At least schmee’s content moves at a fair pace, this content is lack lustre and boring, with the occasional dash of something interesting. I like the content but cant stand the drawn out style zzzzzz
I renovate / run 1969 750 K0 Honda bikes, 4 into 4 exhausts, 4 carbs, spin up to 10,000 but 8,500 is max power. All of 64hp but 125mph and sounds like a Ferrari. Honda were on their game when Soichiro wielded the big stick, I want that car.
Pity you did not score a test of one in Australia. More sold in Australia than anywhere other than Japan, I would say. Recent coverage of a survivour from Australia : ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-2GQN7cH69do.html One of the few not snapped up by collectors from Japan offering ridiculously high prices.
I love your channel. You are so calm in your conversing to the camera, with a head for of decent knowledge that someone such as myself loves to hear. As a boy through the 70's, I was gifted enough to tell my parents what every car was that passed us, and from then my parents knew that my love for cars was very real.
Back in 1976 my neighbour Tony had a right hand drive silver or grey one which was truly gorgeous and much admired. He was the type of Guy one would love to think still has it so if you read this Tony, loads of regards to you from Hugh!
@@phila3884 I'm not disputing that, I'm just saying how everyone is so used to wearing seatbelts, It's an automatic response. When I was a kid seatbelts were new. lol
A neighbour of mine had one of those in the 1960's. They were quite rare at the time so I didn't know anything about its performance figures. It was so small, I assumed it wasn't very fast but 90mph from 600cc is amazing. Imagine what Honda could have done with a 1500cc, which was a common size back then.
Fantastic achievement. Shame you couldn't give it a blast down a motorway instead of pootling around villages. I haven't been for a drive in one since I was in the Honda Car Club of NSW (New South Wales) in 1970. They don't make Hondas like this any more. Cheers
Love seeing these early Hondas. Surprisingly much more common in Australia. I remember seeing a coupe S600 on display from the local Honda dealer at the 1964 Melbourne Motor Show in the Exhibition Buildings when very young. A staple on hill climb coverage on TV in the sixties in S600 and S800 form. Also not quite the first Honda 4 wheeled vehicle. A few months before the S360, Honda showed for sale their first four wheeler. The T360 mid engined pick up truck. As far as I know the same DOHC four cylinder. Likely roller bearing crank and dry sump. Later the larger T500F versions were sold in Australia like so many Japanese makes trying to establish a place in Western export markets and partly using Australia as a test market. At least one T500F survives in Queensland. Was a trade in on a Honda lawn mower! : www.mtaq.com.au/1964-t500f-honda-pickup/ With a 531cc DOHC, 4-cylinder engine. Not sure if the trucks got 4 carbs. Think I saw them for sale as a young boy in an Elizabeth St Melbourne showroom. Honda also established, in 1965 and 1966, an early fruitful relationship with Jack Brabham with the S800 based F2 1000cc car : primotipo.com/tag/1966-formula-2-championship/ Jack Brabham winning at the 1966 French GP F2 support race then later taking the F1 race win. So Jack became the first man to win a GP in a car with his own name and manufacture. Unheard of today to win a support race and the F1 main event as is the car of his own make. The Brabham Hondas dominated the 1966 F2 season with other production based engines being a long way behind the Honda 1000cc version combined with the other Brabham car organisation winning attributes. F2 went 1600cc for 1967 so Honda just had one year of dominance in F2. Jack very much liked the price Honda supplied the engines to him (zero?). Honda liked his input into what was needed for racing in F2 and so F1. Recent Australian coverage on a survivor S600 : ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-2GQN7cH69do.html
That engine clearly had motorbike heritage, and the rear axle is basically two swingarms with enclosed chain drive. Just imagine what honda could do with modern technology and 60s regulations.
Around 1960, UK car designer Len Terry had an idea for a Formula 7 race car for his wife. You had to use Austin 7 axles, so he had the idea of dividing the front axle for Lotus-style swing axles, and mounting the rear axle direct to the tube frame chassis. There were to be a pair of trailing arms with chain drive inside, just like this Honda. He never built it, but a design sketch was published in his book on race car chassis design.
Small power massive inthusiasum... reminds me of my red Honda beat which i used as my daily driver for about 8 years, loved that car. 9.5k redline 660cc bundle of fun. Enjoy the s600 she's beautiful, health to drive jonny
Thanks for sharing that experience. Never seen one before. The axles look like a primitive horizontal version of the hummer axles. I like how it revs so high.
Those engines are masterpieces of engineering. The built up roller bearing crankshaft allows them to rev to stratospheric levels, along with the four carbs, twin cams and 16 valves.
What a wonderful little gem of a car, Johnny you are a very lucky man. As an owner of an RX8 I can happily attest that revving to 9000rpm never fails to put a massive smile on your face.
