1964 RHD Honda 500 Sport For Sale on ebay

[S2000 Driver]

http://www4.plala.or.jp/HPA/500.jpg
0.531-Liter
47 bhp @ 8,500 rpm
Max RPM: 10,000
Weight: 675 kg

0-50 mph: 11.6 Sec
0-62 mph: 19.5 Sec
1/4-mile: 20.2 Sec
Top Speed: 84 mph

[S2000 Driver]

Honda's S-Series: Honda's Original Sports Car Solution
By Justin Fort
Ragtops & Roadsters Magazine
Fall 2002
Pages 66-67, 75.

http://www.hondasportsregistry.com/images/brochures/s500brochure1_1.jpg

THE HONDA S-SERIES (S360, S500, S600 AND S800) was Honda's first car: utterly a sports car, of obvious road-going merit and worthy of history's acknowledgement. Why? S-Series development and production represented what was right with Honda and Japanese automotive manufacturers as a whole in the early 1960s. A simple design dictum, well targeted product, unfettered ingenuity and a short path from concept to reality led to the production of a nimble, spry and rev-happy little do-gooder that put Honda on the four-wheel map. Though U.S. emissions standards felled plans for its stateside introduction and led to the downfall of the model, Japanese and European successes with the S-Series were impressive, and spoke volumes of Honda's future. After all, this was Honda's first attempt to mass-market something sporty with four wheels.

At the time of the S-Series' inception, Honda was known for its motorcycles. Borne of Japan's post-war economic surge and combined with Soichiro Honda's spirit and drive to excel, the company had forged itself into a motorcycle-manufacturing power. At this point, Mr. Honda's gaze wandered to four-wheeled concerns. Once the company's scope had widened beyond the world of two wheels, things like the S-Series were a logical outcome, on par with the quality and performance exhibited by Honda's motorcycles. Another intrinsic facet of Mr. Honda's ideology was motorsport, and from the word "go" the S500, 600 and 800 were run in sports car series all over Japan, and subsequently Europe, with fine results. An early gray-market S600 was run for a class win by Jack Brabham and Denny Hulme at the Nurburgring.

Honda Motor Company's sojourn into passenger car manufacturing was fueled by Soichiro Honda's notion that the Japanese people would embrace a "sportier" option when shopping for personal vehicles that conformed with the government's small-displacement tax breaks. The S800 platform was initially conceived as the S360, penned by a band of young Honda engineers to take advantage of the aforementioned tax break for vehicles with minimalist-displacement engines. The motor was a 356 cc inline-four, mounted at a 45-degree angle to port, longitudinally. As was Honda's form, the straight-four made its power up high -- 33 bhp at 9000 rpm. The 356 cc four and all its future variants were apparently as reliable as Honda products today, even at those excruciating engine speeds, but regular tuning was a main course of the recommended maintenance diet anyway.

While still in prototype form, complications arose with certain Japanese bureaucrats' "interpretation" of the tax codes about which the car was designed (and not in Honda's favor). The S360 was thusly shelved while still in prototype form, and a slightly larger (displacement and dimensionally) version, the S500, was released instead. Tax breaks be damned. Though it was not the first four-wheel vehicle sold to the public by Honda (it had released a small pickup/panel van which used a motor similar to the S360s), the S500 was its first car, and a sporty one at that. It was well sewn together, nimble and tossable; the quad-carbed production motor's 44 bhp (from 531 cc) peaking at 8000 rpm. The S500 came box-stock with drum brakes on all four corners, all-independent suspension (torsion bar-front, diagonal coil over-rear), and the very motorcycle-esque chain-driven rear drive. With an oil-bath chain on each side, onto which housings were mounted the rear coil-overs, the chain-drive swing arms thusly functioned as one of each rear axle's two trailing arms. The S500 could only be ordered as a convertible, though a removable fiberglass hardtop was an option. It weighed about 1500 pounds soaking wet.

