A 26-year-old Geminist introduces his beloved “Gemini ZZ”
Do you remember Isuzu’s first generation PF60 “Gemini ZZ”? The “ZZ,” which specialized in driving, was once known as the “restive horse” and attracted attention as a hot model that symbolized the era when motorsports began to flourish. We interviewed Mr. “Gemini mag,” who owns five such Gemini ZZs, including one that he bought for parts.
He owns five Gemini ZZs
The first-generation Isuzu “Gemini ZZ” was equipped with the “G180” engine, a high-power unit electronically controlled based on the DOHC engine of the “117 Coupe. It has long been loved by many fans, and the people who operated it were called “Geminists” at the time.
The man introduced here, Mr. “Gemini mag,” is also a genuine Geminist who loves the first-generation PF60 Gemini ZZ. When asked about his current age, he replied that he was just 26 years old. He is a well-known person among Gemini enthusiasts, and is so in love with first-generation Geminis that he owns five of them, including one that he bought for parts. He tells us why he got so absorbed in the first-generation Gemini ZZ.
“I happened to see a first-generation Gemini in town that looked really cool.”
As it happened, he did some research on the car and decided to buy it. When he told his father that he was thinking of buying the car, he was surprised to be told, “I used to drive the same model Gemini once upon a time.”
At this moment, the first-generation Gemini ZZ became his favorite car. And since there were not many of them on the used car market, he searched for one through private sales and received a precious one from a person who lived in the same prefecture. At the time, old cars were not as expensive as they are now, so the cost was only about 500,000 yen. Incidentally, when he checked the current market price, he found that it easily exceeded 2 million yen, depending on the condition of the car, so he can only say that he was lucky.
Remodeled into an early model with two round eyes
The specifications of this first-generation Gemini ZZ differed slightly by model, with the ZZ-T equipped with air conditioning and a car stereo for general use, the ZZ-L with enhanced luxury equipment, and the ZZ-R used as a competition base as a real sports model.
The car purchased by Mr. “Gemini mag” was a ZZ-R, which was formerly used as a gymkhana vehicle. Looking at the front mask, it seems to be an early model, as it has two round headlights, and the year is 1982. According to past data, the first Gemini introduced in 1974 had round 2-light headlights, but they were changed to square 2-light headlights in 1977.
After a minor change in 1979, when the front end was slant-nosed, only the sporty models reverted to the two round eyes, but in 1981, all cars changed to the two atypical square headlights. Therefore, Mr. “Gemini mag”‘s 1982 model should have two square headlights. When I asked him about this, he told me that the front mask had been changed to the earlier model.
“The first Gemini I saw on the street was an early model, so I dared to replace the grille with an early model grille, and I used the round eye two-light headlight specification.”
Full of parts that Geminists adore
Mr. “Gemini mag” owns five Geminis, and his car, which he is most particular about, is loaded with other parts that Gemini enthusiasts would love to have.
The maniacal exterior, which Gemini enthusiasts will recognize, is equipped with a racing spoiler made by Speed Garage G5, which was said to be the only aero parts available at the time, in addition to the front face for the previous model year. In addition, the side mirrors are genuine Opel “Cadet” mirrors, the Gemini’s sibling.
The rear combination lights are similar to those of the Mercedes-Benz 190, and are the Australian version of the Holden Gemini. The set also includes a Restored hood and a trunk panel that the owner made himself.
Adopted standard tuning methods of the time
The engine has been tuned to the standard specifications that were popular at the time. The standard unit, a 1.8L inline 4-cylinder DOHC engine, was replaced with an engine with an oil cooler for the earlier model at the time because it had a stronger oil pump and higher oil pressure. Based on this engine, pistons for the G200W engine of the “Piazza” were installed and the engine was converted to a 2L engine. The head was also surface polished, ported, and fitted with a high cam.
The throttle body is a large bore, and is used for the limited edition rally specials, which are more efficient. The exhaust system is a one-off 4-2-1 exhaust manifold, Piazza stock catalytic converter, and Fujitsubo RM-01 muffler.
Although it is possible to evolve the machine to a higher performance machine through tuning, Mr. “Gemini mag” dared to use the standard tuning methods of the time, valuing the feeling of that era. He enjoys tinkering with his car based on the approach of using used parts.
Currently, he is addicted to making FRP parts and is in the process of learning how to do so. He started by restoring a front bumper that had become difficult to obtain, but once he got into it, the molding process became interesting, and he is now skilled enough to make a variety of parts. He hopes to become even better at this and create original parts for the first-generation Gemini that will also serve as restorations.
Mr. “Gemini mag” has a first-generation Gemini ZZ-R that has been tuned too maniacally, and he also has another car that he is restoring, which he says is also being modified to more extreme driving specifications. We hope to have the chance to interview him again.
