Up until fairly recently in the sometimes snobby classic car show world, Japanese cars usually got about as much respect as Kim Kardashian might garner on a celebrity version of Jeopardy. But the tide is turning, and in Southern California a big part of that reversal is the annual Japanese Classic Car Show held in a park next to the permanently moored Queen Mary.
Now at 11 years and counting, the JCCS seems to welcome all makes and models, provided they are of course Japanese. As we strolled around the show, we saw a large variety of interesting cars that ranged from "I had one of those while attending college." to "I've never seen that car except in magazines or on the internet!" As we've already seen plenty of fourth-gen Supras and Nissan GT-Rs, we concentrated more on the stuff that doesn't get as much glory.
1986 Honda Prelude
Honda Highlights
Right off the bat, a mint 1986 Prelude caught our eyes. Original down to the wheelcovers, this Prelude looked like it just rolled out of the showroom. With its trim, slim roof pillar design and cleanly designed interior with heavily bolstered sport seats, this second-generation Prelude reminded us of how Honda could do no wrong back then. A similarly mint 1985 Honda CRX Si cemented that impression. Reminding us of Honda's earlier, comparatively awkward time of the mid-'70s was a Kermit the Frog green 1974 Civic.
Touching on Toyota
Over at the Toyota camp we spotted a pristine 1974 Corolla SR5. Factory original down to its little steel wheels with chrome lug nuts, this Corolla showed how even back then Toyota tried to make its little commuter car interesting. Next up was a red 1986 Corolla GT-S liftback, that, with its peppy, free-revving DOHC, 16-valve inline four, rear-wheel drive, tuned suspension and aggressive sport seats. This handsome sport compact made it easy to understand why modern enthusiasts love these "AE86" (the internal model code for this generation) Corollas.
And then there was the heavily modified 1985 Toyota MR2 that was a victim of the "hellaflush" movement. The latter is when a car's suspension is lowered and wheels are fitted to the point that the tires are flush with, or even standing outside of, the wheel well lips. The wheels are often also cambered out to emphasize the "stance". Functionally this makes no sense at all from a performance standpoint, given how it severely limits suspension travel to about nil and likely allows tires to rub against the wheel wells when encountering bumps or while cornering fast. Then again, maybe we're just getting old.
Headlining the Toyota gathering was a 1967 2000 GT, a rare, limited production sports car the company brought out to battle the likes of Porsche and Jaguar. Powered by a 150-hp, DOHC inline six connected to a five-speed manual, the 2000 GT was more an athletic grand touring machine than hard-edged sports car, and that suits us just fine. With less than 400 ever produced (and of those only 62 being left-hand drive), these cars are rarely seen. Values of the 2000 GT have skyrocketed in the last five years, with one selling for over a million dollars at auction back in 2013. As they don't change hands too often, we can only imagine what one is worth today.
The Rotary Club
Mazdas were well represented, as everything from a super rare 1967 Cosmos (their first rotary engine car) to a gorgeous 1979 (first year) RX-7 were on the show field. The Cosmos was one of just two or three officially exported to the U.S. and was something to see in its pristine, original condition with just over 8,000 miles on the clock.
1979 Mazda RX-7 restomod
That RX-7 was also a crowd favorite, a restomod sporting a later-generation engine swap consisting of a turbocharged 13B rotary easily making well over double the original 12A rotary's 100 horsepower. It also featured upgraded suspension, wheels/tires and brakes. Wearing 16-inch BBS wheels in place of its orginal 13-inchers, this RX-7 showed well a tasteful but not over the top wheel upsizing can work. Also sharing the Mazda turf was another rotary-powered sibling, this time a mint and rare 1977 RX-3 SP in its somewhat visually overbearing, yet typical for the late-'70s, glory.
Ending with Z
Of course the Datsun (later Nissan) Z car contingent was in full force. Plenty of first-generation 240-/260-/280Zs were on display. A really nice, bone-stock 1974 260Z sat among a row of its modified brothers, seemingly proud to be wearing its factory wheel covers rather than a set of snazzy Panasports. A 1980 280ZX 10th Anniversary Edition in its original black and red two-tone paint scheme represented not only the second-gen Z car, but also the rarer of the two 10th Anniversary paint schemes. On the off chance you see one of these rare cars , it's usually black and gold.
A similarly rare 1988 300ZX Turbo Shiro (white) Special Edition. This all-white version of the Turbo appealed to enthusiasts who prized performance above plush features. As such, the Shiro did away with the standard Turbo's gizmos such as the electronically adjustable suspension, power front seats and the digital dash. The result was more of a serious driver's car that was about 125 pounds lighter and fitted with firmer suspension calibrations.
Check out our gallery below for more of the cars featured at the show!
Noe: Whether you want to maintain an original or modify a newer model vehicle, Advance Auto Parts has all the high-quality parts you need.
