MERCH ► sammit.net FOLLOW ME ► @sammit01 We find and explore an abandoned tuner shop in Okinawa, Japan where Japanese racecars have been left to die. #Subscribe #SAMMIT
This video also sheds light on the difference in crime between Japan and the U.S. In America that place would've been robbed clean or really vandalized a long time ago.
The fact that you mentioned those cars's previous owners may have passed away make me realize you can own the sickest sport cars out there but once you are gone, you just can't take it with you which makes the whole thing even sadder ...
@@driverkeido5 mins of happiness and probably 80 years of suffering and slavery. God must've been really busy to come up with a better plan than that.
That rust by the ocean is insane. Usually car's rust from the bottom up from road salt or sitting in the weeds but ocean rust happens everywhere at once
Ikr, I’ve never ever seen a car rust like that here in the fucking Midwest where it happens! Man I know I’m never buying a car in Okinawa when I move to Japan.
Im a Oldscool American car guy and big hotrod enthusiast and seeing how our Japanese hotrod brothers do there Japanese cars realy makes me understand and appreciate there culture and want to see more that's saying alot coming from a big 55 Chevy gasser fan but what I am most is a car enthusiast and can appreciate and even honestly like this culture super cool guys
I lived in Okinawa when I was a kid between 1996-2001 and I remember this shop and cars that would drift in the Naha Industrial district by the seawall would have their shop stickers on them.
I lived there 1990-93 and this shop seemed very lively at the time. I recall there always being a red AE86 Trueno out front with full TRD widebody and they had a "no U.S." sign on the shop door. Kind of a heyday of street racing back then where they would shut down the main highway on the island in front of Camp Lester every single weekend night for illegal drags. I mean, there had to have been a thousand people there. More than a few natives and Marines wiped out on that stretch of road, so they would put the wrecked car on a viewing platform with a flashy sign as a deterrent. Those times are long gone now as you'll lose your military career if you so much as chirp a tire, and I can't imagine the locals had it any easier.
That would explain the rust. I was thinking it is similar to rust cars get in the u.s. that are in costal areas. Seems like the salt hangs in the air and forces its way into any cracks.
These are honestly my favorite kind of videos to watch. As sad as they may be I love seeing how old cars can be reclaimed by nature. Keep up the awesome videos!
They are awesome. The other guy in the video is capttwo on RU-vid and he does a lot of cool stuff like this too. Hopefully these videos with Sam will help his channel because he deserves more support in my opinion!
I wish you could have checked out some engine compartments to see what crazy mods they did to their machines. I bet there are some wicked performance and custom mods only seen in that city. Very cool thanks for sharing.
@@ililxaphanlili2600 For sure! For every well known speed product available to buy, there are hundreds of special one off go fast solutions we will never see.
As someone who actually owns a 90 Honda crx seeing both of those cars made my heart very very sad. Seeing that evo III in that state also made me want to cry as I’ve wanted one of those for the longest time.
@@mikeberrios1859 exactly. Well let’s face it even if the body panels are beyond saving the car as a whole is worth saving for parts to us folks in the states.
The first crx he looked at that was last registered in 2011 honestly looked saveable. You could replace the door with the hole and repair the rust spot on the roof assuming the undercarriage isn’t rusted out.
Been here in person. Both of them are super bad, better just to part out. I tried buying the front clips but Japanese dude didn't want to deal with anybody especially me being a foreigner.
Go to N Factory. They’re an actual reputable tuner shop. They used to go by Speed Factory. They’re also known by bigger tuners in mainland. When I went to Active Garage in Fukuoka, the owner there immediately recognized the name Speed Factory. It’s perhaps the best shop in Okinawa. I moved to another part of Japan with no tuner nearby and the owner helped me get my car started remotely.
Okinawan pride!!!! Love seeing our little island treasures getting noticed. People don’t often realize that we were our own independent country before taken over.
I know the feeling man. As bad as I would want to try and restore them, there comes a point where the car is just too far gone. I experienced that with my old 1985 celica supra. I tried my best but had to come to terms with it. They just become death traps after a while.
I have an ECU out of my old s13 with a sticker on it from them, I’ve searched on google a bunch but never found anything about it. Kinda cool to know it came from Okinawa 🤙🏽
I was Stationed at Kadena AFB, this place has not been open since 2005/2006 The owner lived upstairs. Speed Factory in Naha is where I had my work done on my GTR33 and JZX90s. Nago was wear we drag raced and drifted. I believe that's closed now. We used to Drag Race outside Gate 1, Light to Light in front of Kadena Marina. Good times 👍🏼 I miss it every day! I have stories for days
@@MrMojo1229 why would you move a shop and just leave all your cars and parts behind? surely it would be much cheaper to move everything over to the new place, at least the merchandise inside!
