We enjoyed driving our Datsuns to the 2012 Japanese Classic Car Show despite blistering 100+ degree weather. This year we flew down to Long Beach to visit the 2013 JCCS near the Queen Mary.

The show started in 2005 with a modest following and over the years spectators have flocked in crazy numbers; this year was no exception and the crowds were a bit overwhelming at times.  We did appreciate the JCCS crew’s new, efficient ticket/entry setup! Weather was beautiful with an incredible array of J-tin from time-capsule survivors to wildly modified restorations.   So let’s get to the stars of the show….

Datsuns were well represented though scattered throughout the main grass and parking lot areas. I love seeing fresh cars as well as familiar faces.  This VG30 510 caught my eye with it’s clean aesthetic and sanitary engine bay:

Who can miss the die-hard Datsun Roadster owners and their beloved open-top sports cars! The SoCal Roadster Owners club lined up their cars with bone stock and modified examples. These guys drive their cars. Mike A has accumulated almost 40k miles in the last year with his S14 SR20-swapped 1968 SPL:

This red late-model roadster had a molded front end, flared bodywork and an interesting dash setup:

If you are a fan of S30s and Z-cars in general JCCS had almost every classic generation displayed.

There were several RB-powered Zs but this triple-Weber carb’d L-series was pretty:

Vintage Skylines abound! JDM Legends built this Prince Motor Company Skyline in race livery:

 Beautiful red Hakosuka,  KenMeri, GC10 and DR30 Skylines:

Z31 300zx’s made a strong showing and my favorite was this Shiro edition on DSM wheels(left).  S12 chassis cars also caught my eye especially this clean RB26DETT-powered hatch:

Datsun trucks might have been the most numerous with tasteful resto-mods and zany creations. I thought this little F20c-powered pickup was over the top until I realized it was also boosted!

Two of my favorite wagons, both sporting SR20DET powerplants but totally different build themes:

Datsun 1200s, Sunny’s and even a few large bumper GXs:

Every year I look forward to seeing JDM wheels both old-school and reproduction. I dub this JCCS as Year of the Mesh! Deep-dish or multi-piece the mesh style was in full-effect from SSR, Epsilon, Bahn, Volk, Work and others:

I spotted these ultra-rare Impul Hoshinos and Riverside Riverge wheels….ps those are replicas on the right, gotcha!

Toyota has always been a huge corporate presence followed by Mazda, and this year Honda even displayed their own rare vehicles. So you’ve probably heard about Nissan celebrating 80 years…why not display the collection at largest gathering on the West Coast? NISSAN are you listening?

Not one but THREE Toyota 2000GT sports cars were displayed, even a LHD model!

One of the craziest Toyota was Scott Kanemura‘s Toyota Hilux. Huge Project Mu brakes, VOLK TE37vs, Stack instruments, and the mighty  2JZ-GTE make this one insane truck:

There were so many cool Toyota Celicas, Starlets and Corollas to list! This TRD widebody Starlet was a very impressive build with 275-width Hoosiers!

Wild engine swapped Corollas? Check! AE86 with turbo F20C and a late ‘rolla with an LS1!

Sinister Crown(with “Yakooza” plates) and one of several Land Cruiser pickups. Many more Toyotas in the gallery!

Rotary fans unite as the RX posse had the largest showing of old-school cars I’ve ever see in one place. This year there were FC Rx-7s and even more stunning examples of first gen FBs…

Honda proudly displayed their own collection of rare cars like a Mugen CRX. Almost ten N600s were lined up against the pretty blue water.

This year late model Hondas(read Accords) were displayed. I’m a huge fan of the 1st through 3rd gen Civics, even EF-era and I’m all for showing off neat, tidy builds with personal touches.  Some of these cars looked simply unkempt and boring. That aside here were my favorites:

Spoon 3rd gen, Bisimoto’s EF wagon, and one of many ultra-clean CRXs:

My favorite car at the show was Garm B’s Subaru 360 microvan. Besides its tiny stature the van is packed full of details!

