Weekly Motor Fix: land of the rising classics

29 April, 2016

There are many who believe that Japanese cars are tools. They’re a functional piece of equipment with a job to do. They’re commodities to be bought by large companies to ferry photocopier technicians to their next paper jam. They’re also a marketer’s dream: Are you old? Buy a Toyota Corolla. Do you have too many children? Buy a Honda Odyssey. Have you lost your will to live? Buy a Nissan Qashqai.

So then, a Japanese classic sounds like a bit of a paradox. One of our New Zealand Classic Car feature cars in Issue No. 305 is a 1970 Mitsubishi Galant GTO, and this, indeed, is a beautiful classic. Which made me wonder, where did it start? What are the original Japanese classics?

Following Japanese manufacturers’ successful foray into car building following World War II, they churned out huge numbers of cars that would go and go and go. Suddenly, the customer — especially the American customer — had an alternative to an enormously thirsty and simply enormous road tank. But the Japanese manufacturers were still lacking a certain je ne sais quoi. There was no soul, and we, the car people, need our cars to have soul. So what to do? Well, the Japanese, clever as they are, started building some pretty cool cars.

To name but a few:

Mazda went the ever-reliable rotary route. The RX-2 was built under contract right here in New Zealand (sunny Otahuhu to be exact). Its sporty little brother, the RX-3, was on the shelves from 1971 through 1978 and proved a great success for Mazda even clocking up a fifth place in Bathurst 1975.

The original Nissan GT-R, released in 1969, is now one of the most sought-after cars in the world.The GT-R was powered by a 2.0-litre DOHC S20 I6 producing 160hp (120kW) at 7000rpm, and 177Nm (131 ft·lbf) of torque at 5600rpm. Not big numbers today, but this from a two-litre engine (only juice and milk come in two litres I hear you say), was quite simply staggering in the late ’60s.

The Galant GTO (as featured in New Zealand Classic Car Issue No. 305) took inspiration from Detroit with a number of similarities in styling and stance. When you get a copy of Issue No. 305, check out the feature on page 58, have a look at the individual parts of the cars and you’ll recognize some sweeps and curves from some of the most famous muscle cars of the ’60s and ’70s.

What are some early Japanese classics you’d have in your garage?

Lunch with Bill Leckie: An Imp’s tale

6 August, 2026

Seeking limelight is part of Bill Leckie’s DNA, but when I asked him if anyone had written about his career and the cars he created, he didn’t think so. Even so, I was delighted when he agreed to sit down with me over a pie and coffee to reminisce. I started by asking how it is that someone who is so fanatical about F1 only ever raced saloon cars? Well, we’ll get to that, but where did things start? “I went to Cornwall Park Primary School and then to Remuera Intermediate where I became good mates with Geoff Perry, son of the legendary motorcycle racing legend Len.” Geoff Perry was 23 and on the edge of stardom when he was killed in a mystery air disaster over the Pacific in 1973. “We used to race around his backyard on a cutdown motorbike. It was friendly competition that I suppose helped hone our racing instincts. There was never much between us and so, by 11 or 12, I had a definite leaning towards speed.”

Mitsubishi’s secret weapon

31 July, 2026

Ewen’s Starion is a little different and special. He saved this one – literally ‘found in a paddock’ — just in time, as he relates.
“Mine is a 1983 Starion. I’ve had it about five years. I first saw it in a paddock at Ryal Bush [north of Invercargill], and I went past it three times. The third time I went back and knocked at the door, but the owner didn’t want to sell. He rang up a year later, and put a price on it, which we accepted. Only thing wrong was the motor was totally dismantled.”
Ewen then set about getting the car back to its current state.
“It took me six months to find somebody suitable to refurbish it back then. Simon Bradley at Midas in Invercargill offered to do it and he did a great job on it. The head was badly damaged around the valves, and Simon said you could get generic cylinder heads now, so he installed one, and it cost $800. It’s made such a difference to the car. Mine is an intercooled, fuel-injected turbo model, fitted with a five-speed manual gearbox. It’s a great car to drive too.”
Except for a small patch of surface rust, Ewen’s car was in surprisingly good condition despite its paddock life.

Weekly Motor Fix: land of the rising classics

Contact us

Sign up to New Zealand Classic Car's newsletter