Isuzu Bellet

[Bodizephr]

Ok guys, yes yes i know that this is not a ford, but, well i do own an EF falcon so i hope thats a saving grace.

Its early early in the morning (look at the post time) and once again nightshift has me pondering various projects that are sitting around and one of them that i have in my posession is a 1966, isuzu bellet.

Anyone know what this car is? I have found people either know it or they dont. Its a 1966 1500 or 1600 model, which was given to me when i was 4 by my grandparents, i think their intention was as a first car....well you can imagine the kinda work that you need to do to a car which doesnt move for 15 years....so alas its still sitting.

Now i am 27, looking to buy a house, possible start a project car, and i am stuck with this.....hhrrmmmm....sentimental icon. I heard of a local club that is bellet specialty, but i cant get hold of anyone in the club or even find their official website, which apparently exists. Anyone know anyone who maybe affiliated with it? you know,a sisters brothers uncles gay friend???? type of association?

What do i do with this car? restore it?? a project maybe for the project thread? maybe shoehorn a I6 turbo into it or something. What to do what to do?

Suggests??

[Outbackjack]

Originally Posted by Bodizephr

Ok guys, yes yes i know that this is not a ford, but, well i do own an EF falcon so i hope thats a saving grace.

Its early early in the morning (look at the post time) and once again nightshift has me pondering various projects that are sitting around and one of them that i have in my posession is a 1966, isuzu bellet.

Anyone know what this car is? I have found people either know it or they dont. Its a 1966 1500 or 1600 model, which was given to me when i was 4 by my grandparents, i think their intention was as a first car....well you can imagine the kinda work that you need to do to a car which doesnt move for 15 years....so alas its still sitting.

Now i am 27, looking to buy a house, possible start a project car, and i am stuck with this.....hhrrmmmm....sentimental icon. I heard of a local club that is bellet specialty, but i cant get hold of anyone in the club or even find their official website, which apparently exists. Anyone know anyone who maybe affiliated with it? you know,a sisters brothers uncles gay friend???? type of association?

What do i do with this car? restore it?? a project maybe for the project thread? maybe shoehorn a I6 turbo into it or something. What to do what to do?

Suggests??

I remember those little cars. Looked a bit like a early mazda... They might well be collectable, but I reckon that they would be a real b4stard to get parts for. Probably be worth more if kept original.

[MOTIV8]

Originally Posted by Bodizephr

Anyone know what this car is? I have found people either know it or they dont. Its a 1966 1500 or 1600 model
I heard of a local club that is bellet specialty, but i cant get hold of anyone in the club or even find their official website, which apparently exists. Anyone know anyone who maybe affiliated with it?

Give 1600GT a PM as I know that he has quite a bit of involvement with the club and infact has a few of them himself (including a Wasp ute) as well as one set up as a race car that he sprints with FPV & XR Owners Club of Victoria.

Hopefully this helps....

[Bodizephr]

Motiv8 thanks. Thats what i was looking for. I have seen his website with pictures of those cars, and i did see the racing one, its pink isnt it? in one of the threads 12 months ago.

Will get in touch with him. thanks

[MOTIV8]

Originally Posted by Bodizephr

, and i did see the racing one, its pink isnt it?

No worries

May have been but quite sure that it has always been purple and yellow as per attached link....Bellet Race Car

[GXL078]

Cars like this are the reason the term "Jap crap" was invented. Its a fore runner to the Gemini. Lol at the rear wing

[Pedro]

There were a few of them racing at Oran Park in the 60's. They were always "also rans". They could never get the handling right as the independant rears used to always fold under during cornering. This caused a couple to get tired and fall over.

[Grasshoppr]

Originally Posted by xcgxl

Cars like this are the reason the term "Jap crap" was invented. Its a fore runner to the Gemini. Lol at the rear wing

I think you would be surprised how quick this car actually is! His top speed is not great but I know that at turn 1 at Sandown he can brake at or just after the 50 mt board and goes through it about 20klms faster than my Saloon car can.

No doubt your huge clunky XC would be up to the challenge :

[GXL078]

Originally Posted by BLKPhoon

I think you would be surprised how quick this car actually is! His top speed is not great but I know that at turn 1 at Sandown he can brake at or just after the 50 mt board and goes through it about 20klms faster than my Saloon car can.

No doubt your huge clunky XC would be up to the challenge :

My car is NOT clunky and would run rings around that crapper

[Grasshoppr]

XCGXL - In a straight line of course. Turned any corners on a circuit lately??? :

We have all seen your previous posts about how you hate discussions on anything other than FORDS on this forum. I hope you have had your little stab to make yourself feel better, while the rest of us understand that there are more cars out there than just Fords and most intelligent people can enjoy other makes for what they are. :

[atec77]

Originally Posted by xcgxl

Cars like this are the reason the term "Jap crap" was invented. Its a fore runner to the Gemini. Lol at the rear wing

They were a great littl car and when I raced one fitted with a capri v8 there was nothing that would touch it including the then current crop of foulcans , perhaps you might withdraw your head and get some idea ?

