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ABOUT
THE ALSI-1 PRINCE SKYLINE |
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Here's where it all began!
The name itself comes from a few
years prior to the production of
the car.
In 1955 a moment had by the man
in charge at Prince Motor Co., looking
out over the mountains and at the
Skyline, the beauty of which struck
him and the idea for using Skyline
on a new line of cars came about.
In April of 1957, a new model
of Prince was presented to the public.
In it’s presentation were several
scenic portraits of a skyline/horizon
as well as a song that was created
solely for the launch of the car
so that people would remember the
beauty and associate it with the
car, a car which was to use the
best technology of the day. The
Prince Skyline.
So, with this… the first of the
1st Generation of Skyline had arrived.
The ALSI-1
It came in 3 core variants; The
Standard (ALSIS), the Deluxe (ALSID)
and the Export (ALSIE) variant.
The main points of difference with
these were the side trim/decor and
the level of options with which
the cars came. The dimensions and
all else stayed the same.
Details in red
need confirming, if you know whether
it is accurate or not, please let
us know!
MODELS (VERY BASICS)
ALSIS-1 Standard - 1.5
L GA30 I4, ??? hp
ALSID-1 Deluxe - ??
ALSIE-1 Export - 1.9
L GB30 I4, ??? hp
ALVGS-1 Skyway - ??
Despite common thought that the
Skyline’s were never exported to
America, one of the destinations
for the ALSIE (the E designating
it’s the Export variant) was in
fact America. Though as you could
imagine in the mid to late 50′s,
the US was quite happy with it’s
own car industry and the some 600
cars they received were likely not
well met. Though it has to be said,
this is pure speculation. Given
the size of American cars and the
price of fuel at the time, it is
doubted there would be little regard
for a smaller 1.9l, 4cyl car from
Japan.
The ALSI came in either 1500 (GA30)
or 1900 (GB30) cc’s, in both capacities
it was an over-head valve, water
cooled, push-rod, 4-cylinder, single
carburettor affair. The massive
amount of power generated from these
lethal engines was transferred through
a single dry plate clutch to a 4
speed manual column shifted gearbox
then sent spinning through the driveshaft
(which is fully enclosed) to an
independent de-Dion rear suspension
setup, large half-shafts spun the
14″ wheels and the 4ply rubber put
that power firmly to the ground.
Of course… when you wanted to stop
you’d rely on that rubber again
and the 4 wheel drum brakes to get
you to pull up in time. Which, if
you were going the top speed of
125km/h in this 1310kg car, could
well take you a good distance further
down the road than you’d expect.
The car itself was adorned with
tasteful amounts of chrome and the
use of two-tone paint in standard
release as well as optional made
sure the car had a recognizable
presence. With bench seats front
and rear, seating capacity was 6,
though the interior was fairly spartan
it came in a variety of colours
and materials. The dash showed only
that which was required for casual
motoring; speedo, fuel and water
temp guages with lights for the
generator and oil pressure should
they start performing sub par. A
clock was located toward the centre
of the car and the radio (if optioned)
beneath that. Of course, a cigar
lighter and ashtray was also part
of the dash layout.
As was the case with most cars
of the time, the use of chrome was
high. Bumpers were a large and prominent
feature of both front and rear.
Main
thanks: www.retro-classics.co.nz
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INFORMATION - IN BRIEF |
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PRODUCTION
- 1957 to 1958
ENGINES
1.5 L GA30, I4
1.9 L GB30, I4
BODY STYLES
4-door sedan
5-door wagon
TRANSMISSIONS
4-speed manual
LAYOUTS
Front engine, rear-wheel drive
WHEELS
14"
ASSEMBLY
Mitaka, Japan
RELATED TO
Prince Skyway
Prince Gloria
Prince Miler
DESIGNER
Takuya Himura
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