If all the talk around the auction was to be believed, the previous owner (or “hoarder” as they were referred to in the auction title (for good reason)) was a Japanese chap who had some manner of tie in with an Osaka automotive museum, he passed on and his young son wanted nothing to do with the cars and all manner of other lark that filled the shed.  The son attempted to sell the vehicles on his own but some of the wrong people managed to get ilk and subsequently stole several vehicles.  After this happened, the place was made a lot more secure and the charge of handling the task went to Christchurch Auctions.

When looking around the place, the tie in with some kind of auto museum makes sense, the collection varied wildly in make, model and condition.  The Prince Skyline Super (S21D-4) that I went up to see, in the initial auction pictures, seemed to be in OK nick.  That is however the illusion of photographs, as you can see with mine.

Can you handle how much this car cranks?

The crank handle is in the car because I wanted to make sure the engine actually spun to help dictate what price I was willing to pay.  It did spin too, quite freely.  Certainly a lot more freely than how bound up my one was. (read: locked solid) now the few things I needed from it.  Fender Mirrors, Grille Badge, Bonnet trim, Rear trim, they weren’t all in great condition but they were better than mine which don’t exist.  

Little bit oxidised, innit?

You can see from both shots that it’s fairly solid for it’s age.  Sadly, further investigation found quite a few places that required more work than my current one which basically meant that rather than buying a second one, I would be buying a parts car with very few parts that I absolutely need. My top dollar for it got less, I waited for the starting bid to drop during the auction process and the lowest it got before bidding starting was my top dollar, so needless to say I didn’t end up with it.  That said, it did go for a reasonable price of $900NZD (if memory serves me correctly).

Other cars that were on my radar were a Alfa Romeo GT1600 Junior,

It used to be red.

The Alfa went well above my price range as i expected but nowhere near as high as I expected.  I wish I could have bought it for $5500NZD, it has a very lucky new owner despite the obvious rust that will need fixed.

Isuzu Bellett 1800GT Coupe

This rare beast on NZ shores always had a few people wandering around it but then when the bidding started no-one seemed keen, until it got ridiculously low and then all of a sudden a couple of bidders got locked into a battle with the price ending at $5100NZD-ish, it was quite rotten in places and there’s been a strop through the pillars at some point that did some fairly serious damage, that said I still think it was quite a deal.  The guy who ended up winning on it had previously lost on this Mercedez Benz…

Complete with removable Hardtop.

…which ended up going for $24000NZD, I believe.  It was quite amusing, two people went into a bidding war and just when it seemed to be over a man in a tweed jacket started to bid and ended up winning at the above price.  He was a classy chap with a fair few pennies behind him, by the looks.

Two KE25's, a Bellett, a RT40, a Land Rover & a Surf

I believe the Corollas went for around about $2000 a pop, the Bellett had no engine and went for bugger-all, the Corona was quite rotten and shared the bugger-all price tag.

Isuzu Bellett

Toyota Corona

I’ll leave it at that for the time being but there’s a few more photos that I have stashed away that I’ll post in the next few days.

-Michael

The resulting awesome of having two really good cunts stay at your place for a few days looks something like this;

Day before Departure

The 260 made the drive back from Invercargill to Auckland with very few issues which I was very glad to hear and a small transformation and serious tidy is on the cards, it’s in better hands now than it was under my ownership.

Dirty ol' Celica

Some of you may recognise the Celica.  It’s powered by a 1UZ causing many cries of “Gosh, that’s neat!”, it’s quite the car to ride in.

So.  With the Sunny as the daily, the Cedric under new ownership and a new job, the 110 is starting to get a bit of attention, not enough, but a bit.  Completion is still a ways off but parts are starting to be accumulated again.  Yussssssss.

-Michael

And it’s an ’83 facelift model, even. Reserve is around $4000-$4500.

Solid.

To anyone lamenting the lack of decent older Japanese sports coupes on Trademe recently, perhaps give this a second look?

Nissan Skyline R30 Coupe 1983 for sale on Trademe »

Those tail lights... drool.