The 1600 cc was a go-er around town but lacked top end and thats why the car had various transplants including small v8's with great success , cornered really well and with some power did very well ( never had enought brakes though)

[GXL078]

Originally Posted by BLKPhoon

XCGXL - In a straight line of course. Turned any corners on a circuit lately??? :

We have all seen your previous posts about how you hate discussions on anything other than FORDS on this forum. I hope you have had your little stab to make yourself feel better, while the rest of us understand that there are more cars out there than just Fords and most intelligent people can enjoy other makes for what they are. :

Does Bathurst count?
I like lots of different makes of cars, even some Japanese ones.
What's a Capri V8 exactly? (I know about the SA ones)

[Seagull]

Originally Posted by xcgxl

Cars like this are the reason the term "Jap crap" was invented. Its a fore runner to the Gemini. Lol at the rear wing

Me thinks you will get quite an excited reply from 1600 Gt - not a Cortina.
Let the fun begin.

[MrFlibbles]

these isuzu belletts are good little cars if looked after! there is a club in victoria for these cars, but unless it is a gt bellett its probbly not worth much!
I have owned a few of these cars and they are alot of fun to drive! surprisingly alot of bits from other vehicles will fit them too, here in adelaide there is one with a 2ltr piazza motor in it, and have heard of some turbo ones interstate.
try looking for the bellett car club of victoria, these guys have alot of knowledge of these cars...
if not there are quite a few bellett followers in Adelaide that may be able to help you out!
these little cars were amazing in the day...

(I also have workshop manuals for these little beasts!)

[Rev28K]

Originally Posted by xcgxl

Does Bathurst count?

Are you saying that you have raced your XC at Bathurst or are you referring to the Group C's?

[Grasshoppr]

Originally Posted by Rev28K

Are you saying that you have raced your XC at Bathurst or are you referring to the Group C's?

I will place money on the later, would you agree Rev28K

Originally Posted by MrFlibbles

(I also have workshop manuals for these little beasts!)

Someone maybe interested over here in Vic for those manuals if they are the right ones!

[Rev28K]

Originally Posted by BLKPhoon

I will place money on the later, would you agree Rev28K

I don't know either of you guys or your history that's why I asked. I didn't want to wade any e-fights without knowing a bit more.

I've seen some quickish Bellets in sprints and while they never won anything they don't seem like total dogs either, the Bathurst race cars were a bit before my time.
http://www.users.bigpond.com/glennpp/belletclub.htm

A guy who used to rent my house was a total Isuzu freak - he had about 10-15 of the buggers (zz-r's, twin-cams, the later turbo FWD ones (driveline used in the Lotus Elan), etc). A decent racing history for a truck maker!

[MRJUCY]

I know a guy who had one which he drove, raced & rallied back in day & he still raves about how great a little car it was despite the lack of real grunt.

[GXL078]

Originally Posted by Rev28K

Are you saying that you have raced your XC at Bathurst or are you referring to the Group C's?

I have done a few laps of the Bathurst track as I lived there for many years.

[1600GT]

first of all, let me thank XCGXL for his obvious interest in the Bellett, and in particular, MY race car.
also, let me congratulate you on your amazing mastery of being able to type on a keyboard with heavily bandaged hands, due to your excessively bleeding knuckles caused by dragging them thru the jungle everyday...

ok, it seems you have an interest in the wing on my car in particular.
well, its there for a reason.
you see, this car does 145MPH down the front straight of Phillip Island, and only slows to 125MPH thru turn 1.
I found that, at this speed, the tail of the car is very light, and the wing has given it just enuf downforce to fix that, without effecting the speed too much.
XCGXL, i really hope you can understand this phenomonon, but i seriously doubt you do, as i'm positive your wonderful XC Falcon wouldnt even dream of such a thing...
as for your comment of 'run rings around that little crapper', well may i say that i find that a little that surprising, as quite a few well set up XA-XC race cars have been handed their own a55 by this car, and i dont see how your GXL would be any better (being a road car), let alone even on a par with them.
but, if you feel the need to try and prove your point, name the racetrack, son, and i'll gladly teach you a thing or 2....

the term 'jap crap'.... i'll have to think about that for a minute, because i just dont know how to condence (ohh, sorry, maybe thats a word you dont understand...) the fact that the XC Falcon was outdated when released, with it's fat styling and little tiny wheels that made them look like would tip over at the first roundabout you encountered (sorry, another big word...), and that the word 'performance' should have the word 'no' inserted before it when talking XC Falcon, due to them being strangled by anti-pollution regs.
maybe Ford could have made some money out of the XC range by offering a $1000 option called 'NO RUST', as i damn sure they must have been built with it, simply due to the amount of rust in every XC ever known.
ohh, and BTW (that's By The Way...), i realise your XC is rust free, but this is, no doubt, due to it being fixed 9 times already...

