IMPORTANT!!
Please note that with IMMEDIATE effect, the telephone number for contacting Clive listed on this website (07747 471213) is NO LONGER IN USE BY IPTOC - please do not try to contact him on this number from now on.
PLEASE ADDRESS ALL ENQUIRIES IN THE FIRST INSTANCE TO iptoc@hotmail.com
All IPTOC members will be advised of a new telephone contact number in due course - apologies for any inconvenience but the previously published number has been subject to a number of unsolicited and unwanted calls and numbers, hence it is no longer valid.
JAPS 2008
WELL what can we say. This year's JAPS event was literally a washout! Given that the rain had been almost continuous in the week prior to the event, the organisers decided to press ahead - with dismal results!!!
The attendance as a whole was noticeably less than in previous years, and we had SIX Piazzas turn up in total, 3 pre-Lotus and 3 Lotus! One of the Lotus handling cars won the Runner-Up trophy in the Best Other Japanese category, so the IPTOC tradition of coming away with at least one award has been upheld!
However, one thing that became very apparent as the day went on was the lack of vehicles from the 1980s in attendance, which has led IPTOC to question whether or not JAPS is the most suitable annual event for us to champion. So -if anyone has any experience of Japanese and/or classic car events which would be up IPTOC's street, please get in touch!!!
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PART SALE PARTS SALE PARTS SALE PARTS SALE
WATCH THIS SPACE - I need to reduce the size of the stock inventory I am holding due to space constraints and the need for continued funding of the website etc., so I will shortly be listing some parts at knockdown prices. Some of these will be extremely rare, never-to-be-repeated offers, so all Piazza owners who intend keeping their cars - wallets at the ready!!
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COME ON ALL YOU HIDDEN PIAZZA OWNERS, WHERE ARE YOU?
We're now in April and so far I've had ONE response, so currently they're on their way to receiving a prize!!
There are 76 Piazzas in the UK which are apparently on the road (according to the SMMT) so - WHERE ARE YOU ALL?
This is no joke - of these 76 cars, IPTOC know of around 17 (taxed and on the road that is). So you all must be out there somewhere, hiding under dustsheets, generally enjoyed or just plain used as an everyday hack - AND WE WANT TO KNOW WHO YOU ARE AND WHERE YOU ARE!!!
So the gauntlet is thrown down - PLEASE all IPTOC members, if you spot a Piazza while you're out and about, take a photo, try and obtain some contact details and EMAIL IT IN!!!
Equally, anyone who has a "spares" car or who has in the past broken a car for spares - if you have the registration and/or VIN numbers I would be grateful for them so that I can score them off the original 1662 official imports.
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Piazzas on the WorldWideWeb
Being a bit of a sad git, I like to try and keep abreast of anything Piazza that's going on in the world, and have found these little snippets on the internet that may amuse some of you just as much as they have me!!
Firstly, the Internet Movie Cars Database has been updated, showing details of various films featuring Isuzu Impulses (the US version of the Piazza) - take a look here:
Secondly, have a squint at these movie clips on YouTube, they're pretty damn good!!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rqcpdPBz4M
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyH4dHg7Dpc
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaP7B8a35_s
and an original Japanese advert nestles about 2 minutes 30 seconds into this interesting (ahem) collection of Japanese TV ads!
If anyone has any idea who owns these films or the copyright, please drop me a line as I would like to have MPEG copies for when YouTube and Piazzas are nothing but distant memories!!!
EXPOSURE!!
ISUZU PIAZZA TURBO features in PRACTICAL CLASSICS!!
Yes, Practical Classics have finally recognised the Piazza as the future classic that it is and, with assistance from IPTOC and the use of Brian Hester's car, put together a Buyers' Guide which featured in the issue published in February 2007.
PARTS SCENE
OH WOE IS IPTOC!!!
After a brief interlude, it would now appear that Isuzu stocks have been exhausted of the HBL front brake discs; i.e. they are AGAIN No Longer Available (part number 8-97030-407-0). And, according to Japan, that is the way things will stay - unless of course we would like to pay £182.88 PLUS VAT for the superseding part number . . . . (that's per disc by the way!!).
The IPTOC search for replacement HBL front discs is back on, WELL DONE to all those who managed to obtain a pair while they were briefly available!!!
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For those of you who have rusty front wings and have experienced frustration at the lack of decent second hand items, the situation has just got worse. Previously, US/Euro spec wings were still available from Japan (the only difference in them is that instead of a hole for the repeater lamp between the door and the wheelarch, they have a hole at the front end for a marker lamp).
I HAVE JUST HAD NEWS FROM ISUZU THAT THE LHS WING IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE FROM JAPAN. Therefore, it is now only RHS, US/Euro spec wings that are available, how much longer for was not confirmed.
At £143 + VAT each they're not cheap but then the UK spec ones were £205 + VAT each when they were available - and it may be worth getting one before they too run out!!
Contact me for part number and contact info as these will not come up on an Isuzu dealership computer system and are only available as a result of IPTOC talking to International Motors.
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