• Hi Guest!
    You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

I need this car

Share this page

coldplugs

coldplugs

Darth Vader
Country flag
Offline
I suppose we all have a list of those cars we need to experience before we pass on to the great scrapyard in the sky. Mine's pretty short these days but a car was added about 2 weeks ago when I stopped at a small show down in southern Maine and saw this flawless Honda S600.

h600a.jpg

h600b.jpg


This is about 1965 vintage and has a 600cc DOHC engine making almost 100 hp/liter and redlined at 9500rpm. I haven't seen many of these & this was the first time I talked with an owner and really got to look closely.

The car was almost completely owner-restored. The fellow also has a nice TC and, as a sure indication of fine taste in automobiles, a Berkeley!
 
Tops of my Japanese list, tied with a Toyota 2000GT. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif
 
The Japanese Midget!
 
Thers is one of those sitting a few streets over from me.....still pretty good shape, but the weather is starting to get to it now......has a hardtop on it....I've begged the owner to sell it, but she won't cave. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
I just looked at the last pic... is that 4 Mikuni's?
 
Mikuni - now there's a carb...I'd put them on an MGB anytime before a Weber!
 
Coldplugs....

I'm still sick about the OSCA.
I would like to crash a RS200.
A XK-SS would make an cool rental.
The Elise is a good daily driver.

BUT......The ELEVEN is still the greatest car ever made. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yesnod.gif
(Lola MkI is #2 & Courier is 3)
 
[ QUOTE ]
......The ELEVEN is still the greatest car ever made. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yesnod.gif
(Lola MkI is #2 & Courier is 3)....

[/ QUOTE ]

I'd argue about these as #1,2,3 but you're into super-good car territory here where agreement is hard to get. The Lola 1 is a beauty, the Eleven is legendary, and I love Couriers. But compared with an OSCA 750, Ferrari SWB 250GT, XK-SS, et al I'm not sure they'd stand up.


But that's what makes this all so much fun, isn't it. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif
 
Now that's a car! I've always admired these early Japanese sports cars, and I still haven't seen one of these Honda sports cars in person! My camera gear is patiently waiting... But my odds are pretty low here in Calgary /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif

Calgary... Land of the American land yacht, and very few neat old import cars... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nonod.gif And I'm pretty sure there aren't any Berkeley's that reside here either
 
Those early ones had a chain final drive. There were some coupes as well. I've forgotten the details, but there was some major issue with them at first causing them to be withdrawn almost immediately. They were too expensive to return and were all rode the gangplank somewhere off the coast of Seattle. A quick search led to no details, but perhaps someone here remembers?
 
@Paul

Is that just an urban legend? Or is there any truth to it?

I've heard a similar story about Triumph Mayflowers, that in the mid-1950's they had so many unsold examples that they took a ship to sea off the B.C. coast and chucked them in, but it's only a story I've heard...
 
[ QUOTE ]
Mikuni - now there's a carb...I'd put them on an MGB anytime before a Weber!

[/ QUOTE ]
Hey Tony,
Do it man! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
I case you missed it, here is the thread on my Mikuni conversion. 1500 CFM
 
My uncle brought back a RHD example of one of those Hondas when he returned from service in Japan (late 60s). He had to take the DMV employee out to the parking lot to prove to him that Honda made cars and that it was not a motorcycle.
It soon after got an Olds V6 and a narrowed Olds rear end. That car was flat out scary!.
It's still roumered to be in storage somewhere in Orlando.
 
Greg - had a Mikuni on one of my B's for some time...even found a place in North Carolina where I could get parts for them...however, somebody else wanted it more than me.
 
The early 500s and 600s had lots of problems. The story about the cars being shoved into Elliot Bay in Seattle is strictly urban legend.

The S800 was a heck of a car -- not chain drive like the earlier ones, and quick!

Now as for my dream list, there aren't enough hours in the day to go through all the cars I'd love...

...although the XKSS, Lotus XI, Ferrari California Spider LWB (hey I'm tall!) would all be in there. Duesenberg SJ, Hispano Suiza, '64 Continental Convertible, '53 Skylark, Bentley Speed Six, Alfa Romeo 8C.... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
'64 Continental Convertible

[/ QUOTE ]

Just saw one of those for sale last weekend, a 65 not a 64, at of all places my local Lowes parking lot. Someone had parked it way out at the end of the lot across from the main entrance road and probably just left it there for the day. Beautiful car, haven't seen it there since though.
 
[ QUOTE ]
But compared with an OSCA 750, Ferrari SWB 250GT, XK-SS, et al I'm not sure they'd stand up.


[/ QUOTE ]
I prefer cars under 1500 lbs.
Also....I could more afford to blow up a MGA or Climax engine.
I'm talking about a car you can take out an run like it was suppose to be run. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

The others cross the line into "consumptive use of artifacts" territory.
(And I'm not into parade laps)
 
[ QUOTE ]
...
The others cross the line into "consumptive use of artifacts" territory.(And I'm not into parade laps)

[/ QUOTE ]

Fair enough. Won't argue that except for the OSCA - weight under 1000 lbs and there are several that are not concourse but are still racing cars. However, I agree that Climax parts are far easier to find than parts for a 750 OSCA.

(It's interesting to me that so many of us lust after Elevens and sometimes the odd Lola - you mentioned the beautiful Mk.1 - but why not the early front-engined Elvas? Is it a styling thing? I could be wrong but I seldom notice people discussing the Climax powered '58 or 59 vintage cars. They were as good as the Elevens in their day.)
 
Back
Top