Yours for a cool $22,000 and comes with all the fruit, such as the Watanabe rims, front chin spoiler, sweet L16 engine with twin Mikuni crabs, and aftermarket suspension.

Authentic RS-8s of dish.

One day I shall own a ’70s Datto coupe, but between the Bluebird, Skyline, Laurel and Fairlady there’s so many different ones to choose from.

Not quite a C10, but the '70s Nissan DNA is definitely there.

Now where did I put my secret stash of asian millionaire gambling moneys?

1970 Datsun 1600 coupe for sale on Trademe »

Buy me!

Yes, it is that car.  That’s not a sample picture and that’s BEFORE it was getting some more things tidied up on it.  For more information on the car you can check out the build thread and to see comes with, the for sale thread on oldschool.co.nz.

Alternatively, keep reading…

1981 Toyota Starlet XL ‘Lisse’

(JDM model, KP61 factory fitted 4K unlike NZ models which were 2K and 3K only in this shape)

- current status is a rolling shell with full interior fitted.
- I have just had the engine bay completely repainted, smoothed, battery tray, voltage reg bracket and other unnecessary brackets deleted. All filled with steel, not just bogged up. Painted to suit exterior.
- loom is uncut but will need to be modded for a new alternator with internal regulator (Suzuki G16B one will bolt on to K series engine location)
- EVERYTHING is there to reassemble front end and reinstall a K series engine, all bolts in labelled snaplock bags so simple to sort
- guards and panels all bolted on with brand new fasteners
- inner guards finished in a stonechip proof underseal/paint (not that gloopy old type shit)
- exterior paint still in ACE condition, would be even better with a cut since it never was since it got painted 4 years ago
- sitting on King springs with Monroe gas shocks currently
- good diff and brakes

What parts are there?

- original 4K-U engine (electronic ignition) with 4 speed K40 box
- 1x 5K engine (hydraulic lifter) running well when removed from Liteace van
- 2x 5 speed K50 gearboxes with Starlet tailhousings (a bit rare now)
- freshly built coilovers with T3 camber plates and RCA’s (never used, 80mm shorter than stock owe me $900 in parts and machining)
- recond crossmember, steering rack
- brand new lower arms, all new front end bushes and brackets refurbed and powdercoated.
- stripped hubs and freshly skimmed brake rotors ready for new wheel bearings (supplied)
- HEAPS of panels (bonnets, guards, doors, hatches)
- 2 sets of genuine KP61 fender mirrors
- very rare KP61 S spec tacho dash (JDM only)
- spare Lisse spec front seats (again, rocking horse shit)
- spare lights, tail lights, also an additional set of early spec ‘bugeye’ tail lights (smoother look)
- Advan A3A 13×6″ +6 offset wheels with good 165/65 tyres
- Hayashi Street 13×7 +6 and -8 offset wheels (no tyres, and negotiable with sale)
- SSR Bright Speed Racing 14×6.5 0 offset with good 175/60 tyres (negotiable with sale also)
- U code diff with axles to suit (larger than stock 5.6″ X code and bolts into stock housing)
- Yamaha R1 40mm Mikuni CV carbs (no manifold to suit)
- spare electronic ignition setup
- spare grilles (JDM spec) head light surrounds
- spare windscreen, hatch and window glass
- Coby 4-1 headers to suit K series engine
- spare Fujitsu Ten radio and optional extra tape deck (JDM spec, rare)
- Nardi classic steering wheel with boss kit in mint condition (wood or leather option)
- retro Bride reclining sports seat x1 in good condition (needs a damn good shampoo)
- spare stock carbs, manifolds (intake and exhaust), alternators, starter motors, rocker covers, 1x 3K shortblock, bumpers, door seals, windscreen seals, the list goes on.

SO much more I have forgotten – it’s all sitting out at my folks still. There is almost definitely lots more BRAND NEW PARTS I have neglected to mention.

PACKAGE PRICE – $5800 (excluding SSR and Hayashi wheels)
You will be hard pressed to find a tidier flat front type KP61 in NZ. Essentially you are buying a heap of quality parts and are getting a super straight, tidy KP Starlet rolling body with very tidy interior for free.

