1991 Hinode Carrier Super Deluxe "AHOY!"
The Story
Yokosuka, 1974
It was a bright summer’s day, a young couple and their daughter visited the Mikasa museum ship. The daughter was rather excited, running about the ship and admiring its many features. An hour later, the family left the ship. Looking back at the Mikasa, the daughter told her parents,
“I want a ship like that. I’m gonna sail the seven seas and rule the oceans!”
Her parents laughed it off, of course. She’s still a child after all. But the daughter knew that she wanted to rule the seas one day, no matter the cost.
Susono, 1993
Misato (not her real name) is a nun serving at a local church on the hillsides of Susono, Japan. Some say that before she started to spread the word of God, she had been an idol, performing in several concerts. However, she left the business several years ago due to unknown reasons. Only God knows why, and only He knows if the rumours are even true.
The church where she served was a rather modest one, with a handful of pews and a confession booth. Still, the church had a decent amount of visitors, even if they were mostly old people. As the years went by, however, some of them stopped showing up. Eventually, nobody came to mass. But the old priest and Misato kept the church running, perhaps waiting for a visitor.
But just like the other regulars, the time had come for the old priest. He died of natural causes one evening with no one but Misato by his deathbed. Before he died, however, the priest gave Misato a pair of keys.
“When I finally return to the Father, open the cabinet in my office.” he said, “What’s in there is yours, please use it the way you see fit. You’re still quite young, Misato. I appreciate all that you’ve given to your church, but you should go out there and pursue your dreams.”
“Dreams, huh?” Misato thought.
Misato stood in front of a wooden cabinet in the priest’s office. She inserted the key and opened the door. Misato was surprised. All this time, the priest had been living a very modest life, donating the church’s earnings to charity and only keeping what is necessary for food and utilities. Yet the cabinet is filled to the brim with stacks of bills. Misato took one bundle out.
“Good Lord.” she thought, “They’re all 10,000 yen bills!”
Closing and locking the cabinet, Misato sat on the priest’s chair to collect her thoughts. The cabinet could easily contain tens of millions of yen. But what to do with all that money? On one hand, Misato wanted to give the money to charity, to help others in need. But the priest’s dying words weight heavily on her. What were her dreams? What does she want to achieve? Was it fame? Money? Well, she has that now. And then she remembered her time at the Mikasa, with its impressive guns, funnels, and hinomaru flag.
“Not even this much money can get me a ship like that!” she chuckled.
Misato was still confused on what to do with the money and so to help her decide, Misato exited the office and went towards the driveway where a car was parked, covered in tarp. She removed the tarp, revealing a 1991 Hinode Carrier Super Deluxe that one of the wealthy churchgoers (who stopped visitng just a few months after that) donated for the church’s use. The van had a top-of-the-line 3.4l 6-cylinder engine and AWD, along with a 5-speed manual transmission and a posh interior. Just a few years ago, Misato would drive the priest and the churchgoers to religious events but the van was driven less and less as the visitors dwindled.
Misato opened the door (which, remarkably, was unlocked) and turned the ignition on for the first time in a few months before driving towards the mountains.
When Misato first signed up to serve at the church, she swore that she would dedicate her life to serving others in stark contrast to the selfish nature of her previous job. She was happy to serve God, but she felt like something was missing in her life. After a few hours of driving on the winding mountain roads, Misato decided to stop for a drink. She had expected the rest area to be empty, but that night there were a group of modified sports cars and their owners socializing.
“Street racers, huh?” Misato thought.
Misato exited her car and walked towards the parked cars, inspecting the lot. There were many different cars, including a Quezon Laguna, Hinode MID2, Homura GT2000i SAV just to name a few. As Misato looked around, one of the drivers noticed her and called her out.
“Hey!” the driver called.
Misato, having little interaction with people younger than her, jumped in shock.
“Wanna join us tonight?” the driver asked, “Don’t worry miss, we’re only here to have fun driving!”
“O-oh sorry b-but I have other things t-to attend to!” Misato stammered, backing off from the driver.
“Come on, miss!” the driver said, “It’s just a short drive! It’ll be fun! Besides, don’t you think that your ordinary life is boring?”
Then it hit Misato. Sure, she was happy. But her life was boring! All she did was clean the church and run a few errands for the priest. She served others, but never herself. Maybe, just maybe, street racing can bring her the thrill that she needed in her life.
“You know, actually, can I join you?” Misato asked.
“Sure!” the driver replied, “Come, I’ll show you to my car.”
The driver guided Misato to his modified 1982 Hinode Capeta. It had a lip and a wing up back, and had considerably bigger and wider wheels than the Capetas that Misato normally saw. The insides were stripped and the seats were horrible. But Misato bore with it, hoping to see if street racing could satisfy her need for thrill.
And without ado, the Capeta headed towards the exit and began its run though the mountain pass. The driver and his Capeta did just about anything a normal car shouldn’t: it went at speeds a few times above the limit, dove into corners, and sometimes even slid, screeching the tyres and leaving marks on the road. It was terrifying. It was nauseating. Misato could’ve died that night, but she loved it. This was it. This was the thrill that was missing from her life in the church.
The Capeta returned to the rest area and parked back at its previous spot.
“Phew!” the driver exclaimed, “That was fun! How was it for you, miss?”
Misato was hyperventilating in excitement with a big wide grin on her and a blush on her face.
“Ten years I served the Lord.” Misato said excitedly, “And I have never been this excited, ever.”
“Well, that’s great to hear!”
“I thought that I should continue my life serving Him and spreading the gospel… But this… This is the way forward for me!”
Misato unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the door.
“Thanks for the ride, young man! I know exactly what to do with my life now!”
Misato exited the car and ran straight to the van, much to the bewilderment of the driver. And with that, Misato fiinally knew what to do with her life going forward: drive fast cross the mountain passes and conquer Japan’s roads.
Misato drove back to the church to rest for the night. The next morning, she took some of the preist’s money and drove to a local garage, intending to turn the van to a lean and mean street racing machine. The owner of the garage was bewildered by the idea and is concerned about Misato’s lack of experience, but he believed in the idea and decided to build the car while teaching Misato how to properly handle it. Misato learned quickly and practiced almost every night. By early 1994, Misato had learned the ropes and was doing quite decently for a van on the mountain passes.
The Car
The Carrier has been modified extensively for the touge. The body panels, for instance, were replaced with fiberglass parts to reduce weight. Misato also removed the rear seats and entertainment systems from the back of the van (although she kept the radio and the speakers up front) and replaced the driver’s seat with a racing-style bucket seat.
To help move the stripped box, Misato slapped a turbo onto the 3.4l 6-cylinder engine which now produces 460hp which is sent to all four wheels. The brakes were also enlarged to help stop the car and the suspension was lowered and stiffened to help the Carrier corner better. An aerodynamic bodykit was also installed to help provide downforce. Being a van, however, the Carrier still retained its solid rear axle and body-on-frame construction which isn’t particularly common for cars on the touge.
The dull-looking van was resprayed maroon, with gold accent and gold wheels. Misato also applied heart logos and AHOY! decals onto the car. When asked where the logo came from, she only said “Wait another 26 years”, whatever that may mean.
These upgrades were not cheap, but it was most certainly a good way to spend the money that the priest left Misato with. And of course, it brought the excitement that Misato had been missing in the past few years.
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