This Week's Awesome Japanese Auctions

"DanPadge" (danpadge) 05/21/2015 at 10:11 • Filed to: jdm, import, auction, japan

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The Japanese auto auctions are AWESOME! Why? Because over 100,000 cars go through them every week! Every car that every dealer, shop and some private owners have grown tired of gets posted up between Saturday and Wednesday and then put up for bid Wednesday through Friday.

One thing that makes Japanese auctions so fun is that they have a huge variety of cars. There’s USDM stuff brought over by importers and US military, there’s European and Chinese cars, drift cars, road race cars and cars so customized it’s hard to tell what they are.

Another thing is that many of these cars have low mileage and well maintained. Recently a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! in very good shape was featured on Nice Price or Crack Pipe for $25,000. That’s 260,000 kilometers, a number that would cause most Japanese auction buyers to completely ignore it, but that car got a 69% NP win.

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The fever for Skyline GTRs has caused a ton of US importers to spring up and the bidding for these cars are insane. Everyone has access to these auctions and every importer fights with every other importer for 1989-1990 GTRs. This means that other gems get totally overlooked, often getting no bids at all! I’ve compiled a list of my favorite 10 non-Skyline cars up for auction this week hoping to teach people that there’s more to Japan than Skylines, and many are a hell of a lot cooler, assuming you tend to like classic and odd cars.

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A tiny 1700lb hatchback with 105hp from it’s peppy 1.3L engine, this car also featured Toyota’s very fancy !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! which made it pretty fun to drive. I have a soft spot for early hot hatches, but what made this one make the list was the fantastic ‘80s-ness of the big TURBO stickers & badges on every side of the car. Even the front grill has one where usually you’d see the manufacturer’s logo!

9. Nissan BE-1

These were supposed to be fashionable, retro-themed commuters in Japan but didn’t meet kei car standards and only 10,000 were made. It has a paltry 1L engine making 52hp but gets 72mpg highway/54mpg city and you can enjoy the scenery with its electronically retractable canvas roof while looking smugly at Prius drivers.

8. 1983 Fairlady 300ZX

This car is super clean inside and out with only 73,000 miles on it. It has the 3L V6 turbo motor putting out 200hp and is especially notable for being one of the earliest Z31 ones made at number 178. As a bonus it has working AC, power windows and a fairly extensive maintenance history. This is one of those cars that while you can buy it in the US and enjoy the ease of LHD, good luck finding one this nice with as few miles on it.

7. 1981 Nissan Gloria Turbo

This boxy wagon was called the Japan Car of the Year when it was introduced in 1979 because of its advanced fuel-saving technology. It has a 2L turbocharged inline 6 and that is literally all I know about it. It’s on the list because it’s like a Volvo 240 wagon’s older, cooler brother. The super dished wheels and front spoiler also help in the attitude department.

6. 1976 BMW 1502

The 1502 came after the retirement of the 2002 and had a very sad 75hp, especially sad since the 2002 base model had 100hp. But, it’s pretty rare as it was only made for two years. Considering the 2002 was made for seven years and prices are skyrocketing, just imagine how much a 1502 with only 40,000 miles on it would be worth. Plus, the only guy cooler than you at the BMW CCA meets is the guy with the 2002 Tii Touring.

5. 1979 “Other”

I have no idea what this thing is, with the auctions listing this simply as a 1979 Other Other. It has a 5.6L engine, great wheels, 13,000 miles and is LHD so no problems driving it daily. And check out the interior! That steering wheel, those gauges and those pimp seats! This has gone through the auctions a few times, maybe because the reserve is too high or maybe because it’s just too awesome (and large, and old, and massively expense to put on the road) for Japan. Either way it would kill it at car shows and be a blast to drive in the states.

4. 1973 Toyota Sprinter Trueno

These are sporty little cars packing a 1.6L twin-cam, twin carb, high compression motor with 115hp and if they look familiar, that’s because they are basically a Toyota Corolla with some cosmetic differences. We did get the Corollas in 1973 but without the good motor and by now very few exist as these cars were very prone to rust. The Sprinter Truenos were the sports versions in the lineup thanks to stiff suspension, hemispherical combustion chambers (so you can tell people “Its got a hemi in it” and technically be correct), aluminum heads, front disc brakes, a 5-speed transmission and factory fender flairs to allow for wider tires. Many compare them to mk1 Ford Escorts because of their handling, quickness and similar weight. They’re a fun car that’s likely to rise quickly in value, especially when in this condition.

