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Isuzu R6 spider by Takashi Jufuku – Cutaway Drawings

April 4, 2024 / banpei / 0 Comments

This Isuzu R6 Spider is one of those racing cars from the late-1960s and early-1970s that punched well above its weight! Let’s honour it with this cutaway drawing by Takashi Jufuku!

Isuzu R6 Spider cutaway drawing by Takashi Jufuku

Powered by the same DOHC inline-4 that powered the Isuzu Bellet, it wasn’t a promising combo. The engine featured Solex PHH carburettors and had an output of 180hp in the R6 spider. Magic happened and it managed to qualify as second on the Suzuka 500km and managed to finish 4th.

The spider shouldn't be confused with the 1969 Isuzu R6 coupé — The spider shouldn’t be confused with the 1969 Isuzu R6 coupé

Even though the R6 Spider featured the same engine, it shouldn’t be confused with the 1969 Isuzu R6 coupé. The Spider was an open top development of the coupé.

The R6 Spider did compete in most other Gran Championship races in 1970 before being succeeded by the Isuzu R7 which was powered by a Chevrolet V8. The arm of GM was apparently longer than the Pacific Ocean and it’s a shame the Isuzu inline-4 was ditched in favour of the Chevy V8.

Is this AE86 heaven or hell? – Japanese Rustoseums

April 2, 2024 / banpei / 0 Comments

Seeing a rusty AE86 is always sad, but seeing five makes me wonder whether this place in Japan is AE86 heaven or hell. Welcome to another Japanese Rustoseum post!

Wrecked zenki panda three-door Sprinter Trueno GT Apex AE86

Let’s start with the first one. This is a presumably late-1984 or early-1985 white panda zenki Trueno GT Apex 3-door that has suffered from some accident damage. The front has been caved in, which means it’s probably a write-off. I think it’s a GT Apex as it does feature the bucket sports seats, and panda paint and doesn’t seem to have an areal on the right fender.

What does this Quatrelle has to do with a Lapin?

Happy Easter with the Suzuki Lapin!

March 31, 2024 / banpei / 0 Comments

I wish you a happy Easter with one of the cutest cars by Suzuki: the Lapin! Lapin means rabbit or bunny in French, so now you know the connection with the Easter bunny!

Lapin history

The Suzuki Lapin was launched in 2002 as a cubical kei car based on the underpinnings of the Suzuki Alto. It also got sold as the Mazda Spanio under the Autozam flag, but that car is less interesting as it’s just a rebadged version of the Lapin.

Rabbit accents everywhere!

Shuto Expressway K1 and K5 feature some very interesting cars!

Drive on the Shuto expressway K1 and K5 (1989 versus 2024) – Friday Video

March 29, 2024 / banpei / 0 Comments

I’ve featured Kamepo‘s amazing side-by-side videos a few times before, but never have I seen one that amazed me more than this one! It’s taking a drive on the Shuto expressway K1 and K5. This is a drive from Ota to Daikoku Futo and then over the Yokohama Bay bridge. If that wasn’t wild enough, the 1989 footage was shot early morning on the first of January. In Tokyo it’s a custom to watch the first sunset and the Yokohama Bay bridge is plastered with cars of people watching this!

Highlights

Here are some of the highlights I found in this video: Daikoku Futo, USS Yokohama, a Nissan Skyline 2000GT C10, six Toyota Carina ED T160, a hotrod Mitsubishi Debonair, a Corona coupé T140 and a yellow Mazda RX-7 FD3S.

Daikoku Futo

Driving like a pro in a Mugen CRX Pro – Family Album Treasures

March 26, 2024 / banpei / 0 Comments

I love the 1980s aesthetics of this photo: the proud owner of a Mugen CRX Pro wearing knock-off Converse Allstars and aviator model glasses. He would be totally fashionable today. But I digress…

If you look closely enough, you can see this Mugen CR-X Pro isn’t just aesthetics. A roll cage is barely visible through the rear quarter window. Also, a bucket seat is installed for the driver and the car has twin exhaust pipes. Finally, it sits on a set of Heroes Racing iSpeed wheels. These wheels are designed to pull air into the wheel to cool the brakes. This CRX seriously means business!

Second-generation Carina brochures with glass cube Ideka Museum compared

Another Glass-cube Toyota Carina brochure – Carina Sightings

March 24, 2024 / banpei / 0 Comments

I found another second-generation Toyota Carina Japanese brochure with the mysterious glass-cube building of the Ideka 20th Century Art Museum on its cover!

It turns out the Carina is parked in the Ikeda Museum parkinglot — Ikeda Museum parkinglot

In the previous post, I was happy to have found out that the Ideka 20th Century Art Museum was featured on the front of the brochure. Last time, I couldn’t have solved the mystery without the help of Google Bard which recognized the building.

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