Memories of drainpipe.

September 24, 2009

Ah, I still remember back when I wanted to buy a HBSN2 Cosmo. Fortunately that plan got scuppered when I managed to find a SA22C RX-7 instead, much to the relief of Tom who still has recurring nightmares of a certain Cosmo nicknamed “drainpipe”… more on that below.

Either way, I still have a soft spot for those cars (the side profile reminds me of a UFO) and it was nice to come across this tidy little 1983 Series 1 HBSN2 at a yard called FLYRAT today. They certainly are getting rare in rotary turbo coupe form these days, maybe even more so than their SA22C counterpart – and if truth be told, I sorta prefer the Cosmo’s independent rear over the watts link in the 7. Minor quibbles only!

Only the Japs could come up with something named after not one, but TWO types of vermin...

There ain’t no price listed for the car, but I’m guessing it won’t be going cheap. This is why:

39,230 km real driving car accident superb history two owners
User manual inspection and maintenance records at car maintenance handbook
Rare early model to the present time car garage storage 12A rotary turbo

That first line sounds a bit confusing (real driving car accident?), but that’s just Google translate at work. Full advertisement here.

Mmm, luxurious velour. And you can never have too many buttons on the dashboard.

I recommend checking out the other cars on offer at FLYRAT if you enjoy internet window shopping – the yard publishes all of its ads in a neat blog format, and they have quite a few different cars from various makers on offer. Yet another bookmark to add to the likes of Musashino, Jenesis, Amon et al.

So… this Cosmo, why was it called “drainpipe” you may wonder? Imagine your usual backyard drillport rotary engine “pulsing” through a standard exhaust pipe. Now feed that sound through a couple of milo tins and out through a kazoo. The end result? Much like someone farting through a drainpipe.

FLYRAT »

2 Comments

  • Aaron Barnes says:

    Very nice!

    It may not be as expensive as you think, seeing as it doesn’t have the original front on it. The clear driving lights/grill are off the facelift model… the grey interior seems like a swap from the facelift model also.

    I’m guessing the front was swapped after the accident – it is very difficult to get the pre-face lift front lenses now :(

  • Orion says:

    hey Aaron. Thought you might like it :D

    Yeah I think it would be a good score for an enthusiast regardless of price just because it’s a coupe. I remember some of the folks on ausrotary were quite keen on tracking one down.

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