These days, if you are going to build a car from the 1960s or ’70s you’re likely to choose one of three directions for your project. First off there’s the restoration route, where you do your best to return everything back to how it was when the car came out of the showroom. It’s surely the most traditional way to revive an old car.
Then there’s the resto-mod option. You repair and restore the problem areas on the car, and then add in some aftermarket bits for extra performance and style. It’s a method that seems to get more popular each year.
And the third way? Well, that’s when you decide to get a little bit crazy. Rather than embracing the old school way, you take the shell of your vintage car and transform it into something much different and much more powerful than anyone could have dreamed when it was originally built.
Toni Laari’s Datsun 260Z out of Finland is a car that falls into the that third category. It’s got the unmistakable look of an early ’70s Z, and the kind of streetable power that no one could have imagined back in 1974.
When Toni originally acquired the Datsun it wasn’t as if he was searching high and low for an old Z to build into his dream car. He simply found the car for sale nearby his house and thought it had a good look to it. Not only that, but he liked the fact that it was rear-wheel drive and had plenty of room in the engine bay to accommodate whatever wild power plant he might decide to go with.
Also of interest is that Toni’s Z is not the more popular two-seat body style, but the less commonly seen 2+2 shape. While some think 2+2 Zs are a bit awkward looking, I think Toni’s car shows they can look just as good as their two-seat counterpart. It also gives the whole thing an added layer of uniqueness.
Even before he acquired the 260Z, Toni knew he wanted to build a street car with tons of power for the track, great handling and a very cool style. With the Datsun in his possession, he rolled the car into his garage and began on making his vision a reality.
When you think of the cars most commonly associated with Japan’s shakotan and modifiedkyusha culture, there are several models that come to mind. The Nissan Skyline of course, along with its cousin the Fairlady Z. Then there’s the Toyota Celica, the Mark II, the Mazda RX-7, plus a number of other domestic sports cars and sedans from the ’70s and ’80s.
Yet despite its importance to the history of Japanese sports cars, the Datsun Fairlady Roadster is not a model you often see involved with this movement. That’s why I was very surprised to find this little 2000 Roadster parked amongst a group of two and four-wheeledkyusha during a gathering at Fuji Speedway earlier this year.
With its elegant 1960s sports car inspired looks, the Datsun Roadster isn’t commonly associated with the wide fenders, slammed ride heights and overt paint jobs of the shakotanscene, but this car manages to fit in perfectly.
The owner has given the loveable little Fairlady some proper attitude with a choice set of wheels, some subtle body work and an aggressive suspension setup. Best of all, the modifications come across totally natural.
You can’t just throw a bunch of stuff at a car like this and expect it to work, so great attention to detail was needed for the body work. Rather than the bolt-on style over-fenders you see on most kyusha builds, the arches of the Datsun have been perfectly flared to accommodate wheels and tires much larger than what the stock fenders could hold.
And the fenders are filled up beautifully with a set of Hayashi Street wheels that look brand new, wrapped in modern Dunlop rubber with the perfect amount of stretch.
Combined with an aggressive but functional ride height, a factory hard top and a set of bullet-style mirrors, you’ve got one of the most attractive looking Fairlady Roadsters I’ve ever seen.
It’s the same story inside. Peek into the cockpit and you’ll find a pair of old school bucket seats, a period correct steering wheel and requisite checker pattern floor mats.
With the ideal blend of period charm, attention to detail and a street racer touch, this vintage Datsun presses all the right buttons for me. I really hope we’ll see more Roadster builds like this one start to pop up around the world.
For all of the craziness that was in my previous post from the JCCA New Year Meeting at Fuji Speedway, it’s pretty bewildering to think that was just the parking lot. And while the unofficial side of the New Year Meeting is certainly good enough to be its own event, the official stuff is just as amazing.
With the change in venue from urban Tokyo to Fuji Speedway, there was certainly a shift in the New Year Meeting’s vibe for this year. This was largely due to the inclusion of open track sessions for a variety of vintage cars.
While the Tokyo events didn’t disappoint with their assortment of everything from Nissan Sunnys to Ferrari Dinos, I have to say that having all of the competition machinery present made things even better this time around.
The weather didn’t make for the most ideal racing conditions for rare and valuable classics, but the water didn’t seem to deter many of the drivers that wanted to break in 2014 with some proper track time.
If you’ve seen the final racing scene from the movie Rush, then you’ll know how treacherous the conditions can be at Fuji Speedway. While things last Sunday might not have been quiteas dangerous as the 1976 Formula 1 season finale, I still have a tremendous amount of respect for the drivers that were out there running hard in the rain.
Just like the any other automotive scene, Japan’s classic car community has layers; including restorers, collectors, cruisers and racers. Not surprisingly, Sunday’s event featured a big showing of vehicles from the latter category, such as this wicked 240ZG from Garage Masuda.
