Hirstのブログ一覧

I've been quite busy lately, so I'll just show you something quickly. My friend's son will be driving a K10 Micra (March) for his first car, I posted about it before. I have been looking for some wheel covers or caps but for now it only has the ordinary steel wheels.



The rusty steel wheels look terrible. The best way to repaint them is to take them off the car and remove the tyres. But I decided to paint them quickly as a temporary paint job.



This is a special technique, I call it "Gambler Style" wheel painting. You can fit Playing Cards around the wheel, so you don't get paint onto the rubber. I quickly rubbed the wheels with sandpaper and cleaned them, then painted it with a few layers of Red Primer. Then I used some cheap Silver Wheel Paint.



It's better to do it with the wheels flat on the ground, because the paint will "run" easily. I only did it quickly, so it doesn't look perfect if you get close. But it looks OK. I didn't cover the wheel nuts or valves, but I can remove the paint from them later.

I'll repaint the wheels properly when I have more time, but this only took one hour and it looks much better than before!

Here's another one from the car show, I've seen this one before but I didn't get a chance to get detailed photos.

It's a Triumph Acclaim, which is the first car built between the partnership of British Leyland and Honda. In the late 1970s, Leyland were developing an intermediate size car (Austin/MG Maestro and Montego) but it wouldn't be ready for a few years.

Their existing models of that class were old-fashioned designs, so they needed a modern car until that design was ready. Honda cars were quite popular with car magazines, because it was said that they had more European-style ride and handling.

They decided to build a version of the first generation Honda Ballade (SS/ST series). There wasn't enough time to make many changes to the design, so Honda agreed not to sell the first generation model Ballade here so people wouldn't see two cars. Although it was very obvious it was a Honda design, with bonnet vents and that style of headlights.

It was the first Japanese car to be built here, even though it was under a different name. About 80% of the parts were built here, the rest were imported from Japan. It was quite a successful car with very good reliability. The main issue with old Hondas in the UK is rust, but the Acclaim had good underbody rust protection. Even now, it's uncommon to find one with major rust problems.



The grille design is different from the Ballade and the mirrors are on the doors, but apart from this it's almost identical. This one is in incredible condition!



Back end is neat and tidy. The grade is "HLS", which is quite high. It goes L, HL, HLS, CD.



I wish my engines looked this good! We only received one engine, the 1335cc EJ OHC 12-Valve with CVCC anti-pollution system. However, the Ballade used a Single Carb. The Acclaim uses the Keihin Twin-Carb like the Civic S! Although it isn't extremely fast, it was still quite sporty.



The interiors used different seats with a more European design and the colour choices were different. The instrument design also looked more Triumph style. But you can tell it's a Honda, because it has a coin slot. They always seem to have a coin slot...



There's still a few places you can see Japanese text. My Accord had the same label on this tank.



You can tell again this is a Honda. If it was a Triumph, you would need to keep a jug of oil and a tool box in here, haha. This was actually the last Triumph model, because it was decided that British Leyland had too many brands. The Leyland/Honda partnership continued but using the Rover name. The second generation Ballade became the Rover 213/216. I'd quite like to try an Acclaim. I really liked the driving experience of my Accord, so I think the Acclaim would be a similar style to that.

Anyway, I'll give you the specifications. I'm not sure if the power and torque are correct though, there seems to be some places giving a different figure.

Specifications:
Layout: FF
Engine: 1335cc 4-Cylinder All-Alloy OHC 12-Valve
Power: 76ps/5500rpm
Torque: 10.8kg-m/3500rpm
Compression Ratio: 8.4
Fuel: 91 Octane
Carburettor: Keihin Twin
Gearbox: 5MT Full Syncromesh
Suspension: Front and Rear Independent MacPherson Struts
Steering: Rack and Pinion
Brakes: Front Discs, Rear Drums (with Brake Servo)
Wheels: 13-inch
Tyres: 155SR13 Radial
Wheelbase: 2,320mm
Length: 4,095mm
Width: 1,600mm
Height: 1,345mm
Weight: 809kg
Top Speed: 155km/h

Features:
- Push-Button Radio
- Tachometer
- Digital Clock
- 3-Speed Heater Fan
- Headlamp Levelling
- Halogen Headlamps
- Intermittent Windscreen Wipe
- Twin Mirrors (Remote Control)
- Laminated Windscreen
- Tinted Glass
- Side Body Strips
- Full Door Trims
- Remote Boot/Trunk Release
- Remote Fuel Cap Release
- Reclining Front Seats
- Coin Tray
- Side Window Demister
- Illuminated Cigar Lighter
- Glovebox
- Heated Rear Window
- Full Carpet (Deeper Carpet on HLS)
- Adjustable Sun Visors
- Black Bumpers

Here's another car from the local classic car show, a Datsun Sunny 120Y (B210-series). Actually in this case, it's the later model (B211). This was a very popular car and I would see these often, even into the late 1990s. In the 1970s, the most popular family car was the Ford Escort and the Datsun 120Y was the best-selling Japanese import of that class.



I was amazed to see it drive in. Although I've seen B210s in the last few years, I haven't seen this one. It's not a local car!



