Tag: down on the street (Page 30 of 32)

DOTS: Miata hunting!

November 22, 2009 / banpei / 2 Comments

Ever since I started doing the Down on the Street series I thought it was amazing how many Mazda MX5s (aka Miata in the US and Roadster in Japan) I saw on the streets. Since I thought it was quite odd I started taking (quick) pictures of every single one of them I encountered.

For instance I saw this one parked next to a private apartment/housing block. I could not go in there without lifting a chain at the entrance and trespassing the private parking lot, so I took the picture from the street.

Mazda MX5 parked next to an apartment block

It is also funny to see how many Miatas are imported from the US! I think about 50% of all cars I’ve seen so far were actually imported Mazda Miatas! This red Miata is no exception to that:

Red Mazda Miata
I actually pass this red Miata every day (going to work) and still I have only two pictures of it taken with the crappy camera. Shame on me!

This is another Miata I pass every day:

White Mazda Miata
But then on my way to the nursery of my son. This one has got a big dent in it and has been parked there for ages now without moving… Currently the dent is starting to rust and the car itself is starting to look brown due to the amount of leafs on the car… Feels a bit like a deja vu!

Next time more Miatas! ;)

DOTS: Nissan 200SX S14 in fall

November 15, 2009 / banpei / 3 Comments

And we have arrived at part 4 of the deteriorating 200SX!

The Nissan 200SX S14 in November
It is currently in a very beautiful state with all those leafs on and around it!

Now the car really starts to intrigue me! Its condition gets worse and worse and apparently nobody really cares for it… Could it be that the car itself now is in the fall of its life?

Well, at least the rust didn’t get any worse than last month:

The Nissan 200SX S14 in November
And some of the blisters disappeared magically…

The note I left some time ago has disappeared and I found this stuck behind the door:

The Nissan 200SX S14 in November
So either the owner removed the note and this note is new or some secondhand dealer removed my note and tuck this behind the door instead! I suspect the latter is the most probable case… :(

DOTS: 1983 Honda Accord Mk 2

November 8, 2009 / banpei / 0 Comments

I saw this Accord mk2 parked behind a corner and immediately stopped and took a few snapshots:

Honda Accord Mk2

The Honda Accord Mk2 appeared to be in a very good state! I could not see any rust on it. Probably it was a sleeper or a car owned by an old couple like my Carina used to be. According to the car registration website it was only sold to the current owner one month ago.

Honda Accord Mk2

From the front this type of Accord looks a bit like the Nissan Gloria/Cedric 430. Of course that is no coincidence because both cars were produced around the same time: the 430 was produced till 1983 and the Accord started production in 1982.

Honda Accord Mk2

Personally I don’t like many Honda’s, but seeing this car actually made me wanting to own one… Of course, if I can find one. ;)

DOTS: 1985 Suzuki Alto SS40

November 1, 2009 / banpei / 1 Comment

This one is especially for Beeoneoneoh!

Suzuki Alto SS40 (Suzuki Fronte)
Normally I just take pictures of every “old” J-tin I come by and it just sits there in a directory on my harddrive. Normally it will never come out again, but every since I read his posting about his SS40 fetish I really had to post this one. ;)

Suzuki Alto SS40 (Suzuki Fronte)
This particular SS40 looked like it belongs to an old lady: it had everything from pictures of (grand)children on its dash till the sheepcloth cover for the steering wheel! And it only travelled 60000 kilometers!

According to the vehicle registration site it was sold to a new owner two years ago, so sale from granny to granny?

The car is practically rust free, except for this hole:

Suzuki Alto SS40 (Suzuki Fronte)
Probably once had a scratch and then deteriorated during its 24 years lifetime.

Another flaw was the front bumper:

Suzuki Alto SS40 (Suzuki Fronte)
Some mild damage deformed it but actually it is like nothing compared to most 24 year old cars!

So, there is only one way to save it properly: slam it to the ground with a set of SSR Mk II rims and add some fender mirrors and a big noisy exhaust to make it complete!

DOTS: Even more scruffy looking Nissan 200SX S14

October 25, 2009 / banpei / 2 Comments

When I started with the Down on the Streets series I posted the Scruffy looking Nissan 200SX S14 in the second feature. Back then I wrote that there was a lot of moss growing under it and the paint was falling off the bumper… Those first pictures were taken in june, so I stopped by the car early september and things got worse:

Scruffy looking Nissan 200SX S14 in September
There were already a lot of leafs and dirt on the car: not very shocking.

What was shocking was this:

Scruffy looking Nissan 200SX S14 in September
The paint starts to get blisters all over the car and falls off on other parts as well!

Let’s zoom in on that passenger door:

Scruffy looking Nissan 200SX S14 in September
Currently only surface rust so it can still be repaired.

Scruffy looking Nissan 200SX S14 in September
And the boot wasn’t much better than the passenger door…

So of course I paid a visit early October to see how bad things got now:

Scruffy looking Nissan 200SX S14 in October
Even more leafs and dirt on the car!

What about the passenger door then?

Scruffy looking Nissan 200SX S14 in October
Rust didn’t get any worse than before, however more blisters can be seen on the door…

And the boot?

Scruffy looking Nissan 200SX S14 in October
Same story as the door: rust didn’t get worse but the amount of blisters did…

To prevent this car from getting worse I left a note on the car but haven’t received any answer yet. Will try again soon! ;)

DOTS: Mazda 323 mk1

October 18, 2009 / banpei / 3 Comments

In the October 2009 issue of Practical Classics the editors wondered about an eBay sale of an almost mint Mazda 323 mk1 with a broken clutch: in their eyes the car sold for a large sum of money (over 1000 pounds). For classic Japanese cars of that era that amount of money is actually a bargain. On the other side they commented correctly: try to find another one in the same state!

Well I did not succeed in doing that, but instead I found this good looking 323:

Down on the Street: Mazda 323 mk1

I was a bit surprised to find the car for sale at Marktplaats.nl (Dutch Craigslist) for only 950 euros!

From far away it appears to be in a good state! But getting closer reveals some flaws:

Down on the Street: Mazda 323 mk1
V6? Good joke guys! If the car would have been lowered and sitting on some stretched rubber I may have bought it… ;)
No, the car actually runs the original 1.3 liter Mazda TC engine, mated with a 4 speed manual.

Parked in this way it looks like it is participating in a drag race!

Down on the Street: Mazda 323 mk1

The interior was in good condition: the seats are half (fake) leather, half tweed. The front seats do have covers on them, so it a big question what’s under that cover… The dashboard looked completely original and not hacksawed to make a modern car radio fit.

The car isn’t really rusty. All the rust I saw is only surface rust. In some places the car already had its crusty parts repaired:

Down on the Street: Mazda 323 mk1
So I’d say, not a bad RWD car for only 950 euros! It may be a bithigher priced than the one sold on eBay. However this 323 is drivable, while the one on eBay could not move by itself…

In case you are interested, you can find the ad here!

BTW: I know, the Mazda 323 mk1 is actually the Mazda Familia mk4. Europe already suffered from a renaming scheme due to Mazda and Peugeot fighting over the 808 naming scheme of the Mazda Familia mk3. Mazda changed its name to 818 and by the time the mk4 got launched they decided to rename almost its complete lineup to the x2x scheme. The Familia became the 323, the Capella the 626 and the Luce the 929.