1960s Japanese Import Cars Gaining Value

[TerryB]

Looking at the local Sunday paper I found this headline.  Seems those little Japanese imports are getting a following.  I have no idea of condition but it must have been above average.

 

Edited March 15, 2022 by TerryB (see edit history)

[John_S_in_Penna]

At a show, I would be interested in seeing a Toyopet 

from the late 1950's or the early 1960's.  That was the

original name of the Toyota cars.  Reviews from that era

indicated that, unlike some small imports, they were good cars.

[1912Staver]

1960's Japanese cars are increasing in value, but in most cases relatively slowly. The rare sports models continue to be relatively valuable, much as they have been for at least the last 20 years. The 1970's and 80's cars are the ones really on a roll. Once again the sports models lead the way. Also Land Cruisers and Nissan Patrols, but once again nothing new. 

Look on Bring A Trailer to see what mint Supra's and early Z's can bring. Not to mention Nissan 1970's Skyline's.  Quite eye opening !

[JCHansen1]

Japanese stuff from the 90s is only going up for the forseeable future as well I think. It's been on a roll for a while now really. Acura NSX and Integra Type R's, Nissan 300ZX's, FD RX7's, MR-2's, Supra's, even clean well kept Honda CRX's that haven't been modded and beat half to death. Thats to say nothing of first gen Miata's. It's a growing collectable market for sure. 

[TerryB]

Pics from a recent cars and coffee my son was attended.  It’s either restored or a great original 240Z.

 

[8E45E]

15 minutes ago, JCHansen1 said:

Japanese stuff from the 90s is only going up for the forseeable future as well I think. It's been on a roll for a while now really. Acura NSX and Integra Type R's, Nissan 300ZX's, FD RX7's, MR-2's, Supra's, even clean well kept Honda CRX's that haven't been modded and beat half to death. Thats to say nothing of first gen Miata's. It's a growing collectable market for sure. 

I am even seeing early 2000's Japanese cars; unmolested Subaru WRX STi and Mitsubishi Lancer EVO values climbing.

 

Craig

[JCHansen1]

58 minutes ago, TerryB said:

Pics from a recent cars and coffee my son was attended.  It’s either restored or a great original 240Z.

 

There are few, if any, affordable sports cars from the 1970s that are more fun to drive than a well sorted 240Z. Phenomenonal cars.

[dictator27]

1 hour ago, John_S_in_Penna said:

At a show, I would be interested in seeing a Toyopet 

from the late 1950's or the early 1960's.  That was the

original name of the Toyota cars.  Reviews from that era

indicated that, unlike some small imports, they were good cars.

A customer at a garage I worked at in the late 60's had an early 60's Toyopet Crown.  As I recall it was a well built, comfortable, roomy car.  It would certainly have given equivalent English cars some serious competition.

During the summer here I still occasionally see a Datsun Bluebird sedan from about 1960.

[Buffalowed Bill]

Everything in it's own time. It has just become time for some of these cars to get the credit that they deserve. Whether they are being rediscovered by their original owners or discovered for the first time by a younger generation, they seem new today. Long forgotten these cars have survived in very limited numbers.

 

In California the Japanese car culture has been around for some time, but only in the seeming purview of the younger generation. For several good reason, California has became the focal point for the movement. Most of these cars were very rust prone, unibody, cars that just did not lend themselves to repair, especially when rust was the culprit. Because California cars seem to hold up better and because so many Japanese cars were imported to the West Coast they just have survived better.

 

My own first hand experience began in 1975 when I began dating the woman that I would later marry. She was driving a year old Toyota Corolla coupe. I admit that at first I was unimpressed. Shocked might be a better term when I found out that she had traded in a 1969 Mustang Mach I when she bought it.

 

About 1980 she wanted a sports car (she was a very fast and good driver). We decided on a 1973 Datsun 240Z, which I refurbished for her. We continued to drive both cars well into the 90's. In the PNW we drive our cars for a long time because we can. When we divorced she got the Z and I continued to drive the Toy. I drove that car until the valve seats were gone, and it would no longer sustain a valve adjustment for more then several weeks (275K miles on the car when parked). I parked it outside, next to the garage, in 1997. When my X sold the Z it had almost 230K miles on it and was still ran great, albeit with the Webbers that we had installed.  

 

The Toy is another story all it's own. I just completed the sale of house where it was stored outside for the last 25 years. The 35 yr old purchaser of the house became enamored with the car. The upshot is that he says that he intends to restore the car. He says that he got it running and is buying parts to restore it! Everything in it's time-I couldn't be happier!

