Hirstのブログ一覧

There's a local classic car show held annually near me. I've taken a lot of of photos, but I'll show you this first. A friend decided to visit, he works as a writer for a classic car newspaper. He's not local, but I see him occasionally. He likes unusual cars and was the owner of the G11 Charade I posted a long time ago.



This time, he arrived in his Isuzu Piazza Turbo (JR120)! He hasn't owned this for very long, though he did previously have a Piazza a few years ago. I was happy to see this, because the Piazza is very interesting to me. The stylish body was designed by Giugiaro. The Piazza is based directly on the "Ace of Clubs" concept car designed for Isuzu.



I love the headlight design! The Piazza was the first Isuzu car to be sold here. His is one of the earlier cars, they call these the "pre-Lotus" cars here (the later cars have "Handling By Lotus" suspension and slightly different appearance).



The back end is cool, with a large glass area and an interesting back panel design. Rear fog lights are a rule for UK cars. Some manufacturers redesign the rear lights, but in the 1970s/80s most imported cars had one or two rear foglights under the bumper instead. There's a few rust stains, but the car is solid. It needs a few bits of paint, but he's going to repair it gradually.



The interior is great, I really like this type of seat fabric. It reminds me of my GC Capella-626, but more sporty.



The dashboard layout is very unusual, there's a lot of buttons. But the controls are very interesting...



It's actually quite complicated to do anything on this car, but at least you have a lot of buttons to play with.



I think this Panasonic cassette radio is the original one with the car. I didn't notice at the time, but he's using a cassette adaptor. I still like using real cassettes, but not many people are like me nowadays, haha.



It says "PIAZZA" all over the car. I think it says it about 10 times, maybe more...



We only imported the Turbo model, with a choice of 5MT or 4AT. All the UK cars have the 1994cc 4-cylinder SOHC 4ZC1-T engine which has 150ps. His car was a 5MT and also has an LSD. It's quite fast, too! The engine bay looks typical of 1980s turbo cars, with rubber hoses everywhere.



These aren't the original wheels, they're from a different year. He got these wheels for £1 (¥190) on an online auction. The polished surface has corroded, this is common for polished wheels in our climate. But for £1, they're still good! They even have Goodyears, but I don't know how old they are...



After driving the car, we went to a restaurant for Indian curry. This last picture was taken by him, so it looks a lot better than my photos. I want a big camera again! I'm tired of using a compact camera, but my big one has been broken for a while (it's my birthday soon, I think I'll get a DSLR). Anyway, I got to drive it for quite a while. I didn't go very fast, because we thought the old Goodyears were losing pressure (and it's an old car!). But I accelerated it hard a few times. There was some 1980s "turbo lag" but not too bad, overall it was quite smooth. The steering feels quite firm when driving straight, but it feels like it would be "loose" when driven hard. It's more of a Grand Tourer than a Sports Car, but that's good for me. He got to drive my 156 V6 too...

I'd love to add one to my collection! If you get a chance to drive a Piazza, try it.

I can't believe it...

Recently, my friend got this BF 323-Familia Executive: https://minkara.carview.co.jp/en/userid/933700/blog/35909550/

On Thursday, I was in town at the Barbers. As I was leaving, I saw my friend and he called me over. He said he saw my YRV and he had some news for me.

He said "Right now, I'm trying to buy a Honda Quintet!"
("Quintet" is the European name of the first generation "Quint" from 1980-85).



I made a face like this:
(ﾟロﾟ) !!


The Honda Quint(et) is incredibly rare, almost extinct. In the entire UK, I think there's only two of them left. I haven't seen one for about 10-15 years and I didn't think I would ever see one again. I'm not sure if there's even any in Japan...

The car is about 350km away from where we live, but my friend just contacted me now to say he's paid for the car and he'll be bringing it back as soon as he can. Here are a few photos of it.





Anyway, we're both very excited about this! I'm going to buy some beer!! YEAH!

It seems this weekend I've been very busy with 1980s Japanese cars, today I spotted a KE70 Corolla!!

