Popular Post CarolsHusband Posted January 2, 2016 Popular Post Posted January 2, 2016 Hi all. I thought it was about time I started a thread on my Hako. Please go here to tell me your thoughts..... //oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/51341-karol-shusbands-72-skyline-betty-the-hakopotamus-discussion/ There's not many cars that you can remember the exact first moment you clapped eyes on them. In this case it was June 2004 and I reckon it was likely to be a Saturday. I was probably avoiding doing something important and playing 'Gran Turismo 4 Prologue'. I had unlocked the bonus 'making of' movie and was watching all the JDM goodness when all of a sudden a car jumped out of the screen at me. I had no idea what it was but I knew that I had to have one. It looked a bit like my mates 69 Dodge Coronet and was obviously Japanese. At this point in time I hadn't ever owned an internet so it was off to my parents house and I started googling '1970 Datsun/ Toyota/ Mitsubishi', etc and eventually found this picture on a site called jbskyline.net. I then started reading up about Nissan Skyline GTR's and soon realised that I couldn't afford one. About the same time I discovered Japanese Nostalgic Car and kev's car. No linky to post coz JNC is broken but this is the car. Kev's thread was an education and I got my head round the K's, G's, C's and P's and the number 10. I also realised that a 2 door GTR look-a-likey was was I wanted in my life and at a stretch I could get one. Watanabe's were a definite and the car would be silver or even better, white. So that was that. I knew what I wanted and all I needed to do was order one from one of the many Importers and It would be here in a jiffy. Sorted ? Nope. More next time 16 Quote
CarolsHusband Posted January 2, 2016 Author Posted January 2, 2016 I spent the next few years learning all I could about Hakosuka's, finding as many dealers in Japan as I could using Google Translate, trying to work out the strange pricing that I found but more importantly saving up the pennies I would need. In about 2010 I felt I was ready to get one bought. My budget was up to 2,500,000 Yen at a push and there seemed to be cars available at that price. I then started a two pronged assault. In the UK I emailed and phoned all and any Importers I could find. The responses I got were varied but mostly gave me no confidence in their ability to actually find me a decent car. Saying things like " No problem" and "yeah, we can get one of them" was not going to make me part with my cash. One guy said "Why do you want one of them ? I can get you a nice R33 for that price and it will be faster" Thanks for that... All the ads on their sites had pics with the heading "Cars like this available in Japan". I knew that already. I've had old cars all my driving life, Rust, fatigue and wear are things you have to be aware of, most of the people I spoke to didn't have a clue. Started feeling a bit pissed off. Still, there's always Japan ! I had got quite a collection of Japanese dealer websites so I emailed them all in English and Google-Japanese asking if they would be happy to deal with me and if they had more pics of cars on their sites. Vintage, Takeeys, Bikoworks, etc all responded with complete silence. Happy days. At this point I nearly gave up and bought a mid 60's Plymouth Big-Block. JNC was about to come to my rescue... 8 Quote
CarolsHusband Posted January 2, 2016 Author Posted January 2, 2016 So, there was this Texan on JNC called David. He lived in Nagoya and was well into his old cars, I had followed his threads and realised that he didn't live too far from the dealer 'Vintage' in Kawagoe-cho and he had visited them a couple of times. http://www.japan-vintage.com/ At that time they had 2 cars for sale in my budget. Both were silver GTR-style coupes, one was very good nick but quite tame, the other was a bit scabby but had the triple mikunis and fat Watanabe's front and back. 2.2 mil and 2.5 mil Yen respectively. I asked David what he knew of Vintage and whether he'd fancy having a look at the cars for me. He replied that while they had a big stock list, stuff didn't sell too fast (there's still one car on there that's been for sale since 2004 !) and they didn't really seem to into old cars. He then said that he was spending a lot of his tie at a family garage called Classic Car Nagoya and they might be able to source a car. http://www.n-classiccar-jp.com/ They had a 4 door GT in stock but he asked if I'd like them to keep an eye out for a coupe ? Er, yes please ! I sent David a list of my requirements and my budget and he said he'd get on the case. This was the point in time that Hako prices started going a bit mental, but I reckoned I was still on to get a half decent car. I sat back and waited for the emails to flood in. (sound of thumbs twiddling) 8 Quote
