Hawaiian hondas.........

[martykart]

i thought that the really rare ones were 69 models because hawaii was the first place they sold them ( 69's) thus becomeing the first true hondas in the us. [not counting the black market S  cars ].
and then as they migrated east they were only 70 - 72 models???
anyone know the story behind the first hondas in the USA????

[dealadayray]

Hi Marty;
    The 360, 400 and 600 sedans were available in other countries and Japan in 1967, Hawaii was a new playground for the well-to-do Japanese and in 1969 the first Honda 600's were brought to the Hawaiian IsLands, but the 360's were already in England, Austraila and France and other countries.   July of 1968 was when the first Honda N600's rolled off the line.  The Z 360 didn't make it's way into the market until 1970.   The 600 Z followed and found it's way into many countries with their safety regulations being modified several times to meet their needs.
Bill

> ----- Original Message -----
> From:
> martykart@...
> To:
> 2cylinderhondas@yahoogroups.com
> Sent:
> Sunday, June 22, 2003 8:03 PM
> Subject:
> [2cylinderhondas] Hawaiian
> hondas.........
> i thought that the really rare ones were 69 models because > hawaii was the first place they sold them ( 69's) thus becomeing the first > true hondas in the us. [not counting the black market S  cars > ].
> and then as they migrated east they were only 70 - 72
> models???
> anyone know the story behind the first hondas in the
> USA????
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> unsubscribe from this group, send an email
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> .

[Greg]

> anyone know the story behind the first hondas in the USA????

In 1967 Honda introduced a new small car only to the Japanese
domestic market called the N360. Powered by a 354cc air-cooled
engine with two cylinders and single overhead camshaft. The engine
could produce 31 hp at 8500 rpm with the 4 speed standard gearbox.
Honda also offered a 3 speed automatic for those interested in such
a convenience. The car was front wheel drive, which with the
exception a few Citroens and British Mini's, was quite revolutionary
for the time.
The N360's styling was a simple design with two doors and a small
trunk. The 10" spare tire was put in the engine compartment as a
safety feature. The new Honda looked like a hatchback but was not,
it had a plastic trunk lid. The N360 was 119 inches long with a 78.7
inch wheelbase, 45.3 inch track and weighed in at 1,114 pounds.
Inside the doors featured vinyl panels that covered part of the
door, the rest was metal finished in the same color as the exterior.
The front seats were simple bucket type covered in vinyl. The rear
seat was a plain bench type. The dash was flat and uncluttered,
equipped with a speedometer, fuel gauge and optional radio. The
heater relied on the little air-cooled engine and provided barely
adequate warmth. A unique feature most people were surprised by, the
shifter came out of the middle part of the dash instead of the
floor.
Honda continued to improve the N360 by increasing engine
displacement to include a 400cc option which changed that model name
to the N400. The 400cc engine produced 33hp at 8000 rpm. The new
N400 was available for sale only in the Japan home market in October
1968. In May of 1969 the N600 was offered to Japanese consumers. The
598cc engine made 45 hp at 7000 rpm. Other than adding larger
engines the cars stayed basically the same.
In early 1969 an upgraded model was offered, the N600G. The new
model featured fake wood on the dash, a tachometer and a console to
absorb some of the vibration from the shift lever. The previously 2
spoke plastic steering wheel was replaced with sporty 3 spoke
leather covered unit. There were also new door handles and front
disc brakes. The N600G was only available to the Japanese and
European markets.
The N600 was first exported to the United States through Hawaii in
late 1969 as a 1970 model. The U.S. market got a more conventional
looking dash with separate gauges and glovebox, and still sporting
the shifter jutting from the dash. There was a floor shift option
initially but it was dropped after a short while due to some safety
concerns. There was no automatic transmission offered due to
sluggish performance not suitable for America's driving conditions.
The car looked out of place on US highways that were still mostly
populated by very large 8 and 6 cylinder vehicles. Honda sold 3,770
N600's during the first year.
In 1971 the Z600 Coupe model was offered which featured all new
bodywork. It was much more stylish, had a more curved body, and
featured a lift up rear window that looked like a scuba mask. It had
new exterior mirrors and front bumper guards. Inside there was a new
overhead console that featured separate map and dome lights,
variations on this console carried on as an option for first
generation Honda Civics. The new Coupe bore obvious styling
similarities to the Civic that was about to hit US shores in 1973.
Honda was rewarded for it's new design with sales of near 10,000
cars with consumer interest holding strong for the 1972 model run.
In total there were 40,586 Honda 600's sold in the United States.

