Personally, I didn't go out to purchase a Cosmo for myself. The thinking was just to see what came in during normal DMRH importing business & decide from the available stock. This particular Cosmo was shown to me by one of the DMRH agents in Japan back in 2002. The statistics for the car was a 95-model with 24,000km. Normally, the price for a Cosmo such as this would be around the Y1M - Y1.5M area. This would equate to a AU$40K Cosmo on the roads here in Oz & way outside the budgets of any buyer. However, I was in luck. The auction details said "turbo problem" but the agent reported the engine started easily & reved properly. It had a starting price of just Y200K so I decided to go for it.

Later that day, I got the call from the agent to say the car was mine for the bargain price of Y220K. With the agents fee added, this made it Y300K. This was the price DMRH usually payed for the cheaper, more worn out 90-model Cosmo's. Now, I just had to hope the car could be fixed at a reasonable cost to justify the risk taken. The Japanese workshops dont know the intricate parts to these cars so nobody wanted to touch it allowing me to pick up a bargain (hopefully)

The Cosmo arrived in Sydney several weeks later & we began to clean it up. Here is a shot of the car just outside the DMRH shop. It drove exceptionally well (like new) & apart from your typical Japanese smokers stench that most import cars come with the "Type-SX" interior was in excellent condition & felt almost like new. Spotting the potential, I knew this car would be my personal one. It was simply that-good.

Having driven nearly 80 JC Cosmo's before this one came along, I knew it was nearly new with the suspension, steering & brakes all above anything else that had come before it. No modifications where installed on this car as the Japanese owner was (apparently) a middle aged guy & this was his company car. Now, it would be my company car & registered in the DMRH name (initially).

As stated, the interior was in very good condition & I liked how easily it cleaned up. The whole interior was removed for the compliance process so this was a good oppurtunity to clean the Japanese smokers stench from the trim pieces. Importantly, the roof lining was removed & washed down. Amazing what a difference that made, no longer yellow stained either. Check the pic of the interior from the auction yard in Japan. Starting with something this good makes for a much better interior.

As this "Type-SX" was a series-II (94-95) version it received a woodgrain dash strip from the "Type-E.CCS" version. All other changes to the series-II where cheap & minimal as the budget just wasn't there back in 93 when they where deciding on what to update. I was thankful the optional CD player was optioned as I needed one for another Cosmo. With just 24,000km on the clock I was immediately getting good offers on the car while it sat on the shop floor. Very tempting! For the record, this Cosmo was one of just 331 sold in its final year (13B + 20B models)

The 20B engine was in excellent condition internally, however there was the "Turbo problem" to investigate. First of all was a hard core steam cleaning of the engine bay. Typical Japanese traffic jam lifestyle had reaped its toll on the underbonnet appearance & in a word it was filthy .The DMRH boys took to the task with passion & the results where impressive.

Getting into the turbo problem was next & it wasn't as bad as expected. Boost from the 1st turbo was fine, just no 2nd turbo cutting in. This cause was traced to a popped off rubber hose under the intake manifold. This hose directed boost pressure via a soleniod to the 2nd turbo actuator assisting in opening it up. Silastic & cable tie treatment fixed that ensuring it wont happen again. With both turbo's now working, the engine performed exceptionally well & was easily quicker than many other Cosmo's before it. It seemed that I had scored a bargain. The smile was growing bigger each time I touched it..