Popular Post CarolsHusband Posted January 2, 2016 Author Popular Post Posted January 2, 2016 Nothing happened really. I kept looking at Hako's. More and more cars were appearing on the 'net, lots of lovely GTR reps in Silver, white, or sometimes red. JDM Legends were firing them out the door at god-knows-what price to eager buyers. While all this was going on, my brain had got bored and was wandering off in another direction. As time passed I was getting more into the Sedans. They were definitely a boxier 'Box Skyline' and the more I saw the more I liked. Dropped with nice rims they looked a bit more gangster in my eyes. Yeah, I know. Shut up Dan, you want pics.... I rest my case. So, the fight was on in my head. I'd always wanted a Coupe but I'd started liking the Sedans. Problems, problems. That might be it for today ! 13 Quote
Popular Post CarolsHusband Posted January 3, 2016 Author Popular Post Posted January 3, 2016 Morning campers. I had got to the point where I was pretty sure I wanted a Sedan more than a Coupe. I then asked David to send me some pics of the one at Classic Car Nagoya. This was the first, slightly underwhelming one he sent.. After that he sent me about a hundred more from every possible angle. It was a very solid looking but rather stock 2000 GT with a GT-X (twin carb) engine, and the 'wrong' type of Watanabe's. The price ? A very reasonable 1,300.000 Yen. I decided that at the price I couldn't really go wrong, I was still struggling a bit with the whole Sedan/ Coupe thing and that's where the name Betty came from. Please watch this.... Coupe's are Wilma Flintstone, Sedan's are Betty Rubble. David then sent me an email that would make my mind up. They had just got this in.... SSR's, L26 with triples, a bit scabby but as far as he could tell pretty solid. They wanted 1,800,000 Yen but I'd have to be quick. Nope, didn't want a Coupe. Looked like Betty was the one. Thankfully a couple of days later a hipster came in with a pocket full of cash and bought the coupe. Over the months I had got a good relationship going with David but still fancied getting an independent inspection done. Earlier I had spoken to a well known Import firm in the UK and the guy had said he would be happy to inspect a car for me. I emailed him about CCNagoya and Betty, said I was aware it would cost a couple of quid but could he go and have a look at it for me. This was his reply. Hi Dan, Japan’s a very expensive place to travel in, cost of a train there and back is roughly 350 GBP’s worth plus a day’s time and other expenses. TBH I’m probably not the right person to go see it as my time isn’t cheap for this sort of thing. Especially with Sterling being so weak right now it could get pretty expensive. If it were an order for a car it would be different as the whole package includes all of my time & travel to select a car, plus other associated work, but to look at a car alone – it’s probably not worthwhile in terms of total costs, especially if the car turns out to not be right. You’d then spend a lot of money for nothing. A 4 door’s not nearly as desirable BTW. Can’t fit the longer 2.8 6 cyl engines into those I believe… engine bay’s too short. Best ask ***** he’d know more of course, but I’d go for a 2 door if I were you… Best wishes, Oh well, thanks for that. At least I hadn't sent him all my money before to get a car. Gawd knows what would have turned up. At this point I decided to take a risk, trust in human nature and buy the bloody car. I sent Eleven British Grand half way round the world to a bunch of people I'd never met, only one of whom could understand me for a car I'd never seen and I still had no idea how I would get it home. Couldn't lose, eh ? More pics ! Next time.... Getting it back to Blighty. Prepare for high jinx on the ocean waves. 21 Quote
Popular Post CarolsHusband Posted January 3, 2016 Author Popular Post Posted January 3, 2016 Back on the hunt again ! I emailed loads of Importers but almost all of them were vague about pricing, time scales and duties I would be liable for once it landed here. One firm gave me a complete break down of costs at both ends and were recommended by someone I knew so they got the job. Once everyone had got in touch it was all systems go ! They gave the car a tidy-up. A nice man arrived at CCN with a transporter. Vid-Yo ! He then drove to the sea side and put it on this. Then started it's 8 week voyage to the UK. However sad it may sound I tracked it all the way back and checked for webcams on the way. I missed it through the Suez Canal and past Gibraltar but caught a look in Calais. ( that's in France...). Eventually it landed, went through customs and was on a Transporter to my house. This is the first look I got at my Hako (or any Hako actually). Very excited. I backed it out of the transporter and looked at it in the pissing rain. They are so much better looking in the flesh, lots of subtle styling I'd never noticed in pictures and wider than they appear. I was well pleased. Gave the driver a cuppa and some of Carols baking, talked about cars for a bit and then he pissed off. That was it then, happy bunny. Sent some pics to David and the boss of CCNagoya put them on his blog. It was the first car they had sold abroad and I think they were even more excited than me. http://www.nccmeeting.blogspot.jp/2012/04/blog-post_29.html Roughly translated..... It's all great, Hako got to the UK, everyone's happy. etc... Next time.... More pics and drivel. 32 Quote
