Written by Anson Hsu
Photography by Ani

Name: Scott King
Location: Palm Springs, CA
Age: unknown
Cars: S600 Roadster & S600 Coupe

The Honda make is often neglected when it comes to the classic car scene.  In an arena filled with domestics, Scott King of Palm Springs, California, holds fast to his love of Hondas.  His love for Honda began with his first car, purchased at the age of 15 – a 1972 Honda N600. 
Today, he turns heads with the display of two fully restored Honda S600’s: a coupe and a roadster.  Wired on Honda’s fearless leader met King at the Japanese Classic Car Show.  We were able to track down Scott and ask him few questions about his cars:

• Q: Why did you decide to modify this particular make/model?  Is there a story behind it?

A:    I am a huge admirer of Honda.  My first car was one of the first Hondas to be sold in the United States.  There were other Hondas not sold here that I had heard about.  Wow! A Honda convertible – that sounds great to me!   So for many years I looked but never found one.  They are quite rare not only because they were never sold in the US, but also because only about 11,000 Roadsters and 1,800 Coupes were produced for worldwide sales.  Very few have survived over the years.  It is interesting to note that the S600 Roadster was Hondas first automobile to be exported from Japan.  In fact the Honda S Roadster was Hondas first passenger car!  So you can understand that the S600 is a special car and deserved to be restored properly, preserved and shared

• Q: What was the biggest challenge/obstacle during the build?

A:  Parts!  No parts are available from Honda.  If it wasn’t for the internet it would be nearly impossible to own and maintain the cars.  I have friends literally from all over the world.  We all help each other the best we can.  When Mr. Honda was living he had a directive that parts should be available for all the products his company had produced.  A noble philosophy but not practical as over the years millions of Honda products have been produced and sold.  To inventory spare parts for all of them doesn’t make good business sense.  So when Mr. Honda passed away, obsolete parts from worldwide inventories were eliminated.  It was a sad time for folks like me who have vintage models.

• Q: So what about the S600 coupe?

A:   I found the S600 Coupe on Ebay.  I had the knowledge gained from the Roadster restoration and some spare parts to help restore the Coupe. 

• Q: Was this build an individual project?  What shops were involved?

A:  It was mostly an individual project.  Formula H Motorworks in New York helped with some mechanical rebuilds/repairs that were over my head mostly via FedEx, email and phone. GTA Auto Metal Works in Orange CA did the rust repairs and body work and Olympic Powder Coating in Santa Ana, CA coated the frame and various parts.

• Q: What, about your car, are you most proud of?

• What advice would you have for someone interested in doing what you do?

A:  With regard to owning a vintage Honda, or any older car is find the best example you can.  Paint, bodywork and mechanical repairs are very expensive as are spare parts if you can find them.  Best to find a good car and pay extra up front and enjoy the car sooner than buying someone's aborted project and sinking a fortune into a restoration that you won't have road-time with for perhaps many years.  You are money ahead buying a good car up front.  Running or not shy away from rusty cars.  You don't want to go there!

We recommend that you dig a little deeper for some information on vintage Honda’s.  There are new surprises around every corner…or you can find Scott.  Scott King and his two S600’s are a great example of what it means to truly be Wired on Honda. 

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Exterior/Interior: Roadster: Ivory White, interior Red. Coupe: Scarlet – code R-2 vintage Honda red, Interior: Black


Engine: 4-cylinder, 606cc (37.2 cu in), bore 54.4 mm (2.15 in), stroke 65 mm (2.56 in) 4-stroke, water-cooled, in-line, inclined 45°, compression ratio 9.5:1, 4-carburettor, DOHC, pressure oil pump lubricated roller bearing crankshaft journals and big end

Suspension: 4-wheel independent. (Front) Wishbone, ball joint, torsion bar with hydraulic double-action telescopic shock absorbers. (Rear) Coil springs with hydraulic single-action telescopic shock absorbers

Wheels/tires/brakes: 13” steel wheels  with hubcaps / original tires were bias-ply with tubes – whitewalls were standard.  My car has 145 13 radials. Unfortunately they are blackwalls as no proper whitewalls were available. / brakes are 4-wheel drum with finned aluminum covers for cooling.

Numbers:  57-HP @ 8,500 rpm, torque 37.6 ft-lb @ 5,500 rpm, redline 9,500 RPM