Actually, I knew about this car already, because I've talked to the owner before (he has a few older Corollas). However, this one is his most valuable one and he usually keeps it in the garage, so I've never actually seen it before. My friend saw it once, but he didn't get a photo.

It's a 1983 model with the 4K 1.3L OHV engine, a later type model with the new style headlights. I'm not sure what grade it is. Probably "DX" or "GL".

The condition is perfect, I couldn't see any scratches! It looked so cool with the original steel wheels and half-size hubcaps.



My Charmant A35 is based on this model, using the same 4K engine with a Toyota stamping on the engine top, but it has a Daihatsu oil cap. The body is similar, but the panels are different. Nearly all of the mechanical parts are the same, though.

I was very glad to see this car. If you ever have a chance to drive a KE70 Corolla (or A35 Charmant!), you should try it. Even the 1.3L OHV engine is great to drive and the steering response is excellent.

Recently I tried to get my friend to buy a BF Familia-323 Wagon. I didn't hear anything, so I guessed I was unsuccessful...



However, he called me a few days ago to say he'd seen another BF 323 for sale on the Internet and he was interested in buying it for himself. I looked at it, it seemed OK. Here's the photo from the advert.



It looked quite good to me! It's a later model, Executive grade with 1.5L and Automatic gearbox. I noticed the hubcaps aren't Mazda ones, I was sure they're from a Renault.

Anyway, I said I'd go with him to take a look. It was about 45 minutes to drive there, we got out to look at the car. There were some areas needing paint, but the main problems were in the engine compartment.



There was a big oil leak, but it's from the rocker gasket. It's actually very cheap and easy to fix, but the seller said it only had a small oil leak. That looks very big to me.



The main problem was the radiator. The old radiator was damaged. Instead of replacing it with another radiator for the Mazda, they used one from a first generation Honda Fit (UK name: Honda Jazz). It was about half the size, with different hoses and plastic cable ties holding it in. I don't know why the radiator cap was there. It looks terrible!

Anyway, we discussed it with the seller for a long time and he agreed to reduce the price by over 50%!! My friend gave him the money and he gave me the keys (I agreed to drive it back).



It was quite different from my BF. Mine is the early type 1.3 with 5MT, this is a later type 1.5 with 3AT. These later type models use the B-Series engine, my early type uses the E-Series. Though the engine specification is similar, the sound is completely different. The B-Series sounds more sporty.

I enjoyed driving it a lot, though I prefer my Manual gearbox.



The interior is nice, since it's the Executive it has a lot more buttons than my basic LX model.



All the windows are electric. There's also an electric sunroof.



The seats are comfortable too, though they need to be cleaned.



Here it is when we got it back. I had to be careful to watch the temperature gauge since the radiator is too small. It went a little bit too hot, but not into the red zone. We'll replace the radiator soon with the correct Mazda one.



The back end of the later models is different from mine, too. Here is mine a few years ago with another one I saw.



I'll be helping him to fix it. When he's finished, we'll take photos of both our BF Familia-323s together.

Anyway, I'm glad my friend got this car!

I've seen a BF Familia Wagon for sale, or as we call it in the UK, "323 Estate". I don't have enough room for it, so I'm trying to get my friend to buy it!

It's the 1.5 GLX, so it has a better specification than my 1.3 LX hatchback. As well as a bigger size engine, it's a later model. You can tell by the design of the front marker lights. This means it will have the new B-series engine, mine is the early E-series type. They sound different, the E-series makes a "woo-woooo" noise when you rev it. It sounds like a ghost! The B-series sounds more sporty.

From my brochure, the differences between LX and GLX are:
- Tachometer
- Full Console (area under the radio)
- Twin Radio Speakers (I only have one)
- Adjustable Steering Rake
- Power Locks
- Headlight Warning Chime (if you forget to turn the lights on)
- Luxury Type Steering Wheel
- Half-Type Wheel Cover (I only have a small cap)
- Body Pinstripe

Since it's a later model, it will probably have Power Steering too. Maybe some other differences.

I hope he buys it!