Sales of the S500 were enough to keep Honda moving forward with the S-Series plan, counting 1363 sold from October '63 through September '64, when the 606 cc, 57 hp S600 took its place. The S600 was first available in March of '64, and the 606 cc-four made the S-Series platform much more driveable, with fewer revs required to get around at a proper pace. With the S600, Honda offered consumers the option of selecting either the convertible/removable hardtop or a fastback two-door (which followed the S600 convertible to market about a year later). Smart enough to stick with a reliable formula, Honda changed little of the S-Series plan beyond the available fixed-head and enlarged engine capacities, though a version badged SM600 was an option for both body styles, replete with standard touches like a lighter, radio, quick-release passenger seat and exclusive logos. By far the best-selling S-Series, Honda sold between 13,000 and 14,000 copies of the two body styles while it was on the market (the exact count has been disputed by various sources). Some S600s began to appear offshore in the U.K. and Australia, even though the S600 had not originally been intended for export. Production S600s began to appear in Europe with left-hand drive, because Honda soon noticed its small displacement was agreeable to the tax codes in some European states.

http://www.honda-s800-club.freeserve.co.uk/Ccombe.JPG

The penultimate stage of S-Series production was the S800. Released to the consumer in 1966, this was another iteration of its now-recognizable evolution -- larger displacement (and all good things that come with it), slight cosmetic alterations and mechanical updates to match the needs of the small-sports marketplace. There were 791 ccs to play with now, churning out a remarkably improved 70 hp at 8000 rpm. Of efficiency concerns, the 791 cc motor may have been better suited to the S-Series than the 606 cc iteration -- it made more power and reportedly delivered superior mileage, regularly seeing 35 mpg. By far the biggest change to Honda's S layout was the appearance of a solid rear axle, abandoning the occasionally finicky, always audible yet ever-charming chain-drive powertrain. The live axle was coil-sprung and radius rod/Panhard swung, and on its own cured many of the S-Series' previous handling quirks. About 1000 early production S800s were built with the proprietary chain drive, but its limited torque-handling capacity coupled with other preexisting limitations to make the setup obsolete. These chain drive S800s have become the darlings of the S-Series collector clique.

As the S-Series evolved from S500 to S800, so did its features. Sound insulation and things like a cigarette lighter, heater and radio slowly raised it from stripped-down sports car to a properly outfitted one. Improved manufacturing and component selection reduced chassis and driveline buzz, and a bigger fuel tank increased cruise range. Honda took a hard look at the chain-drive drivetrain and its motorcycle-derivative arrangement and weird dynamics. The rear of the car would hike up in the air under hard acceleration, and peg leg maneuvers left the driver without any motive power being applied to the ground. It was a novel idea that had grown long in the tooth.

Overall opinion, at least on behalf of the British and Japanese media, rated the live-axle S800 a univeral success. It had grown to be a well received British-sports fighter, but a potential new audience was on the horizon. Several modifications were included in a mid-generation S800 redesign with particular plans for the American marketplace. What was to be the S800M had to satisfy U.S.-spec safety and design curriculum, so flush door handles, safety glass, U.S.- particular external lighting and dual-circuit brakes were included for a '68 model-year release. An exceptional set of disc brakes was made standard in front shortly after introduction of the live axle combo, and it is frequently noted that under heavy braking the S800 stopped better than most of its contemporaries. As high-revving engines are dirtier by nature, the S800M's carburetion was leaned out as best possible to placate the American hydrocarbon-emission standards. All was for naught, though, as the engine design could not be cleaned up enough without burying its enjoyable and necessary high-rpm capacity. So tolled the bell: the S-Series' momentum had come to pass. Somewhere between 11,400 and 11,600 S800s were built from 1966 to '70, none officially making it across either pond to the U.S.A.

Impressions of the S800 driving experience paint it in a fashion similar to much of the small-displacement roadster set. Michael Knowling, writing for autospeed.com, said it completely. "On the track, the little Hondas showed large amounts of understeer in the braking area with milder understeer with power application at the apex. But a slight throttle lift off accompanied by a flick of the quick-ratio rack and pinion steering let you oversteer the car's 6'7" (2 metre) wheelbase in any situation. Most contemporary road tests came to the same conclusion -- its handling was predictable and enjoyable, though the ride was firm."

