Sometimes, finding CCs is all about going the extra mile. As daytime temperatures started falling in my area, I’ve had more occasions to go for long walks. As I’m out in the country, there are mathematically fewer cars about, but that doesn’t necessarily mean fewer CCs. Country folk everywhere are liable to keep their cars longer than in the suburbs, for a start. And there are a few junkyards about, too.
The area I’ve been doing some rambling in is in Gunma Prefecture. It’s about 100 km north of Tokyo, where the terrain starts getting seriously hilly and the population density much lower. The villages are not particularly picturesque: unlike Europeans, Japanese people tend to demolish old houses and build new ones in whatever style they feel like, so the result lacks esthetic unity. But the countryside is still beautiful, with the bright green rice paddies set against dark forested hills and tufts of bamboo.
On that day, walking alone, I was not exactly wandering aimlessly. Well, I did wander a bit, but then I got my bearings – and found a purpose. I realized the road I was on would lead me to a trio of ancient wrecks I had found a couple months ago. I thought there might have been a junkyard nearby, which warranted further investigation. I walked up the hill for a while, along the winding road. Sure enough, the old Toyota fire truck, the Daihatsu trike and the A30 Gloria were by the road, just as I had left them. But beyond them, in the distance, I saw another intriguing car in a most unusual position.
It was just floating above the rooflines of the surrounding buildings. From this distance, I had no idea what I was dealing with. The only feature that was really distinguishable were the stacked quad headlamps. I did a quick mental survey of JDM cars with such a feature and could only find two: the A30 Gloria, which this clearly wasn’t, and the very first Nissan Cedric.
But that didn’t work either: as I got closer, I recalled the Cedric’s full Detroit-style panoramic windshield, which this thing clearly did not have. From the side, it looked a bit like a Volga. That wasn’t it either, of course. The size – big for an older Japanese car – was quite similar, though. Some kind of tricked out Toyota or maybe a mutant Mitsubishi? That would have made more sense, but I couldn’t think what kind of JDM model fit this car’s features.
I finally meandered my way to a metal scrapyard, where the mystery car’s pedestal was rooted. I was hoping for a junkyard full of similarly enigmatic contraptions, but there was not a single other vehicle about the place. Nobody around either, so I just snapped away while attempting to identify the bloody thing. Pretty soon, I spied a chrome script on the fender. Bellel. Aha! In my earlier mental identikit exercise, I had completely forgotten about Isuzu.
The Isuzu Motor Co. can lay claim to be Japan’s oldest automotive concern. They built their first car back in 1916, but soon oriented the bulk of their production towards trucks and buses, which were (and still are) ubiquitous in Japan, though some Wolseley cars were also made under license in the ‘20s and ‘30s. By the early ‘50s, Isuzu were ready to diversify their production and re-visit the car concept on a larger scale. They did what many a fledgling Japanese automaker did back then and built European models under license – in Isuzu’s case, the Hillman Minx. This was a wise pick, ideally suited to the local conditions and tastes. By the late ‘50s, having made two generations of Minxes, Isuzu were keen to try their hand at designing their own car.
That was the Bellel, launched at the 1961 Tokyo Motor Show. The name was a sort of play on words: Isuzu means “fifty bells” in Japanese, so they called their car “Bell” and added “L,” the Roman numeral for fifty. As the Bellel was being designed and introduced, Isuzu were still producing the Minx, so they aimed a class above. Engines included a 1491cc and a 1991cc 4-cyl. (good for 73 and 86 hp gross, respectively), derived from the Elf truck line, as well as a 2-litre Diesel – a JDM first.
This seemed all well and good, but during the winter of 1961-62, contemporary observers wondered why the Bellel was not seen around Japan. It seems Isuzu had launched their brand new Crown-fighter a bit prematurely. There were many details still being worked out and parts supply lines to establish for a completely new car – and all in a brand new factory, no less. Isuzu had jumped the gun, and it did not go unnoticed. The production line only started moving in April 1962 and pretty slowly at first. Isuzu limited the Bellel supply to dealerships located in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka to begin with. Parts supply issues were finally sorted by January 1963, but by this time, the turkey had started showing its feathers.