Negotiable depending on what parts supplied and no parts sold separately until car is sold.

Good luck with the sale, Ricardo.  Hopefully the new owner shares your attention to detail.

-Michael

Looks like a lot of time and effort went into reproducing the Silhouette kit, and the price tag reflects that. The rims aren’t exactly right and it may not be running a LZ20B under the bonnet, but there’s more than enough cool bits attached to the FJ20 to make it sound like it could be pretty fun!

Yours for a cool 2.5 million yen.

I don't even think I could get it into my driveway.

Tomica DR30 Skyline Silhouette replica for sale on Yahoo Auctions Japan »

GT-300 Class awesomeness.

How freakin’ cool would it be to own this?  If my poor translation of the text is to be believed, for reasons unknown it’s FJ20-powered ex-DR30.  It also triggers memories of modifying cars to “Race-spec” on Gran Turismo and ending up with this exact wide-body setup.  Love it.

It could be yours too, for a cool 2,500,000JPY

My brief attempt to find any photos of it racing resulted in massive doses of fail.  I did find a tiny photo that showed the NISMO Calsonic 32 leading a different S13 around a corner but that’s about it asides from a diecast with this wide-body.  If anyone has any luck with GT-300 photographs showing one of these kitted 13′s or this particular one racing, let me know!  In the meantime, here’s the auction…

http://page6.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/f99834850

-Michael

According to the ad this car was on display at Honda’s head office in Manukau for a number of years, and I can corroborate that story as I used to drive past the place a few times every week. Always wondered what the deal was with the little red Civic sitting in the showroom window…

Then one day about three years ago it mysteriously disappeared, only to be replaced by a new Accord and then later an Insight. I guess this explains where it ended up.

Brings back fond memories of a certain 'little red gonda'

Honda Civic Hondamatic 1977 for sale on Trademe »

Isuzu Piazza Nero Turbo, tuned by Irmscher. Sweet rims too.

Marketed as the successor to the cult 117 coupe, styled by Giugiaro, tuned by Irmscher, and with a 2 litre turbo donk under the hood powering the rear wheels, once can’t help but feel that the Isuzu Piazza should be heaps popular, given the resurgence of ’80s nostalgia in the last few years. Unfortunately, they just aren’t.

Being sold in Australia and New Zealand as a Holden probably didn’t help either.

There's an engine hidden in there somewhere, I just knows it.

Isuzu preferred to concentrate on whacking giant turbos on trucks instead back then, which made it a somewhat lesser player in the emerging ’80s sports car market – but it was mostly General Motors’ meddling which saw the Piazza sell rather poorly outside of Japan. In the western world you hardly ever hear of Piazzas being mentioned in the same breath as Cordias, Celicas or Familias, let alone Starions, Supras or RX-7s, which is kind of a pity because the SOHC 8-valve intercooled 4ZC1 engine actually had a similar amount of power (180ps) as the corresponding G63B Starion engine of the era.

Unsurprisingly the Japanese still love them, and the Irmscher derived suspension in the Nero Turbo models was a step up from the rather mundane live rear axle on the standard Piazza (the Lotus tuned versions which came along later offered better handling still).

Can't help but think that rear end reminds me of a Ford Laser.

About the only thing I can fault about this Piazza is the slushbox, but other than that, it’s definitely something refreshingly different from the usual fare of ’80s Jap turbo offerings, and is furthermore clean and unmodified to boot. Hopefully it ends up going to a good home; if there’s one thing good about the less ‘popular’ cars it’s that the enthusiasts tend to be a lot more passionate about their rides. Even the price is realistic, for once.

Isuzu Piazza Nero Turbo 1985 for sale on trademe »

Just Beachy

I want to get my C110 sorted desperately and so I need to sell this.  You’d be buying an awesome car as well as helping out another awesome car.  Is there a greater gift?

No.  There is not.

…and here’s the entry from when I bought it;

http://blog.retro-classics.co.nz/?p=2585

-Michael