JCCS wouldn’t be complete without those stickers and vanity plates:

Let’s not forget to give respect to those parking lot warriors who made it down to the show in style. There were some real gems to be found outside of the show like this Dodge Colt and Toyota Corona sedan with a perfect stance:

Thanks to the JCCS organizers for hosting another fun event. It will be interesting to see what next year’s show offers J-tin lovers young and old!
Lots of pictures in the gallery below so don’t forget to click after the jump!
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The Japanese Classic Car Show(JCCS) was held on Sunday 9/12 in Long Beach, CA and it was incredible. This show started in ’06 at the Queen Mary, moved to a park venue in Irvine for a few years and returned to Long Beach where I hope it stays.

We left the Bay Area at 8am Saturday morning and spent the night aboard the Queen Mary(Hotel). This is an experience in itself and I highly recommend staying here not only for the convenience.

Sunday morning Rob and I gave the roadster a quick wipedown before driving a few hundred feet to the staging area of the show. The JCCS staff really have their act together and made parking a breeze. At first I thought it was impossible to fit all participants in as there were 200+! I parked with 18 other Datsun Roadsters under a tree lined area. We were right across from what turned out to be 61 Datsun 510s! Nissan/Datsun had a strong presence for sure.

Grabbed my goody bag from the registration booth and we started checking out all the J-tin in a semi-orderly fashion. No lawn chair lounging for us! We spoke with Ron Carter, Les Cannaday and John Morton near the MOTUL booth where the BRE 240z and BRE Roadster were being displayed. Morton treated show-goers with a long autograph session. It was great to see him in good spirits!

If there was any doubt about the growing popularity of Japanese vintage cars all you had to do was look at how many spectators lined up for the show, some waited more than 1hr! This is great for JCCS and all of us classic car owners. Having a good venue doesn’t hurt either 🙂

Make sure to check out all of the pictures below at the end. The bar is contantly being raised and the level of detaiI/restoration of the cars these days is tremendous! I can’t possibly discuss all of the awesome cars but here are a few that caught our attention:

Randy Yee’s 240z with an RB26 drivetrain. Super clean, track-day resto. Flat black wrinkle powdercoating.  Simple interior. And what made me go gaga was the BRE-style exhaust system…why don’t we see this more often? Maybe it’s too loud 🙂

Wheels, wheels and more wheels! A JDM-wheel fanatic would appreciate the variety on display. From Volk’s new TE37Vintage wheel, various WORK and SSR wheels, ultra-rare Sakuras(the pink ones), Compmotive, TRD, even CCW showed up on 510s! Lots of Rota RB-R too:

This Nissan Patrol pickup truck was imported from Saudi Arabia!

61 510s, and it seemed like over half had some kind of engine swap. In a sea of SR20s and KAs this Dime built by Mario of TSR really stood out. John Morton was enamored with the engine bay! Lots of attention to detail in this one. Check out the welding. I love 510s

The Nissan 200sx or Silvia (S12 chassis) is often overlooked stateside. These cars were modded out and looking great.Yes, One had an RB26!

The Honda N60 models are coming out of the woodwork. There were about 10, all with mild to wild mods! Lots of CVCCs too.

Toyota and Mazda had a strong showing. Several 1/2Jz-swapped cars, Rotary pickups.

From L to R: This 18RG-powered Toyota looked boosted with period parts. I always liked the lines and B-pillarless body of the Celicas(RA). Fender-flared, wide-tired and mean Starlets are always welcome

This Mazda RX-4 wagon had FD Rx-7 running gear, front suspension bits and a linked Ford rear end…wicked:

I always like to see and hear car stories from owners. Interesting stickers also catch my eye, here are some highlights 🙂

It was an awesome weekend. We traveled 860 miles to see the show, and we did it in a Datsun. The sheer number of spectators and participants at JCCS 2010 reminds us that Japanese Classic Cars are still gaining popularity and recognition. Here’s to JCCS 2011!
UPDATE: ZCarGarage built the 1st place-winning Datsun Roadster in the “Modified” category!

For more information on 2010 Winners from all categories check the JCCS website

Full photo album below so click and enjoy!
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The Concours event was an amazing experience. Big thanks to David Swig for the invitation and giving Japanese classic cars a presence at the show and in people’s hearts!

We left ZCarGarage at 7am with three 240z cars, a ‘67.5 roadster and one sinister-looking s/c’d 350z.

