Restoring The Very First Honda Car In The U.S. Took One Year And A Lot Of TLC

Back in 2016, Honda discovered a 1967 N600 with chassis number 1000001, the very first car it imported to the United States, at the hands of restoration specialist Tim Mings.

It took Mings one year to restore the tiny Japanese city car, which now sits proudly in mint condition at the American Honda Museum.

Honda re-released the documentary of the restoration process in one half-hour-long video, showcasing the process of bringing back to life this very special N600.

Also Read: Honda Restores Its First Car To Arrive In North America, An N600

Honda had been selling motorcycles in the U.S. since the late 1950s but the company decided to dip its toe into the car business by bringing 50 examples of the 1967 N600 in the country. Out of this initial batch, this is the very first, or as Honda calls it the “Serial One” car.

These little Honda N600s are powered by an all-alloy 0.6-liter engine that made between 35 and 45hp. Its motorcycle roots are pretty evident as it’s capable of revving up to 9,000rpm, making the tiny Honda a very fun car to drive. With just 1100lbs (550kg) to haul around, the small engine could sent the N600 up to 81 mph (130km/h).

Serial One was pretty filthy when it was originally discovered by Mings, who didn’t know just how special this N600 was when he first bought it. It took him over two years before he started scraping all the filth and discover that this was indeed the very first N600 that set foot in the US.