@@stephendeben1590 The store that’s abandoned was not the owned by the guy I’m taking about. He co-owned a different shop in southern Okinawa called Speed Factory. I believe in 2020/2021 he left to open up his own shop with his wife and called it N Factory.
I'd love too see that evo III renovated with those wheels refinished with those red stripes & text or one just like it, they would look gorgeous. Lowered maybe 2 - 3 inches it would look amazing imo, no need for building it for hp or anything crazy imo. Just get it on the road & updated slightly, maybe some rare or cool tuner bits added that doesn't take away from the clean looks in general or that requires like drilling into the instrument cluster or bumpers. Slightly better brakes added like front knuckles & rotors from a later evo that are ventilated & slightly larger but still fits behind the wheels. Along with some products that might seal off the paint & metal better against the climate in the region, maybe convert front & rear lights, blinkers too LED if legally allowed & available for better visibility on the road. Sort out interior or swap it for a later gen evo interior for comfort & getting some additional safety or customization options if it's too far gone on the original one from the exposure too the elements. Converting instrument cluster too be backlit by led's & same with the interior lights. Along with some small features added in for modern comfort while not taking away the old school looks in particular. Like maybe a new more modern stereo with bluetooth, speakers upgraded/replaced with a small amp added in & small 10 - 12 inch bass speaker or two in the trunk towards the rear seats or mounted in the rear deck below the rear window, maybe an additional 12v circuit that's fused that just is there too run additional usb ports too the passengers in the rear.
all of these cars can be saved, there is a hell of a lot of collectors and car people whom would love to save these cars and would indeed do just that they aren't as far gone as some of the ones i have personally seen and have seen been completely rebuilt afterwards as long as the frames are intact there is still hope to have these cars saved.
I dont think thats the issue here. As he said in the video likely someone died and the family that inherited it let it sit, or there was noone to inherit it.
So the WRX roof scoop is to allow some fresh air to enter inside the car. Due to its location, the air enters clean, with no dust, and it contributes to keeping the temperature down, as well as to keep positive pressure inside the cockpit, preventing dust from entering by other car openings.
My best guess on why those rust spots are in weird places - those spots are the locations of rock chips, dings, or scratches which made them the first/easiest spots to rust.
Those cars under shelter have more rust on them then cars left outside in rainy old England. Mad. It's crazy as many import cars from Japan because they often rust far less.
The moisture levels must be insane in Okinawa, causing the rapid deterioration. If you guys contact the owners it wouldnt be hard to get all this moved for parts.
What I find amazing is none of these cars have been vandalized or stripped for parts by thieves. In the USA, those Regamaster Evos would've been taken years ago.
I love/hate these old abandoned videos. It’s so crazy. I’m betting it starts rusting in places where there was a scratch, or ding, or some other imperfections in the paint.
The spots on the hood could be from someone spraying parts cleaner or drops of brake fluid. Maybe someone peeled off the foil cap and some drops flew off.
@@Sam21872 I’m thinking more like the random hole in the doors. It’s like there was a door ding, and the rust found the imperfections. I don’t know. I’m from Pennsylvania, everything just rusts from the bottoms up.
Where Okinawa is an island its literally surrounded by salt water so I would imagine where they were left abandoned and not taken care of the salt air takes a toll on them. I live about 30 miles from the Atlantic Ocean and I've seen cars from people who live closer to the ocean and the underside of the car literally rusts out
Street racing, was a very thriving deal back in the 80s and 90s. By the early 2000s, new laws and crackdowns on spirited driving kinda put stop to it all for the most part. Local shops lost business, and the scene went back to 'underground'. Can't imagine reputable shops condone any type of street racing, So I'm sure there was a bit of a crackdown of some sorts on them aswell. Super sad to actually see, but also cool to just see the history for what it was and almost untouched since.
This certainly could be a factor but I don't think it's the whole story, the closing of these shops also coincides with the 1997 financial crisis and the lost decade (失われた十年) or Lost 3 decades as they are calling it now. The nikkei crashed in 97 and then again in 00, it's also where we see the start of the end of the great japanese sports car era. Also Sports cars and modifications are a luxury and people are less willing or able to spend their money during a crisis, so shops like these which are hard to scale and have less than ideal margins are presumably the first to fail. :(
Meanwhile in America, government corporations are trying to make it to where you can be branded as a criminal simply for having a cool car. You don’t even have to have been caught doing anything wrong. The way they see it, if you own an import tuner, you’re a street racer and you’ll be treated as such. It’s really unfair. And their excuse? “Environmental protection”. Nothing but a big lie made up by the rich, self-absorbed politicians judging other people for having passions that they deem “stupid”
Jip. Not only in Japan. Over the world. Speciale after the fast and furious movie. Thinks come to LIFE. Today nothing. A pimp up car you can not fine one easy. And not that strange . The new cars have big power. The new laws that more electro cars have to come. And audio systeem all beult in the car . Its death . Even de car audio you had in that time . Strange looking subwoofer and more. Today hummm nothing its alle gone. Now you have beult IT your self . And people around you call the Cops if the sound go to loud. Sorry today its shit place to LIFE.
