As the sun rose on the twelfth Japanese Classic Car Show you could hear the engines rev and the braaps of the rotaries while they anxiously wait to roll in. You couldn’t ask for a better backdrop than the iconic Queen Mary and the stunning views of the Long Beach Harbor. Since our booth was right at the entrance, I had a front-row seat to the roll-in while setting up. It took me a little longer to set up because I couldn’t help but check out the rides as they came by, but it was well worth it.

The JCCS has truly evolved throughout the years. This show is a must for all automotive enthusiasts, of all ages. I was glad to see many families attend as well. The JCCS has become a premier event where the auto manufacturers select this event to debut new rides and celebrate model anniversaries. The cars on display ranged from all original to slightly modified and full builds for the track. Because of the variety of cars, and motorcycles, there was something appealing to everyone.

Japanese Classic Car Show Honors Honda

The Honda scene at the Japanese Classic Cars Show continues to grow as more EF’s show up. In several years, Honda’s presence will evolve when more late 80’s and early 90’s models become eligible. However, JCCS also hosts an event called “Street Neo Classics -80’s & 90’s Show”. Because some of the late 80’s and early 90’s are considered too new to be a classic, JCCS introduced this special event.

This one particular Honda CRX caught my attention. I’ve seen pictures online but it doesn’t do this car justice. It is 10 times better seeing it with my own eyes. This is a 1987 Straman CRX Si owned by Doug Husley #103 of 130 confirmed built. Back in the late ‘80s American Honda had Straman build a limited run of these topless CRX’s.

Honda also revealed the newly restored N600 aka “Serial One”. Serial One is the first Honda automobile imported to the U.S. from Japan. The N600 is air-cooled, two-cylinder single overhead cam with 40 MPG and priced at $1,395. This really was a game changer in the 70’s.

Honda, along with the other manufacturers had a then and now display. They featured the 1990 & 2017 Acura NSX

More Honda on display!

Nissan and Datsun — Japanese Classic Car Show

As expected, the Nissan and Datsun presence never disappoints. From iconic Fairlady Z to the monstrous Godzilla, Skyline GT-R and everything else in between, Nissan continues to make their impression at JCCS.

I don’t want to shortchange anyone so what’s a JCCS without some nickel and dimes. Stock or completely decked out, the Datsun 510’s came out to play! First up is the symbolic BRE #46 Datsun 510. The 1971 SCCA Trans Am 2.5 Challenge, a class that was previously dominated by Alfa Romero, Fiat, Porsche, and BMW, was the competition that put Datsun on the map in US racing. Winning the 1971 and 1972 SCCA Trans-Am championship sparked the rich racing heritage of Datsun and Nissan in the US.

The artwork under Thomas Buggia’s 1971 Datsun 510, aka “BuSu”, caught my eye. Then I read the first line of his description card on his dash and it read, “1971 BuSu Datsun 510 restomoded using unicorn blood, dreams, and the souls of children.” I just loved the artistic concept of the artwork along with the car.

Here are a few of the Datsun 510’s that made an appearance at JCCS:

I wish I could show all of the 510’s that were there. You’ll just have to attend to take it all in.

Another Japanese Classic Car Show favorite is the Nissan Skyline GT-R. Surprisingly there were a good number of them on display considering they were only sold in Japan. The more states side enthusiast get their hands on them, the more we get to admire them at shows.

Check out this slider for more Nissan/Datsun pics:

Toyota @ Japanese Classic Car Show

Toyota celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Corolla. They brought a few classic Corollas for their display. One of them is one of the most sought after classic Corollas, a 1985 Corolla GT-S Hatchback Hachiroku, a.k.a. the infamous “AE86”. Everyone who’s ever read/watched the Initial D manga fantasized of having an AE86 including myself. Even those who weren’t into Initial D loved this car. This was one of the best hatchbacks of the 80’s in my opinion.

Amongst the Corollas was this classic Toyota 2000GT:

In honor of the 50th anniversary of the Corolla, here’s more pics of some classic Corollas and other Toyota models that were on display

Mazda Zoom Zoom into the Japanse Classic Car Show

Mazda also brought some heat to the show. One of them was the 1979 RX-7 GTU. Mazda entered two versions in the Daytona 24-hour race where they qualified first and second in the GTU-Class. Just like the BRE #46 510, the RX-7 GTU surprised many and really made a mark for Mazda in US motorsports.

Another iconic car Mazda had on display was the 767B. Mazda has been restoring it for the past couple of years. It still has the 13J four-rotor engine with 630hp.

More rotary power pics below:

Japanese Classic Car Show Featuring Mitsubishi

Although Mitsubishi was not there, some car owners represented them very well. Take a look at this Mitsubishi Starion with an LS3 Corvette swap. This is a superb build with so much work done to it. The pictures speak for itself, but as usual, there’s nothing like seeing this in person. In fact, I saw this on the roll-in, more like felt it roll in, and this is one beastly machine. I was able to speak to John for a bit, a real stand up guy, and who knows, there might be something brewing in the near future with CSF Race and Lazorack Motor Sports (LMS).

Classic Bikes @ JCCS

There was also a display of Japanese Classic Motorcycles. This was a unique display with a variety of makes and models.

CSF Sets Up Shop at the Japanese Classic Car Show

Last, but definitely not least, I present to you, the CSF Race and High-Performance booth at JCCS. We were very fortunate to have our booth right at the entrance. It was the first and last thing people saw so we had great exposure and lots of visitors. We had 2 stunning RocketBunny Boss S14 cars on display. Both of them rocking one of our newest addition to our product line, the “Boss Cooler” premium oil cooler. Of all the people I spoke with that day, it was the Datsun 510 owners who really reached out and expressed their cooling needs. We really appreciate you guys and your voices have been heard. We plan on developing a copper/brass and full aluminum radiator in the near future. Stay tuned my friends…

Well, that’s the JCCS in a nutshell. There was much more to the show than pictures and a blog can express. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for next year’s 13th Annual Japanese Classic Car Show. I’m sure it’s one you wouldn’t want to miss. I truly was brought back to memory lane, and the JCCS made me want to look for a classic ride to restore and build. Till next time!