Popular Post CarolsHusband Posted January 4, 2016 Author Popular Post Posted January 4, 2016 What had I actually bought then ? Its a June 1972 car so one of the last made and was originally dark green metallic. Actually a 2000GT so manual windows but has the 130 ps twin artichoke GT-X engine. Although I bought it as stock it has got some pretty hard springs and has been lowered to a point that you can just get your fist under the sump. Low enough for round here. The rear arches have been rolled to fit something a bit larger than the 6 x 14 +12's that are on there. Rust-wise it's a goodun. There seems to be a bit of an internet myth that every Hako has no floor or chassis legs left. Not true. I'm sure it'll go flakey at some point but at the moment it's seems ok. The engine is strong, feels like more than 128 hp to me but with out pulling it apart I'll never know. Drives nicely, few little niggles but I'm hoping to sort it out properly this Spring. Got a wedding job in July. Just done servicing so far. More pics before y'all nod off Action picture of me, I don't normally move fast enough to go blurry There had always been something bugging me about what the car looked like. Finally the penny dropped, the sills were black. Out with a couple of tins of underguard, instant lowering ! I've also lined the bonnet up properly since.... That's about it really so far. I have some wheels on the way from Japan that should look the bollocks and I'm going to get a front spoiler too. I definitely wont be chopping those rear arches though, loving the Surfline. Engine wise, not really sure what to do. The L20 isn't that tuneable apparently, if I go silly L28 with Triples I'm then going to have to upgrade the brakes too. And the clutch. And probably my Cajones .Time will tell. Ultimatley I'd like to paint it ivory or dark red. I'll get stuck into it over the next weeks and post pics and words. Thanks for reading ! 14 Quote
CarolsHusband Posted January 4, 2016 Author Posted January 4, 2016 DISC TWO. BONUS MATERIAL. Extra 4 Door Goodness. 3 Quote
CarolsHusband Posted January 4, 2016 Author Posted January 4, 2016 DISC TWO. BONUS MATERIAL. Extra 4 Door Badness. Remember this one ? It wasn't cheap. It wasn't nice either... Strange thing is the vendor didn't have a problem sending the pictures to a prospective buyer ! Funny old job. 1 Quote
CarolsHusband Posted January 4, 2016 Author Posted January 4, 2016 DISC TWO. BONUS MATERIAL MATER AND THE GHOST LIGHT. Will, His Wife, Their Motorbikes and The Coupe. OR How I nearly would have bought a Coupe. Possibly. It's all about timing. My mate Will. He's 4 days younger than me and we grew up next door to each other in London. His Dad was from Pongaroa so he has dual nationality and has lived in NZ and Australia. For 10 years he was living in Wollongong, not far from Sydney. One day in 2011 this car came up for sale nearby at a very good price. Will and I have worked on cars together for years, he knows his way round old cars. All he would have to do was go and give it a good look over and if it was ok I could send him the money and he could have arranged shipping. Trouble was, he and his wife had decided to ride their motorbikes back to England, had left 3 weeks before and were somewhere up Malaysia. No use to me at all. The moral of this story is don't trust your mates, especially ones with a wander lust. That's it, I'm really done for the moment. 6 Quote
CarolsHusband Posted January 20, 2016 Author Posted January 20, 2016 THE WORST THREAD UPDATE EVER. Just thought I'd say that before anyone got too excited. My new rims are nearly here. Techno Phantoms at a good price. Having second thoughts tho. Weather is supposed to be OK on Saturday (dry, 10 degrees Celstigrade). Will get car out for a little blast through the lanes and a clean. I may even post a vid. However, it may snow so I might not bother. Thank you for 20 seconds of your life. 6 Quote
CarolsHusband Posted March 14, 2016 Author Posted March 14, 2016 SPRING UPDATE ( Brace for disappointment ). Hello Campers. Winter's nearly gone and while you lot have been getting sun burn, partying hard, hanging 10, flicking ollies and moaning about the humidity; we've been freezing our knackers off. Wheels never happened, not sure why, but whatever. May just go bigger Watanabe's or TOPY steels. 280Z distributor and Blaster coil on their way. Upgraded the 1/3 scale battery and leads to UK spec, spins and starts much better now. I also dumped the rear light trims for that ready-to-race look. This has now made me want to lose the bumpers, add a big single tailpipe, some headlight covers and a roll cage. This aggressive look will be backed up with the stock as a rock L20, obviously... Sun came out, took some pitchers. 9 Quote