Edited March 15, 2022 by Buffalowed Bill (see edit history)

[1912Staver]

Dictator27, are you talking about the tiny, 2,  opposed cylinder Toyopet , or the much larger 6 Cyl. Crown ? I only drove a Toyopet { Toyotaglide at that} once . It might give a Citroen 2 CV a race.  Crowns on the other hand were decent if lack luster cars , at least until late 1960's 3 rd gen. and particular the 4 th gen cars came out in 1971. Still a handful of those around the Lower Mainland.

[dictator27]

16 minutes ago, 1912Staver said:

Dictator27, are you talking about the tiny, 2,  opposed cylinder Toyopet , or the much larger 6 Cyl. Crown ? I only drove a Toyopet { Toyotaglide at that} once . It might give a Citroen 2 CV a race.  Crowns on the other hand were decent if lack luster cars , at least until late 1960's 3 rd gen. and particular the 4 th gen cars came out in 1971. Still a handful of those around the Lower Mainland.

If memory serves, the Crown I knew had a 4 cylinder engine. I knew someone who had one of the 2 cylinder/Toyoglide Publicas.  Didn't have enough power to pull you hat off.

[TAKerry]

I love the Z cars. IF I ever venture into the dark side it would be one of them. I had a friend in HS that drove his mothers 240z which she bought new. It was pretty plane but a great car. Also had a band teacher that bought a new one about every 2 or 3 years. By about 1980 they had turned from sport car to luxo coupe but they are still great vehicles. I tried trading my 82 firebird on an 84 Z but they wouldnt give me anything for trade.

[zepher]

I would love to have my old '72 Datsun 521 pickup back in my driveway.

The truck was fairly gutless with the 1600 engine but that thing just ran and ran.

And you could service almost the entire truck with a 10mm wrench, a pair of pliers, a flat blade screwdriver and a crescent wrench.

[8E45E]

5 hours ago, dictator27 said:

A customer at a garage I worked at in the late 60's had an early 60's Toyopet Crown.  As I recall it was a well built, comfortable, roomy car.  It would certainly have given equivalent English cars some serious competition.

You must agree that it did! (Along with help from Nissan and pre-GM Isuzu), and guess who won out...not just in North America, but worldwide and on their homeland soil too!!  In only one decade, the Japanese automakers decimated the low-cost British family sedan market in North America with more standard features for one's buck, including a radio and floor mats, and far better mechanical reliability.

 

Kind of ironic.  Nissan assembled Austin Cambridges under licence in the 1950's.

 

Craig

 

 

Edited March 16, 2022 by 8E45E (see edit history)

[8E45E]

3 hours ago, 1912Staver said:

Dictator27, are you talking about the tiny, 2,  opposed cylinder Toyopet .

I believe that was a Publica.  And the sports model was the 800.

 

Craig

[1912Staver]

Could be. The one I drove { mid 1970's } was probably from 1965 or so. I thought it had a Toyopet badge but I may be mistaken. Odd little thing , for sure a 2 cylinder opposed engine. I was just a teenager at the time , first and only time I ever saw one.

 

Looked it up on wiki, yes a Publica, the first verson. 1961 - 1966

Edited March 16, 2022 by 1912Staver (see edit history)

[Pfeil]

6 hours ago, TerryB said:

Pics from a recent cars and coffee my son was attended.  It’s either restored or a great original 240Z.

 

It's not restored. Engine is highly modified. Incorrect wheels, and headlamp covers. Engine aside, the engine compartment is very original spot on. 

Edited March 16, 2022 by Pfeil (see edit history)

[rocketraider]

This has been in local shopper paper the last couple weeks. Interesting, because I haven't seen an older Japanese car on the road here in years. Still plenty of the mini-trucks though.

[SC38dls]

18 hours ago, TAKerry said:

I love the Z cars. IF I ever venture into the dark side it would be one of them. I had a friend in HS that drove his mothers 240z which she bought new. It was pretty plane but a great car. Also had a band teacher that bought a new one about every 2 or 3 years. By about 1980 they had turned from sport car to luxo coupe but they are still great vehicles. I tried trading my 82 firebird on an 84 Z but they wouldnt give me anything for trade.

Kerry- I had a 240, 260 two 280's and a 300.  All were great cars and the handling was very good. One of the 280's had an electrical problem that would shut the car off completely with out any warning.  It was under warrenty but the dealer could not find the problem after towing the car twice.  I had a friend that had a German make repair shop so took it to him. He at first didn't want to touch it but started looking at the electronics and found Bosch electronics were inter-changeable with the Japanese modules. It still had a problem so he was challenged to find the source.  It was the right rear tail light was shorting out the system. After that no problems.

 

The only car I liked more was the Honda S2000 we had.  That little 4 cylinder would red line at 9000 rpm. In second or third when you hit 6000 rpm it would kick you back in the seat again. Great little six speed on the back roads of Kentucky. Just don't drive it on snow pack or icy roads.  I wouldn't hesitate to buy a Z or an S2000 again.

dave s  

Edited March 16, 2022 by SC38dls (see edit history)

[1912Staver]

S2000's are very good cars. They started going back up in price around 5 years ago. These days decent ones are worth quite a good percentage of what they sold for new even though many are approaching the 20 year old mark.