I think the excessive rust is from the salt air, plus being a tropical climate the humidity level is high all the time. I live in the Northeast of the States and the salt from the roads literally turns frames and bodies into corn flakes.
There is history about the old tuner shops here in Okinawa. Very long story to type about it. The old man that owns the carboy shop is still around. He sometimes sells things from inside when he need cash but mainly to other locals he knows from back in the day. Very rare to see him. If you knew the history of motor sports in Okinawa then you will know why there so much abandon in Okinawa.
A lot of these can definitely be restored. I've seen worse before that have been restored but it takes the right person for that project. I would love to own any of these.
Not surprised they just rusted out even though it’s somewhat sheltered, the 90’s Japanese mild steel frames and panels and the way they were constructed were just terrible. They would start to rot out just looking at them.
Kinda cool to see those all sitting there rotting actually. You could remove them and condense them into a pile of twenty useable parts OR you can leave them as a monument to the mid-90's car culture on the island, a time far more fun than our current one, fading further from memory with the fall of each rust flake.
Wow this is madness !! Be awesome to find the old shop owner of still around !🤘🔥 Also are you Aussie/American ? First vid for me mate, detecting a bit of Aus 🇦🇺 in there lol. Great work!!
I can only imagine that the shop ran into debt and the owner just walked away, and the cars are in legal limbo because their owners owed the shop money. If no one is waiting to rent the space, it might all just sit and rot. For sure in the States, with our capitalist ingenuity and general disregard for rules, somebody would have found a way to turn those assets into cash.
I live in maine, so. Thomaston to be exact, literally on an isle, and I've never seen rust like that not even on cars that have sat 40 years, def wasn't salt or sea air. It didn't help, but cat piss or something else def sped it up
@@smokeybear390 remember, they get typhoons and worse rain there than you do in Maine. So I’d imagine their cars would rust faster there. And it’s all islands. So they’d have to get worse salt water effects. Even their wiper arms are rusted through!
Sad to see these cars abandoned for years but what's even worse is that it's located in Okinawa where rust accumulation due to the sea water is a MAJOR issue to cars over there. Even if you are able to contact the owner to sell these things, you would mainly use it for internals since the exteriors are all rusted up and they're unsalvageable at this point.
The restoration shop I used work at used to specialise in Porsches and Ive seen worse than that repaired. All depends on how deep your pockets are unfortunately. 😬
The most surprising in this location were the little bottles of "Kleiner Feigling" from Germany 😇. It is still available here, but it had its time when it was very new and popular in the late 90s, early 2000s... So this matches very well with the car histories and sounds reasonable.
An absolute sad sight to witness. To think that someone years back has spent lots of hours, passion, dedication and likely a small fortune to get these cars built and now they were just left to rot.
That stuff has been sitting near the ocean or slightly above sea level. That's how they've rusted so bad in such odd spots...you'll find these rigs will have weakened A, B, & C pillars, crusty subframes. They are only good for parts- even the cylinder walls will look like "Moon surface," so even items you think might be usable are junk
depending on the frame on the evo 3 id take that, i love that car and would love to tear it apart and rebuild it. Also best Integra is the gen 3 integras, thats the one i have, I had a RSX (DC5 Integra Gen 4) and the gen 3 just feels so much better
I don’t know how much it would cost in Japan, but it would be sick if an influencer like Sam bought a place like this, hired a well known Tuner, and brought a place back into publicity using their outlets in media. Seeing places like this is sad, I just wish it was easier to keep a business open.
Japan is slowly allowing more tourism, could work with local gov to generate business for Okinawa maybe. Would just depend on what the owner wants to do
I miss living in Oki a ton. But the sea air is no joke. Washed my Celsior every weekend, otherwise it would be oxidized to heck. A lot of great shops and a great car scene there for sure though.
The roof scoop on the sti is functional, it provides positive pressure for the cabin so that you can have the windows partially open during rally stages and the dust doesn't get into the cabin.
The weird rust spots are probably from wet cat prints. since japan is an Island country, its not impossible that the rain contains salt. thus salty rain water > cat paws > walked on the cars > rust spots. but hey, that's just my theory
By the way, if you were to pull the dash from the 6 GSR for your RS. It wouldn’t be correct, RS dash is specific. If you’re interested in going your car right I’ve got a RS dash in Canada I’ll ship
*What's weird about this video that there were perfectly fine cars such as that pink box, and a few others, but he totally ignored them as if they weren't out of place*
4:10 nah the hood didn't fly open... When metal rusts, it "expands/grows", and if it's part of a windshield frame like that, it'll break the glass... It's not a super common thing but, it happens. Happened on my own truck (98 Ranger) I had about 15 yrs ago. It was rusting underneath the top of the windshield gasket, and I didn't even know it 'til I hopped in after work one day and had about a 30cm crack in it. Thanks for the tour, it was really enjoyable to watch!