This was my first time at a Concours event, and I was really impressed with how the venue was organized. As we drove  past the registration and onto the lawn area each car received a bottle of wine!  Flag wavers at every turn directed us to our staging area, where I immediately saw a sea of Ferrari’s and other exotics. I kept wondering, “A bunch of Datsuns get their own display in this show? ” Yes indeed. Not only Datsuns, but Hondas and Toyotas deserve their moment in the spotlight as well 🙂

The Japanese classic car display included a Toyota ’67 2000GT,  Toyota Sports 800, ’68 Honda S800, ’71 Skyline GT-R.   3 Datsun 240zs,  Datsun roadster, and a 1973 Toyota Corolla.   9 lovely Japanese cars in between gangster-era Cadillac’s and bright red Ferrari’s.
 
 

 

 
People were smitten with the display. I could hear memories being conjured, stories being swapped. It was great exposure for our cars, and quite endearing to see this happen amongst all of the high dollar iron surrounding us 🙂

                    
Rob told me that the Skyline was real, with the S20 drivetrain. My jaw dropped and I got very giddy as I have never seen a real Skyline GT-R in person. When the owner opened the hood the mighty S20 gleamed in all its twin-cam glory. Check out the pictures below for more detailed shots…from the underbody to the interior, it was a treat.
                  

The arrival of summer came late to the Bay Area but it was definitely felt with 95 degree + temps. Multiple tents and water stations were available to the attendees. Our invitation included snacks, drinks and lunch in a pavillion with a perfect view of the car display ramp. We were fortunate to have a chat with David Swig about seeing more folks getting into vintage racing and increasing Japanese car representation.
    

Here is a sight that was new to me: Concours judges scrutinizing cars. Maybe one day these gentlemen will be judging your Nissan/Datsun at a Concours event! Why not?

After lunch it was time to check out more of the cars, and I can’t describe or include all of the wonderful machines so I will  list a few favorites. Make sure to click after the “read more” to see all of the pictures!

Mercedes Benz 300SLs, and Gullwings galore! The new SLS was there too.

This Alfa Romeo Guiletta Sprint had just the right proportions:

Chrome everywhere, huge grilles, hood ornaments, and interiors that are so huge and luxurious that they belong on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

           

The event was truly an incredible experience and hopefully we can have an even greater display of Japanese cars for the collector car world to appreciate. Enjoy the pictures!

Click on the “continue reading” link below for the full picture album (315 pics)
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I can’t believe it’s that time of year again!!  The Japanese Classic Car Show (JCCS) is taking place this Sunday, Oct. 12th at Hidden Valley Park in Irvine, CA.  This is the ultimate show for you if you like all things vintage Japanese or true JDM.

There are huge sponsorship deals at the event this year from most of the OEM car companies, all sorts of media groups, and a large group of aftermarket supporters from around the globe (a complete list is on the JCCS website.)  Most of the sponsors will have booths set up so expect free gift bags, entertainment of all sorts, and stickers galore!

In 2007 Mazda brought out an entire trailer loaded with race cars and even a rare Mazda Cosmo, of which there are only few in the world.  They are a major sponsor again, along with Toyota, this year so expect some great things from both manufacturers.

The cars at the event are of the utmost quality and most everyone that attends is of the same caliber.  Not only does this event show off some of the best original Japanese classic cars but it also offers the latest and greatest in innovations and customization that the aftermarket has to offer.  Individuals and shops alike bring out their latest and greatest every year to be unveiled to the world.   One of the best parts about JCCS is the approachability of all who attend.   For example, if you see Pete Brock, of Datsun BRE fame,  walking around the grounds make sure you walk up to him and say hi.  Most “celebrities” here are happy to talk with anyone who shares the same passion for cars that they do.

Check out the video below for some footage of last year’s event and make sure to visit the Japanese Classic Car Show website for all the official updates as well as an awards, vendor, and sponsor list.  The JCCS site also has an amazing gallery of years past where I borrowed most of these pictures from.

 

This event is a MUST ATTEND.  If you have the weekend off we hope to see you there.  Feel free to stop myself or any of the Z Car Garage people to say hi or talk cars.  Long Live the Z and JCCS.

Look for an update right here next week when we return with our original pictures and a full event report.

www.Japaneseclassiccarshow.com