Photo: John Brown
Although we can't vouch for him personally, dedicated DIY wrencher John Brown seems like a pretty simple guy. He visualizes and engine swap in his head, he formulates how best to get to get the job done, and then he executes that plan to perfection. That's the only way we could think he conjured up such a peculiar engine swap as shoving a 1,286 cc straight-six motorcycle engine under the hood of a 1970s-vintage Honda N600. But the results don't lie, and the end results are nothing short of stunning.
Sure, this restaurant isn't the most refined, polished, or heavily invested in rig we've seen this year. But if you ask us, it might just be one of the most clever. At least in terms of power-to-weight ratios, chances are good; any engine upgrade, regardless of the specifics, should turn a car as light as this Honda into a total pocket rocket. Back in its day, the Honda N600 and its associated models were limited to being sold only in Hawaii at first. A place where Honda hoped its diminutive size wouldn't offend the locals in the same way they feared it would in California or Texas.
Its positively microscopic two-cylinder engine might've been laughable by American standards of the day. But with the ability to rev to 9000 RPM, it was actually North America's casual introduction to the bespoke Japanese philosophy of building engines. In that same vein, the Kawasaki Z1300 was a distinctly Japanese approach to designing a big, powerful motorcycle engine. With 78.5-cubic inches (1,286 cc) of displacement and six cylinders in an inline formation, the Z1300's engine might as well be a big block V8 muscle car engine compared to most Japanese motorcycles, let alone the puny stock engine in an N600.
So the story goes, John Brown purchased a different 1970 N600 and Kawasaki KZ1300 back in the 1980s. For years after the fact, he wondered how fast the Honda would be if he transplanted the heart of his Kawasaki motorcycle into the engine bay of his little Honda. With four decades now behind him since then and seemingly with a lot more free time on his hands, John got to work purchasing the two vehicles again and Frankenstein the two together.
With custom motor mounts installed by literally cutting the car in two and mounting the hardware before fusing the two halves back together, the level of craftsmanship needed to make this swap happen begs belief. The entire subframe is also custom-fabricated. A DIY-modified Mazda Miata rear subframe now constitutes the rear end of this creation. All in all, the mish-mash of modern Mazda and Honda, this engine's 120 horsepower and 85 torques, plus its lightweight disposition makes this a candidate for one of the fastest N600 restomods out there.
Its positively microscopic two-cylinder engine might've been laughable by American standards of the day. But with the ability to rev to 9000 RPM, it was actually North America's casual introduction to the bespoke Japanese philosophy of building engines. In that same vein, the Kawasaki Z1300 was a distinctly Japanese approach to designing a big, powerful motorcycle engine. With 78.5-cubic inches (1,286 cc) of displacement and six cylinders in an inline formation, the Z1300's engine might as well be a big block V8 muscle car engine compared to most Japanese motorcycles, let alone the puny stock engine in an N600.
So the story goes, John Brown purchased a different 1970 N600 and Kawasaki KZ1300 back in the 1980s. For years after the fact, he wondered how fast the Honda would be if he transplanted the heart of his Kawasaki motorcycle into the engine bay of his little Honda. With four decades now behind him since then and seemingly with a lot more free time on his hands, John got to work purchasing the two vehicles again and Frankenstein the two together.
With custom motor mounts installed by literally cutting the car in two and mounting the hardware before fusing the two halves back together, the level of craftsmanship needed to make this swap happen begs belief. The entire subframe is also custom-fabricated. A DIY-modified Mazda Miata rear subframe now constitutes the rear end of this creation. All in all, the mish-mash of modern Mazda and Honda, this engine's 120 horsepower and 85 torques, plus its lightweight disposition makes this a candidate for one of the fastest N600 restomods out there.
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