Most Japanese car buyers were weary of the Bellel for a number of well-founded reasons. The number one problem can be traced back to the Bellel’s rush to production within a new factory – a recipe for disaster. Outsourced parts were made to incorrect specifications, panel gaps were often uneven, hard driving (in the taxi trade especially) was tough on the front suspension, which was a poorly-copied version of the Minx’s. There were countless issues with early cars’ paintwork and general fit and finish. Some of these issues were ironed out, but the initial impression of poor quality left the model with a lingering reputation for shoddy workmanship.
Isuzu nonetheless pressed on with broadening the range. In January 1963, a Special Deluxe version was proposed with a twin-carb 2-litre that provided a whopping 95 hp. The Bellel Express wagon appeared in June 1963, just as its Minx equivalent was about to become extinct. The range was now complete: an economy 1500, a Deluxe 2000, a Super-Deluxe, a Diesel and a wagon were in dealerships. Yet the Bellel still struggled to convince the buying public.
There were issues across the range, but also for specific models – especially the groundbreaking Diesel. It was chiefly aimed at the all-important taxi market, though it was available for the general public as well. Not that it made much difference: the overwhelming majority of Bellel Diesel ended up as taxis, as the noise and vibrations of the 55 hp engine were apparently well beyond most people’s tolerance levels. It was so bad that some taxi companies offered a special “Bellel hardship allowance” for their drivers. Despite this, the dreaded Diesel became the best-selling version of the Bellel. The only people buying them were taxi companies, but soon they were representing a majority of the model’s customers. In 1963, 20% of Bellels were Diesels; by 1965, that share had grown to 80%. At the same time, the car’s market share plummeted from 10% of mid-size JDM sedans to 2%. Ouch!
Above: Australian and US ads, 1964; below: the 1963 Dutch brochure had RHD cars, strangely…
Isuzu gamely tried to ship a few of their lemons overseas, including to Australia, the Netherlands and the US, but none of these markets were very impressed by the Bellel either. They apparently sold only 300 in that last market. The American and Australian Bellels were all Diesels it seems, whereas the Dutch customers were able to choose between that and the twin-carb Special Deluxe.
The Bellel and its rivals: Nissan Cedric 31, Prince Gloria Super 6, Toyota Crown S40, Mitsubishi Debonair
And let’s state the obvious: quite apart from its production and quality control issues, the Isuzu Bellel was a botched design. Just comparing the Bellel to its mid-‘60s JDM rivals from a purely esthetic point of view, it is pretty stark how ungainly the Isuzu was, even with the help of a nice coat of black paint.
The worst part of it was probably the minuscule front door windows, which the wraparound windshield made almost inevitable. I say almost, because other carmakers had windshields not unlike this one, but usually managed to design front doors that fit accordingly. The windshield’s shape is also pretty awkward and the rear end is an acquired taste. These structural elements were beyond remedy, of course. Isuzu tried changing the trim a bit, but there was little they could do to distract from the car’s fundamental shortcomings.
One can imagine what the designers had pinned on the office wall as they were working on the Bellel, back in 1959: most likely the BMC PininFarina saloons, probably the Ford Consul Mk II and perhaps the Alfa Romeo 2000. There is a strong Eastern Bloc whiff of incompetence about the whole design, coupled with a dash of British boxiness and a smattering of Fiat flimsiness. A potent cocktail of failure. Japanese buyers were perhaps willing to forgive these superficial deficiencies in their economy cars (provided they were halfway reliable), but in the 2-litre class, such amateurism was simply unforgivable.
Not only was the Isuzu Bellel rather ugly, but it aged very quickly. After having tinkered with their cursed saloons’ detailing for a couple years, Isuzu unveiled a brand spanking “New” Bellel in October 1965. The quad headlamps did give the front end a more contemporary feel (though it does have a touch of 1957 Nash about it), but the reworking of the rear was far less successful. The original car’s quirky triangular taillamps were at least distinctive. The remodeled one’s horizontal units were anonymous and somehow the modified fender fins seem even more dated.
Given the position of the one I discovered, taking photos of the interior was mission impossible (must remember to pack a drone with me for these occasions). So here are some more excerpts from the 1966 “New” Bellel brochure to the rescue. The length and width of the cabin is comparable to the Crown or the Gloria – what the Japanese called a six-seater back then. The dash was carried over without any changes, as far as I can tell.