Popular Post CarolsHusband Posted March 19, 2019 Author Popular Post Posted March 19, 2019 3 years and 5 days later ? Fucken hell. I've finally pulled my finger out and got on with getting the Hako road legal. It's been seven years since it arrived. There were various reasons why it's basically sat in the shed for all that time but one of the main problems changed last year. The indicators on the Skyline are illegal in this country. After 1965 cars must have orange indicators front and rear, there was no easy way to rig it up using the original system and I wasn't prepared to butcher the loom and add extra orange lighting etc. To register an import it had to pass an MOT test which also served as an vehicle identification process. No orange indicators mean't no certificate & no registration papers. In their wisdom the powers that be decided that from May 2018 all cars 40 plus years old didn't need to have the annual MOT test. This is obviously bonkers but there really aren't that many pre '78 cars left on the road here and I'd say that almost all of them are in the hands of people with at least half a clue what they're doing. What this mean't for my Skyline was that it didn't need to be tested to be registered. It has to be "roadworthy" but doesn't have to be tested. The indicators are still illegal but you have to get pulled over by a copper who knows his stuff. The upshot is that I sent all my paper work off, had a random inspection to determine that it's not 2 cars welded together, etc & I'm now awaiting my documents and registration number. It needs a few things sorting and I've arranged with the local MOT tester to have the car "tested" on training mode so I'll get all the print outs but it won't be legally binding. 10/10, GC, etc. Biggest problem has been a mouse that moved in at some point over the winter, it may have been the one I evicted from the Hilux. Little bastard ate my centre console, plug leads and steering column stalks. Fucker. Update soon /pic 4 fred 13 21 Quote
Popular Post CarolsHusband Posted April 3, 2019 Author Popular Post Posted April 3, 2019 You lucky bastard. Got my documents & registration number back in a record 12 days. I've ordered some plates, Black & silver, Japanese dimensions with motorcycle size digits. Should look OK. Tyres are all fucked. Dry rotted on the inside. Little bit suss as they were fitted just before it was shipped. Date stamped 2005 so not a massive surprise, cheapy new ones on the way. Not sure which way I'm going to go with the wheel tyre combo yet. Can't really drop it any lower for our roads so no mad camber & stretch on the way. It's up on stands and that's where we get to the lucky bastard bit. It is still totally solid underneath and seems to be as original as I thought. A few little scabs on a couple of the doors but over all it's mint. Gonna need some brake parts & maybe a new clutch master and/or slave cylinder, anybody got any recommendations for parts suppliers, either in Japan or over your way ? Been asking around a bit over here but I'm not feeling the love.... Anyway, a couple of rust-free pics just for fun. Hopefully some decent, on-the-road pics in the next few weeks. 26 1 Quote
Popular Post CarolsHusband Posted April 6, 2019 Author Popular Post Posted April 6, 2019 Saturday morning update.... Got my chores done & picked up my new tyres, got back home and the postie had brought me prezzies. Time for an early lunch and then an afternoon of Skyline shenanigans. /pics 14 Quote
Popular Post CarolsHusband Posted April 6, 2019 Author Popular Post Posted April 6, 2019 What happened was..... Had a big fuck off pizza for lunch & then got stuck into the car around midday. First job was the clutch, thought the master &/or slave might have been fucked but a bleed & adjust sorted it Brakes next. Calipers were a bit sticky but freed them up to a usable state. For the moment, at any rate. One rear was perfect, if dusty. Nice use of thumb... Other side fucked. Or so I thought. Cleaned it all up, took the cylinder apart and it all seems fine. Once I'd refitted & bled the system there was no sign of a leak, even with repeated pedal stamping/ continual pressure. Go figure... We''ll see how it goes. I wonder if the reason it was all damp and shitty was because on top of the drum was the fave spot for rats to have a wee. Put new plates on. Think I'm going to join the rear lights with a black panel edged with chrome trim. Mrs Shuzz said " Oh, FFH....Fucking Hot Hako ?" Good girl. Finished off as the sun went down touching up the paint on the rims & taking a blurry pic. Messed about with plug leads, etc and came in And that was a bloody good use 7 hours of my Saturday. Test drive tomorrow. Sweeeeet..... 27 Quote
