Return of my car

[sakijo]

Although the most interesting thread at the moment is the triple-hijacked tonyasap's thread, I GOT MY CAR BACK!!!!! Yes, after two months in the shop, it's back in my possession. It was a combination of bad luck, poor subcontract supplier, 10 days of Japanese holidays, and a change order to the work being done that made a 2 week job turn into a two month job.

I will post pictures when I get them from the shop owner and take some myself. Until then, I will tease you with a Prince 6 being worked on at Uchida's shop. Note the original single number 5 series at the top of the plate.

[g72s20]

What a great workshop! I'm looking forward to the story of the rebuild Miles. I owned a Gloria like that! It needed a lot of TLC though. I saved it from being bulldozed into landfill and was rewarded with a 2500cc G11 motor. A memory now:(

Can you explain the significance of the single figure "5" please Miles? (oohhh lookout! Jims got lots more questions now!!:nervous: )

[sakijo]

The best website to explain all of this in English has been down for quite some time. So . . . . Japanese cars are taxed by engine size, among other things. When they went to the standard number plate back in the 60s? they used a single digit. When they ran out of single digits, they went to double digits, and then now to triple digits. For whatever reason, they never used all the digits (I have seen 55, 56, 59, but never 52 or 53). The single digit plate on this car means that it has been continuously registered from new. My car has a triple digit plate, having been de-registered at some time before I bought it. "Correct" period plates depend on where the car was registered, as big cities like Tokyo would run out of numbers faster than some rural area like Niigata. I have a set of what I believe are "correct" period plates for my car, Oki 56, corresponding to an Okinawa registered car in 1971. There's a lot more to this, and I wish Tiger's website was up so I don't have to explain all of this, but . . . . .

Yeah, I know . . . fire away with you questions.

[kyteler]

Woohoo! Glad one of us has their car back! Can't wait for more pictures once you do get it back. You must be absolutely stoked after waiting that long.

[Alfadog]

That Gloria looks absolutely gorrrrgeous.

Reminds me, Jim, do you have any pics of Laurie's Gloria?

Good news with your car Miles, let's see some more pictures of that!

[dhoneycutt]

Miles

Do they still use the internally lighted license plates? I was able to get one from a friend of mine when I left Okinawa back in the late 80's. I am going to clean it up and use for shows and such when the car gets that far along.

[sakijo]

Fix the car – condensed version:

The Plan:

Rebuild the cylinder head to stop oil burning (valve seals) and rebuild the suspension (shocks, struts, ball joints).

Bad Luck:

March 13 – The shop owner, for various reasons, rejects my plan. It is one or the other. I choose the cylinder head rebuild. The suspension rebuild has been waiting for almost a year and I figure I can wait a couple of months until May. We agree that the car will be finished on April 1.

Bad Sub-contractor:

The cylinder head is stripped and sent to a sub-contractor on March 16. He is to clean up the cylinder head and put in new valve guides and seats. On March 29, I call to find out the total cost so I can pay and pick up the car on April 1, as agreed. I am told that the car will not be ready because the cylinder head has not come back. I call again on April 6, and get the same story – no cylinder head, don’t know when it will be ready. On April 15, I receive a phone call – looks like the cylinder head will be ready by April 22.

Change of Plans:

Ok. You have had the car for 7 weeks and it doesn’t look like it will be finished anytime before April 29. Estimate the suspension work and go ahead and fix that too.

10 Days of Japanese Holidays:

April 29, and March 3-4-5 are Japanese National Holidays. This year is especially good because taking off from work on May 1-2 gives you 10 days of vacation time. A lot of businesses just close up for the week and give the time to their employees as a bonus. The car is finished on May 9 and I pick it up on May 10.

Two months. The shop owner is understandably unhappy. It ruined his work schedule and my car took up valuable floor space. He probably lost some money because he had to turn away business. I am unhappy. It was a month and a half beyond the promised delivery date.

Ending on a happy note - - - my plan was to take the car back for the suspension work on May 13. Now, I don’t have to do that. It saves me money on the tolls and train fare. The car runs great and handles great. Even the wife seems to notice the difference; and she doesn’t understand cars at all.

[Alfadog]

Sounds like a real headache Miles. Just goes to show that kind of runaround happens in every country!! Congratulations on finally getting the car back. I understand how you feel.

Bloody subcontractors!!

[sakijo]

Miles

Do they still use the internally lighted license plates? I was able to get one from a friend of mine when I left Okinawa back in the late 80's. I am going to clean it up and use for shows and such when the car gets that far along.

Yes. And they improved it with better lighting. Instead of two light bulbs, they have electro-luminescent pads placed behind all the characters and numbers.

[HS30-H]

Miles,

Glad to hear that you are reunited with your car. Its a nice time of year to be driving.

Is 'Victory 50' a long way from where you live ( I don't know whereabouts you live in Japan )? It sounds like you travelled a long way.

Uchida san has a reputation for sometimes being a bit 'difficult' with his customers. Was your experience with him good overall? And did he sing you a song?! ( :eek: )

Alan T.

[sakijo]

Miles,

Glad to hear that you are reunited with your car. Its a nice time of year to be driving.

Is 'Victory 50' a long way from where you live ( I don't know whereabouts you live in Japan )? It sounds like you travelled a long way.

Uchida san has a reputation for sometimes being a bit 'difficult' with his customers. Was your experience with him good overall? And did he sing you a song?! ( :eek: )

Alan T.

Alan,

I live in Zushi City, just south of Yokohama. It takes about an hour or so by car (toll roads - Yoko-Yoko & Wangan) and an hour and an half by train (if you make the right connections). He treats me good. The prices are high by American standards, but apparently, in line with general Japanese pricing.

As far as being "difficult," he has his reasons. In my case, it was about the cost. He thought it would be too high to pay all at once, and since the wife always goes with me, he reasoned that money/car may cause marital problems. As he put it, "The car is part of the family, and if the family doesn't agree, he can't, in good conscience, do the work and take the money."

It may be a novelty thing, too. Me being Japanese-American, and my car being Y-plated, it causes quite a stir in his shop amongst his other customers. You know, "You have a gaijin okyakusan?" with images of a tall white or black man. "Or what is this Y-number plate?"

He also likes to talk. Going to his shop is a minimum 1-2 hour discussion about cars, etc.

BTW, the wife goes because she likes to get out of the normal routine and is amazed that the two of us can converse (his English - almost non-existent and my Japanese - marginal) and she can't understand a darned thing. But car-talk is car-talk right?

[dhoneycutt]

Yes. And they improved it with better lighting. Instead of two light bulbs, they have electro-luminescent pads placed behind all the characters and numbers.

SWEEEEEEET. I'd like to get a set for my Z. I guess I'll just have to settle for the one I have.