Edited March 16, 2022 by 1912Staver (see edit history)

[JamesR]

I get the impression 1960's Japanese cars have been desirable for a while, and that's been reflected in the prices...but prices may still be going up. Japanese cars from the '60's have always been pretty rare around here for a while...even back in the '60's they weren't very common. 😄 An increased interest in '70's and '80's Japanese cars may be more recent, but I'm speaking as a person who rarely buys used (and never new) Japanese cars, so what do I know.  Some of the old sports cars would seem like the place to get good deals on vintage cars that will only go up in value, especially from Mazda, who made a couple of iconic models. It looks like the early RX-7's can still be reasonable, but I see some RX-7's from the 1990's with sky high asking prices. I have NO idea what that's all about.

[1912Staver]

Third gen. 92 - 2002 RX 7's { twin turbo } are true knock your socks off , high performance GT's. They have a very active following today. Prices are high , but what a sweet car. Same category as a 4 th. gen. Supra or a Skyline. Until you drive one and push it hard, preferably on a closed course,  you won't understand. 

Edited March 16, 2022 by 1912Staver (see edit history)

[TAKerry]

My brother bought an rx7 new in '83. It was a nice car, crank windows and 5 speed. Even had a hand pull choke on the dash! But boy was it fast! My sister had an rx7 special edition in the gold'sh champagne colour. That was a pretty nice car too. My BIL had it parked in his barn up until a couple of years ago. Not sure what he ever did with it.

[TerryB]

Did you notice the hand pull choke would automatically retract as the car warmed up.  I couldn’t understand in an era of automatic chokes why the RX7 had to be manually set.

[1912Staver]

An 83 is a pussycat compared to a 93. Both are nice cars, but a few things do improve with time. If the 3 rd. gen. cars had a fault it is that they became too performance oriented . And with that came a price tag that put them out of reach of all but the few. The 83 ' s fit a much bigger slice of the publics needs, and budget. Sold in much larger numbers. 

 

[1912Staver]

I have hardly ever owned anything with a automatic choke. But by the time they went through enough depreciation that I could afford them , very few worked properly . Give me the simplicity and reliability of a manual choke any day.

[TerryB]

It’s one of those things that by 1983 the manual choke seemed so out of place.

[1912Staver]

Most of the vehicles I have owned , or been involved with that had a factory  auto choke have been Fords , with the hot air tube that connects to the exhaust manifold. Fine when near new, but the tube tends to have a short life. Rusts away right at where it meets the exhaust manifold. Mostly 1970's Ford pick ups. But also the 1960's/ early 70's  Mustangs I have been involved with over the years. 

 On the trucks I usually just swap on an older carb. with a manual choke and mount the cable on a bracket under the dash. Stock Ford parts , or good aftermarket like those supplied by Holley are preferred over the cheap , Auto Parts store kits.

 On the Mustangs I usually fit new heat tubes. Stock manual choke  parts are Hi - Po , Shelby and CJ specific, so rare and pricy for plain Jane Mustangs. The pick up's are always my vehicles so I do as I prefer. The Mustangs were usually customer cars and many wanted to keep them stock.

[dictator27]

On 3/15/2022 at 5:27 PM, 8E45E said:

You must agree that it did! (Along with help from Nissan and pre-GM Isuzu), and guess who won out...not just in North America, but worldwide and on their homeland soil too!!  In only one decade, the Japanese automakers decimated the low-cost British family sedan market in North America with more standard features for one's buck, including a radio and floor mats, and far better mechanical reliability.

 

Kind of ironic.  Nissan assembled Austin Cambridges under licence in the 1950's.

 

Craig

 

 

The Triumph Acclaim  which was the last car Triumph made, was a rebadged Honda Ballade (4 door Civic).  What goes around comes around?

[Pfeil]

8 hours ago, 1912Staver said:

I have hardly ever owned anything with a automatic choke. But by the time they went through enough depreciation that I could afford them , very few worked properly . Give me the simplicity and reliability of a manual choke any day.

Give me the simplicity and reliability. NO chokes, No heat riser - crossover, and No ATC. 

I believe in starting a car the old Porsche way. Old air cooled Porsches had no chokes.

Crank the engine without foot off the throttle until the engine sputters (that tells me fuel has entered the carburetor and by that time the engine is fuel primed and more importantly is oil primed) now pump the throttle three or four times and take your foot off the pedal and crank, ( the throttle blade or butterfly) is your choke and the engine will come to life and feather the throttle up to and over 1,000rpm. Don't drive at all until the engine will Idle down on it's own with your foot off the throttle.