A vinyl roof was a popular option in the UK during the 1970s and 1980s. Some manufacturers would even fit these as an official option. Most people would fit them when the car was new, but sometimes they would fit them later, often to cover damage on the roof. You can also see the numberplate is square - on many imported Japanese cars, a normal size rear plate wouldn't fit in the space, so they had to use "two line" plates.



There's a few differences between the early and late models, but the easiest way to tell with the UK models is by the different grille. The D is for Datsun!



There's another major change with the later models, the wheels. Early cars have smaller 12-inch wheels with a different hubcap design. I'm amazed that this has old-fashioned Dunlop SP Sport tyres. They may even be the original ones from the 1970s!



The back end has a big "Datsun 120Y" badge, but only on the 2-door/4-door models. We also got the Coupe, Estate (Wagon) and Van (Panel Van). We only got the 1.2L engine, so they were all called 120Y. It's surprising they didn't put a bigger engine in the sporty coupe model.



The interior is very black. I think all the UK B210 models had black interiors, I don't remember seeing any other types here. Compared to most ordinary specifications of the Ford Escort, the B210 had more equipment.

Anyway, here's some data.

Specifications:
Layout: FR
Engine: 1171cc 4-Cylinder OHV (Watercooled)
Power: 65ps/6000rpm
Torque: 9.7kg-m/3600rpm
Compress Ratio: 9.0:1
Fuel: 92 Octane
Carburettor: Single
Gearbox: 4MT Full Syncromesh
Suspension: Front MacPherson Struts/Coil Springs with Anti Roll Bar, Rear Live Axle Leaf Springs
Steering: Recirculating Ball
Brakes: Front Discs, Rear Drums (with Brake Servo)
Wheels: 13x4½-inch
Tyres: 155SR13 Radial
Wheelbase: 2,340mm
Length: 3,950mm
Width: 1,545mm
Height: 1,360mm
Weight: 775kg
Top Speed: 145km/h

Features:
- Push-Button Radio
- Heated Rear Window
- Cigarette Lighter
- Reversing Lights
- Hazard Lights
- Two-Speed Wipers
- Electric Washers
- Fan Heater
- Cloth and Vinyl Seats
- Head Restraints
- Clock
- Fitted Carpets
- Tinted Glass
- Electric Washers

I have even more cars to show you, probably tomorrow!

Last week I went to the local classic car show and drove my friend's Piazza JR120. Since the weather was good this year, it was very busy. I took quite a lot of photos, but for now I'll just post some of the most interesting cars, like this Datsun 100A (E10-series Cherry).



I was happy to see this, especially in such great condition. The chrome looked very good too! It was nice to see a 4-door model too. I would still see these when I was younger, but usually the 2-door model.



The tail pipe is quite long, I only noticed now.



The European name was Datsun 100A, meaning 1.0L engine. We also got the 120A (1.2L). Although it doesn't say Cherry on the body, most people knew them as the Datsun Cherry. Even the original brochures call it a Cherry.



The Datsun name was used here until the early 1980s. My Stanza T11 is from 1982 and has "Datsun by Nissan" badges, but later models are just called Nissan. I think the last model to be called a Datsun was the March K10.



The interior seems basic with a lot of black vinyl, but for a small car of this time it was actually quite high specification - standard radio, heated back window, two-speed wipers, full heater.



The E10 had a very unusual hubcap design. Usually the original wheels were black, but in this case they're the same as the bodywork. I think it looks good! The tyres are old cross-ply type, not radial, so the driving experience will be quite old-fashioned.

Specifications:
Layout: FF
Engine: 988cc 4-Cylinder OHV (Watercooled)
Power: 53ps/6000rpm
Torque: 7.7kg-m/4000rpm
Compression Ratio: 9.0:1
Fuel: 92 Octane
Carburettor: Hitachi 2-Barrel
Gearbox: 4MT Full Syncromesh
Suspension: Front MacPherson Struts/Coil Springs, Rear Trailing Arms/Coil Springs
Steering: Rack-and-Pinion
Brakes: Front Discs, Rear Drums
Wheels: 12x4-inch
Tyres: 6.00-12-4PR Tubeless
Wheelbase: 2,337mm
Length: 3,607mm
Width : 1,473mm
Height: 1,380mm
Weight: 670kg
Top Speed: 140km-h

Features:
- Push-Button Radio
- Heated Rear Window
- Cigarette Lighter
- Reversing Lights
- Hazard Lights
- Two-Speed Wipers
- Electric Washers
- Two-Speed Fan Heater

Anyway, I'll post more cars later.

I ordered new numberplates for my friend's BF Familia, since the old ones were damaged (the corner had broken on the front one, the back one was faded). The white one is for the front, the yellow one is for the back.

Do you call them "numberplate" or "licence plate" in Japan? When I looked, I found both versions. In the UK, we use "numberplate" but most countries seem to call it "licence plate" (even though it has numbers and letters).

Our numberplate system is quite unusual. A plate is issued when the car is first registered, but it stays with the car, even if the owner changes (unless they buy a custom plate). So if you sell one of your cars, you may see it driving around with the old numberplate. I saw my old TR-XX on a car sales website and knew it from the old plate (R298---).

One other unusual point is that you don't need to buy the plate from a government office, you can just have one made by a car parts shop. They don't usually even ask to see the registration documents!

The design of these plates has changed slightly over the years. I got these ones from a shop who still supply old metal type ones. Since the 1990s, they're usually plastic.