The Skyline you're staring at right now is probably not that recognizable to you. In fact, if you're not a close follower of Nissan's Skyline family lineage, you probably have never even seen the KHGC210 variation. It's not a Hakosuka, not an R32, 33, 34, and it's definitely not an R35-heck, it isn't even a GT-R. What it is, however, is a landmark in Nissan's storied history. It may be one of the lesser recognized Skylines but that doesn't necessarily mean that it wasn't as important as the GT-R.
You don't hear much about the GT-R moniker from the late '70s and '80s because they didn't exist. Nissan had ceased production of the GT-R in 1973, just four years into its early life. During that time, there was a world oil crisis that hit Japan hard and brought about economic turmoil. Nissan/Datsun began a campaign to produce more efficient, environmentally friendly vehicles. Economy cars were quickly becoming the standard, as strict emissions laws were being put into place and high-performance sports cars were suddenly becoming frowned upon. Nissan had even pulled out of motorsports, so the need for a GT-R just didn't exist.
The year 1977, marked the debut of the 5th generation Skyline. By that time, Datsun/Nissan had firmly made its mark as a huge global export machine and the introduction of their fuel efficient, economy cars were a hit in countries like the United States. The US, which was so huge on domestic muscle in the late 60s and early 70s, was also hit hard by the oil crisis and the "Datsun Saves" program was the perfect opportunity for Nissan to make its mark in the U.S. The mixture of the two might have been an influence on the styling and design of the fifth gen Skyline, and the chassis began to take on a more square-like, boxier design. It took on the name "Skyline Japan", which was a little peculiar because Skylines remained home-based, and global exports never even carried the Skyline namesake. Perhaps it was an indirect jab at their competitors, as Datsun/Nissan had taken a dominant position in global sales and they were proud to wear their country's name on their flagship vehicle.
"One of my favorite aspects about this car is definitely its square shape." John Oshima says. "It just has that American muscle-car look."
John, much like his '77 Skyline, is also a Japanese import. He grew up in Okinawa, Japan and has lived in Las Vegas, Nevada for the past 15 years. The Skyline he owns now, actually found its way to America before he did. "A friend of mine that was in the military was stationed in Iwakuni, Japan and brought the car over to the States about 20 years ago. He had the car for all these years until I finally took ownership of it six years ago. I've been hard at work trying to do a full restoration of it ever since. The body was in good condition, with the exception of some rust spots, but restoring it has definitely taken a lot longer than I anticipated."
The problem with restoring something so rare is that the availability of parts is even scarcer. You take a less than popular chassis and combine it with the fact that it is over 30 years old, in a country where it never existed, and you've created quite the headache for yourself. "Most of my friends have told me many times that I was crazy for attempting to restore this car from the ground-up. I figured I would try to do something different. I'm sure this has to be the first KHGC210 to be restored here in the U.S."
"The first thing I did was take the 2-liter L20 engine out and put a bigger engine in it. I decided to go with the larger displacement L28 because it was a more popular, common motor, particularly in the US. Sourcing parts for it is a little easier and I can make more power out of it. I had this engine bored up to a 2.9 liter and I'll probably stroke it to a 3.1 somewhere down the road."