Today is my birthday, so to celebrate this momentous occasion with an appropriately outstanding post, let’s ogle at a treasure cove full of mostly ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s rusty American land yachts I discovered recently. Without further ado, let us take a deep breath and dive straight on in. These are more or less arranged as I discovered them, from right to left and front to rear.
I‘m finding it difficult to narrow down this Lincoln Continental Mark IV, probably because of its generous width, to anything more precise than 1974-76. Quite the appetizer, isn’t it? Leave plenty of room for the rest, the pickings were rich.
An early C4 Corvette (1984-88 ish?) – not quite as sexy as the huge Conti Mark IV, but at least it’s not rusting (well, not noticeably).
This positively gargantuan 1973 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham still has license plates and looks pretty damn good, save for those huge yellow fog lamps. This was the sole Cadillac of the lot. It had quite a presence, though it was more than matched by its immediate neighbour (see below).
Equally Rubenesque and equally from 1973, this Continental sedan was even more impressive than the Fleetwood. The two-tone green helped, but it really was the overall design that seemed more attractive than the Cadillac, especially up front. My only question: What’s up with those exhausts?
These Cougars are not the best of the breed, to coin an understatement. I think this is a ’78, but I may be off by a year or two. Just plain Malaise, like a Continental Mark IV gone even squarer.
This caused a bit of head-scratching, because I knew this was an El Camino, but the face was wrong. That’s because I had forgotten about the 1983-87 El Camino SS, with that “aerodynamic” front end and all. The license plate makes this a period import, too.
One of the 7181 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale drop-tops made in 1975 was at the very back of the lot, somewhat in the weeds. This was the last open-air Olds ever made. Quite a vision, though not exactly beautiful.
Another Mark IV Coupe was sat next to the Olds convertible. I was not able to reach the GM sedan seen in the back, but then it was one of the least interesting vehicles in the yard by a long shot.
Moving back to the front of the lot, things got even more interesting, dipping into the ‘60s. But before we do that, there was this incongruously curvaceous blob of a 1995-99 Olds Aurora. Given the styling of most of this storage lot’s inhabitants, this one looked like a fish (or some kind of squinty-eyed amphibian) out of water.
“But where are the Buicks?” I hear you cry. Calm down, calm down. Here’s a perennial favourite – a 1963 Riviera. Or what remains of it. That interior is (was) one of the classiest of the decade.
Not far from it sat this ’66 Riviera – if I had to pick between this and the 1963-65 variant, I would probably have far more money than sense. But I still wouldn’t know which one to pick. They’re both so great in their own way!
The lone Pontiac of the yard was not your usual Firebird, but a 1964 Catalina Ventura hardtop coupe. Positively scrumptious.
And we close with another red Corvette, this time a weird two-tone late model (circa 1980?) C3 T-top. When I say “we close,” I mean that’s it for the Detroit stuff. There were two little Honda keis in this yard that we will take a gander at now, because they’re worth it and because when in Japan…
First is this frighteningly yellow LN III 360 Deluxe wagon made in 1970 or 1971. This was the last development of the N360, Honda’s first kei car.
These are FWD with an air-cooled 354cc OHC twin – quite sophisticated, for a kei car of that era.
This, however, is a genuine rarity. I give you the remains of one of the 2500-odd Honda Vamos …er… trucks? Hard to define these. They were made from 1970 to 1973, using the TN360 kei truck chassis.
The engine is identical to the one used in the yellow LN III van (air-cooled 354cc OHC twin, 31hp), but mid-engined / RWD. This has to be among the top five coolest JDM vehicles ever made, and about as different from a Detroit land yacht as anything one could ever conjure up. Here’s hoping I can find one in decent nick to give this unique contraption the CC post it so richly deserves.
So that’s it for the T87 birthday special. Hope you liked your present, especially CC’s original Tokyo correspondent, Jim Brophy. That Lincoln you’ve been dreaming of all these years might be in north Tokyo, Jim. Just needs a little TLC. Apologies for you AMC fans and Mopar maniacs – this was strictly a Big Two thing – plus that pair of Hondas. My personal pick of this lot, aside from the Vamos, might be the Catalina. Or the green Continental. Or one of those Rivieras…
Oh dear, that 63 Riviera is a tragic biohazardous mess now. What a waste.
I’d be willing to take on the 64 Pontiac, even though the paint seems to be departing en masse and not a shred of the interior can be saved.
Such a cool collection, too bad it’s been left to molder outside.
And happy birthday as well. I wish you better health than these cars..
Well, maybe the radio can be salvaged from that Pontiac…but that’s it.
I noticed the way out fender mounted side view mirror on the right fender of the 1975 Delta 88. Someone had a reason for doing that, but it escapes me at the moment.