As soon as I saw this car, it brought back memories of seeing a red one for sale in the early 1990s....in Johannesburg! You never saw these over there. I used to get the train to college and looking out the window, saw one for sale on the journey into Johannesburg. There used to be a few car dealers near the train tracks as the rents were cheaper due to the train noise. It was near to where my dad worked, so my brother and I told my dad about some little red sports car for sale and convinced him to take us there and have a look. We used to often do this, as we were all big car fans. It was a great looking car, but my dad was looking for a family car, daily driver. So even though my brother and I would love my dad to have bought it(it was priced at about R30,000 at the time which was under his budget for a car), he knew that it wasn't practical for what he needed. I'm not saying this is THAT car, but there is a big chance that it is. The T registration denotes that it was from the Transvaal, as it was then known and as mentioned, there weren't many of them over there at all. That was the only one that I ever saw there! (Regards S African cars being rust free.. Yes, inland, it doesn't rain nearly as much as the coast and there was no such thing as gritting the roads. By the coast, Durban, as a good example, it is sooo humid. You only had to get an MOT when you changed ownership. It was not uncommon to see cars with fist sized rust holes!! 😅) Love this!!
I've always had a soft spot for these cars. When I was 17 years of age, I had an also rare now Honda Coupe 7. My older brothers girlfriends dad had a Honda S600 under a tarp in his carport, and her brother had a good friend who had a Coupe 9 and an S600. We would catch up occasionaly, and on one occassion it was to get him to assess a Honda S600 I was test driving to buy it from the local newspaper listings. That was in 1976. I didn't buy the car but I had an absolute ball driving it around for a few hours. A Holden Monaro (Australia) pulled up at a set of traffic lights beside me with the occupants laughing at the little Honda I was driving. My response was to challenge them to see who would be at the next set of traffic lights first which put them into raptures. Sure enough, I was waiting at the next set of traffic lights for them to arrive, and when they did they laughter had changed to jaw dropping shock. Good fun. 2 Years later I went on to buy a rare now Datsun 2000S Fairlady which I had for 10 years. When I was getting some bodywork done on it and a respray, a follow Fairlady owner who was a panel beater/spray painter did the job for me. In his workshop was a Honda S600 Coupe he was restoring. I fell in love with that. Very cool cars. I see one on the road every now and then, not often, and always appreciate how cool they are. I have always thought of the Coupe as a miniture E Type Jag that somebody came along with a big machetti and chopped off each end. The most outstanding memory I have of that car and often tell the story is how tiny the gear lever was, it was like a toy. Then again, the whole car is tiny.
This is why you dont listen to jeremy clarkson, speaking smugly about the old astons interiors while a lot who bought them are stranded on the side of the road cursing the day they took one home.
The first time you revved out in 3rd I thought you were going to overtake the bus. Turns out you were just trying to keep up... What an absolutely mega little thing!
These were technically kei cars I think so they’re tiny and meant for city driving. They did make an S800 later I am curious how different that would be. The tiny tight shifter is what inspired the S2000’s amazing shifter. And the one carb per cylinder is direct from Honda’s motorcycle manufacturing. It’s just how they thought a sporty engine should be, especially one that’s as small as and revs as high as a motorcycle. And this was before they had made the CB750.
Wow Jonny, what a video, you really are knocking it out of the park. What a beautiful car this is, sounds amazing, looks so fun to drive. Congratulations on getting it on the road.
I have a S600 Roadster in Australia, it is my pride and joy and it is so fun to drive and very rare here as well. I have a rev restricter on it so that it can't go above 9000rpm
Sweet little thing. Looks like a combo between an MGB GT and an E-Type FHC, but with the size / performance of a Midget. I would have to admit though that this car has more intelligent underpinnings.
It looks like a Japanese version of "if a Triumph TR3 and an MGB GT had a baby". Pegs the cuteometer! Back in the late 70's, I bought a 1971 Honda 600 sedan, (used), which had an air cooled 2 cylinder 600cc engine, and front wheel drive. It had it's 4-speed gearshift mounted on the front of the dashboard, and it got 50+ miles per gallon all day long. I eventually traded it for something, maybe it was my Hillman Manx, I don't recall. They also had a coupe model of the 600 that was more popular, it was very stylish, vs. the sedan looked like a brick.
Love this car. My friend Allan bought one and took me down a bit of motorway. It reminded me of a Swiss Sewing Machine singing away with precision of a watch.
When I was a kid in the sixties they brought those S600 Hondas to California near my home on Agua Dulce Canyon and raced them down the canyon several of them against Ariel Square Fours motorcycles and they told us they were chain Drive. We were very Impressed. My 3 brothers and I had just bought a Honda 150 Dream Motorcycle with our paper route. It was passed down to each of us.
you car guys are such lightweights.... Us bikers have been coping with four carbs since Honda launched the 360/4, in 1968?? Carb balancing is (was) just a part of biking life... no big deal, you just learned to do it....
