Got a new exhaust on the Bellett today, but...

"Nakazoto" (Nakazoto) 03/21/2018 at 21:43 • Filed to: None

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The original mufflers and pipe were so rusted out they weren’t really doing their job of getting exhaust out the back (plus I smelled like exhaust everytime I got out of the car). So, I got a new exhaust on the Bellett today, but the dopes didn’t order mufflers. They just assumed I’d be okay with straight pipes. I laughed and said no, at least put something on there for now. However, since the two pipes are 1.75" they didn’t really have anything that would fit. They grabbed the smallest glasspack mufflers they had, which were like 2.25" or 2.5" and welded them up. They are grossly oversized and the car is obnoxiously/embarrassingly loud.

I got home and ordered some more appropriate glasspacks on Amazon as well as some slip in baffles for the pipes. Hopefully we can quiet it down to a more reasonable level but keep the unique rumble of true duals (1 and 4 on one pipe and 2 and 3 on the other). At least the piping and bends are pretty good.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Nakazoto 03/21/2018 at 22:01

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Wait... You own an Izuzu Bellett?!

That’s fracking awesome!

Nakazoto > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 03/21/2018 at 22:15

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I do indeed! I also have an Isuzu 117 Coupe. Here’s a pic of the Bellett:

And of the 117 Coupe in the same location:

Although, at the moment, the Bellett is too loud to drive and the 117 is mid-engine rebuild. So, I’m mostly driving my wife’s little Honda Beat:

AestheticsInMotion > Nakazoto 03/21/2018 at 22:22

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What a wonderful trio

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Nakazoto 03/21/2018 at 22:23

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Did we just become best friends?

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Nakazoto 03/21/2018 at 22:24

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Wow. I’m ashamed to admit this, but I didn’t even know about either of those Isuzu’s. Look sick. What are they like? Also are you in Europe somewhere?

Tristan > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ 03/21/2018 at 22:29

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I don’t know Nakazoto, but if I had to guess based off the road signs in the pictures I’d say Texas...

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Nakazoto 03/21/2018 at 22:32

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Looking good! Shame about the lack of mufflers that work on it for the time being...at least you got some ordered! I am all for performance exhausts, but there is such a thing as subtlety! :P

I remember when the muffler broke off on my old 2002 Subie Impreza wagon...had to drive it only a few kms to the garage, but, as awesome as it sounded, I felt really embarrassed with the amount of noise it was putting out, even at partial throttle!

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ 03/21/2018 at 22:33

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He’s in Texas but imported them from Japan where he lived for years!

Nakazoto > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 03/21/2018 at 22:42

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Yup!

Do you want go do Karate in the garage?

Nakazoto > AestheticsInMotion 03/21/2018 at 22:42

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Thanks!

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Tristan 03/21/2018 at 22:47

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Dammit I’m on my phone and didn’t zoom in. I deserved that.

Nakazoto > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ 03/21/2018 at 22:48

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Thank you!

Nope, not in Europe, in good old Texas! Although I lived in Japan in for about 7.5 years, that’s when I picked up the Isuzus. The two Isuzus were never imported to the US, so they’re pretty rare here. I actually used to be a Nissan lover, but after getting to Japan I kind of started buying all sorts of different brands and fell in love with Isuzu in the process. I also currently have an 84 Impulse, but it’s up for sale (sold if the buyer doesn’t flake, but I fear he might). Flavien has also talked me into buying a 92 Gemini Irmscher R.

Impulse:

Gemini:

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 03/21/2018 at 22:49

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Ah that makes sense then. Thanks

someassemblyrequired > Nakazoto 03/21/2018 at 22:49

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Love the color on the 117. And the 117. One of my favorite Giugaro designs.

Nakazoto > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 03/21/2018 at 22:50

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Thanks!

Yeah, I did the same thing. It was about a 30 mile drive home, so I took the most deserted back roads I could think of and drove with a feather touch on the throttle to keep it as quiet as possible. I leave for a business trip on 3/30, so hopefully I can get it all sorted before then, otherwise it’s going to bother me for the whole trip, haha.

Nakazoto > someassemblyrequired 03/21/2018 at 22:53

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Thanks!

It’s actually the original color. Isuzu offered it starting in the late 70s on the 117 model, but not many people chose it. I think it suits the design of the car perfectly though!

Giugiaro has a lot of beautiful designs, but the early handmade 117 Coupe is one of his absolute best!

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Nakazoto 03/21/2018 at 22:56

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What’s it like driving a Beat in Texas? Do the locals look at you sideways for driving a car the size of their ATVs they haul in their lifted Bro-dozer?

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Nakazoto 03/21/2018 at 23:04

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And I had written off Isuzu as an off-road vehicle maker. That Gemini looks like the early lancer evo. Cool

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Nakazoto 03/21/2018 at 23:04

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OK, that Gemini is amazing.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Nakazoto 03/21/2018 at 23:05

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Good luck sorting it out! :D

someassemblyrequired > Nakazoto 03/21/2018 at 23:29

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I actually like the looks of the later square headlight cars better (I know, blasphemy) even though the early cars are handmade.

I’m actually surprised that wasn’t an especially popular color - similar colored cars were pretty popular in North America around that time.

