10k: MicroCart: 1971 Honda Z600
One in six trucks sold in America ends up in Texas, which is where about
one in 15 Americans live. Pie charts and advanced calculus could
determine how many trucks occupy a Costco parking lot in Texas at any
given time, but all the rocket scientists in the world couldn’t predict
this one. Find this 1971 Honda Z600 with a clean history and 36,000
miles for $10,250 in Austin, TX. Words and tip from DT commenter & contributor slowcarSLOW-MPGlol.
We’re not sure what this car is doing in Texas, or
how it hasn’t been crushed by someone in a lifted F-350 Super Duty who
thought it was a pesky traffic barrel or lawn gnome. Size and
nationalism are big in the Lone Star State, so seeing this archetypal
“foreign tin-can” still alive in the heart of Texas after 45 years is
astounding.
This boot-high Honda primed the market for the
Civic’s release in 1973. With around 33 horsepower, this Z600 probably
didn’t get Southern hospitality from coal-rolling bro trucks at
stoplights and freeways with speed limits that surpass its 77 mph top
speed.
By feats of incredible restraint, this Z600 hasn’t
had a set of longhorns ironically mounted to the grill or an over sized
plush cowboy hat glued to the roof. Both would be as laughable as seeing
it positively dwarfed by a mauve Chevy Spark in a parking lot. If your
ego and patience can handle it, this would be a great daily driver. Just
don’t paint a checkered flag on it.
See another well-preserved subcompact? Email us at tips@dailyturismo.com
Another great story by slowcarSLOW-MPGlol.
Well, Austin is the "San Francisco" of Texas (the "Tucson" of Texas?) so why wouldn't some transplanted lefty bring his/her (zee?) little tree-hugger car?
All kidding aside, it's cool and certainly qualifies as a DT posting. But, if one is looking for an explanation, mine makes good sense.
A cool piece of Honda history. I would like to see how this car rides and handles.
Some might notice that the brake booster is on the passenger's side of the car, which is where it would have been for the JDM as well.
Good point Tinman – I wonder what the brake pedal linkage must look like? It probably needs more regular lubing than a man made out of tin.
-EIC Vince
Ever been to Austin?? 🙂
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/49/Honda_Z600_Coupe_-Evil_Tweety-_Bonneville_2009.jpg/767px-Honda_Z600_Coupe_-Evil_Tweety-_Bonneville_2009.jpg
Maybe it's Pay up Sucker Jessie James car…..
In 1970 or '71 hitchiking through Princeton New Jersey I actually got a ride in one of these! I remember clearly thinking to myself how the hell was I going to get into it..and I was forty years more limber then…….not to say Im not limber now, of course.
As for the Mauve Spark.that says way more about the "real" Texas then does all the F-350 duallies with handicapped placards hanging from the rear view mirror…
Perry here. Andrew asked how these drive. You get in & find it's surprisingly big inside, even for 6+ footers. Turn the key & the twin starts right away. Blababababababa, sounding like a Honda twin bike (but shares no parts with motorcycles) The 4speed shifter sticks out at you from under the center of the dash. Push it in & rotate left & downwards to engage reverse. Back out of your parking spot. Then shift to the traditional upper left to engage first.
Drop the smooth clutch & go. Floor it. The car leaps forward with surprising eagerness. The tourqey roller-bearing engine easily revs to 6k plus as read on the tach that comes with these Coupe versions. Onwards through the gears, floored in each one, accelerating faster than the stock VW bug trying to race you. You are now at a comfortable 65mph on the fwy. You can go 75 but it's pretty buzzy at that MPH.
In corners it's a fun & agile cornering car with, of course, the typical front-wheel-drive handling oddness as the only annoyance. Brakes are good enough (assisted front disks the size of 45 records) & the ride softer & more comfy than you may expect. Basicly, the impression one takes away from the experience is that the car is BETTER than expected, rather than worse. Just because it's a 36 HP, four-foot-wide 1350 pound car does not mean that it sucks.
Rather, you come away impressed with what Honda was able to accomplish within those specs.
It's no Lexus, but you can daily drive one if you have the attitude & outlook needed to drive a streetrod or MG.
Thanks for your description, Perry.
Here is one for sale near me that needs some assembly!
newyork.craigslist.org/fct/cto/4322180855.html
Texas does have a few of the smaller ones running around. A *cough* friend… DDs an 82 Corolla liftback, plenty of MX-5s roam the highways, I've seen early 80s Accords and Tercels still surviving and mobile, and this is in/around Houston. A lot of the oddball small stuff on BaT seems to come from rural Texas towns.
Here's one in Idaho that is posted in the los angeles area craigslist. 4 grand cheaper than the texas one. losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/cto/4319178405.html