Happening all around the World, there is one automotive sub-culture that has continually grown in popularity year after year after year with no let up in sight. I’m of course referring to the love of all things old school. The allure of days gone by, of a time when cars had their own distinct characters, when a German car was unmistakably teutonic, when a British car was full of lightweight unreliable fun, when an American car sounded like the clappers and drove like a brute, and when a Japanese car was probably neither any of that but were what most of us grew up with. Which interestingly, then gave them their own unique identity. Something many of us now cherish and long for, which might to an extent explain the rise of the Japanese Nostalgic Car movement Worldwide.
When it comes to old metal, i’m guessing the general train of thought is, the older it gets, the better. Restricted to a certain time period of course, i reckon cars from the 60s onwards through to the 80s and early 90s, are now rather sought after. Which unfortunately also means that with only so many to go around, values are bound to rise. More cars to scratch off my dream list i guess.
The thing with the old car movement is that if you don’t think things too seriously, you can have a lot of fun with what you have. This Ratsun pickup for example. It doesn’t have to be pristine but with the right attitude and a good set of wheels, can still look pretty cool.
Another case in point, this old Suzuki Jimny. Looks rather plain jane right? It was running with a loud 2-stroke motorcycle engine. I’m sure it’s a riot!
Sunny rocking some Datsun badging which was not a thing in Japan, Datsun was for export markets only, which explains the USDM styling adopted by the owner. It’s all in the details.
Another Sunny, but from a later era, a great looking B310 Sunny Coupe.
In a sea of modified rides, one surefire way to get noticed is to rock in super clean and stock, like this Cressida Wagon. Tops!
With the current renaissance of classic cars, R31 Skylines are riding the trend and shooting up in value every other week!
From our opening shot, this duo of beautifully done up 510s/Bluebirds looked so good next to each other.
Don’t bother looking up Ebay for one of these. Good ones fetch stupid money even in Japan.
Corona rocking an old school taxicab sign on top!
This Sunny was rocking air suspension and a great looking set of wheels! Simple but so effective.
King of JDM luxobarges, the Toyota Century. I’d love to have one shipped into Singapore. Not too sure who’d be willing to maintain it though.
Great looking Celica. VVT-i badge hinting that there might be something more modern underneath the hood.
One of the best looking vintage Toyotas around.
For those of us with slightly more modest pockets, cars from the 80s and early 90s are a fantastic alternative and a great way to get into the (modern) classic game.
Some most likely driven harder than others.
Kanjozoku.
The Toyota Soarer shares the same birth year as me, 1981! But these second generation ones only started appearing from 1986. They sure look fantastic with a drop and aftermarket wheels. With an engine bay that catered from Straight-6 units, i’d reckon most have now been blessed with a 1JZ.
At this point, cars were still arriving and lining up to get into the parking garage. In this motley crew of Bosozoku styled Nostalgics, we had a Celica…
a Mark II Grande…
and a Skyline Japan revving to get in.
Eventually they made it in, parked up and i was able to get some better shots.
Namennayo cat! Don’t look down on me too much! (Also sometimes translated as, Don’t F##k with me MotherF##ker!)
Another Mark II, but with slightly different front headlights differentiating it. Which makes this a Chaser, the slightly more sporting variant of the Mark II range. Doesn’t it look sweet on those SSR MK1s? If you think this car is beautiful, go google the Coupe version. That curve down the side character line is gorgeous. I want one bad.
The Celica we spotted earlier has now parked up.
Front externally mounted oil-cooler a must for that boso look of course.
And finishing off, a 3rd generation Skyline, also known as the Skyline Japan. A nickname that once again came from Nissan’s ad campaign back in its home country. Somewhat strange given that it was the first Skyline to be officially exported. It might not look as good as the famous cars that preceded it but because of them, values of these boxy Skylines are also on the rise. Pick one up while you still can. I’d take the a Mark II or Crown Coupe though.
