xracer6

Whoa what is the cream colored car? I can't exactly tell form this angle surprisingly for me... Haha both are very beautiful

AussieAS285

I am thinking it is what was referred to (In Australia) as an RE1 Mazda Capella, Rotary engined. The beginning of the Mazda Rotary engined dynasty.

Kuroneko

That's a Subaru FF1 1300 Sports with a big-bore kit, twin choke 40mm Weber, and a screaming exhaust note...



Parked above next to a very tasteful gray Honda S800M coupe (and some red roadster thing).





Here's another version I snapped on the way to work a while ago outside the Imperial Palace:



Neko.

Kuroneko

Standard S800 cam-box cover uses 2x butterfly nuts to secure, but after loosing two over the last year or so through vibrating off (the nuts, not the cam-box covers), I made a more secure fix:



Which of course requires a spanner to remove, but that gave me an excuse to buy a neat 10mm stainless, dual sided, Tone Tools rachet ring:



Kept in the center console if ever spark-plug or similar access required on the road. Next job: waiting on some ceramic H4 sockets, and some direct battery feed relays to be installed:



2x Koito H4 semi-sealed beams (PN: HSSB-16-12HP). They come standard with 55/60W halogen bulbs (total \6000), and I will see how they go before perhaps upgrading to 75/100W inserts. Neko.

Russell83

Looks totally awesome! Something I would certainly love to have in my currently very small collection. Good job!

Kuroneko

Thanks! Finally working on the FRP hood, needs a little 'persuasion' and / or shimming to get it to fit. The hood is likely proper, the car not. She's definitely had a light bump in the nose earlier in life.



Last week though, we managed to get out for a drive - four of us - an AE86, a Hako GT-R, an R35 GT-R, and the Hachi. We made some early morning noise across the Hakone and Ashinoko Skyline and squeezed in a tasty mountain soba lunch before the quick & clean journey back to Tokyo.



More pics to follow when its tidied up a bit. Neko.

Kuroneko

One more from the day to Hakone Skyline...



(Why have they messed with URLs from Fickle?)

Kuroneko

No work on the Hachi, just driving to the office during a quiet Golden Week in Tokio...

Kuroneko

Time to pull the brake master cylinder. I was using nearly as much brake fluid as I was using oil...



Unlike a few of my previous classics, where you have to get either under the car, or under the dash in-front of the floor board, the S800 has the master cylinder conveniently located up top in the engine compartment (like many Japanese cars I suppose). It comes out easily then. A new set of brake light switches, and a master cylinder overhaul kit used.



It disassembles easily, and after a light Dremmel and some polish on the outside, and a light ream on the inside, it came up a nice dull shine too. Next re-install, and bleed the system. Neko.

Kuroneko

Well that was fun... After stopping the reservoirs from leaking, the main pistons in both brake master cylinder and clutch both started weeping. Having replaced the brake master cylinder seals & cups with new, not one week later the clutch master cylinder started to weep as well. Assume because all rubber parts replaced at the same time previously. I wonder how long they lasted?

With the clutch master cylinder needing to come out, and the brake light switches also needing replacing, I decided to re-remove the brake master cylinders as well, grabbed a small can of POR15, and went to town on the manky cylinder shelf.

First I took both cylinder sets out, secured reservoirs, and filled up with fluid leaving them for a few says in a box with a clean sheet of paper under them. Just to see if there were any nocturnal emissions of fluid when no one was looking. Both remained dry. Phew.



Next, the POR15. While not show standard, the stuff will ensure the metal stays clean and neat at least until someone takes the time to media blast the whole body and do whatever classic car people will be doing in ten years.



In doing brake and clutch line work though, I was reminded how important a good set of flange-nut spanners are. Mandatory for anyone working on old lines, and one item in your kit you should simply buy the best.



The end result, though hardly slick, but certainly serviceable. Notably as I also reloomed the brake light, and alternator wires at the same time. Before:



After:

Kuroneko

Local streets...

Kuroneko

Out for drive... Hot day, cool night, down to Daikoku Futo and back. Shuto-ko expressway C1 clockwise at Shiba-koen:



Courtesy of Trueno Anders. See ya! Neko.

Kuroneko

Day off. Simple chores. Oil & filter change, bleeding brakes after master cylinder overhaul, replacing diff oil & mashed up drain & fill plugs, and adjusting brakes.





Just in case you need to see an S800 diff. They look like any other diff, except this one has some rather nice magnetic self-sealing drain plugs... Assume the green compound lasts a few ins and outs? Next, a test drive out to some PA on the Wangan for some car fun. See ya! Neko.

NW Classic Honda

My favorite Honda here in the "classic" section. Keep it up sir!

Kuroneko

Nothing special planned on the Hachi for the next few weeks, though the headlamp overall is likely next on the list. Out and about a lot lately though, here in Harajuku last weekend dropping off some hi-fi bits for a friend:

NickBenson

Wow those are some rare cars.

Longchamp

That is an incredible car, well done.

81cord

Excellent pics as always!

Kuroneko

Thanks! From the days when S800 were normal sized cars:



No work on her recently, just driving a lot... My local street:





Nearly four hours on Sunday, up and down some mountain touge in the cool mists beside a lake with a whole bunch of other cars. The tunnels all seemed to be tuned to an S800, dropped down a notch, and revved out. It was great fun, if a little childish... Neko.

Peter Davis

Always interesting Neko. The S800 is a giant next to that little white car. What is it? And I 've never seen a Mazda like the one in the second last photo. I had a Mazda 1800 for many years and loved it.

Kuroneko

Thanks! That is a first gen Suzuki Fronte. Here's a somewhat more ambitious one:





The Mazda is a Carol:

Peter Davis

Both of them make the S800 look like a Limo

Blue-Civic-Hybrid

iTrader: (1)

I just saw one of these pop up for sale over here in the UK (1969 MkII S800) and I want to buy it!

Kuroneko

Buy it! No way prices are going down. A similar car to mine sold recently for twice what I paid... More reading on the little Honda legend here: Petrolicious - JDM Legends Tour Touge Near Fuji-san. See ya!



Neko.

Kuroneko

Hood off (an easy thing when its made of FRP), loom stripped, headlight buckets out, rewire underway to install a set of Koito H4. The parking lights, indicators, horn, and fuel pump wires were all a little manky too, so I will tidy up, reloom, and replace connectors as I wire in a set of power relays for the H4. It looks like I need to open the loom up all the way back to the coil... A decent sized job, but one that will result in much better lights.

A job too where a battery isolator is a benefit. Neko.