Rare Roadster: 1965 Honda S600
Honda has a reputation for many things, and while build quality is chief among them, building raucous little sports cars isn’t far behind. And while I understand that high-revving coupes aren’t for everyone, the Honda S600 is a masterpiece of engineering considering how small of a company Honda was when it started rolling these off the assembly line. The S600 shown here on Facebook Marketplace is a particularly special car owing to being a Japanese market right-hand drive model imported by a service member when he returned to the U.S.
The S600 is a rare find in almost any condition. Like most Japanese sports cars from this era, it was produced in exceedingly limited quantities. It’s no accident a car like this is included among the likes of Jay Leno’s incredible collection, as they were marvels of engineering and a completely different take on what a sports car should be. Even with the arrival of comparatively mass-produced models like the Datsun roadster, the S600 still stood alone for its nose-bleedingly high redline.
The originality on display is quite impressive, especially considering this isn’t exactly a showroom-fresh S600. Parts for these cars are a mix of hard to find and impossible to find, so seeing so many original details – from the steering wheel to the shift knob to the radio controls – is enough to justify whatever rust repair this Honda needs, which the seller alludes to being very manageable. The small details are also significant on this car, with the seller noting that the front windshield wind deflector that’s exposed when the top is down still lashed in place on the parcel shelf behind the seats. It even comes with the original tool roll.
The engine does turn over, but the seller hasn’t done much with due to advice from fellow S600 owners that advised against running it without replacing the chain tensioner. The $9,700 asking price seems fair to me for such a rare vehicle that is made rarer still for having so many obsolete parts still attached. The seller is moving this project along to focus on an Alfa Romeo restoration and may include the trailer for the right price. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Chuck F. for the find.
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Comments
4 carbs for 600 cc. wow.
Just like my 4 cylinder Honda motorcycles.
Along with the high redline.
They woke up at 6000 rpm.
Mr. Honda built a 6 cylinder 250 cc motorcycle for the Isle of Mann in 1968(?). He was a genius and an incredible innovator.
A correct full original restoration would be expensive but a solid investment. This is a very important car. And if it’s well documented and well done, there’s always going to me someone with $$ who wants it. We saw the little coupe-hatch running around right after this. I always wanted one because living in Florida, it rained most afternoons and a motorcycle wasn’t practical. This being a convertible was probably in some parts of the world ‘the fanciest car in town’. I believe this car is the same car Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) is driving around in Japan in a bad monster flick. I remember because it was such a terrible movie but the car was so beautiful (oh and the actress too LoL). Early Japanese cars so basic yet so artistic. They were copying the Italians. With a spice of origami and geisha infused. Great project because value and not a lot of space required.
“I believe this car is the same car Perry Mason (Raymond Burr) is driving around in Japan in a bad monster flick.”
Nope. Burr’s appearance in the Japanese monster flick predated this car by nearly a decade (1956 Americanized version of the 1954 Japanese original).
I had a Honda S800 coupe when I was stationed at Ft. Leonard Wood, Mo back in 1968-69.
Now just because i’m old here, for all the french fan’s of this site let’s go back to the mid-seventies the french comic series Spirou et Fantasio, in installement 19 ( Panade a champignac ) and 21 ( Du glucose pour Noemie ) our two protagonist’s actually drive a 600 in many pursuits.
I have a car buddy that knows I like the unusual cars. He call one day and told me about a small convertible at a body shop for sale. He thought it was a Datsun Fairlady. A few days later and a conversation with the shop owner revealed it was not a Datsun Fairlady but a Honda. He said he’d pushed it down into the briar patch. I arrived at the shop and yes he had pushed it into a briar patch. Undeterred I ventured out. The S600 looked amazingly solid and complete. Turns out it wasn’t his. It was his brother in-laws whom lived in Florida. I’m in NC. I made a phone deal of 300 dollars complete with extra parts. Sold it later for a really good profit to a Honda enthusiast.
These cars have a motorcycle engine with four carbs and dual chain drive. Awesome on the SCCA tracks.
Owned mine back in the 1990’s. Came without the head, carbs and was left hand drive. Parts were impossible to find back then. I never got to really enjoy it. Bought it out of an Abandoned Vehicle Auction for $100.
This thing deserves a concourse restoration.
It’s a good thing I bought a Morgan replica before I saw this, well, maybe not, I could have had $ left over LOL. I owned a 1966 Toyota S800 as well, for a short time LOL. I have that OCD, Obsessive Car Disease, I see a neat car, I want it.