and for a bit of Bellett to XC relationship info...
i'm sure we all here know the name 'COLIN BOND', and of his success in the XC Falcon race cars, especially his fantastic role of backing up one Allan Moffat at Bathurst in '77.
i gather we all know that Bond also drove for Holden, specificly HDT, for about 8 years before that, including winning his 1 and only Bathurst enduro with HDT in '69 in a GTS Monaro.
well, the connection here is that Colin Bond drove factory-supported ISUZU BELLETT Sedans and GT's in rally's and circuit racing (including Bathurst) before this, in which he had many successes, which got the attention of Harry Firth, who asked Bond to join HDT in '69...
so maybe the Bellett and the XC Falcon are really cousins??
how does that sit XCGXL??
it's fine by me!!

after all this, the thing that really pi55es me off is the attitude shown here by XCGXL. is it any bl00dy wonder that the classic motoring movement struggles to get anywhere with the authorities and the wider public when we have 'enthusiasts' like this that just want to shoot everything else down bar those that have the same as what they have in the shed.
i would have thought that 'united we stand, divided we fall' would be a sensible approach, but maybe i'm wrong... after all, we should all be getting rid of every other car on the planet and all driving XC's... such amazing varitey that would be...
the simple fact is that we all have different tastes in everything, not only cars, and its this that i enjoy about our hobby the most. how boring would car shows be if there was row after row of HQ Holdens, or XY Falcons, or even, heaven forbid, Belletts...

personally, i hate VW beetles (the original ones. well, the new one is no better). i think the nickname of 'Hitler's Revenge' is justified on them.
seriously unsafe with terrible handling, no brakes, the engine in the back so it would squash you in a crash, and the fuel tank behind the dash so you had an explosion in your lap...
but do i rubbish them or their owners?? no... why??
because even though they arent my cup of tea, they are someones pride and joy, and i can relate to the time, effort, and money involved in the restroation and upkeep of them, and if someone doesnt look after them, then they will disappear, and part of our history is lost... forever.

i dont pretend to think that the Bellett is a perfect car, as it's far from it, but i am yet to see a perfect car of any kind, so please dont think that i'm 1 eyed Bellett. it's just that they are a fun little unit with a bit of work, and are outside the normal "Holden/Ford" square.

basicly, please pull your head out of your a55 XCGXL, and realise that there is room for everything and everyone, instead of wasting the time of genuine car enthusiasts.

sincerly
Brett.

[nitroman]

When I was at high school in Penrith in the mid eighties one of the teachers had an isuzu bellet that he'd hotted up with a cam/webers/headers/suspension mods and it was a ripper car. He used to light 'em up for us at the bus stop at home time and yeah it went hard!

[nos_james]

well put and 145mph thats alright man i wish i had keepet my cortinas small motors but lots of fun.

[sfr rob]

Bodizephr I think you should try and restore it back to original and try and flog it off to one of the people at Brett's Cardigan Club. Then use the money for something else, do you know what you can get for one fully restored?

[1600GT]

now that the 'unpleaseantness' is gone, i'll give some info.
also, it seems that there is quite a few people here that have had, or know someone that has had, experience with them, and the things already posted (apart for those with there heads up their a55ses...) are the normal to what im hear when i out with my cars.
if i had a dollar for every time i've heard 'i had one of these', or 'a mate had one', which is usually followed by 'and it was a great little car', or 'it would beat Holdens all day at the lights', or '... wish i still had it....', then i'd be a wealthy man!!

first question Bodizephr, but most important, is it a 4 door sedan or a 2 door GT??
reason is that the sedan was a 1500, and the GT was a 1600, so its hard to tell what it is from your original post.
there were about 15,000 sedans brought to oz, but only 290 GT's.
MOTIV8 mentioned that i do own a few, including the sedan race car, a GT, and the Wasp ute, and there were only 120 of them imported.
the club estimates there are about 200-300 sedans left, 60-ish GT's, and only 9 Wasp utes left, which makes all of them a very rare car now.
the problem is that there isnt really alot of interest in them these days, so the sedan arent worth much at all, unless they are the classic 'granny car'.
i know of a few that have been dumped simply coz nobody wanted them...
the GT is a different story. a very nice one will easily top 9-10,000 dollars, and a roughy will get a couple, if complete. the demand for them nowadays is getting bigger, and prices go with it.
my suggestion is that if u want a car to play with latter, then keep it, as good ones are getting harder to find, even with the sedans being not worth much.
parts are getting harder to find, but as Mr Flibbles wrote, some stuff from other cars does fit, but some things are a case of finding something close, and adapting, but us guys that have been around them for a while know what works and what doesnt. the only part of the dribble that XCGXL wrote about the Bellett being the Gemini's forerunner is correct, but believe it or not, they dont share very much at all. even the wheels stud pattern is different! most bits we use now are some Datsun stuff, and quite a bit of earlier Mitsubishi stuff, surprising.
also, the club keeps a good stock of parts, is always on the lookout for more, and even sources getting some stuff made.
on top of that, most of us keep sheds full of Bellett bits, simply coz they will only be hard to get as time goes by. 1 guy even has 14 cars stored away, with probably another half a dozen worth of parts in his shed. if he doesnt have it, then u wont find it!!