[Joseph Corsinita]

In a message dated 6/23/03 6:25:08 AM Eastern Daylight Time, hondapenguin@... writes:

> In 1967 Honda introduced a new small car only to the Japanese
> domestic market called the N360. Powered by a 354cc air-cooled
> engine with two cylinders and single overhead camshaft

I think the N360 a water cool engine not an air cool.
Jose

[StangGuy67]

In a message dated 6/22/03 11:21:16 PM, billmyong@... writes:
>
Right. My family moved to Japan in 1970, and I remember the Z. It wasn't
called a "Coupe" there; simply the Honda Z, though there were many varients, such
as the Z "Act", which my best friend's mom had. I always though that they
looked a bit like an AMC Gremiln :)
Kraig Griffiths
71 N600
72 N600

[StangGuy67]

In a message dated 6/23/03 3:36:03 AM, hondapenguin@... writes:
>
My factory service manual shows the wood dash. Are these available anywhere?
What about the "sporty 3 spoke leather covered" steering wheel? Sure would
like to have one of those!
My girlfriend at the time's father had a N360 with automatic. I think it said
"Hondamatic" on the rear. We snuck it out one day and went for a drive, I had
never driven a car before, I was strictly a motorcycle rider. All went well
until we parked it, came back to it, and it wouldn't start! We panicked, what
to do? After much cursing, it finally started. What was wrong? When I parked
it, I left it in "drive", and attempted to start it in same. I had never heard
of a neutral safety switch!
Kraig Griffiths
71 N600
72 N600

[martykart]

so does anyone have a 69 model? what about a 360 in the us?

[Nick]

Hi there all.. I have 2 Honda n360's in new Zealand, one thatis going and the other, just sitting there, i am sure it would like to be drivingon the road also... maybe one day. I gotta say that the 360 is quite a peppy wee machine considering it is almost 1/2 the cc's of the 600. A great everyday runner it has been. I also have 2 n600's.. One is the delux model with the wood grain dash as spoken about.. tach and consol.. spare wheel under the rear end, fan heater blower.. also 2 speed window wipers.. and with the head lights there is a dial within the switch so that you can dim the dash board intstument lights...
+Well I love my hondas... wish i had all 4 on the raod.. but maybe one day that will happen... nice to be preserving a part of history.
Quentin
New Zealand

> ----- Original Message -----
> From:
> My72Z600@...
> To:
> 2cylinderhondas@yahoogroups.com
> Sent:
> Monday, June 23, 2003 11:42
> PM
> Subject:
> Re: [2cylinderhondas] Re:
> Hawaiian hondas.........
> In a message
> dated 6/23/03 6:25:08 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
> hondapenguin@...
> writes:
> > In 1967 Honda introduced a new small car only to the Japanese
> > domestic market called the N360. Powered by a 354cc air-cooled
> > engine with two cylinders and single overhead camshaft
I think the N360 a water cool
engine not an air cool.
Jose
To
unsubscribe from this group, send an email
to:

[mterrens]

Greg,
Where did you find that history on the Coupe? Great stuff!
Steve

[HondaPenguin]

Steve,
There isn’t much on the web as you probably know. I can’t remember where I got that particular article. I no longer have the link or else it’s not available in the net anymore. I found some historical info on a few pages…
http://www.xs4all.nl/~mjs/hondak.html
Great pictures on this one…
http://1949car1985.piranho.de/werkbilder2001/honda.htm
Not as much N600 stuff but interesting…
http://www.histomobile.com/histomob/pre ... D=44&lan=2
My web site is not working too well because some of the pictures need to be updated. But you can look at what’s there anyway…
http://webpages.charter.net/paque3/hondainfo.htm
Have fun,  Greg
From:
Steven Michelsen [mailto:stevenm@...]
Sent:
Tuesday, June 24, 2003 10:38 AM
To:
2cylinderhondas@yahoogroups.com
Greg,
Where did you find that history on the Coupe?  Great stuff!
Steve