@@brokeblasian Trust me you could 😅 Here in Germany People buy Classic Porsche's / VW's in that condition just for the VIN and Title, basically everything else gets rebuild
I was stationed there when they were still open.. I always wonder what has changed in the years I have been gone? Wish is had brought my car back stateside.
Besides the long gone skyline, I would love to take a deep look on the rest of the cars, even if not road legal... There could still be chance to make one of them hit the track once more.
18:58 I'd most likely pass on the others but I'd give the Porsche to Ryan Kraws, he builds custom Porsches with metal bodykits and restores them. A home for the Porsche that it deserves.
I almost had a CRX once, they only wanted a grand for it with only like 80k on it. This was back in the early 2000. I’m told the highway mileage is really really good on them.
The sticker on the R32 (min 6:44) and on the CRX (min 11:36) says "たいや屋さん" (Taiya-ya-san) which means "Tire Shop", at the start of the video I saw wheels through a window (min 1:21) so... Maybe it's a tire shop too? (I mean, there are Dunlop, Bridgestone and Falken "ads" on the main door and something written that is also about tires)... And talking about ads, there is a "Tokico" ad on the main door too (according to my little Google research they sell shock absorbers, calipers and brake pads), there's another ad in the window near the main door that says "Limit, Exhaust system by Tanabe." On the R32 I found a sticker about a magazine, but sadly I cannot find anything about it, the name is "Quick, Super Street-Magazine" and it's published by "mong project" (there is a phone number too) (min 4:42), maybe it is a way to find some info about the shop, who knows On both CRX's and the EVO is a sticker that says "W.R.7 / W.R.T" maybe it's a team or it means something? Idk Uh and the last attention to detail, the number plate on the Porsche is "• 911" (min 16:20) I really hope this helps you to find some info about it... If not... Well at least there are some cool little details!
Wow! How on Earth did this happen? All the hours of wrench time and not to mention a small fortune spent is just mind boggling to walk away from! I just wish I could get in there and save as many as possible
These cars would only have been worth a few hundred dollars at the time even if they were still drivable, it probably cost more to strip them for parts or hire a tow truck to take them to the scrapyard than you'd get for them so they were just abandoned. It's funny how many cars I used to see in the classifieds going for pocket change that are worth tens or even hundreds of thousands these days.
@@Willppyro That's the way it goes. If I'd bought up and held onto all those silvias, E36 M3's, 944's and MX5's that I used to see for less than £500 in the back of the used car section I could have retired by now.
About CARBOY , there’s a shop here in my city by that name and they have the same garage design setup when you walk in. And then outside of their shop they have a few abandoned Japanese cars, some ex-race cars.. Could they have just relocated from Japan to here? Lol
I’m curious of what’s inside the abandoned shop. It would definitely be interesting to see what kind of old parts they still have and if they’re still in good condition.
@@MoreBo0st Yeah, I also wonder what the laws are regarding abandoned property in Japan. It would be cool if either Sammit or Jason could buy it somehow and show us what’s inside.
That’s super sad, all those cars just sitting. I’m happy to see that the place hasn’t been vandalized. Difference between the U.S. and Japan. There’s more respect over there, that’s why I love Japan. If I could, I honestly would try my damndest to buy the shop and revamp it and re-open it.
imo, I think it would of been better for them to be stolen and a chance to be loved again vs just abandon and left to rust. both to me are disrespectful in there own right.
Been doing body work, building and restoring cars for 20+ years now. The only time I've seen cars with rust like that were coastal or island cars that had water damage. Whether they were fixed or not the sea water just gets inside everything and rusts the whole car away all over. Some of these cars look like they've been on the deck of a battle ship for 20 years.
@@douglas2072 with enough money anything is possible. But you will never get one of these cars to stop rusting. You could replace one panel and by the time you get to the next panel the one you just got done with would already be starting to rust again. It's salt water. There's no going back with a car once it's been submerged in salt water. These cars are permanently tainted like an incurable cancer. My guess is they were probably in a flood or tsunami.
3:11 those are the factory gc8 wrx seats. They’re extremely hard to find in good condition in that colour combo. I just imported some from japan. Cost $700 which was a steal
This is the most OKINAWA thing ever. From my first time in Okinawa (late '03) to now, I've never seen ANYTHING happen at that shop. So many cars just sit and rot here.