In October 1966, visitors at the Tokyo Motor Show saw a surprisingly modern six-light saloon on the Isuzu stand, amidst a clutch of Belletts and a couple of forlorn Bellels. This was Isuzu’s “Project 117” prototype, designed by Ghia and presented to gauge public sentiment. It was rather more positive than the feelings they had for the poor Bellel; within a year, the 117 was put in production as the Isuzu Florian, with minor changes.
For its part, the Bellel, hitherto hanging on by a thread, sank like a stone now that its replacement was in the works. Production stopped in April 1967, but there were ample stocks to liquidate and it wasn’t moving quickly enough. Isuzu got desperate and started dumping the remaining Bellels in value-pack fashion: in the summer of 1967, you could get three for ¥1m. The same amount of money could be exchanged for a Toyota Corona 1600GT hardtop coupé – but just the one. Despite (or because of) this panicky fire sale, the final Bellels lingered in Isuzu’s inventory until November.
All told, just over 32,000 Bellels were made from 1962 to 1967, wagons included. By comparison, Toyota sold around 85,000 Crown S40s per year on average during the same period. Our feature car’s very existence, over half a century after its assembly, is therefore something of a stroke of luck. Unloved at the time and soon forgotten afterwards, the Bellel has become a very rare sight nowadays – a fate that was pretty much deserved.
Proof that Isuzu could make a decent car came in 1963 with the Bellett
Isuzu survived as one Japan’s main truck makers, but their ventures into passenger cars was always on shaky ground. They are staging a comeback in that field thanks to SUVs (see my earlier post about Thailand’s Isuzu obsession), but that is taking place outside Japan. On the JDM, Isuzu had a great start with the Minx, but even with the relative success of the Bellett, the company’s car branch never amounted to all that much. Their market share was usually the smallest of all the Japanese automakers, even in the late ‘60s, and never improved. Had it not become GM’s Trojan Horse on the JDM, the company would probably have refocused solely on trucks much earlier than it actually did, in the early Naughties.
Sorry for the length of this post and the crappiness of my photos. Since there’s very little chance that I will encounter on of these gutless wonders again, I just had to make the most of it. The car and the overcast sky sort of blended into each other, which was perhaps a foretelling of the Bellel’s tragic life – which I knew nothing about as I took the pictures. I also knew they were going to be rather poor, as the zoom on my smartphone is terrible. But the more I looked into this car’s history, the more I realized it needed to be featured on CC.
We like our Deadly Sins here, and boy is this one of them. It’s an Original Sin, too, as it was Isuzu’s first home-grown design. It was also a huge misstep from a Japanese automaker. There have been several, but not usually this egregious. They’re human too, it turns out. Whoever put this Bellel on a skewer is reminding us that some JDM cars were carbuncles on the otherwise green and rolling Japanese automotive landscape.
I noticed that the US ad never referred to it as an Isuzu. I guess “Bellel” sounded like a better name for a car… more European? And thanks for the great write-up.. very interesting history on a car that I never knew existed!
Great, thanks for this. I have Bellett experience from my childhood but never knew anything about the Bellel that preceded it.
Those front windows! It’s like they were purposely designing a taxi and cared more about the rear passengers.
Small front doors/windows, indeed. If the Bellel had been built better, it might have went down in history as the Japanese Checker Marathon. Instead, it’s just an odd footnote, somewhat similar to spotting an old 1962-64 Dodge Custom 880 in a US junkyard.
The front door windows are a vital escape route if a car ever becomes submerged. When it isn’t possible to open the doors. Those front windows look like they’d barely fit a teen let alone an adult, then or now.
What a humdrum design. It makes the Nissan Cedric of the same era look like a Lamborghini Muira.
The Bellets looked OK, especially in 2 door form but even the Florian looked half baked. The only fully realised Isuzu car was the 117 coupe and its successor, the Piazza/Impulse. No wonder Isuzu, like Hino sticks with commercial vehicles now.
David Attenborough, scene 7, Episode 11. “THIS is the very rare Bellel. Though a native of Japan, it is rarely seen. Descended from the earliest known industry forebears, they are shy, and this one was chased by our photographer up the pole above the canopy where it acts as if frozen, in an attempt at invisibility. Ofcourse, with its very distinctive looks and strong diesel odour, the attempt is futile. Not much is known about these beasts of burden, as they are now an endangered species, though one of so little interest that nobody has ever studied them. This one is known to be very old, as a lack of anything else prepared to mate with it means that there have been no offspring in over 50 years.”
