Classic Car Ownership in Japan: An Insight

[Jimmy Chen Shiba]

On Yale's suggestion, I shall express my opinion of classic car ownership in Japan. Hope it is of some interest. First of all, the Japanese classic car market is nowhere near the scope and size of US or Europe. However, there are enough enthusiasts here with exotic collections. As Yale drives his classic Ferrari amongst a sea of yellow cabs, I do drive mine to work everyday to Tokyo too. Suppose it's comparable to 42nd Street (that is, where I work). When I park mine, say in Denny's Restaurant parking lot, street meter parking, etc. ...very often strangers walk up to take pictures, point fingers, whispers, some even come right up and ask me about the car. For those who are not familiar with Tokyo, mid-Tokyo is like a showcase of the most recent, most expensive cars available. MB, BMW, Jaguar, RollsRoyce ...ad nauseum. Therefore, driving a Dino or Daytona on weekdays in Tokyo's crawling traffic is a rare sight. Majority of classic car enthusiasts are weekend drivers or for show only, or simply garage queens. Since I do not belong to any local clubs, I am not familiar with the "in people". I drive these cars because I simply enjoy driving them. To be continued. Jimmy

[sam231]

Good for you Jimmy! Keep it up! I drive my C/4 in Providence traffic (no where near as busy as Tokyo) as much as possible and some think I am crazy....but whats the point of ownership otherwise :>)

[Yale]

I would think, given the size of some of the streets and the traffic, that the Daytona would be a handful in Tokyo. When I first got my 330 I wrote here about a steady series of issues; the polce motioning to me that almost all my spokes were broken while I was driving down the West Side Highway, the propensity of the car to overheat anytime it crossed either the West Chester or New Jersey borders into NY City, the starter stopping working and me stalling out, again on the West Side Highway, and getting a helpful push from two (female!) cops. One who said to me, "Honey, this car is too nice to drive around with, a car like this should just be used in parades." Enough urban experiences that Francois said to me at one point, "Who told you you could have this car in New York City!?"

So the Daytona doesn't overheat? I had to add a twin Ken Lowe fan which works like the charm. Best, Yale




(Ah well, I thought I knew how to post an image.)

[shill288]

Jimmy,

Good for you. I drive my Daytonas all the time. One can usually spot one of the Spyders at the local burger joint in Los Gatos, California.

Someone mentioned something about a Daytona overheating. Daytonas don't do this unless something is wrong. I've sat many a time in stop-and-go traffic during the California summers and the Daytonas have not overheated. Ditto the F40, GTO, 512s, 308s, etc., etc. I own (have owned). Except for one, a 1985 308QV that would overheat in 90 degree plus days. Ferrari tore the car apart trying to figure out why? They never could figure it out. I ended up trading it back to Ferrari on another car. I can't quite remember which Ferrari it was.

Steve

[Jimmy Chen Shiba]

I would think, given the size of some of the streets and the traffic, that the Daytona would be a handful in Tokyo. When I first got my 330 I wrote here about a steady series of issues; the polce motioning to me that almost all my spokes were broken while I was driving down the West Side Highway, the propensity of the car to overheat anytime it crossed either the West Chester or New Jersey borders into NY City, the starter stopping working and me stalling out, again on the West Side Highway, and getting a helpful push from two (female!) cops. One who said to me, "Honey, this car is too nice to drive around with, a car like this should just be used in parades." Enough urban experiences that Francois said to me at one point, "Who told you you could have this car in New York City!?"

So the Daytona doesn't overheat? I had to add a twin Ken Lowe fan which works like the charm. Best, Yale




(Ah well, I thought I knew how to post an image.)

Seems like you had your share of FUN times w/ your 330 in NYC streets. I had my share of similar experiences w/ my Dino. After close to three years of tinkering, it is very reliable now. When I first bougt the Dino, it was far from so called showroom condition. (Never trust in toto all the adjectives they use to promote sale. My attitude was roughly only half is true when they say this and that). Just about the whole string of minor problems were covered. I still remember one day when I was cruising down tollway and checking the meters periodically,...suddenly I noticed a red lamp and oil meter was screaming empty and my blood pressure was falling rapidly too. Simply adding extra oils for the time being, my next ride was a major smoke behind my back due to oil leaks on heated manifolds. It looked like smoke screens. The problem was not a major one, oil lines and hoses were replaced and solved that. As for Daytona, overheating does not seem to be a problem. On the contrary, I was told that you do not want to overcool the radiator as this would compromise the engine smoothness. More to follow.

[Jimmy Chen Shiba]

I must have messed up something in my earlier postreply. My reply got inserted right into Yale's reply. Sorry about the mixup. Jimmy

[tyang]

I must have messed up something in my earlier postreply. My reply got inserted right into Yale's reply. Sorry about the mixup. Jimmy

I fixed it.

Tom

[Rudy van Daalen Wetters]

I would think that driving a Daytona on the left side of the road in Japan would be challenging after being used to driving on the right side here in the USA. I have a hard enough time just staying on the road.

Rudy van Daalen Wetters
1963 GTE s/n 4001
1966 330 GT s/n 8705

[Jimmy Chen Shiba]

Not really, Rudy. Getting used to this arangement is actually quite advantageous and I find it more easy to drive. The only downside may be in situations like getting a parking ticket from a machine and other minor nuisances. Jimmy

[Jimmy Chen Shiba]

I must have messed up something in my earlier postreply. My reply got inserted right into Yale's reply. Sorry about the mixup. Jimmy

I fixed it.

Tom

Thanx Tom ! Jimmy

[Rudy van Daalen Wetters]

So Jimmy, with space at such a premium, are you still able to keep all your cars at one location?

Rudy van Daalen Wetters
1963 GTE s/n 4001
1966 330 GT s/n 8705

[Jimmy Chen Shiba]

So Jimmy, with space at such a premium, are you still able to keep all your cars at one location?

Rudy van Daalen Wetters
1963 GTE s/n 4001
1966 330 GT s/n 8705

Well, Rudy...as you might surmise, real estate is premium here. I live in Yokohama (a city w/ roughly 3.5 million). My house is above average but it certainly isn't worth what I paid for it. Much of the price is for the real estate. Luckily, due to the topography of my property (sitting along a hillside), I can manage to park up to five cars under carports (covered garage). I am dying to build a decent, normal garage. Fortunately, I have room to do this. I haven't made up my mind yet. If I do the expansion, I should be able to squeeze nine cars within the property w/ maybe half of them in a garage. Meanwhile, I am renting a parking tower space nearby and the rest of the cars are being stored at my firend mechanic's shop where the cars are being looked after in turns. Jimmy