Honda N600 Rebuild

Here at Keyes Honda, we consider ourselves Honda fanatics, and when we watched the recently released documentary titled “Serial One”, our love for Honda cars increased that much more. The documentary series focuses on the Honda N600 and one man’s quest to restore the vehicle to its original glory. Back in 1967, Honda became the top selling motorcycle maker in the U.S. and the world, though the company also had its sights set on selling cars in America. In 1969, Honda embarked on a new mission, to change the public’s perception of cars. At the time, most automobiles had high emission and were far from fuel-efficient. Looking to create something different, the company developed the Honda N600, which was roughly 3 feet shorter than most vehicles on the road in America at that time and weighed nearly half of what that year’s best-selling car weighed. It was one of the first Honda test vehicles for America—the company only developed 50 in fact. A mechanic from Los Angeles, CA, Tim Mings, found a Honda N600 in a junk pile and learned the car had been sitting there collecting dust for nearly 50 years. He decided to purchase the car and restore it. Only months after purchasing the vehicle did he discover that it was Vehicle Identification Number 1000001—number one of the 50 vehicle test cars that Honda originally produced. Mings teamed up with Honda to film the incredible year-and-a-half rebuild of this iconic car. At Keyes Honda, we loved seeing Mings fire up the rebuilt air-cooled, parallel-twin engine for the first time in almost 50 years and think our readers would love the scene as well. You can watch the entire “Serial One” documentary at www.serialone.com.

While we love the historic Honda models, we also love the latest Honda cars. If you are interested in purchasing a new Honda, please stop by your Honda dealership, serving the Los Angeles, CA area. We look forward to welcoming you soon and setting you up for a test drive.