Finding a 1972 Honda Z600 today is a pretty rare occurrence. But what if you ran across two of them in the same week painted in the same color? That’s the case here when two of our readers turned us on to two Honda Z600s in different parts of the country. The first one is a rough project, while this one looks quite nice and is said to run well. Located in Palm City, Florida, this other Honda microcar is available here on Facebook Marketplace for $8,250. Kudos to Lance Stewart for turning us on to this version of the mini-mobile.
Honda built the Z600 from 1970 to 1974 and it was the hatchback equivalent of the N600. Both had tiny 598-cc engines that developed 36 hp. The little cars were imported to the U.S. for a brief time and sold through Honda’s motorcycle dealer network before they established automobile locations to peddle the Civic which replaced the pair of 600s.
From the looks of things, this Honda is a nice survivor. The body and paint generally look good and except for some splits in the driver’s bucket seat, the interior more be workable as well. On the better news side is that the seller says the little transport runs and drives well with what may be 55,000 miles.
I remember sitting in one of these things as a teenager and thinking I now knew what it felt like to be a sandwich in a lunchbox. Not a lot of room, sort of like the more recent Smart Car. Some work has been done recently on the Honda, with new brakes and exhaust being a part of the equation. This little machine looks like it would be fun to drive – as long as you don’t get claustrophobic!
Sorry but the one in Oregon looks dirtier but is likely just as nice a car. For 8+k it is awful dirty under the hood and you can’t even fix the seat. Lots of things look shiny and tired here.
I chuckled at your sandwich in a lunchbox reference. These are fun and interesting but not for someone my size. Actually I’d take the Smart car instead. Once you get past the low steering wheel it’s quite roomy with the engine behind you. Would have been a lot more fun with a stick shift. As for this no thanks.
As the owner of a smart car I was surprised at 6 feet tall I can fit in it and I’m actually shopping for a second one at a decent price.
It comes down to who it’s made for.
The SMART car is made in Europe, aimed at European buyers. Comparable physical size to a modern American.
Japanese cars, particularly designed for their domestic market, often are sized to fit the smaller Japanese user.
First car that I owned, that was all mine, was a Super Beetle. I was surprised that, at 6-foot-three, I had to pull the seat forward a few notches from fully back.
I’d also looked at a kei truck, about ten years ago – many Western states will title and plate them. I loved it, but I just couldn’t fit. And since it was a manual transmission truck, petal placement and knee room, mattered.
Back in the early 70’s when these came out, I was seriously considering buying one because of their low cost ($12-1300). That was all I could afford. The engine oil, transaxle and differential lube was all in one! It was Honda’s answer to the Mini. My purchase never materialized but seeing their promotion at the NY Auto show was fun!!!
Vice-president of the company for which I worked had one of these … most other VPs drove Cadillacs, Boat-Tail Rivs, 98s, etc, but he loved his liitle Honda …
When I was a kid, and these were new. I only saw wanna be hippies driving these things. No gear head would’ve been seen dead in one.
Russ, have you ever been inside a Smart? You feel like a midget sitting in one.
I have one of these little orange Honda’s sitting in my garage, here in Meridian Idaho. Unique little cars, I guess not as rare as one would think. Hard to find parts for.
I have a 72 Z600 ( coupe). It has been in the family since new. It has 24000miles and I have had it up to 70mph. I am 5’11” and bigger than 225lbs and I fit comfortably in it. The price here is probably a little high. Thinking $6000 might be a better price but there are definite things that would need to be checked out to justify even that price.
I drove one for years. I’m 6’4″ and fit OK as long as you put your right knee outside of the shifter. The only thing freaky about it was driving through downtown Dayton on the interstate. You sat so low that truck tire were almost eye level. 50 mpg on the highway was great.
Rolled one twice and came out without a scratch.
Fun little car until it wasn’t!
That’s got to be an interesting trick. A device that certainly looks like a brake master cylinder is on the right side of the car… but the brake pedal is on the left side of the car. ?? What wizardry is this?
I think I don’t like that.
The other profiled Z600 was the same.
I expect it was too much re-engineering in converting to LH drive, moving the master cylinder. Perhaps it interfered with defroster design.
But I can see how it might work – a suspended brake pedal, turning a steel bar across the firewall, and then pushing in a piston with a bell crank on the other end of the shaft.
That’s my speculation as well. But to say that is “janky”… is way to kind! I mean… come on! It’s the BRAKES we’re talking about!
The beetle has that too; the accelerator pedal on a RHD car works a shaft that goes to the left side; a pal had a buggy in the 80s that you could feel it moving from the passenger footwell.
When I was a teen, a friend had a late 70s Civic, brake set up same way. I found out by accident when I had my feet all the way up on the floorboards when he braked. Felt the rod move.
So, he’s going down the road and I push on the bar, the car is slowing, he’s giving it more gas as we keep slowing & is freaking out! Then I’d let off of it.
After a couple times, he caught on to what I was doing & would yell at me as soon as I moved my foot toward firewall.
Throw in a clown outfit !
As I stated on that last one, don’t even THINK about bidding on this car until you’ve sat in the driver’s seat with the door closed. If you’re over 5′ 8″, it ain’t gonna work. And I drive a Smart car.
Raymond J Lawson III, yes, the Civic is the same set up on the brake. When ever my wife was driving our Civic and did something I didn’t like I would hit the brakes. (lots of fun for me) I used to work at a Pontiac/Honda Store in the early ’70s.We had one of these traded in on a Civic. So I drove it for about a week and had a ball. It was no ball of fire off the line and the shifter is a bit strange. (I have given instructions several times on how to shift it) It would cruise at 65 MPH all day long and handled like a go-kart. The engines if not maintained religiously will fail badly. I did do some measuring once and an AN600 (the sedan) and a Civic engine and transmission will fit behind the seats. SO, that could really be fun!I would buy one now if the deal was right.
“…the hatchback equivalent…”
I got ‘em mixed up. N v Z. THIS
is the one I saw in early ’70s in a
twn I grew up in. There’s NA too I think.
I Do Not mix in the lill FB tho. Still love it
the most – vert, FB or even coupe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5jUK1EkX_M
THIS is the one, got it mixed up
when posting ‘1st Japanese car seen
growin up’. Posted that on the N600? Any
way it doesnt change my mind on fav :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5jUK1EkX_M
FB, vert or coupe (SM, S 600 & 800).
Seems quite unfair you have to pay the same ridiculous toll to cross the GWB, etc. in this toy car as in the gigantic & super heavy 1974 Chrysler New Yorker St Regis.
No break on NYC congestion price either, i bet.