@@realnutteruk1 Honda 360/4? Never made by Honda. Their first i4 engined bike was the 750 in 1969, followed by the 500/4 in '71and 350/4 in '72. The only 360 they made was a twin
Thanks Johnny this is pure Honda heaven for me, I love this car it's like Aston Martin MG & A Datsun 240Z and an e type had an orgy and were joined by a Honda 600 superbike and produced a gorgeous stunted love child👍😂🤭🤗 I was lucky to see a few of these at Brands Hatch, I think we should have a part 3 with you meeting up with with the club , I'd love to see Tiff flinging one around a track at 9 thousand revs.....👏👍
I'm halfway through my own S600 roadster restoration. All original LHD (I'm in the USA), red like yours. Videos like this keep the fires stoked to complete the project... You've obviously moved on to high-level S600 enthusiast- obtaining the original red cloisonne key blank and all...I wish we could get a closer look at your new exhaust. Those twisted 4 -into-2 header pipes are pure automotive art in steel.
I had one in the 70s. Here in Australia. The interior was, as I understand it, a copy of the lotus elite. Mine did 100 mph at 10,000 rpm. I should never have sold it.
What an awesome bit of kit, superb engineering. Such a pretty little thing too. Absolutely love it! The guy who did your engine work is a top bloke too it seems 👍.
Brilliant show, mate. Everything about it appeals to me. The cars, of course, but also the garages and tradesmen you are featuring, and the lovely mix of country and not-so-country roads. I was meant to be in England and Europe this year.......but....well....you know.
hi johnny, thanks.I am in Georgia, USA and was stationed at RAF Bentwaters in 1973. I bought 1963 Ford Anglea 998 cc for my first British car. It had the Stromburg single carb I think a cd 150. It quit on the side of the road 1 week after I got it and a mate charged me 5 quid to get it going again but showed me how. I had never heard of putting oil in the carb? It was fun to drive though. Sold it for what I paid for it 6 months later and bought a new 1973 Triumph Spitfire 1500cc US specs. Back then they had the new car dealers on base
Jonny, I drove one of these in Australia in 1968. It was the steering that got me too. It was super direct. I think it was 1.5 turns from lock to lock. The tyres look like Dunlop SP 41's. At the time I had a race prepped Prince Skyline GT, 6 cylinder, 2000cc with triple twin throat Webbers DCOE, 5speed gearbox. Used to plow in corners (understeer) then flick to vicious over-steer. Sigh. Thanks for the memories.
I had an S500 roadster when I worked in Japan in 1969. It was about a foot shorter than an MG Midget and the steering was so quick it demanded considerable concentration. Turn signals were operated by a toggle switch on the dash, easily reachable from the wheel. To clarify the drive train a bit, the differential was mounted directly to the frame, so little compliance between it and the trans was needed. I don't remember whether there were any U-joints or splines in the driveshaft. Chaincases outboard of the axles (think swingarms) allowed up/down movement of the wheels. They were sealed, and once properly filled with oil, needed little maintenance. The day I bought mine and brought it back to the post I was pulled over by an MP who told me the brake lights didn't work. I found that Honda had used a pressure switch in the hydraulic line, and if you didn't press hard enough, the lights wouldn't come on. I have long fantasized about owning one again--you are one lucky dude!
Tuned Skyline GT-R RB26 engines could rev to that back in the day, and wee turbo kei cars like the Suzuki Cappuccino would go to 8k standard and 11k with some mods. You can have boost and revs and it feels wonderfully naughty, but I think the modern turbo engines are a different breed with different priorities in terms of efficiency and stuff.
Fabulous, and great to see it back on the road where it belongs. Your patience in finding parts a far better option than compromise. Observations: Shocks don't match the car, probably due to the low weight. Front end too high giving some positive camber? That might be the cause of the odd steering you noticed when you first hit the road. The tyres maybe a correct option but look as if they are one size too big. SP's always did look a bit pudding-y though as seen on early XJ6 in their much larger size. As you said, not quite there yet. Verdict: I like it!
I encountered the Honda 600 when I was 15 or 16 and worked at but mostly hung around a garage in Toronto that serviced MGs, Triumphs, Humbers, Jags and the occasional Rolls in the mid 1960s. A regular customer came in one day to see the owner and had this little red car which turned out to be the Honda 600. This fellow wanted Jacob, the owner, to take on servicing of Hondas if he decided to bring them into the country. The proposal was radical and he said that although the Honda might have slightly less power than the Sprites, MGs etc., it would take them in a long distance test (say Toronto to Ottawa or about 400km) because it was more reliable and better put together. We opened the hood and the inside was unlike anything I'd ever seen before. Everything was castings and machined and clean and very organized. No oil film covering everything. We had the car around for a few days and all the local hangers-on had a good look. There, of course, was the immense bias comments like "One guy I know saw one of these after a roll-over and the paint was scraped off the roof and there was a Coca-Cola sign underneath." Jacob decided against getting involved but to me, although I couldn't take everything in, it was a disturbing event because clearly the Honda was very different and in some ways appeared to be much better. And the rest, as they say is history. The British automotive industry foundered and the Japanese ascended on a higher quality and better designed product.
