The 11th annual All Japanese Car Show ‘n Shine on Sunday at Gyro Park in Cadboro Bay will get many auto enthusiasts revved up for the start of summer. The show, which began in 2005 with roughly 60 entries, is preparing for over 350 vehicles this year.
The show is open to all makes and models of Japanese cars, trucks and motorcycles. As space may be limited, organizers suggest coming early to assure entrance. Classics from the late ’60’s and early ’70s will be on display next to the high-performance machines of today. Entries vary from show cars to rat rods, beaters to works-in-progress projects. Registration fee for entries at the gate is $20. Admission to the public is free.
Trophies will be awarded for the top three entries in stock and modified categories. In addition, the “Manufacturer’s Awards” sponsored by Victoria’s local Japanese car dealerships will be given for the best Nissan, Honda, Toyota, Subaru, Mazda and Mitsubishi selected in the show.
This year Campus Nissan is displaying a special 1972 Datsun 510 at the show that was originally purchased that same year by longtime Victoria resident Sadie McArthur. She traded this Datsun 510 in at Victoria Nissan in the late ’80s as she needed a vehicle with power steering.
Before agreeing to the deal, McArthur got dealership owner Dick Graham to promise he’d never sell or alter her original 510, so the car has sat in Campus Nissan’s showroom since then with just over 16,000 original miles on the clock. For years afterward, McArthur visited her beloved car at the dealership showroom. Now tuned up with rubber belts and hoses replaced, McArthur’s original Datsun 510 will be featured in this year’s All Japanese Show ‘n Shine just as it came off the assembly line in February 1972.
Gates for show entry registration are open from 9 to 11 a.m. on a first-come, first-served basis. The show is open to the public from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Food and washrooms are available on site, with food concessions for breakfast and lunch provided by the Optimists Club.
The 2016 All Japanese Show ‘n Shine is organized and presented by the Vancouver Island Datsun Enthusiasts car club.