‘71 Skyline Hakosuka

It was now October 11, 2024. It has been a year and 3 months since I sat in the Hako. During that time I was working on getting back on my feet and handling life again. I was finally feeling good enough to tackle the Skyline. A big factor was meeting a friend who was willing to help me register the Hako. I started with replacing the battery since it was for sure dead. After multiple attempts to start the car it finally started but it sounded like it was struggling to hold a stable idle even after giving it a few revs. But oh boy did it sound beautiful and loud! While it was running I backed her out onto the drive way for a wash. There was also some oxidation probably accumulated from the time it was in transit overseas that I had to polish and start digging into diagnosing the engine and learning every bit of her.

After adding a new batch of gas and idling the engine for a while I started with checking the spark plugs. They were all sooted with carbon and running rich. Next thing i took apart was the K&N air filter covers to reveal the trumpets. Pretty rad since I’ve never owned a carbureted car before yet worked on one. All the carbs were sucking air which was a good sign. I didn’t own a synchrometer yet but that was on the list of things I needed to get to check the air flow. Next I pulled the main jets to see if it was clogged but they looked open, just some scuff marks on two of the jets. Kevin suggested sucking the old gas out and replacing the fuel filter in the trunk and in the engine bay. The Hako was still having difficulty starting. My cousin AJ suggested that it was probably time to rebuild the carbs and start fresh. Time to order 3 sets of Weber 40 DCOE rebuild kits.

While waiting for the carb rebuild kit I started chipping away at polishing the head cover, chrome bumpers, Watanabe wheels, and other parts with oxidation.

I’m starting to learn my way around the Hako. This is my first classic car and it’s a big learning curve for me. I’m really appreciating the period correct bits and the tasteful mods Kevin has upgraded on the car. There’s a few items in addition to getting the engine to run better that I would like to start addressing like getting a shift knob, replacing the old disc brakes in the front and the drum brakes in the rear, reupholstering the seats to something more period correct and a full fluid change.

Kassie our Pomeranian didn’t seem to mind the seats. To keep the classic look and the OEM vibe I wanted to go all black interior with the basket weave inserts. I found a place in Anaheim called The Prestige Companies Auto Upholstery that could do the job. They have been in business for over 25 years and handle everything from classics to exotics and have even reupholstered Hako interiors. Eric and Matthew helped me find the closest basket weave pattern to the original seats. We decided on black Napa leather, thin piping, and finishing the bottom of the seats with a carpet material. The basket weave pattern was going to be heat pressed with a machine. I left the seats with them with full confidence that it was going to be exactly how we envisioned it.