Japanese Car Day: Parliament House Lawns, Hobart, 2nd of March, 2019

I have a thing for 1970s' Japanese hardtops and coupes, quite possibly because they were what I could afford - and thus aspire to - in the early 1980s when I first got my licence.  But also because they are very, very beautiful, well-made, and handled and performed pretty well, especially when compared to some of the stodge that was manufactured domestically and in the UK around the same time.  If they lacked the cachet of my other love - Italian sports cars from the 60s through to the early 80s - they certainly made up for it in reliability and build finish.

Having said that, I only ever admired Mazda's rotary line-up - the R100 and RXs 2 to 7 - from the passengers seats of mates' cars because early versions did have a few issues with their engines, notwithstanding that when they went, they really, really went!  And when they didn't, my mates swore a lot, got progressively poorer and not uncommonly ended up in the passenger seat of my 1975 Galant hardtop. 

Seeing the two rotary-powered Mazdas featured here - a stunning 1971 RX2 and an equally magnificent RX4 - at the Shannons Insurance All-Japanese Day was therefore an absolute treat!  The venue - the lawns of Parliament House, Hobart - wasn't too shabby, either!  I'm not knowledgeable enough to know what sort of donks the Mazdas were running but the 13B seems to be the engine of choice these days.  The RX4's appears to be turbo-charged, so that has me thinking it's probably been sourced from a later-model RX7. 

If you're so hopelessly millennial that don't quite get the RX thing, this might explain it to you:  Mazda rotaries were what young rev-heads drove before Subaru introduced the WRX, Mitsubishi started turbo-charging all-wheel-drive Lancers and the grey market saw the mass introduction of quick Skylines into Australia.  They were devastatingly fast, handled better than any V8 Ford or Holden of the era and they made the most amazing banshee-screaming sound at their 8,000 + RPM red-line.

"A macho macho macho machine - Toyota T18 (do you know what I mean?)"

John bought this 1978 Toyota Cressida wagon in 1980 and has had it ever since.  In typical Toyota fashion, it served duty as a family car for many years and has given virtually no problems in the nearly forty years John's had it.  He reckons it's a lovely car to drive.  There's a tiny, tiny bit of rust here and there that's soon to be cut out and it'll be good for another forty!

The steering wheel has a very subtle wood-inlay around its rim.

As a Japanese coupe tragic, I have to admit to being a little disappointed that the display wasn't graced by a Datsun 240 or 260Z.  A 180B SSS would've been nice, too, as would a few of the local Fairladies.  However, there were two very nice 280ZXs, with Rodney's bronze version being about as perfect as you might hope to see.    

Rodney's beautifully restored 280ZX.

Left to right:  Daniel's, my own, and Neil's GC Galant hardtops.

This photo's a bit special for Galant hardtop owners, as it's the first time that Daniel's totally original 1974 1600, my own quite heavily modified 1975 2.0 and Neil's wild 1975 2.6 have been seen together.  All three are GCs and are in great nick, with each one reflecting our own tastes and driving styles, with Daniel keen on originality, me being inclined towards touring on country roads and taking cues from the car's earlier motorsports history, and Neil focusing more on the JDM scene and car shows and events.

No classic Japanese car show would be complete without some Toyota hardtops or coupes!  The Celica is ostensibly standard, save a set of nice Hotwire wheels, whereas the Corolla is, or have been prepared to, Levin-spec with a twin-cam motor and plenty of go-faster bits.  Both of them are lovely!

Did you like this post?  If so, please feel to have a look-see around the rest of the uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au site.  There's a search facility in the top right corner of the page that allows you to find any of the hundreds of classic, sports and performance cars from Tasmania and mainland Australia, as well as many, many car shows and motor sports events.  It's like a local on-line car mag but for free!  Please share!! 

U M P H

(uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.)

PS:  Classics by The Beach is due out on Tuesday the 5th of March.  Apologies for the delay.