I can’t say I can claim a favourite from this collection of iron, so maybe I will settle on the 1974-76 Continental. Just not in my driveway though, please.
Many happy returns on your birthday!
That was common in Japan back then, it was likely sold new there because of that. Domestic Japanese cars had fender mirrors until 1982 or 1983 if I remember correctly.
The Delta 88 used to have both mirrors on the wings. The left one migrated back to the door, but it left a trim piece on the fender.
You can see many of these cars have extra turn signal repeaters, too. All because of Japanese rules & regulations.
Why does the ’63 Riviera look like it has ’65 smooth rear fenders?
Some owner decided to update before a repaint, or broke the trim when removing it and had to.
I, for one, would like to see more of the Seville if it isn’t moldy. The top looks presentable.
I actually like the front half of this Cougar. A little fender curvature, unlike the Mark, lightens the look.
誕生日 Tanjōbi Tatra87-san. I think we go the a pretty good present from you with these photos. Would love to know more about that Vamos, looks very intriguing.
I’m also interested in the Vamos. I could really use the front seat to complete my Vamos restoration. Is there any way to find this yard and buy the seat? Would anyone like to buy the whole vehicle with me for parts?
Happy birthday, sir. It is amazing to see cars in that condition in Japan (where I presume these were taken). I guess Japanese need parts cars too.
That Mark IV up near the top I am going to peg as a 75 or 76. That vinyl roof looks like it was a dark red once upon a time, and that paint color looks like either Medium Taupe Diamond Fire (1975-76) or Rose Crystal (1976-77). It is hard to guess given the fading that has surely happened, and it is hard to find examples of the taupe online. Those less earthy colors only showed up in the last year or two.
That dark green 73 Continental is the one I really want.
The green Lincoln was the best 70s car on the lot for sure. But the 60s stuff is just impossible to beat, style-wise…
Happy birthday. Great article and fun to stroll through this small salvage-like yard with you remotely.
I know exactly what that mystery GM vehicle is behind the Olds Aurora and near the dark maroon Lincoln. It’s a Cadillac Seville. Vintage 1976 to 1979. I can’t be totally sure, but it looks like a black/silver Elegante model which would make it a 1978 or 1979. Love those cars and that or the Fleetwood would have been my pick.
I’m going to try and attach a pic. below.
When new, the Seville Elegante was the most expensive car on the lot by several thousand dollars.
Thanks for IDing that one – I can see the Cadillac wreath on one of the photos, I should have been able to see that Séville. It really was impossible to get to – the weeds were thick and spiny. I had plenty of vegetation stuck to my clothes as it was: I came out of there looking like a cactus.
Happy (and now belated) birthday dear T87. Long may you entertain and inform and educate us. Your good heath sir!
Happy belated b/day wishes.Thanks for sharing this. Where in Jpn is this? That decayed 63 Riv brought me to tears! The Honda may have faired well here in the USA.
I found this in the North of Kita ward in Tokyo, just next to the border with Saitama prefecture. Lots of neat and unexpected stuff there, as there are many car repair shops.
The Continental Mark next to the Oldsmobile is a Mark V, not Mark IV.
Best birthday wishes! Wow, what a treasure trove. That big ’73 Lincoln is a beauty – gives new meaning to the color “moss green”. The Riviera would be hard to pass up too.
What a great collection of vehicles.
I bet about 95% of Curbside’s readership disagrees with this, but I think that ’73 Fleetwood actually looks good with those big yellow lights. It’s a big enough – and tough-looking enough – vehicle to actually pull that look off pretty well.
And it’s a testament to the ’63 Riviera that it still is stunning (both inside and out) even in this kind of condition.
The Aurora looks representative of the few Auroras that still ply the roads around here — most of them descended into beater status about 10 years ago.
I’ve never heard of the Honda Vamos before. That front end sure is distinctive… great to see something completely new to me.
Happy Birthday ! (As a sometime consumer of Asian media I have come to learn that the singing of “Happy Birthday to You” is done differently in the East: The celebrant’s name is not inserted in the ditty–uniformly, as far as I can tell, throughout Southeast Asia at least. Wonder where that came from ?)
As a Honda wagon fan, I’d love to drive that yellow LN III 360 Deluxe . . . or one like that’s still on the road !
The Corvette is a 1990, new dash but original front fascia.
Based on the power mirror switch in the center console, the C3 Corvette is either a 1981 or 1982.
It’s a 1981 since it doesn’t have the openable rear bubble.
I would not say the 75 Olds was the last open air Olds- as we had the 1988, and then 1990-1995 Oldsmobiles:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ! .
This is a wonderful find , sad to see those cars were originally stored with love and car covers, I thought open real estate in Japan was too expensive for this .
I like the yellow Honda and 1963 Buick best of the bunch, too bad they’re all rusted to scrap now, still loads of good parts to be saved .
-Nate