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Old but gold: Tokyo's retro car owners revel in modern classics

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Japan has an amazing custom and collectible car culture. I've seen many pictures from various car shows and the cars are beautiful.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

One temple in Kyoto used to have a '59 Cadillac on display behind glass. I wonder if it is still there.

Some of the '50 American chromeboats have highly modified suspension so that they can actually jump up and down.

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My brother has a '65 Chevy in prim condition.

327 engine, dual exhausts, four barrel carb, red leather bucket seats, vacuum gauge, highway differential (gets 20 mpg as set up at the factory), all factory installed and lovingly refurbished.

A neighbor recently acquired a 1936 Chevy two seater with a rumble seat in exquisite condition. I am so envious.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

Japan road tax is cc based, the tax at MOT time is weight-based, and this MOT tax is boosted when the car gets old. This makes owning a classic V8 or bigger in a Cadillac very expensive.

I'm well up for buying something flash when I get paying for my kids out of the way. I want a JDM classic though, one of the cheaper ones.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

How does japan make it so expensive to own old cars? My father in law has a 1961 mgA and it costs the same as his jaguar to run. The inspection is strict, same standards as a new car, but there is no extra tax for old cars. I own a vintage Ducati and the tax is the same for my panigalle.

I've wondered about that. There seems to be an endless stream of used engines from Japan available in the US, almost always with 100,000 km on them. A great resource for cheaply refurbishing your older Japanese car, or for putting a hotter engine in it for a custom build (turn your boring 240SX into a turbocharged Silvia for example). But why are there so many Japanese engines available at such a low mileage? Those engines in the US typically last over 500,000 km. Is there some law that raises the tax on a car in Japan after it passes 100,000 km? Is there some rule the engine has to be replaced? Just curious.

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Japan road tax is cc based, the tax at MOT time is weight-based, and this MOT tax is boosted when the car gets old. This makes owning a classic V8 or bigger in a Cadillac very expensive.

How does Japan handle cars with their steering wheels on the left? For the collector in Australia you are forced to convert your precious classic to right hand drive. The US doesn't prohibit cars with the steering wheel on the right and you occasionally see an older Nissan Skyline GTR with the wheel on the right. No way to make the older ones left hand drive because the turbos and other components are in the way. Sitting on that side of the car makes passing on two lane roads very hard to do however and I have to imagine the same applies to a left hand drive car in Japan.

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50 American chromeboats

Never heard that term before but it's a very good one! Some Europeans call American cars "Yank Tanks" and that is appropriate too. Little is more jarring than to be someplace like Le Harve and have a loud old Mustang pass by in traffic. Where did that come from? I was stunned to see Swiss cops driving big Chevy Suburbans.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

How does Japan handle cars with their steering wheels on the left?

No conversion required.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

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