Unique styling with the front panel and seats mounted on a flat loading area
Let us introduce the Honda Vamos mechanism. The base vehicle is the TN360, a cab-over-engine truck (more precisely the TN III 360, which was slightly modified in January 1970). It had a monocoque frame, unusual for a truck, and the engine, transaxle-type transmission & differential, and even the suspension were mounted on this monocoque using a subframe.
Vamos added a front panel to this flat monocoque frame, and mounted two seats in one row or four seats in two rows. The front suspension was the same MacPherson strut independent suspension used on the TN360 and N360, but the rear suspension was a de-Dion axle type as the drive shaft came out of the transaxle type differential. This type was leaf spring suspended.
The engine was the same TN360E as the TN360 and the maximum power of 30 hp was the same. There were three variants: the two-seater Honda Vamos-2, the four-seater Honda Vamos-4, and the Honda Vamos-Full Convertible, which had the soft top of the Honda Vamos-4 extended to the very end of the body.
The soft top covered the roof and rear of the car, but there were no doors; a protective tube was fitted instead. Although the law at the time only required the driver’s seat to be fitted with a seat belt, Vamos fitted seat belts to all seats.
Roll bars were also fitted to the backs of the front seats to protect the occupants in the event of a fall. There was also a spare tire mounted on the front of the car to act as a shock absorber in the event of a collision.
I once had a friend’s Vamos parked outside my house over 30 years ago. It was interesting to see two “hobby cars” together, a Vamos and a first-generation Life 4-door with AT.
However, today’s diverse trends in automobiles have made it possible to understand Vamos. When I saw the FAF Beach Cruiser exhibited by Forest Auto Factory at the Tokyo Auto Salon in January 2022, I was amazed and said, “Well, this is good”.
Honda Vamos was the model that came too early. Even if it had been released today, I would not have been able to own it because I am now 60, too old.