Given the rarity of the color, is that the 117 that was roadtripped around Japan on JNC? If that’s you, I loved those articles and the other stuff you did over there, so I’m stoked you’re here on Oppo. If not, you still have a 117, so still all good.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Nakazoto 03/21/2018 at 23:50

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True duals on a 4cyl? How many degrees of separation between the two paired cylinders? I was looking at a 2-into-1 exhaust for my Honda CX500 v-twin back when I had that because paired 2-cyls sound fantastic.

Dogapult > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ 03/22/2018 at 00:12

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Seems to be in Texas, based on the license plates.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 03/22/2018 at 06:24

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It’ll be 180 deg for an I4 (unless you’ve got one of the sweet-as crossplane I4 Yamaha R1s).

V-twins sound stone-cold awesome though ;)

facw > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ 03/22/2018 at 09:36

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There’s a lot of Texases on those road signs for someplace in Europe...

Nakazoto > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 03/22/2018 at 10:21

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It does get a lot of crazy looks! The biggest problem though is that I cruise it at about 110 km/h, which is like 65 mph, and everyone in Texas cruises at about 80 mph (even if the speed limit is 60). So I spend a lot of time getting overtaken by idiots driving too fast. I don’t know if this is a new development, but it seems no one has any respect for the double yellow line anymore.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Nakazoto 03/22/2018 at 10:22

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You are aware you live in Texas, yes...

This is not surprising given the prevailing local political climate.

Nakazoto > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ 03/22/2018 at 10:22

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It’s pretty similar to the early Lancer Evo too. It’s a 1.6 DOHC turbocharged engine mated up to a rear biased AWD system. It rotates really, really well and even though it’s only 180 HP, it’s still plenty fast.

Nakazoto > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 03/22/2018 at 10:24

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I’m really looking forward to the Gemini! I need a 4-door car that has some luggage space in it. But I didn’t want to get something boring. This scratches that AWD, turbo, rally-inspired monster itch while still being *cough cough* practical.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Nakazoto 03/22/2018 at 10:27

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I do quite love the monster foglights on the hood....reminds me of the foglights on my 2002 Impreza 2.5TS wagon. For factory fogs, they were huge!

How hard would maintenance parts be to find for the Gemini?

Nakazoto > someassemblyrequired 03/22/2018 at 10:30

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That was indeed me that took the round trip through the south of Japan! It was probably the greatest road trip I’ve ever taken. Japan just has some of the most beautiful roads and scenery on the planet.

The writing in those stories was mostly my own, but Ben edited it up quite a bit and some things didn’t read like I intended, which was a bit frustrating. Of course, after that for totally different reasons, I kind of had a falling out on JNC, which is why I haven’t posted anything there in a long time. It’s good to have a place to post car stuff that isn’t the vitriol filled world of Facebook.

Nakazoto > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 03/22/2018 at 10:37

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Man, a cross-plane I4 would be awesome, but nope, it’s a regular 180 degree I4. The factory header actually splits cylinders 1 and 4 into one pipe and cylinders 2 and 3 into one pipe. So, it should end up sounding a bit like two 360 degree inline-twins firing right next to each other. So, a bit like two of my old Honda Life’s next to each other:

It would be interesting to get a new header and pair up cylinder 1 and 2 and 3 and 4. That’d give a sound like two 180 degree inline twins, which should give this really weird kind of pulsing sound. Here’s a cool gif showing the 2 cylinder firing orders:

Nakazoto > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 03/22/2018 at 10:45

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To be fair, some of the nicest people I know are Trump supporters. Your political affiliation doesn’t make you a dick, being a dick makes you a dick.

Nakazoto > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 03/22/2018 at 10:52

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That year Imprezzas had a pretty awesome appearance actually. I know a lot of people make fun of the old bugeyes, but I really like them. Of course, now that I look at them on Wiki, I didn’t realize that they only made them for 2 years before they changed the headlight shape with a facelift.

The Gemini should be fairly easy to maintain stateside. The entire drivetrain is actually shared with the 2nd gen. Isuzu Impulse RS here in the US. The body is also shared with the Isuzu Stylus we got here as well, so it shouldn’t be too much of a nightmare. RHD specific stuff will be a little more difficult, but the biggest problem is that some things are just NLA, like the rear hub assemblies. Apparently, they can wear out and your only option is to machine something new. I’ll have to do a bit more research on that one.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Nakazoto 03/22/2018 at 10:58

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Sounds like it hopefully won’t be too bad then!

Yes, I liked the Bugeye and Hawkeye Impreza designs the most from that generation....the Blobeyes are OK, but are a bit blander. I really miss my old Bugeye though. Sadly, salty Atlantic Canadian winter roads eventually killed it with rust....but damn was it fun in said snow! :P

someassemblyrequired > Nakazoto 03/22/2018 at 11:02

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Aweseme - edited or not, I enjoyed your posts over at JNC a lot so I’m glad you’ve found a home here. It’s a nice, diverse crowd here and there’s awesome mods, so it ends up being a nice place to hang out, even though it’s on the internet.

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Nakazoto 03/22/2018 at 11:08

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Ha yeah you pretty much just described an evo. Wonder why US never got any of the sporty Isuzu’s? I guess Isuzu decided we are all rednecks who drive off road... which still atleast give us that Gemini.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Nakazoto 03/22/2018 at 11:27

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Yes and no. If they really were that kind, they would be uncomfortable voting for policies that have the exact opposite effect of their personal kindness. Being kind in person does not preclude also being kind at the ballot. One can do both without conflict.

But, yes, being a dick does cross all political spectrums.