At Friday lunch a while back, Guido finished sharing his recent on-the-tools triumph over a recalcitrant slave-cylinder. Picking up on the topic, I said, “Speaking of small work-bench victories, I got lucky as well this week with …”
Van Driesum suddenly interrupted with, “That’s a G50 Toyota Century!” while pointing enthusiastically over my shoulder toward the street. By the time I turned round the stream of traffic had carried the apparently noteworthy Toyota away. ‘Century’ drew a blank with me.
Thanks to numerous historic and recent Asian connections Van Driesum is pretty much full-bottle on many matters Asian – including the Toyota Century. If I had been asked to name the Toyota stable’s top-shelf brand I would have confidently answered “Lexus!”
Close, but no cigar as it turned out. I learned that while the prestige of Lexus was one thing in Japan, the exclusivity and full limo-style of Toyota Century motoring was something else entirely.
No surprise that Guido knows his Centurys as well. His comment: “Grey-import G50s pop-up every now and then on the local market and are not worth a fortune. A good example would be a wonderful long-distance cruiser. Of course, you’d have to have the doilies for the headrests…”
As an engine man, my ears pricked up at the mention of G50 Centurys being V12-powered. It emerged that the 1GZ-FEV12 engine, Toyota’s only V12, was an impressive 60-degree, all alloy, quad-cam, 4-valve unit with variable valve-timing and 6-bolt main bearings.
It produced a lazy 224kW (300hp) at 5200rpm, with the bulk of its 460Nm torque available from 1200rpm. Now one of those monsters would give my ancient HiLux a bit of lift!
While I realised it was unremarkable the Japanese-market Century brand was new to me, I began mulling over the fact I’ve always had something of a blindspot to a lot of the Japanese auto industry’s products.
I recalled being a young Ford Australia recruit when Ford boss Bill Bourke spoke controversially at a pre-launch review of the Escort, saying, “I have told our dealers that we are looking forward to, is the day we don’t see any Japanese cars in RSL parking lots.”
I had then found myself agreeing with Bourke, a man who had actually served in the US army in WWII, because as a kid growing up in the 1950s-60s I had become very aware of the atrocities committed by the Japanese military against allied prisoners of war. And that awareness was still hovering somewhere in the back of my mind …
I began reflecting on the reality that a number of standout Japanese vehicles over the years have simply overwhelmed that hovering awareness with their charms.
The first was a very early FJ40 Toyota LandCruiser displayed at the Royal Melbourne Agricultural Show around 1960, one of a bunch brought in for the Snowy Mountains project. Wow!
They were like SWB Land Rovers on steroids and surely any self-respecting WWII Jeep would have wanted to grow up to be an FJ40 – in later years I ended up owning several FJ40s.
A later magic moment involved a mate taking me for a spirited dash through the hills in his just-run-in Prince GT. What a jigger that was! Real grunt, great handling and the howl from the trio of Webers was simply sublime.
Then the stunning Datsun 1600 seized the spotlight, instantly challenging my certainty that the Mk I Cortina was the car the gods intended for club rallying. Some years later at the Melbourne Motor Show I was totally seduced by the NA model Mazda MX-5.
Displayed over a mirror, it enabled you to see beneath its gorgeous styling. You could examine the suspension and driveline detail – my immediate reaction was that I was seeing what a Lotus Elan might have been. Wonderful stuff!
More mundanely an early L300 Mitsubishi Express van followed by the 1986 diesel HiLux that’s still my regular little parts-chaser, have laughed at my attempts to wear them out. Remarkable little workhorses from the Land of the Rising Sun…
With the Toyota Century conversation winding down that Friday, Van Driesum piped up again: “Rob, I think
I cut you off when I spotted the Century. Now, what were you going to say?”
Doing my best, I just couldn’t remember – my thinking had covered a lot of ground since that moment…