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I won't bore everyone with infinite details on my buying a '64 Honda S500, but here goes. About a week ago I saw an ad for the S500 on a auction site. By it's description it sounded like a nearly complete restoration just needing final fitting and some minor parts. After talking to the owner it was even better than expected, the entire car was restored. Completely disassembled down to the last then dipped to remove old paint and any rust. The frame was powder coated, the suspension, engine and chain drive rear end was completely rebuilt. All the hardware used in reassembly is new using NOS parts sourced from Japan and Germany extensively. The body originally white, was repainted and new red seat covers were installed. The car does need final assembly and some remaining parts will need to be sourced to keep it original, but by in large it is a complete S500.
My plans for the car are to finish the final assembly after sourcing the final missing parts, make some minor corrections on the prior owners build. Once finished I will be trailering the S500 to some car shows, taking some short drives but mainly preserving a significant piece of Honda heritage. According to some experts only 1363 S500's were built by Honda, of that number perhaps only 100 or less are still around. I would love to communicate with anyone owning a S500 as very little is known about the car, especially here in the U.S. I will be posting pictures of this car in the future, along with it's companion Honda S800 before anyone asks me about pictures. Additionally, the auction included a '66 S600 which is a project car which is far from complete or restored, more on that car at a later date.
Interesting observation Neko on the S500 exhaust, I wonder if it's by design or simply a less "muffled" primary muffler that makes it louder? That second picture is simply amazing.... so many great cars in a appropriate location. I can hardly wait for your article, especially if it concerns Honda's !
Oh my, sensory overload for sure Neko! Thank you for posting these, amazing to see such a variety of S cars in one spot. Love the photo's of the Macransa's and the wide variety of cars. Such a variety of styling from wheel/tires and custom colors. I will definitely look these over more thoroughly when I'm not sleep deprived.
What an amazing gathering...... I can only imagine the sound of these cars, must have been great to hear. Is this an annual gathering or is this held more often Neko? If you have more pictures from this gathering please post them. Any S500's ?
This was Honda's sponsored 50 Year Anniversary of the S800 at the Saitama factory where they were made.
There were a few exported cars, French, German, and British made here, sent as new cars to foreign markets that had made the long journey back to where they had been made...
There was three S500 there on the day, including the one featured here before too...
I will see if I can find some more pics of them as well then.
Ha! They cannot see the body perforating rust in the front guards. I thought I would try these:
After rebuilding and tweaking the existing Keihin, they are running fantastic. With rapid throttle response, and smooth power delivery. They sound good too opened wide with no air-cleaner. Parts however are hard to get, and expensive. The Flat CRs are easier and cheaper to get parts for it seems, and this set was very cheap (less than 30% of the comparable price for OEM-style). Manual included.
I will keep these in reserve until needed. Plus, if ever there was an awesome sound, its an S800 with flat-slide carbs and short velocity stacks sucking away on full throttle...
Re: 1969 S800M Coupe.