Honda "Sport" (S360, S500, S600, S800) development was easily linked to the basic tenets of Honda's motorcycle origin, relying on identifiable cornerstone elements like high-rpm power from small displacement, chain drive (at first), sharp handling, liquid shifting and the car's Lilliputian dimensions. Direct lines can also be drawn from the overall quality of the car's execution and virtue as a product of Soichiro Honda's vision to his success as a manufacturer as a whole. At its peak, the S800 -- Honda's original car -- was a product everyone could admire.

Special thanks to AutoSpeed (www.autospeed.com), the Honda S800 Sports Car Club (www.honda-s800-club.freeserve.co.uk), Honda Sports Registry (www.hondasportsregistry.com), the S-Series Registry (http://216.86.210.95/Sreg/index.html) and Jim Walker's Honda (www.jimwalker.com). There's lots of neat S-Series stuff to be found on these sites.

[munckee]

Could be a fun restoration for someone with the time.

[SondraS2k]

No one is biting, and I'm not surprised... that car is going to need some serious restoration, and finding parts, not to mention a full engine, is going to be a bear.

I've always wanted one of the original S series, but this one is beyond what I would be willing to put into it. *sigh*

[tims2k]

^ Thinking of bidding...one question

do u think the S2000 engine will fit :D ?

This might make a cool little project car

[SondraS2k]

Tim, have you ever seen the size of the engine bay on this car? There was plenty of swimming room for a 500cc engine, but I can't see the F20c in there.

[Greg Stevens]

Nice find, Paul...but I have to agree, this looks like a huge crapload of work. Parts for these little monsters have got to be less than rare. And almost impossible to get reliably from the States. Waukegan is only about an hour away from Chicago, if I had time I'd run up to check it out and if it was in better shape I'd try to make some time...

Neat little slice of history, though... :thumbu:

[turbo_pwr]

If anyone is acutally considering buying this, I would strongly recommend contacting Brian Baker at http://www.hondasportsregistry.com I met the man before at Fall Colors 02 very knowledgable and is probably the best authority on restoring these cars in the Northeast if not the entire US.

[S2000 Driver]

Bidding is now up to $580.

1 day and 10 hours left to bid.

Auction ends Wednesday, February 4, at 6:56 PM EST!

[meat]

This is a huge money pit IMHO. As stated above, parts will be next to impossible to find and the car really needs alot of work.

I saw a S600 auctioned off last year for like $6K and the car was a good driver with little work to be done for driving duties. I was tempted to buy it, but I'm out of car storage options right now.

[tims2k]

Just talked to the guy...he's willing to end it at 1k...I told him I would think about it

anyone who wants to talk to him here is his # 847 858 7969
his name is Adam Brosten

[S2000 Driver]

Honda S500/S600/S800 Road Test Limited Edition
by R.M. Clarke

http://www.motorbooks.com/pimg/128990.jpg

Soft Bound; 92 pages
8.00w x 10.75h
Jul 1999
ISBN: 1855204061
Catalog Id: 128990
Usually Ships in 24 Hours

List Price: $19.95

Description: Road and comparison tests, plus driving impressions from three continents report on the Honda S500, S600 and S800 roadsters and coupes. Includes a technical analysis, and buyer's guide with full specifications and performance data. Sftbd., 8"x 10 3/4", 92 pgs., 180 b&w ill.

Click Here to Order (http://www.motorbooks.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/mbi.woa/6/wo/aN8YEtNFC9vUQ0ASKCbUmM/6.9.1.3.ProdListLong.1.1.4)

[SondraS2k]

I've seen this book; Jwfisher has it and loaned it to me. Neat stuff!

[S2000 Driver]

Originally posted by tims2k
Just talked to the guy...I told him I would think about it...



Tim,

This could be you!

[Info on the S600 -- but you get the idea!]