Well, Dr Livingstone Tatra, you’ve scored again. Never heard of these in my life. And though I can’t honestly claim to feel improved by acquaintance with this pox on a stick, your detailed story telling compels as ever. I wonder if the stylist moved on to Anandol in Turkey: this reminds me of it. And I’d add that this has not only a whiff of Eastern Block stylistic drunkeness about it, but that it absolutely pongs of it. Having had 50 bells knocked out of it in the marketplace, it also might explain why Isuzus after this are some very decent-looking cars.
Isuzu recovered from this sin against the order of decency. They had a good and loyal little market here, and later a decent share of it, via their arrival badged as various Holdens. They are all known as unkillable things as Bellets and 117’s and then as the GM-H models (for the Aussies, Holdens Gemini, Jackaroo, and Rodeo
Except when welded to a high plinth.
Justy, I nominate you as announcer for our upcoming documentary series called The Living Curb.
I also had never heard of these — in fact, I consider myself fortunate for ever having heard of the Bellett… and at first I thought “Bellel” was a typo here. Definitely learned something new today.
I had read of the Bellel (I forget where), but have no recollection of it being available in Australia. I’ll have to check my early-mid sixties Wheels and Modern Motor and see whether they’re in the price lists. Of course we know the Bellett – they were everywhere.
Hehehe… I can hear the Attenborough whisper-talk in that 1st paragraph.
I have been to Japan 3 times, and have seen the occasional Florian, but considering how Isuzu is/was Japan’s oldest car manufacturer I never saw any older models. So in my view, this is an excellent write-up of a very obscure model.
Taken on its own, this would seem to be a perfectly adequate car. Unfortunately, those narrow front doors would probably make entering and exiting the Bellel a bit difficult for someone not born in Japan or a nearby country. And for a company that made its name building trucks, it is odd that the refinement of their non-gas powered cars was so terrible.
BTW, I find the earliest models to be somewhat more appealing that the later ones, I guess it has something to do with the underdog status of Isuzu?
This tale plays out like some of those British cars we read about so often. We don’t expect these kinds of flubbed market failures from the Japanese. Poor execution seems to be a rare thing in vehicles from that region.
I rather liked the styling – until I got to the rear. It was as though the stylists made it from the front bumper through the rear wheels and then all suddenly died following some bad sushi at lunch, forcing management to round up a few engineers to finish the job because a deadline was looming.
Cars on poles are a fascinating sub-species.
I rather like the idea of a ‘cars on poles’ CC series.
Very interesting vehicle that I was not aware of prior to this. I suppose every maker has to start somewhere and not all can be big successes. Like Matt above, it struck me as well that the US ad didn’t mention the maker anywhere. Maybe the name Bellel just sounded more American than Isuzu. It’s like a Bel-Air but not quite….
I think “Made In Japan” was considered an indicator of cheap at that time, so a highly Japanese name like Isuzu would not have been a selling point.
“Made In Japan” started being an indicator of quality with inexpensive motorcycles and electronics in the mid 60s. And “Made in Taiwan” took over the cheap stuff.
As I’ve mentioned before, a few of those 300 American Bellels were sold by a farm equipment dealer in Fairmont, Okla. He apparently hoped that Mennonite farmers, who already had diesel tractors and diesel tanks on their farms, would appreciate a diesel car. He was wrong. Several Bellels were still forlornly “for sale” along country roads in the ’70s.
I’d have to wonder if any of those 300 still exist in any form in the US. A left-hand drive Bellel must be a really rare beast.
I justz got one at a junk yard
The 1980s Isuzu version of the “J” car, the Aska, was highly desirable and popular in Ireland. Imported by a truck distributor, GM only allowed them to import the diesel version, so as not to compete with the Opel Ascona – which was not available as a diesel. When Opel eventually produced a diesel Ascona it couldn’t hold a candle to the Aska, and neither could any other comparable car.
My impression was that Isuzu eventually stopped car production under orders from GM, although they continued to make diesel engines for use in GM models.
I saw a parked Bellel in Vancouver, B.C., in the early ’80s. It would have made a great CC if CC had existed, but I didn’t have a camera on me.
I vaguely remember reading a road test of a Bellel in an American magazine ca. 1964. It was fairly favorable.
