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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.

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.