http://gallery.s2ki.com/imagecatalog/imageview/111239/7

http://gallery.s2ki.com/imagecatalog/imageview/111254/7

http://gallery.s2ki.com/imagecatalog/imageview/111241/7

http://gallery.s2ki.com/imagecatalog/imageview/111240/7

http://gallery.s2ki.com/imagecatalog/imageview/111255/7

http://gallery.s2ki.com/imagecatalog/imageview/111243/7

http://gallery.s2ki.com/imagecatalog/imageview/111242/7

http://gallery.s2ki.com/imagecatalog/imageview/111249/7

http://gallery.s2ki.com/imagecatalog/imageview/111253/7

http://gallery.s2ki.com/imagecatalog/imageview/111244/7

http://gallery.s2ki.com/imagecatalog/imageview/111245/7

http://gallery.s2ki.com/imagecatalog/imageview/111246/

http://gallery.s2ki.com/imagecatalog/imageview/111250/7

http://gallery.s2ki.com/imagecatalog/imageview/111251/7

http://gallery.s2ki.com/imagecatalog/imageview/111247/7

http://gallery.s2ki.com/imagecatalog/imageview/111252/7

Click Here to see S800 Morph into S2000! (http://www.hondasportsregistry.com/SCarMorph.avi)

[vapors2k]

A new or old CBR600f4i motor would fit, that's if they are still chain drive powertrains. lol.

[C G]

Tim, this might be sacrilege to suggest but why not buy the car and put a Hyabusa
In it? It looks like it would cast way too much to put this car back in original shape. With the Busa in it you could make it look mostly original and run like a scalded dog.

[S2000 Driver]

Originally posted by vapors2k
A new or old CBR600f4i motor would fit, that's if they are still chain drive powertrains. lol.

Click Here to Access ebay Listing for 2001 Honda CBR600F4i CBR 600 F4 Engine Motor (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2458191467&category=35595)

Bids start at $150.00

Auction ends Monday, February 9 at 9:49 PM EST.

http://images.andale.com/f2/128/123/7084776/1070365924655_1068600266415__66__resize.jpg

http://images.andale.com/f2/128/123/7084776/1068327898856_1067148239471__68__resize.jpg

http://images.andale.com/f2/128/123/7084776/1070421406054_1068809003442__69__resize.jpg

http://images.andale.com/f2/128/123/7084776/1069285484293_1070249546687__67__resize.jpg

http://images.andale.com/f2/128/123/7084776/1069550983149_1070779987559__64__resize.jpg

http://images.andale.com/f2/128/123/7084776/1069812476512__65__resize.jpg

[S2000 Driver]

Click Here to Access ebay Listing for 2002 Honda CBR 1100 XX CBR1100XX Engine Motor (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=35595&item=2457108399)

But it Now for $2,499.99

http://i10.ebayimg.com/01/i/01/1c/be/eb_1.JPGhttp://i16.ebayimg.com/01/i/01/1d/4a/83_1.JPG

http://i2.ebayimg.com/01/i/01/1e/61/ae_1.JPGhttp://i14.ebayimg.com/01/i/01/1c/e9/7c_1.JPG

http://i16.ebayimg.com/01/i/01/1d/4a/7f_1.JPGhttp://i10.ebayimg.com/02/i/01/1c/be/f5_1.JPG

[vapors2k]

lol, you aren't making this easy on us by posting how easy it will be to make this a beast of a car. Maybe shedding some more weight off the chassis?

[dbw]

just to add a bit to the early "s" series hondas.....in 1960,62 and 63 seven lotus elites were imported into japan....toyota,suzuki and honda were three manufacturers that bought elites for internal engineering study....[apparently pleasure as well...when honda opened the suzka circuit in 1963 the official course car was mr. honda's personal elite....he used the elite for his daily commute until the mid-sixties when he gave the car to his son,who owned the car for several more years....when honda built it's first sports car in 1964 it featured compact dimensions,low carriage and generous suspension travel....the car also featured a dashboard,gearlever and steering wheel that were quite familiar to elite owners.....[the toyota 2000gt also had elite influences on the aerodynamics as well as the chapmen strut rear suspension..complete with shock towers in the rear cabin..]....the elite continued to exert inflluence in japan, especially on suspension' for years to come...[the above paraphrased from dennis ortenburgers "lotus elite" [1990]....

as i have owned and driven a s800,a SII lotus elite and and an s2000 i can say in my opinion that the s800 had more in common with the lotus than in it's later cousin the s2000...but at the same time a drive in the 1959 elite and the s2000 seem to be a very similar experience...other than a gigantic steering wheel and skinney tires [typical in the '60s] the seating position,engine placement and general feel of the lotus is alarmingly close to the s2000...in my very humble opinion the true roots of the s2000 were hatched in soichiro honda's mind as he drove his lotus elite to work in the mornings.....the s-series merely a bridge to his ultimate embodiment of the classic sports car.

