one. I have a later one (a C33, ’89-’93) in progress at the moment.
Oh Peter, what a fantastic selection! I’d love each and every one of those on my shelf, and would welcome most of them into my driveway. As a confirmed Laurelholic I heartily approve of the C31! And the two-tone look is correct for those; we got them new here in sedan and hardtop form, and a lot of the hardtops were two-tone. I’ve never owned a C31, but I loved my C33, so I look forward to seeing your C33 kit finished! I had a C33 Medalist Club S kit, complete with scale TV and car phone, I was never going to be able to do it justice, so gifted it to a guest at our lodge a couple of years ago (unlike 99% of our guests, he was under 30, and arrived in a C33). Looking forward to your next instalment!
Thanks Scott.
I’m not sure the C31 would have come in those colours, though the pattern is about right. It’s possibly my favourite of all these.
I had you in the back of my mind when I got the C33. MIne’s not a Club S, just the regular Medalist twin cam turbo, to read the badge. No TV or car phone, though it does have a bodykit which might be left over from the Club S kit – Aoshima often includes little bonuses like that. Once I’d attached the bodykit it needed a wheel upgrade, though I think the 20s on it here might be a bit of overkill.
Nice selection that shows how Japanese cars went very square in the late ’70s from the rather wild designs of the early to mid ’70s. Nissan hung onto their square look just long enough to look out of fashion over here while Toyota for a while seemed to just make a square design out of soap, and then when it was softened, smoothed off the edges.
I like the two-tone on the early ’80s designs, it really suits them.
Thanks Bernard. Yes, I remember how Nissan seemed to go from avant-garde to Grandpa’s car by hanging onto the square look too long. The two-tone look seems to have been more common in factory photos back then than on the actual cars – maybe a bit too eye-catching for Japanese society?