Hako = Box , Suka = Short for Skyline in Japanese
refers to the 1969-1972 Prince + Nissan Skyline Sedans, coupes and hardtops

GL (1.5 SOHC 4cyl, rear leaf sus, solid axle, drum brakes F+R)
Deluxe Van (1.8 SOHC 4cyl, rear leaf sus, solid axle, drum brakes F+R)
GT (2.0 SOHC, 6cyl, semi trailing arm rear sus, manual windows, Disc brakes F, Drum brakes R, 50L fuel tank, R180 Open Diff)
GT-X (2.0 SOHC, 6cyl, semi trailing arm rear sus, power windows, Disc brakes F, Drum brakes R, 50L fuel tank, R180 Open Diff)
GT-R(2.0 DOHC, Triple 40mm Mikunis, 6cyl, semi trailing arm rear sus, manual windows, Disc brakes F, Drum brakes R, 100L fuel tank, R192 LSD)
What are the different chassis designations

PGC10 - 4 door 6cyl P=Prince S20 engine
GC10 - 4 door sedan 6cyl
C10 - 4 door sedan 4cyl
KPGC10 - 2 door hardtop 6cyl P=Prince S20
KGC10 - 2 door hardtop 6cyl
KC10 - 2 door hardtop 4cyl
VC10 - van

Hardtop (coupes) were not available until 1971 and 1972 model years
1969 GTRs were only available at Prince Dealerships
Each year and trim model had different grille shapes and slightly different tail light shapes
The dashboard and center console shape(?) is different from 1969-70 and 1971-72 cars

G15 4cyl
G18 4cyl
L20 6cyl
S20 6cyl

31,447 in total from 1969-1972 model years
Roughly 2000 of those were GTRs (4 door and 2 doors)

GTR was priced at roughly 1.5 million JPY
Considering the monthly salary of a recent university graduate was about 15,000 JPY, the 1.5 million JPY price point is roughly 19 million JPY in today’s money

Similar to many other legendary cars, Hakosukas too had eras when it was considered cheap or was undesirable.
GTR 2 doors were always among the most desirable but during the 1980s and 90s when more modern (read: faster) cars were available, the prices of even these dipped to relatively low prices (2-3 million JPY)
In the early 2000s and 2010s, interest in 90s tuning cars was still strong but prices of GTRs started to creep close to the 7-9 million JPY mark
The kyusha boom has been strong over the past 5-10 years and the Hakosuka GTR being the mac-daddy of them all, means that it saw the greatest price appreciation. GTRs now get listed for 25-40 million JPY

Due to there being periods of time when the cars were not highly sought after, there are many cars with questionable repairs so look out for large amounts of putty as well as chicken wire over newspaper repairs.
Rust is ubiquitous on these cars and it is important to know where to find it as the general rule is the rust you can see is 3x worse in places you cant see.

On most kyusha, lower areas of the car and areas where panels meet see severe corrosion. The Hakosuka is no exception.From the engine bay, the lower crossmember of the front core support along with front frames that connects the core support to the engine bay frame rails often see rust.
The battery tray (on left side for GTRs and on right side for other models) and the areas surrounding them rust. Battery acid leaks and is corrosive so once the paint is dissolved, rust settles in.
The engine room side braces that are near the left and right edges of the front cowl often rust as well. Water runs off from the edges of the front windshield and corrode these.
The floor boxes underneath the front side of each floor panel also see water gather and lead to corrosion.
Lower front fenders often corrode as this is a water run-off point from the factory but when road debris, dirt and leaves gather in this area, corrosion starts from the inside out.
Fender mirrors mount to the body with rubber isolators. These deteriorate and allow water to settle causing rust to form around the holes and under the mounts.
Rocker panels are a serious area for corrosion and ALSO a key area to pay attention to for a very important reason: The Chassis number is stamped here!!