Popular Post CarolsHusband Posted April 7, 2019 Author Popular Post Posted April 7, 2019 "Test Drive" turned into blasting around in it for large parts of the afternoon, reckon I've done about 45 miles or so. Brakes are fine and it goes pretty hard (for what it is). Handles really nice and is no way stock in the springs & shocks department. Tweaked the timing a bit and it's just rattling a little under heavy load, I'll try some octane booster tomorrow that will sort it out hopefully. It was blowing oil smoke for the first 5 miles but a couple of hot & cold cycles seems to have freed the rings up a treat. Haven't revved it beyond 4 grand yet but it feels pretty strong. Over all I'm pretty bloody chuffed with it, it's a really nice car. Bit of a clonk in the drivetrain but it only sounds like a UJ. Water pump bearing's a bit wobbly and it needs a new rad cap but it held temperature & oil pressure despite some enthusiastic driving. Vids for your entertainment... What ? Skid you say ? So, it's all good. Gonna do the wheels bronze and paint the rear panel black between the lights but apart from that, roll on summer.... * Also, side-sharn.... About 5 years ago I was chatting to the in-laws neighbour about cars. Started telling him about the Hako and he said " Fucking Japanese shit, I'm not interested in those useless bits of crap". We popped round to Carols folks earlier and the neighbour drove by as we were leaving. He fucking loved the Skyline, was all over it and asked if I wanted to sell it. I ignored him. Silly bugger. 36 Quote
Popular Post CarolsHusband Posted June 10, 2019 Author Popular Post Posted June 10, 2019 Konnichiwa. It's been a while. I've been using it quite a bit when the sun shines, but was aware that the worn water pump & tired brakes weren't going to mend themselves anytime soon. Thanks to wise words from @kyteler @sheepers @Spencer I've bought a pile of stuff off that internet... Calipers look close enough though I'll probably need too make up some pipes. I saw on 'Rubbersoul dot pricey' that they were offering Datto 510 wheel cylinders as an option for the hako so I got a pair off rockauto and they seem the same. I got the 510 shoes as well, they look to be the same from what I could gather but we'll see. Bit of a gamble but I can always sell them on. So once the weather chirps up a bit I'll get it on stands and crack on. Need to adjust the valves, it's a little rattly but nothing serious. Gonna do something with the cam cover while I'm in there, either polish it up or black crackle finish. Any thoughts gladly received, except a Japanese rising sun Kyokujitsu-ki thingy, thanks. Other little worry is the diff. Bit loose and clonky. Gonna have a good look at it see what's what. May well investigate the Subaru R180 modification, or see if I can get an LSD for mine. That's it for now, hopefully some progress soon. 17 Quote
Popular Post CarolsHusband Posted June 22, 2019 Author Popular Post Posted June 22, 2019 I was going to spend all day on the old crate today but didn't get on it till 6. Stupid Saturdays. Having decided not to go the Pro Stock/ Street Freak route, (see random picture thread, page 4283) I thought I'd better mend the thing. Calipers fit but the originals had the fitting in the middle of the body so the the flexies aren't long enough. By chance, Hilux chassis to rear axle hoses are 60mm longer so I may get away with that. Anyway, bailed on the brakes and pulled the water pump off. In true Japanese style, all the bolts came out fine and everything seems the same on the new pump. Came in at 7.30 in time for chips and beer. No Skylining tomorrow, taking the daggs to the beach. Want to do more Skylining TBH. PS.... Any of you GC's know what the valve gaps are for a '72 L20 ? Gonna go with 240Z specs unless I get told otherwise. /pics 17 Quote
Popular Post CarolsHusband Posted June 30, 2019 Author Popular Post Posted June 30, 2019 Sunday of productivity. Water pump back on, filled & warmed up. No leaky, no squeaky. Messed about with the front brakes but couldn't work out a way of fitting the new calipers without it turning into a fearsome bodge. I'll take the calipers & current flexies into the workshop tomorrow & make up some hard lines and brackets. Rear brakes went well though. Offered the shoes up and they looked good enough for a country job Everything fitted perfectly so I can confirm that 1971 Datsun 510 rear brakes are the the same as Hakos. Do with that information what you will.... Also done a vid. Really to demostrate the tappet rattle for comparison after I've adjusted them but it sounds like the cam's not bolted in. It's really not that bad. So that's about it, hopefully full braking will be restored by the end of tomorrow and then I might even give it a clean. Once I've adjusted the valves I'll give it the beans, I've been staying below 4 grand (mostly) because of the water pump but it really feels like it wants to pick up between 4 and 4,500. Thank you for your continuing interest. 18 1 Quote
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