This method is perfect for the in a hurry drive off fast (wife) and hard driver because if there is no choke and the engine is cold -driving off aggressively will cause the engine to nose over and if not fast enough to recover the engine will stall. Driving without any type of choke (electric or manual) lets the car decide when it's ready not you.

A car engine works like a track star. A track star always warms up first before a race. A engine should always warm up and expand to it's operating tolerances first before work is applied to it. Chokes are a crutch making a engine do what it doesn't want to do when it's cold. 

 

The only time you really need a choke system or fuel enrichment system on EFI cars is to be able to pass the visual on the smog test.

Edited March 18, 2022 by Pfeil (see edit history)

[carbking]

I question the headline in post 1 about the Honda S-600 auto unless this means auto as in automobile, and not auto as in automatic transmission. If so, then there is no reason to question the price.

 

I owned a 1966 S-600 while in the army. Zero torque, very high RPM (crankshaft was roller bearing). Rear chain drive.

 

Interesting and fun car.

 

Jon

[8E45E]

49 minutes ago, dictator27 said:

The Triumph Acclaim  which was the last car Triumph made, was a rebadged Honda Ballade (4 door Civic).  What goes around comes around?

Maybe they could have learned from Studebaker-Packard.  

 

The Triumph Acclaim had just as much sales success as the 1957/8 Packards.  

 

Craig

[TerryB]

31 minutes ago, carbking said:

I question the headline in post 1 about the Honda S-600 auto unless this means auto as in automobile, and not auto as in automatic transmission. If so, then there is no reason to question the price.

 

I owned a 1966 S-600 while in the army. Zero torque, very high RPM (crankshaft was roller bearing). Rear chain drive.

 

Interesting and fun car.

 

Jon

Found the car on the auctioneer’s website.  Not sure of what transmission it has.

 

 

[carbking]

According to the "World Car Catalog", 1966 was the last year for the S-600. The S-800 was also being produced in 1966, and carried over at least through 1967, I did not check further.

 

600cc, 4 carburetors; and a physical size comparison.

 

Jon

 

[Frank DuVal]

On 3/17/2022 at 12:59 PM, 1912Staver said:

Rusts away right at where it meets the exhaust manifold. Mostly 1970's Ford pick ups.

300 six is easy to fit new heat tubes. I've done it to my 84. With that the auto-choke has never been an issue.

 

And to keep on topic, Subaru 360! They have gone way up in value. Love that 2 cycle sound.

Edited March 21, 2022 by Frank DuVal (see edit history)

[TerryB]

12 hours ago, Frank DuVal said:

300 six is easy to fit new heat tubes. I've done it to my 84. With that the auto-choke has never been an issue.

 

And to keep on topic, Subaru 360! They have gone way up in value. Love that 2 cycle sound.

I have some original Subaru 360 literature Frank, I’ll have to get it out and see exactly what it is. 

[Buffalowed Bill]

My nephew and a friend were 15-16 yrs old in the late 80's. As gearheads they always had some unique cars, the remnants of which were abandoned in the garage of a house that I own (I've shared Mary and my experiences while selling these parts 38 yrs later). 

 

What struck me about the last part of this thread was the mention of the Honda 600. The two boys had 3-4 of these. They seemed intent on creating a car like the old Mini Cooper. They would beat these thing to death. It was a combination of 9000+ rpm and an occasional lugging of the engine, that always blew them up. They broke so many crank shafts that they had to give up on 600. 

 

Thirty eight years later the remains from the 600's, that was left in the garage, was sold on eBay. Somebody out there has these 600's, because all of it has sold. One of the funniest purchases was one of the last. I'm old so please excuse if I've mentioned this before. Someone from Chicago whose first language was not English got ahold of Mary. He was desperate, his car was down because the master cylinder had given out. After poking around for awhile we found what had to be for a Honda 600. Emailed a picture, and sure enough it was the correct one. His excited response was "please put in mail Priority I put on weekend." Well he got it, put it on, and it worked!

[rocketraider]

Motor Trend TV is re-airing JDM Legends episodes again. Watching those guys do these cars interests me to no end. 

 

I wish I could afford a Japanese supercar again. Had I known in the 80s how hot Supras would be 40 years later I'd have hung on to the 81 I had. But, a 1984 TransAM beckoned...

[8E45E]

19 hours ago, Frank DuVal said:

300 six is easy to fit new heat tubes. I've done it to my 84. With that the auto-choke has never been an issue.

 

And to keep on topic, Subaru 360! They have gone way up in value. Love that 2 cycle sound.

Here is a 360 that must be owned by one of the local Subaru dealers that was displayed at the new car show one year.

 

And a comparison of it next to a Crosley:

 

[1912Staver]

That sure looks like the Portland Swap Meet. I was probably standing right beside you when you snapped that photo.