[S2000 Driver]

Originally posted by dbw
Just to add a bit to the early "s" series hondas...



Dave,

Great post!

Reminds me how much I miss reading your commentary since I stopped going to "the other place".

However, with all its kudos to Lotus, I expect this post will make it even more difficult than usual to live with Brad over the next several days...

:p

[dbw]

just remind brad that a series II lotus elite is a real lotus that actually had the hand of colin chapman in it's creation.....just what is it brad has now anyway??[and who owns lotus this week..]

[S2000 Driver]

T minus 3 hours and counting to end of auction...

Tim,

Have you taken the plunge?

:confused:

[meat]

dbw and S2000 Driver - blah, blah, blah.....

CC would be very proud of the Series 1 Elise. The S190 was a 1500lb car with 190hp. My Exige weighs in at 1700 with 190hp. Not bad. It's a true Lotus, IMHO. The new S2 Elise which includes the Federal car is moving towards the mainstream which is too bad.

dbw - if you ever get out to this area and a track event is happening I have a seat for you behind the wheel of the Exige. I guarantee that when you take your helmet off that you'll be smiling......

[S2000 Driver]

Less than 90 minutes left to place your bids!!!

[S2000 Driver]

Sold to the Blackburn family for $797.00!

:thumbsup:

[OkyS2k]

Poor little fella. Looks like neglect has taken its toll. Before anyone gets too eemotional about saving this S's life, you had better find one and see how you fit. Sondra would do just fine. But just because you fit in an S2000 doesn't mean you will fit in a S500 or S800. These are little cars without much seat travel. Immke's car collection in Columbus had an S800 for sale a couple of years ago. It was frequently on display at the Immke Honda dealership in Dublin. I was really tempted until I tried to get into the car. I bought a model to put together and display instead.

[S2000 Driver]

Originally posted by OkyS2k
Before anyone gets too emotional about saving this S's life, you had better find one and see how you fit...

These are little cars without much seat travel...



I hear you.

I have lusted after an Austin Healy but I'm too tall to fit (6'1"). I thought about having my legs shorted but have ruled that out for now.

In the same vein, my nephew has lusted after a Ferrrari Testarossa but, after taking him to Ferrari Racings Days at Lime Rock last summer, he discovered he couldn't fit (6'4" -- see photo).

:(

http://gallery.s2ki.com/imagecatalog/imageview/66207/2

[Ulrich]

Well, you do know why Tomm Sellek was always driving "topless" in Magnum? :)

[S2000 Driver]

1964 Honda 500 Sport
http://www4.plala.or.jp/HPA/500.jpg
0.531-Liter
47 bhp @ 8,500 rpm
Max RPM: 10,000
Weight: 675 kg

0-50 mph: 11.6 Sec
0-62 mph: 19.5 Sec
1/4-mile: 20.2 Sec
Top Speed: 84 mph

1965 Honda S-600
http://www4.plala.or.jp/HPA/600.jpg
0.606-Liter
57 bhp @ 8,500 rpm
Max RPM: 10,000
Weight: 1,576 lbs

0-50 mph: 10.7 Sec
0-60 mph: 16.2 Sec
1/4-mile: 20.7 Sec
Top Speed: 90 mph

1966 Honda S 800
http://www4.plala.or.jp/HPA/800.jpg
0.791-Liter
70 bhp @ 8,000 rpm
Max RPM: 11,000
Weight: 1,588 lbs

0-50 mph: 8.7 Sec
0-60 mph: 12.9 Sec
1/4-mile: 18.8 Sec
Top Speed: 100 mph

2000 Honda S2000
http://www.s2kca.com/photopost/data/500/435MYS2K3.jpg
1.997-Liter
240 bhp @ 8,300 rpm
Max RPM: 9,000
Weight: 2,755 lbs

0-60 mph: 5.3 Sec
1/4-mile: 14.0 Sec
Top Speed: 150 mph

[WestSideBilly]

Progress :)

Driver, you should include the S2200 in the lineage...

[S2000 Driver]

Progress :)

Driver, you should include the S2200 in the lineage...

I prefer to ignore it, like the ROW, because in IMO it was a step backward.