This little Honda NIII 360 is a great example of a Kei Car, and looking at it you will notice a couple of things. The first is that it appears to be in reasonable condition for its age. The second thing is that the steering wheel is on the wrong side. Yes, this Honda is right-hand drive, but those two points together are enough to ensure that this car attracts plenty of attention wherever it goes. If you want to be the one to attract the attention, you will find the Honda located in Glendale, California, and listed for sale here on eBay.
The Honda is neat, but it isn’t perfect. There is a weird spot in the body just below the rear bumper on the passenger side. Hopefully, that’s not an indication of rust. There are a few other minor marks visible on the paintwork, but it generally looks good, and I really love those alloy wheels, along with the Weld Wheels sticker on the back of the car.
The photos are a little patchy, but we get the general indication that the interior trim is pretty good. The steering wheel is an aftermarket one, but it looks quite good, and I really like it. The owner refers to the car as 1-of-1, so given that it is a right-hand drive NIII 360 rather than a regular N600, this claim may be true. We get no engine photos, but as the name suggests, the engine has a capacity of less than 360cc to comply with the Japanese Kei Car regulations. In this case, the capacity is 354cc, with the engine being an air-cooled 2-cylinder that sends the drive through a 4-speed transmission to the front wheels. While the car is no rocket ship, it is definitely capable of holding its own in the cut and thrust of city traffic.
For decades the Japanese Kei Cars slipped under the automotive radar, but they have developed a strong and dedicated following. One of their great attractions is that they generally are a reasonably uncomplicated vehicle, and a large amount of restoration and maintenance work can be completed in your average home workshop…and you have plenty of room to get around them in that environment. This one is a nice example that is sure to attract attention wherever it goes. With a BIN price of $10,500, and the option to make an offer, I think that this little Honda will be finding a new home fairly soon.
Looks O-Kei to me.
I had a 1972 Z600 as a daily driver. A 360 might be scary slow. I drove a friend’s Z600 2 plus hours on an interstate. The only car that I passed was a 360 Subaru. I tooted at him and he shot me an ugly glance until he saw what I was driving. The Subaru was not capable of interstate travel.
Sweet looking Honda N111 360. The body is similar to what was sold here in the USA, but I find the grille way more attractive.
I’ve never figured out how these little cats seem to hold up in Japan (and a lot of other places in the Pacific Rim) but seem to rust within minutes of landing in the US. I had an N600. I ran the heck out of it. It was an excellent city car. The motor and gearbox was bulletproof. The remainder of the car dissolved in rainwater. It’s exhaust system was replaced three times while it was still under warranty. The rear suspension mounts had their attachment points just flake away. The interior had rust around the rear side windows. But on the way to dissolving, it was a blast to drive. It usually got about 35-36 mph. The plastic interior never lost the smell of plastic. I put CIBIE driving lights on it. It’s alternator could not jandle the load. It’s “truck” lid was a molded plastic piece. It was the only part of the body to avoid rust.
Why do I want to engine swap a 1500cc Flat-6 engine out of a late 90’s Honda Valkyrie motorcycle into this little thing?????
Oh, because it would be awesome to open the hood to see 6 carbs looking back at you! The chrome valve covers would just be a bonus.
This need to be in a museum – One of One
You got it wrong the steering wheel is on the Right side we are the ones that have it on the wrong side (left side)
Whoops! That “weird spot in the body just below the rear bumper on the passenger side” is on the drivers side on this one.