By Jeff Glucker
One of these days, I need to get over to Duncan Imports to see the amazing collection of JDM cars on display. The dealership is located in Virginia and has hundreds of Japanese vehicles on sale (as well as a handful of non-JDM offerings). There are so many to choose from, and most are priced rather reasonably. If you had a blank check and could spend it on just one vehicle for sale from Duncan Imports, which would you choose?
I love all of the Mitsubishi vans and Pajeros. There’s a super rad Renault Alpine Coupe. And this Subaru Alcyone is awesome. But I keep coming back to this Mitsubishi Minica Dangan ZZ.
The Minica is a Kei car offered in a few different body styles. The Dangan ZZ is considered a …van, for some reason. And it has a sibling named the Minica Lettuce, which is just wonderful. More amazing though is the fact that the Dangan ZZ is powered by the 3G83 Turbo engine, which is an inline three-cylinder with 15 vales! That’s five valves per cylinder and this is the first production engine in the world to lay stake to that claim.
This specific one for sale at Duncan Imports has a five-speed manual gearbox and under 50,000 miles on the odometer, and I want it. I also want a mini truck from Duncan, because I am scheming on a build with a built-in mountain bike carry system in the bed. That’s a story for a different day though. For now, go to Duncan Imports and find the coolest car you’d buy given that blank check.
Kamil Kaluski
The prices for Centuries are pretty stiff, despite them having some excellent vehicles, like this one. I had mentioned here earlier that I had found an agent and was ready to realize my dream of owning one…then the Corona crisis hit. Norway is a tiny country reliant on oil, so our currency imploded. I am lucky I hit a bump with our local ~DMV that delayed everything a bit, otherwise that dream would now cost 40% more. It’s the opposite with you guys in the US, the dollar is as muscular as it has ever been. A good time to import cool cars, even if you might struggle to resell them in the impending apocalypse.
So much to choose from. I’d have to live out my 1990s JDM fantasy and get an RX-7 or something like that.
Also, why are Figaro’s so expensive?!?
Figaro’s are expensive because insanely cute.
There, I said it and I won’t take it back.
You just put that right out there, did you. Whole world saw it!
yeah, stupid cute…
It’s weird, a bunch around $30k but also some below $10k
I’d nominate the Paul Newman Skyline or a Nissan President so you can spend time telling people it’s not a Century.
How about the Mitsubishi 4x4s that look just like a 1953 Jeep Station Wagon, but are built in the 1980s?
They were in ridiculous demand before the US could even import them but produced for a very limited time. They were a popular import into Ireland and other countries, where they found mostly careless owners at the time, diminishing numbers further. Sorry…
Tempted by an RX7 alright, or the Mitsuokoa Zero (Japanese Caterham/Lotus 7 Clone) already have a Cappuccino, but needs resto so I’d be tempted to shortcut that, but then again, those cars might not be much better under the surface. There are three types of 90s JDM cars – Rusty, Restored and damn lies. 😀
That Dangan is cool, and I doubt Jeff would regret buying it if he’s serious, though the Suzuki Alto Works or Daihatsu Mira TR-XX tend to be seen as the most desireable of the kei hot hatches. Doesn’t matter though, they’re all going to be a blast and feel really unique.
Cool, best Mitsuoka ever!
I sometimes noticed a JDM Mazda RX7 convertible headed the other direction when I was heading home from work. I always wondered how much of a premium the owner had to shell out in order to drive from the wrong side of the car. It seems Duncan is selling a “condition 3” for around $10K. I guess that isn’t awful for a 30-year-old car that logged about 1200 miles per year. https://www.duncanimports.com/used/Mazda/1990-Mazda-RX-7-cf85b7ff0a0e08b9435c3f6d87238aed.htm
Anyway, my import choice would be this Silver Spur shooting (victim) brake: https://www.duncanimports.com/used/Rolls-Royce/1991-Rolls-Royce-Silver+Spur+II-7e846da20a0e08bb53636a82ed00c0cb.htm
https://pictures.dealer.com/c/classiccarsite/0814/bd2ae41d62232492aaf58d5ae8ac4d6ax.jpg?impolicy=resize&w=768
Shooting brake, or hearse??
Yes. Please re-read my description above.
See that’s the problem, I read your description but not the ad and even the link was shortened (on phone). D’oh!
The prices for Centuries are pretty stiff, despite them having some excellent vehicles, like this one. I had mentioned here earlier that I had found an agent and was ready to realize my dream of owning one…then the Corona crisis hit. Norway is a tiny country reliant on oil, so our currency imploded. I am lucky I hit a bump with our local ~DMV that delayed everything a bit, otherwise that dream would now cost 40% more. It’s the opposite with you guys in the US, the dollar is as muscular as it has ever been. A good time to import cool cars, even if you might struggle to resell them in the impending apocalypse.
So you’re having to defer your dream car until after the krone virus crisis resolves.
Jepp, it’s not a major crisis, the car. It’s just strange how things shifted from what-was-before to a quite existential situation on a society level.
I’d happily chop up whatever is left of a rusted out USDM Subaru XT to convert an Alcyone to LHD. …things I’ll never do, but are fun to think about. Who am I kidding, I’d prefer some sort of weird French car that we never got. Alpine it is. …also something I’ll never do.
We nearly got the Alpine GTA here in the states. It got federalized, with pop up headlights and a few other changes. They even built a handful intended to come here. Unfortunately, Renault pulled out of the US market mere months before it was due to debut. The dozen cars made were simply sold in Europe.
Well if you want a forbidden fruit JDM Subaru conversion project check out what the local dealer has on offer. http://sodo-moto.com/listings/1999-ra-limited/ Just add a US spec shell and Vin and drive an essentially to new to import car.
Ouch those prices are high, at least from where I’m sitting and it really really makes me wish I’d picked up one of the Figaros, Cappuccinos or Autozams that one of the local importers has had in the last year or so. They were asking as little as 1/4 of what this place is asking. I do drive by a Figaro under a car port, along with a couple of Kei trucks out by the shop. The Figaro has collected a lot of dust, doesn’t seem to have moved in over a year.
My current JDM fascination is the Pajero Mini. The local dealer had one a while back and another on the boat right now, they are only $5-6k and the one on the way only has ~50k miles on it. They apparently have a 2sp transfer case even. Kind of like a shrunken Jimny/Samurai.
Yamaha would contest that “first production engine w 5 valves/cylinder” claim, as their 1984 (‘85?) FZ750 introduced just such a design, while Mitsubishi didn’t get around to this for a few more years. However, Yamaha may have only used it in twins & inline 4s, and not triples.
Came here for this. They also used it on the 660cc single from the XTZ and SZR – but as you mentioned, no triples, as far as i know.
The Minica Dangans are cool because the nameplates are almost as wide as the car. My personal JDM favorites are the kei truck fire engines and the Suzuki Cappucino and Honda Beat sports cars, plus the Autozam gull wing car.
Yeah those are at the top of my list.
It’s so hard to chose, but here I go:
https://pictures.dealer.com/c/classiccarsite/1310/bf04cfdd68c0cdffa1584f124525d8dbx.jpg
1974 Toyota Corona Mark II L Coupe
It’s… it’s beautiful. I barely knew of it before I went looking. Now that I have, I want it. Like those Isuzu coupes in the video game, GT2.
Our family car back in the day was, for several years, a ’70s pea green (you know exactly the colour) Corona wagon of that generation. Ours was a ’73 I think. I really want one now but they’re vanishingly rare.
I was going to say, the days of putting a silky straight six in a slightly-premium but very much middle class family car will never come again … but apparently Mazda might have something to say about that.