I saw a Honda S2000 at Honda HQ in Tullamarine Victoria. Beautiful, it was being restored in their workshop. That car's going to be a classic if it isn't already.
I had one of these, albeit an S800, for a couple of years in the early 70s. Even then it was extremely difficult to get the spare parts. I can remember waiting 4 weeks just to get a clutch plate. Even so, it was always enjoyable to drive.
anyone here go to Keele Uni in the mid 1980s? There was a silver Honda 600 parked outside Law faculty building most week days (obvs a prof or lecturer). Wish i could go back in time! Nice car JS.
Amazing to see it still on old South African plates “T” for Transvaal Province, which no longer exists, Gauteng is a much smaller version. Fantastic car, good to see you get it on the road. Mike, Johannesburg.
What a fabulous car Honda made back in the day, It sounds just like a car from that era should sound like, I had a smile on my face all through this video.
My car club friend Kenny Brian bought a works special. Tuned megaphone exhaust and specially built for racing. It started from the rear of the grid due to late arrival and lapped everyone at Warwick Farm (Sydney) in Sprites to 6 cylinder Austin Healeys except for Ross Bond's. When it went past the screaming from that immaculate roller cranked engine was outstanding. What a day of revelation.
Wow! What a stunningly beautiful piece of engineering. The look on your face as you changed gear. 😊 only one major flaw... You are way too tall for that little beauty. I'm only 5ft 5ins, so I'll drop by and collect the car this weekend? 😬 Just let me know a convenient time that suits you? 😂🤣😂🤣😂
There's a gear head that lives around the corner from me and he has a dozen of these little Hondas in his barn. He has coupes and convertibles. Seems to be able to fix anything and everything on them. Reportedly has torn down and rebuilt many of the engines here in the States. He bought my Pantera and I got to see them when I took it over to him. Really cool little gems.
I was content with my S2000 I keep in storage for sunny days until I watch this now I’m jealous, this is a cracking little car, like all Hondas no matter the faults you find when you let the engine Rev it’s head off you just have to smile
Brilliant, I've always been a motorcyclist and this Honda looks as close as you can get a 4 wheel bike. I've stopped riding big bikes now because of the stupid speeds they coax you to ride at. I now ride older, smaller bikes because, just like that car, you feel like you're really thrashing them but still going within the speed limits. Which is immensely satisfying, loads of fun and will get you into very little trouble.
Thanks for that video it takes me back my second car was a little Honda 360, great little car but not in the same league as this one. Still it was a great fun car to drive really wish I still had it, maybe one day I will get another one.
There’s a pleasure in driving a slow car fast....and this car looks so unassuming, yet stylish and rakish at the same time. I truly think that all car design plummeted down the tubes after the mid 1990’s....
This brought back memories of my S 800 from the early seventies. It had a more traditional back axle arrangement. It is the only car I got stopped for for speeding. I got off, my excuse was ‘I was only in second gear, I did not elaborate that it did 70 mph in second.
@@TheLateBrakeShow several. I have a number of friends here in Southern California that have or have had S600s and S800s. Many years ago I worked for a Honda dealership here and we had a S800 on the showroom floor for display purposes. Yours sounds very well tuned and throaty. The way Sochiro Honda intended, no doubt. Cheers!
I had an S600 coupe in 1977. That whine you hear is the single row rear chains. I had later model dual row chains which hardly whined at all. Yes, light switch gear switch!
Great episode. Always liked the S600, never really realised, how short they are, shorter than the length of your jeans! Would love to see your S600 again when it’s 99% completed....well, project cars are never 100% completed, eh?
My 84 Prelude feels a Modern version of this wonderful little Gem! Twin carbs and no grunt....but effortless, endless Revs in a light and tossable chassis. And of course it is Red!
Reminds me in some undefinable way of the first car I owned, a 1988 Honda Accord DX Coupe in burgundy I bought barely used from a law school classmate in 1991. 5-speed, vastly underpowered (though more than this!), no frills but lots of fun to drive. Enjoy!
Beautiful car. Where in South Africa, because any of our coastal regions it would've had loads of rust. Assuming it came from the Karoo area where the humidity is very dry. Enjoy driving.
What a wonderful little car .. all that fun and enjoyment without breaking the speed limit .. I think you and Mr Porter should do a smith and sniff in that car .. Congratulations on getting this done ..