The chassis number is stamped on the left inner rocker panel of the car. This is the only place to find the number on the body itself as the ID plate is easily replicable
Many cut and shuts have been done on these cars due to lost document cars being extremely difficult to register in Japan. Documents and an intact chassis number cuts of the rocker panel were sometimes sold on Yahoo Auctions but this practice has since been outlawed.
Please be aware of this, ESPECIALLY for GTRs. If the chassis number is illegible or the area surrounding the chassis number looks to have been cut/welded, WALK AWAY!!
Floor Panels and seat frame mounts corrode from water gathering in the floor panels.
The left and right edges of the rear windshield are notorious for corrosion as these are. areas where rain water run off and seep into the body (especially once the rear windshield weatherstrip gets old).
The lower doors often rust from the surf line down as water and crud gathers in the door. As the squeegee moldings deteriorate, water seeps in and this area gets little to no ventilation so its a perfect breeding ground for corrosion.
Rear Quarter panels are often an area needing attention because over time, almost all GT and GTX owners cut the rear fenders to make GTR replicasIf the GTR fender conversion was not done properly, the inner and outer fenders will be exposed to the elements and have corrosion.
The lower doglegs always are a key area of rust on most kyusha and the hakosuka is no exception. Water runs off down channels in the C pillar to the rear fender arch. The front and rear of the arch often get packed with road debris and dirt so that causes rust.
The rear bumper side panel is the area that gets hit with rocks, rubber and dirt while driving so paint chipping happens here and rust develops.
The rear tail light panel is an area of concern as once the rubber of the trunk weather strip and rear wing isolators deteriorate, water can seep into the trunk and settle in the back of the car where the trunk floor meets the tail light panel
The previous point also is a reason the trunk floor can often rust. The spare tire well is also an area where water settles and causes corrosion.
There may be other areas that rust but these are the major areas to look out for rust.

The cars are over 50 years old and even a meticulously maintained car succumbs to time. Plastic gets brittle and rubber breaks down.
Wiring harnesses can be the most costly as the connectors are brittle and easy to break. New harnesses are unobtanium even in japan.
For GTXs or cars that were converted to power windows, the power window switches often go bad on these cars. The window motors often weaken as well
Wiper motors are old and often weak.

Dashboard pads are always exposed to the sun and often are damaged or brittle
The steering column cover is usually very brittle
The turn signal stalk often wears out
Center console switches often lose the top of the knob or are missing altogether

Since the steering column cover often breaks, many just remove them
The storage bin at the top of the center console (beneath the dash) are often missing or damaged

The KPGC10 Skyline GTR has clear windows and glass while the other grades had blue tinted glass. The Rear windshield also did not have heating elements in them while the other grades did. For those looking for authentic parts, these can be incredibly difficult to track down

Genuine replacement body panels are exceedingly difficult to come across and that is especially true for GTRs since there are areas where the body work is slightly different (ex: Battery tray is on the opposite side of the engine bay for GTRs vs GT/GTX. The rear arches on GTRs were cut and had a press line from the factory to suit rear over fenders but GT/GTXs had the surf line intact from the factory.

These are 50+ year old cars and while many have been modified, one cannot expect them to feel as lively and tight as new cars.

The bushings and rubber parts wear out so steering will feel vague, the shifter may feel like its flopping around, you may hear creaks, clunks and groans while driving the car and especially L20 powered cars will be SLOWWWWW

Unless you have a car that has been restored with documentation of the entire restoration process, anticipate that there will be areas that require rust repair.

When it comes to selling a vehicle, sellers are less interested in talking about faults of the car and more interested in talking about good points to sell it.

There are a number of specialty dealers in Japan that purchase, maintain and sell classic cars. Reaching out to one or many of them to inquire about stock is a good way to get started on your search but keep in mind, MOST do not speak English and google translate Japanese does not make sense most of the time.

Trusting an Importer or Exporter of Japanese cars is a good way to get your hands on a car. Some simply purchase cars they believe there is a market for, add their margin, and hold them as stock to sell to end users. Others take inquiries and deposits from end users to source a specific vehicle.

 

We offer a transparent auction service that allows you to seek out the perfect vehicle while avoiding pitfalls.
We show you pre-auction photos, auction sheets with english translations and also offer pre-purchase inspections
After purchase, an end to end service is available to get the car from the auction house to your driveway with as little inconvenience as possible

Please feel free to reach out to us if you are interested in purchasing a car from Japan!