Car Of The Week: 1971 Honda N600

When John Henschen’s plan to buy an old Citroën to add to his fleet didn’t pan out, he kept an open mind. Instead of winding up with a French microcar, the Russells Point, Ohio, resident cast his eyes upon another little unusual import he had interest in — the Honda 600.

A Citroën could still be in his future, but for now, Henschen is more than pleased with the 1971 Honda N600 he purchased and put back together.

“I’ve had microcars. I’ve had Vespas and an Autobianchi, and there was a Citroën in the local marketplace, and I made arrangements to buy it,” recalls Henschen, who, with his wife Traci, was proudly displaying his Honda at this year’s World Microcar Meet in Hickory Corners, Mich., this past June. “I was supposed to go pick it up on a Monday, and on that Saturday, he told me he sold it to someone else. So I was ready to get one and then I went down to North Carolina, to my daughter’s house, and this Honda was in the marketplace in their area and I picked it up in South Carolina. [Traci] worked at Honda at the time, and said she wanted one of the 600s, and this popped up for a reasonable amount of money.”

The pint-sized Honda was anything but a finished product at the time. It was going to need a lot of piecing back together, but Henschen was undeterred.

“I enjoy putting cars together, and this was originally a California car and it’s very solid underneath. Norm Reeves Honda was a dealer out in California, and they were one the first Honda dealers in the country.”

Indeed, the N600 was the first official Honda model imported and offered for sale in the United States. It was an offspring of the N360 built and sold in Japan. The larger 600cc engine was developed to better suit the faster speeds on American highways, and Honda wound up selling in the neighborhood of 34,000 of them between 1970 and ’72. Perhaps the N600’s most important contribution to the compact car world was proving that such a machine from Japan was sellable in the U.S., and it paved the way for the wildly successful Civic that still populates American roads and new car showrooms today.

The Honda Invasion

Already well known worldwide for the manufacture of motorcycles, the Honda Motor Co. of Tokyo added automobiles to its lineup in 1962. After producing only 136 cars in 1963, output rose sharply to 87,169 in 1967 and 186,560 in 1968. 

Honda began its automobile venture with a two-seat sports roadster called the S500, powered by a 531cc twin-cam four-cylinder engine with four carburetors. Chains sent the power to each rear axle, yet the car could hit speeds of 85 mph. That quickly led to an S600 and in 1966 an S800 sports convertible and coupe powered by a 791cc four-cylinder engine.

The first 600 series air-cooled two-cylinder sedans were first imported to the U.S. West Coast in 1969. They were equipped with four-speed gearboxes and front disc brakes. Unlike the Japanese editions, the U.S. models had side clearance lights at the leading edge of the fenders. A Honda emblem stood on the cowl, and the “H” symbol also appeared at the grille’s center. These sets of cowl and vent slots were evident on the hood for 1969, but the total dropped to two for the 1970 model year. The 598cc overhead-cam engine developed 36 hp, and a Hondamatic transmission became optional. 

For 1970, the N600 had an MSRP of just $1,395. It was undeniably tiny on the outside, stretching just 122 in. in length, yet surprisingly roomy inside — a trait that Honda vehicles would carry with them for generations to come.  They were simple, lightweight cars (1,220 lbs.) with independent front suspension and solid-beam rear axles with leaf springs. The two hard-working cylinders were rated at 45 hp and could propel the N600 up to 75 mph on the highway and delivered great economy of up to 40 mpg.

For 1971, the original two-seat sedan was joined by a Z600 two-door coupe featuring upswept swing-open rear quarter windows. The coupe, which had a small hatch at the rear, had a different grille than the sedan, with integral parking lamps. 

Advertisements attracted nearly Honda 600 customers with the simple claim: “It makes a lot of sense.” 

Seeing Red (And White)

The Henschens’ N600 was a work-in-progress when they adopted it, but they were determined to keep it as original as possible as they put it back together. “Most of the taillights, headlights, front bumper and grille was all off,” John noted. “The interior was completely out of it. Thank goodness most of it was there. Half the dash was apart. The running gear was in it, but it didn’t run. I found out the majority of the problem was with the fuel system. There was a clog in the fuel tank. I got that out, replaced the fuel lines and it fired up. There were no brakes on it. We had to re-do all the brake lines and wheel cylinders and master cylinder. The whole interior was out. The seats are the original material. We re-did the headliner on it. 

“I found a couple sources for parts and posted parts that were missing and they were relatively easy to find … I think it’s finally original now. Other than the paint color, I believe it’s 100 percent original. I’m not 100 percent sure of [the original color]. It was either a solid red or orange. They did not have a two-tone option. But it was already painted red and white when I got it. That was about the only thing that had been done to it. It doesn’t appear to have had much bodywork. It’s one of the most solid cars I’ve seen underneath for the age of the car.”

John doesn’t have a lot of background information on his sedan, but he’s almost certain it was driven very little. “It says it’s only got 12,000 miles and I believe that’s original!” he adds. The N600 still has its dealer-installed AM radio, and a four-speed shifter on the dash. It runs and drives like a champ, and while it hasn’t been driven much yet, John figures the car could easily evolve into the couple’s regular grocery-getter in the future.

“It handles well. It’s air-cooled, so there’s not really anything to worry about freezing in the wintertime,” he says. “The heater works compared to some microcars. It was a very base car when they first started out. The drive train is basically a motorcycle drive train. The engine, gearbox and differential is all one unit.”

Like most micro and minicar owners, the Henschens enjoy driving something unique, and wherever they take their pint-sized Honda, they can be pretty sure they’ll have the only one there.

“There’s probably a couple hundred of them in the United States that are running,” John concludes. “They are a few around. A friend of mine has the sedan model, but really, not many survived.”

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