While some of the JCCA’s other meets include actual race groups, the New Year Meeting was more about free-running. That didn’t mean there weren’t plenty of full-on race cars that came out though. This 310 Nissan Sunny for example has been built for battle in the TS Cup series.
It’s not so often that you’ll see a Ford Capri and a Hakosuka Skyline parked beside each other. These cars may have come from completely different makers on opposite sides of the globe, but together you can see quite a few similarities. All it takes is a scene like this to reinforce my belief that 1970s-era race cars are the greatest of all time.
I love seeing legendary racing colors on ‘normal’ cars, and this wide-bodied SA22C RX-7 pulls off the Mazda 787B livery perfectly. If the car’s looks weren’t outstanding enough, you could hear the screaming rotary coming from miles away. Not unlike the actual 787B I suppose…
And speaking of legitimate historic race machines – here’s Nissan’s 1968 R381 (Chevrolet V8-powered), with the rival Toyota 7 lurking in the background. For many, just the chance to see these two legends up close was worth the price of admission alone.
Other run groups consisted of cars that were much more street friendly, like this S130Z Fairlady. People will always flock to the original S30 body style, but cars like this show that the newer models can be just as cool too. I love the factory coloring and period-correct SSR mesh wheels here.
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The longer you hang around the vintage Japanese car scene, the more you stop referring to cars by their model name. This for example, is not known as a first generation Toyota Celica. Instead, it’s called Daruma thanks to its resemblance to the traditional Japanese doll.
Ah yes, the good old San Maru Z. Of course this isn’t just any regular S30, but the well known Phalanx Machine that’s been a New Year Meeting regular for as long as I’ve been attending.
Datsun 510? Nissan Bluebird? Just say the words ‘Go Ichi Maru’ and any Japanese enthusiast will immediately know you are talking about the legendary machine pictured here.
There were tons of 510s that came out to Fuji on Sunday, including race cars, custom street cars, factory restos and even this super-cool rally machine out of Osaka. It’s like the famous Safari Rally 510, only cleaner.
And while famous Japanese models like the Skyline, Z, Celica and RX-7 made up the bulk of the track day participants, there were also plenty of more unusual machines getting in on the action.
Peek at the front of this car and you’ll probably think it’s another one of the many HakosukaSkylines that came to Fuji. Look a little harder, and you’ll notice it’s a rare wagon model that actually came out to race.
I can’t say that I’ve ever seen a Hakosuka Wagon and a 230 Nissan Gloria coupe running flat out side by side, and chances are I’ll probably never see it again. This sort of thing is why I love the New Year Meeting so much.
How about a 330 chassis Nissan Cedric Brougham four-door hardtop built for the circuit? Everything about this car is great, particularly that tough-sounding side dump exhaust.
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Aside from the cars that were actually running in the track sessions, the New Year Meeting paddock offered plenty of other stuff for kyusha fans to drool over.
I especially liked this first generation Corolla sedan from Shizuoka’s Wide Going Garage – as branded by the super cool hand-lettering on the rear quarter panel.
Oh how I love you JCCA New Year Meeting. You are surely the only place in the world where you’ll find a mint Lamborghini Countach in one corner.
And then a line of 50 series Toyota Crowns sitting in another. Even better is the fact that all three of these Crowns are of the rare pickup body style.
Also following the proven ‘simple is best’ route is this tidy little 110 Sunny four-door. The car is almost completely stock in appearance, save for a dropped ride height and a set of custom-widened steel wheels. Love it!
Also popping up at Fuji Speedway was the mega-slammed Porsche 914 that we spotted at a couple different events last year. Obviously the owner isn’t afraid of a little rain.
How’s this for another example of Japanese creativity? It’s the ‘Brumos Datsun’ 210 Sunny. Porsche purists, you can accept my apologies in advance.
I’m guessing the collectables sellers were quite happy that the event organizers placed them inside of Fuji Speedway’s pit garages on Sunday. Not only could they stay dry, but they were also drew plenty of showgoers who were looking for a place to escape the rain.
These 240ZG race car and Speed Racer Mach 5 model kits were just a few of the cool items I spotted during my brief look through this year’s selection of goodies. I knew I should have brought a few extra suitcases with me!
I could easily dedicate several more posts to the 2014 JCCA New Year Meeting, but my time in Japan has consisted of non-stop action and there’s plenty more Speedhunting adventures that need to be shared.
Rain or shine, Tokyo or Fuji – the New Year Meeting will always hold a special place in my heart. Until next year then!
PS: I’d also like to sincerely thank Speedhunters reader Mr. Yuya Kasai for giving me an umbrella to use when he noticed I had left mine back home in the USA. Kasaiさん、傘ありがとう！
