Finding my sukairain

Finding my sukairain

i have been scrolling the internet and many different sites and auctions looking for a R33 (sukairain) that is in good mechanical condition and not too worried about the exterior.

after a few weeks searching finally found an sukairain that in a garage in japan owned by retired us navy officer.

After a few emails back and forth a meeting has been set up so me and the mechanic are heading over there on the 21st of this month.

i will post up a few pics of it when i get there and also the area

the flight was delayed by 4 hours but finally got to japan and now on the coach heading to the small town of Gotemba just south of fujimi kaido.

We are also going to explore a bit as well as buying the car, we are planning to visit the mountain and hopefully get some great pics, there is also a hang out of drifters at the base of the mountain so might take a visit there too.

main goal is to check out the car and then explore.

more updates when we get there the coach drive felt like an age, but it was great seeing all the scenery, we started in the city and as we got further away we could see the standard change from perfect tarmac to bumpy then to mix of dirt and tarmac and then we ended up on a dirt road for a good hour.

we jumped of the coach and went to our hotel to dump our stuff and get some shut eye and get used to the timezone change, i would see the car 2morro and i couldn't wait. it would be nearly a year from when i first looked to researching to emailing the officer to know actually seeing the car.

pics from the trip will be up in the morning as the camera on charge.
after trying to sleep and get myself ready for the day i finally get my new sukairain, i was itching to leave the hotel to get to the car but it was only 8:30 local time and i was told to meet him at the view point half way up the north side of the mountain at noon. it was there i would first see the car.

so i went down for some breakfast to kill some time and then took my camera and got a snap of the hotel

it was a really nice area and everyone is very helpful, but i just couldn't concentrate on it.
after a little exploring and chatting it got to 11:30 so i jumped in our hire car a beastly suzuki liana, only got a pic of it when i visited top gear few years back.


the drive up to the car was such a drag i know it would only take 20 mins or so but i was excited to see my new car well soon to be if its checks out, i had the money in my bag ready i think 1,571,200 YEN which is about $20k. i was ready to pay that price when i saw the advert it looked in top condition, this is the pic he used to advert it . i thought i was getting a bargain on this one, about ten mins in i saw a great photo spot so pulled in and too a quick snap of the great MT.Fuji


it was now around twenty past and i saw the sign ' view point next turn ' so i put me foot down and my mouth dropped when i rounded the corner and saw the car. and not in a good way either.

the car looked like such a beater with its mismatched body panels and bright yellow paint work, i knew 20k was too good to be true for a mint sukairain. any way i pull in next to the car and turn off the engine and calm my nerves.

i get out to meet the owner and out steps an old retired American officer that looked at least 80. all my anger was gone/

he could sense i was upset and disheartened at the car and he asked me why.

''well sir i was expecting a perfect sukairain, so i flew all the way to japan and i find a car that's less than perfect. not being rude to you sir.'' i said to the gentle man

''im sorry, im not sure what you mean''

i said to him '' i have the advert in my bag and i can show you what i was expecting to see''
with that i showed him the advert and the pic of a perfect R33.

his eyed widened and he looked very upset '' i am very sorry sir but this is not my car, i did not do the advert you see, my son did this as he his a wizz kid on that internet, it appears there has been a very big mistake''

we started talking about our family and our lives and how he ended up in japan,' he was in the army for 12 years and did varies tours of country's and all places under the sun, he said that he saved a Japanese women from a group of terrorists and she said she will wait for him in japan, he had a wife in the USA but it was failing for years so when it got to 12 yrs he decided to sell up his life in the USA and go to japan and start again. and eventually he married this women and they had a son and they've lived pretty happy for 20 years now'

i said to the old man after a great story i would look at the car, and as i went around i kept all thoughts hidden, i could see that the car was looking very tired but mechanically it looked great, he told me it had been lightened and made safer, a LSD fitted. and there was 0 rust.