They should have stayed with producing the Hillman range but this Bellel doesnt really stray very far from a Minx especially with the small windows in the front doors compared to the rear doors, to me it looks to be a mash up between the Audax and later Superminx bodies, why didnt they just get the Superminx body dies sent over it was a good car and available in diesel Perkins for the UK market Isuzu could have dropped in their engine most things will fit,
Bellets had a good rep in NZ they were the most advanced Japanese car on our market at the time and mechanically very tough later efforts like the Aska rebadged Camira for NZ were not so good and had appalling road holding compared to their Aussie namesake, the one featured on Wikipedia ended its career by somersaulting down a 65 foot bank on the hairpin bend on Schedeweys hill north of Auckland with no injuries to the occupant, so they were quite well put together even if the Japanese suspension tune wasnt much good,
Their trucks are quite good amongst the Japanese offerings Ive spent quite a lot of time pedaling various versions up to 530hp tough reliable but avoid the automatics, yes the trans is from ZF but the program that shifts it is from Isuzu and doesnt work on hills.
Did you get the Isuzu giga in NZ? I’ve only read about them. A truck with a 30,000cc naturally aspirated diesel V10
I’ve seen those around. Had no idea they had such huge engines! I’ll keep an eye peeled…
I can see why this design became dated quickly, but hadn’t noticed the tiny front windows and awkward door design – it does have a Soviet era feel to it.
I’ve seen a Tin Toy version of the Bellel – those triangle taillights look great on a reduced scale.
I understand a great number of JDM cars were introduced for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics (the Bellel was sort of pre-production). It’s exciting that the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will see a large number of AI and Electric car introductions.
“Sorry for the length of this post and the crappiness of my photos. ”
Not at all. The pic’s were great, the writing engaging.
Thank you! It’s just that I wrote this up and went over 2000 words, when all I had were like six half-decent photos. That Bellel was a bitch to capture on camera. Luckily, there were quite a few decent period colour shots. That’s one good thing about JDM cars – quality publicity pics.
For a second I thought that A30 Gloria was a mid-1960s Rambler/AMC Ambassador!
Wandering through the Japanese countryside sounds wonderful!
I had a few rides in a schoolmate’s Bellett during my teens. Even as a skinny youth I was surprised by how cramped the interior was, especially the back seat. But that was before another friend got a Nissan 1000!
Nonetheless, both are clean designs that moved from English fussiness toward a European esthetic.
The Project 117 (the blue car in the car show photo) bears more than a passing resemblance to the Datsun 510, to my eyes.
See what you can find when you go out for a walk? Great story.
At one point Studebaker was considering building the Bellett under license, but it didn’t happen:
https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/the-studebaker-bellet
Fascinating considering Isuzu’s connection to Rootes via the technical agreement and their Audax Minx model family featured Studebaker-influenced styling by Raymond Loewy, even the Bellett’s engine is said to be distantly related to the Minx OHV engines.
Apart from the above were there any little known schemes between Studebaker and Rootes which never got off the ground, especially considering the Audax Minx models were reputedly good sellers in North America at the time?
The previous and much bigger Isuzu Bellel was said to have carried over much from the licensed built Isuzu Hillman Minx, which anticipates Rootes adopting a similar approach when they developed the Arrow models to replace Audax that curiously is of similar size as the Florian and 117 Coupe.
You can still buy a 1/32 scale plastic model kit of a sporty Bellet GT
https://houseofhobbies.com/collections/model-kits-1-48-auto/products/arii-1-32-bellet-1600-gtr-1969-41014
which makes me think at least one Isuzu was considered popular
As an aficionado of both classic Isuzu cars and of Australian motoring history, I can confirm the existence of one Isuzu Bellel in Australia, and that’s it.
A friend of mine with a few extra years on me had a ride in an Isuzu Bellel when he accompanied his elder brother to the local dealership as the brother’s Bellett was due for a scheduled service. The story goes that the Bellel was the dealer principal’s drive car, and was the 2000cc Special Deluxe with twin carburettors.
During the 1990s, an identically specced car appeared in the classifieds section of Unique Cars, with an exorbitant figure on it, somewhere near $20k when, for context, the best Monaro GTS specials from Holden were pulling a similar amount or less, the seller clearly having confused rarity and desirabilty.
It appeard in the next one or two issues with the price dropped with each entry. Several years later; probably around 2007 or so, another car, again identically specced, appeared in a wrecking yard in Victoria. The wrecking yard owner would not sell the car complete, citing some government regulation