they respond very well to a few little mods, and most of us with GT's keep them close-ish to original, but the sedans are the most modified when we muck around. quite a few different engine and 'boxes go in without alot of work, and they can really transform it. disc brake conversions are fairly simply, and minor suspension mods are the same.

sling me a PM Bodizephr, and i can steer you the way of the club and the rest.
cheers!

[1600GT]

Originally Posted by sfr rob

[Brett's Cardigan Club.

sounds like you know them too!!
the few of us in the club that modify the daylights out of them, race and rally them, and generally dont leave them original get their feathers well ruffled!!

[sfr rob]

hahaha,

Have you got any photo's of the Bellet?

[MrFlibbles]

1600GT is that a gtr bellett in your avatar???

[MrFlibbles]

also trying to wrangle a 1964 bellett sedan of a mate who bought it an dthen let it sit in his drive for a year...

[1600GT]

Originally Posted by sfr rob

Have you got any photo's of the Bellet?

yep.
i just copied this from another site i go on from time to time.
thought u might want to see all of them.

Car is a 1967 Isuzu Bellett Sedan. Now has a 1.8 Gemini engine (2.0 going in soon...), webers, head work, big cam, electronic ignition, nice exhaust, 5 speed box, locker diff, 4 wheel discs, ton of suspension work.... u get the idea!!





The pink rocker cover is to keep my 4yo daughther happy. She wanted a pink race car, but I said 'NO WAY!!!'. Had to give in some how I suppose.

interior, boot, front and rear brakes.
as you will see, not much original Bellett is left.




ok, now just remember while looking at the brakes, that even tho Bellett GT had disc front and drum rear from standard, the sedans were ****y little 8" drums ALL ROUND!!. then you'll understand just how much work was in the 4 wheel disc conversion....




as u can see, just about every damn piece on it is modified in some way.
the main prob. with these things is that because no-one really races them, or modifies them to this extent, that most of the mods are really 'try this, try that'.
also, unlike a Datsun, where every model is interchangable with the next for parts, the Bellett shares absolutely NOTHING with a Gemini, let alone anything else. this means that trying something different means finding something that's close, then adapting it to fit....
one of the pleasures of owning weird-*** cars i guess....


-------------------------------------------------------

my Wasp ute (tray back)
it's a 1967 Isuzu Wasp. i found 2 of these in 1994. 1 in ballarat, the other in albury, and built 1 out of the 2.

most of the stuff used was out of the albury car (as it was complete), but the ballarat car was garaged it's whole life, so the bits off it were in better condition.
as a matter of interest, the albury car had been sitting a cow paddock for 10 odd years, and the moo-ers were using it as a scratching post, so u can imagine how bad it was!!
(i'll post the pics of it when i can find them and scan them.)

the build took 9 months, and was finished in august 1994. and yes, that IS 12 year old paint...

it now has a 2.0 DOHC with twin 45mm webers, a 5 speed DOHC box, rodeo disc brake front end, the list goes on...
all the panels, bagdes, grille are original. chrome around the windscreen and door frames is Bellett sedan. front bumper is Bellett too (Wasp one is ugly as s*#t!!) wheels are 15x7.


tray is custom made by my old man and myself. uses 1978 Ford LTD tailights, and polished alloy checker plate floor. roll bar is just exhaust pipe (only for show). ohh, colour is Ford 'Monza Green' off XY GT Falcons.


*edit 13/12/05*
here's the engine bay and interior.




*edit 13/12/05*
and here's some more GT pics
this is a good mates 68 GT. this is the same model as mine.
and no, metallic grey wasn't the only colour they came in, but it was the most popular. mine is/was originally white, but will finish up as the same as the GT40 Ford 'Gulf' blue that was used at Le Mans.




the engine bay is a bit dirty in this pic, but u get the general idea...




OK, here's my GT, as it sits now. u can see that the resto has started, but there's still a looooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggggg way to go. and yes, it was complete when i got it, so parts are no prob.

[1600GT]

Originally Posted by MrFlibbles

1600GT is that a gtr bellett in your avatar???

sure is!! well spotted.

now they are the Bellett to have... but unfortunately, we never got them.