3. 1975 Toyota Celica GTV

Similar to the Sprinter but larger in size and with the same engine, this car also came to the US (but without its 1.6L twin-cam/twin-carb engine). The GT is the highest trim level, with the V meaning it has firmer suspension so this is basically a slightly slower, much more luxurious Sprinter. The interior appears to be a nicer place to be as well with leather seats, a full complement of dash gauges and, at one time, working AC. And yes, those hood louvers are from the factory.

2. 1990 Ferrari 348TB

I’m not familiar with Ferraris but the Ferrari 348TB seems like the poster child for the huge maintenance bills and finicky driving characteristics that supercars are famous for. This one is not likely to come with a stack of maintenance records showing that every nut and bolt has been touched only by certified mechanics at the dealership and is not what one would call “an investment”. But, it does have body modifications to make it look like an F355 and that (plus its 27,000 miles) says to me that this car was enjoyed, not pampered in a climate-controlled garage its whole life. Somebody bought this because they wanted to drive it. The interior is rather hideous, more Pep Boys than Ferrari, but it does have that drool-worthy gated shifter. Purists will likely poop themselves, a definite plus.

1. 1986 VW Type 2 Transporter

I had no idea they made recent versions of these, having only seen them in the US where they are either rusted to hell or fully restored and very, very expensive. This one, while a 1986 model, appears to be no different than the original T2 pickups though it has a mere 8,700 miles on it. There are surely some differences VW-experts can pick out but many of the changes are probably improvements to the ride, reliability and safety. For example, the large front disc brakes are a nice touch, as is the modern fuse panel. And did I mention 8,700 miles?

DanPadge is a enthusiast of weird, unique and often overlooked cars - a description that covers much of the JDM market. Join the Facebook group !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! to see more examples of these and other cars coming up for sale.

Mattbob > DanPadge 05/21/2015 at 10:19

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That sprinter is beautiful. The Celica too! Toyota made such beautiful cars in the 70’s.

As Du Volant > DanPadge 05/21/2015 at 11:04

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LeSabre with a Grand National front clip? Also if you convert 350 cubic inches to liters without using enough decimal places you end up with 5.6.

DanPadge > As Du Volant 05/21/2015 at 11:12

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Ah, I thought that looked like a Grand National front and I could make out Sabre from the badges but had never heard of a car with that name. Interesting to know about the engine as well, the auction sheet simply lists it as 5660 CC.

DanPadge > Mattbob 05/21/2015 at 11:13

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Agreed!

Opposite Locksmith > DanPadge 05/21/2015 at 11:13

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Love that veedub, once the engine blows I'll swap the engine out for an EJ255 and lift it up a bit.

As Du Volant > DanPadge 05/21/2015 at 11:29

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Yeah, to convert cubic inches to liters you multiply by 0.0163871. So a 350ci engine is 5.735l or 5735cc, which is why you always see the GM 350 listed as 5.7l. But if you only multiply by .016 you get 5.6l. Not sure where 5660 would’ve come from as I can’t make the math work for that.

Bird > As Du Volant 05/21/2015 at 11:32

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LeSabre with LeSabre front clip. They just painted the chrome.

Bird > DanPadge 05/21/2015 at 11:36

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#5 is a Buick LeSabre. It’s actually been coming up off and on for over a year. The model is often listed as ‘Rusebar’. The Japanese alphabet that is used for foreign words doesn’t have a ‘la-’ sound, so they use ‘ra-’ as an equivalent. When translated back to english by someone without knowledge of the particular model you get some interesting mishaps. There was a Rotus Eran listed once...

DanPadge > Bird 05/21/2015 at 11:41

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Ah, yeah I do see a lot of those kind of errors but this one has been simply listed as Other for awhile now. Interesting that it’s been on the auction block so many times, I wonder if they just want too much for it.

DanPadge > Opposite Locksmith 05/21/2015 at 11:42

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Yeah, would be a good candidate for a swap.

Bird > DanPadge 05/21/2015 at 11:48

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It doesn’t have a current inspection, so I imagine it needs some work to be road legal...and that’s an expensive proposition for a malaise era, less than desirable, gigantic sedan.

Opposite Locksmith > DanPadge 05/21/2015 at 11:59

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Then save up for portal axles and wheels/tires

DanPadge > Bird 05/21/2015 at 11:59

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Plus the taxes on something that old, and the amount you’d pay in gas on that big engine would probably be insane! That’s why it needs to come back to the US. ;)

DanPadge > Mattbob 05/22/2015 at 10:08

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The Sprinter sold for $10.5k!