http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/cto/1564580740.html
I called him to let him know it was a Civic, but he was 100% sure that this was the original Mini Cooper. Good 'ol Jeorge.

 

What an idiot George is...

 

wow... awesome... lol

 

That is a Honda N360 or N600, built from 1967-1972.









I can see the resemblance to a classic mini.

 

Me too, but he was convinced that Mini sold the design to Honda, so funny, he was almost offended that I corrected him.

 

But it isn't a Civic. The N360 was the predecessor to the Civic, which was introduced in 1973.

 

Great, so the guy still doesn't know what he has after being "corrected"!

 

Mini didn't sell the design to Honda, the Japanese auto industry simply stole the designs from mainly British cars. A look at the Toyotas, Datsuns and Hondas of the 50's and 60's will provide images of Enfords, Vauxhalls, Austins, Morris's, Singers, Triumphs and other Limey Marques. Datsun made a B-2000 sporty car that was a exact copy of the TR-4. In fact those early post WW II Japanese cars also imitated the British cars in unreliability and speed of rusting. The Datsun 240Z changed how American car enthusiast felt about Japanese designs. Until it appeared I just laughed at "Nip" cars. One drive and I wasn't laughing anymore.

 

I can see the resemblance too... its not a civic... but its DEFINITELY not a mini lol

 

The Japanese also learned from American academics, like Deming, whom the American companies chose to ignore. Now, western companies are studying (and copying) Japanese methods and practices...

 

What is even funnier is that I have seen people selling classic mini's in much better shape and running for not much more than that junk.

 

My bad, not a civic. But definately not a Mini.

 

I actually owned two of these. They were VERY cheaply made (think worse than a Yugo). They had metallurgy issues and rusted in seconds. They were all two cylinder motors with a notchy 4 manual gear4 box (I think they were all four-speeds but its been too long ago). Mine had the only option -- a radio.

I drove them both about 25K miles before they dissolved into ignominy. It seemed like I had them much longer. It was good for about 65 mph reloiably, maybe 70 if the wind was right.

There was also a swoopy little coupe on the same chassis -- equally horrible.

The seller should let it die in peace.

 

Curious how you ended up with a second one if the first one was so bad!

 

"Only serious buyers". How about a serious seller?? This guy is clueless.

There's nothing in a car ad that puts me off more than "serious inquiries only". I understand that you can get a few knucklehead calls, but this is insulting to those who really are interested in the dang thing.

 

The Honda Z360/600, built from 1970 to 1974



Found this too:
The sea of N360 invaders.

 

911:

I bought two of them at the same time -- local Buick dealer was the seller. One for me, one for my wife (except she refused to drive it). This was at the height of the FIRST gasoline crisis and my other car was a 1969 Z28 w/2 Holleys (translate to about 10 mpg on a good day, but a GREAT car).

 

I like the "H" on the front... nice feature for a "Classic".

It's called a "Honda Mini Cooper"? Hilarious! Very rare I'm sure. Too bad it's not free.

 

Yeah, that guy is a Bad Apple for sure, think he fell on his head a few one to many times!!

 

Aren't you the one that had two Fiats too?

You now own a Mini (probably two) so I'm seeing a trend...

 

Unfortunately, I'm the one.

I've also had two Chevy Chevettes, two MG Midgets, two Austin Americas (one stick and one automatic), and two original Minis.

Right now I have two of the new Minis, a 2009 and a 2005 (well actually the 2005 is my sorta daughter's).

We're big on twos at my house. They'll probably bury me in two places.

 

I bought a Honda 600 Coupe new in August of '72. I think I paid about $1,800. And yes, the 600 Sedan and the 600 Coupe shared the same mechanicals:

All aluminum air-cooled 2 cylinder engine, 4-sp gearbox, common sump for the engine, gearbox and diff, 1 Keihein (sp?) carb with manual choke. I believe it was rated at 36hp and 32ft-lb. The car weighed about 1300lb and was about 10ft (maybe 10ft - 2in) long.

I can't remember the stated top speed, but mine would hold about 80-82mph (took forever to get there, however). As far as I know, we never got the 360cc engine here. I didn't have quite the power and you had to buzz it pretty hard to get any speed. Mine was BRIGHT yellow and I drive it for about 3 years before it met with a telephone pole. Didn't hit very hard, but enough to tweak the subframe and be declared a Total.

The one in the photo must have been a domestic model with the fender mirrors. US ones got 1 mirror mounted on the driver's door. It matched the body color.

 

Was one always a spare or did your wife have the exact same taste?


Equivalent to about $9,200 today, still a very cheap car.

It seems like the body was engineered so lean, it couldn't take any minor hit without buckling stuff.

The Japanese do love their fender mirrors...

 

I love the fender mirrors on my Classic...it does change the look more than you'd think.

 

I think the greater issue with mine was that after 3 years the value of the car was so low. In '75 the importation had stopped and they were on to the Civic; a much more livable car for the general population.