Isuzu Bellett: the first Japanese GT

The Isuzu Bellett is a subcompact car that Isuzu built between 1963 and 1973. It replaced the Isuzu Hillman Minx, which Isuzu had assembled under licence from the Rootes Group, and it was sold as a four-door or two-door sedan, a two-door estate called the Bellett Express, a one-ton commercial model called the Isuzu Wasp, the simplified Bellett B and a range of coupés. A total of 170,737 Belletts were made.

Isuzu Bellett at a glance

based on one source (English Wikipedia)

History of the Isuzu Bellett

The sedan

The Bellett was launched in June 1963 as a sedan with a 1.5-litre OHV petrol engine and a 1.8-litre diesel; the diesel gave only 50 PS and was geared so low that top speed was 104 km/h. In April 1964 the 1.3-litre OHC engine already used in the Wasp pickup was added, along with the three-door Express van and estate. A facelift in 1966 revised the front, the Bellett B was introduced and, at the very end of the year, a 1.6-litre SOHC engine arrived for the 1600 GT. A second facelift in 1971 also brought the end of the diesel Belletts.

Exports and assembly abroad

The Bellett was the first Isuzu exported to Europe, with a thousand cars shipped to Finland in January 1965; it was also the first Japanese car regularly imported into Sweden, and between 1963 and 1967 it was imported in small numbers to the West Coast of the United States and Hawaii by the Trans-Alpac Corporation. Exports to Canada began in March 1965 and Canadian assembly in 1968. A 1.6-litre sedan was assembled in New Zealand by Campbell Industries at Thames from 1968 to 1970 under the rules that encouraged local assembly of up to 300 cars a year, and Francisco Motors of Las Piñas in the Philippines built the car under licence from 1965 to 1974.

GT and GT-R

The Bellett GT, launched in April 1964, was a two-door coupé 40 mm lower than the sedan with a twin-carburettor 1.6-litre engine, and it was the first Japanese car to be billed as a GT. A 1.5-litre GT, front disc brakes and a fastback body followed, and in late 1966 the 90 PS SOHC 1.6-litre was added. The GT-R of September 1969 was a racing version also sold to private customers: it used the 1.6-litre twin-cam engine from the 117 Coupé, had power brakes and was distinguished by a completely black bonnet. About 1,400 GT-Rs were made and the model won many races. In 2006 readers of the Japanese magazine Nostalgic Hero ranked it among the country’s favourite collector cars.

Bellett B

The Bellett B of November 1966 was a simplified version for commercial use, mainly as a taxi. It had its own squared rear bodywork and a live rear axle on leaf springs instead of the independent rear suspension, and it used wide rectangular headlights rather than twin round units. A down-specced private version, the Bellett Special, followed in 1969.

Design and features

• First Japanese GT: the 1964 Bellett GT gave the badge its first Japanese use.
• Racing GT-R: twin-cam engine, black bonnet and about 1,400 cars built.
• Many bodies: saloon, coupé, Express estate, Wasp pickup and taxi-oriented Bellett B.
• Early export success: Finland, Sweden and the American West Coast within two years of launch.

Isuzu Bellett versions

• Sedan (1963–1973): the standard car in four- and two-door form.
• Express: three-door estate and van.
• Wasp: one-ton commercial pickup.
• Bellett B (1966): simplified taxi version with leaf-spring rear axle.
• GT (1964) and GT-R (1969): the sporting coupés.
• Bellett Special (1969): cheaper private version of the B.

The Bellett was replaced by the Gemini, and its GT-R used the twin-cam engine of the 117 Coupé. Its larger relative was the Bellel, and more models are in the Isuzu collection.

Video: Isuzu Bellett – Shannons Club TV – Episode 14

Video by Shannons Insurance on YouTube.

Sources

• Isuzu Bellett, English Wikipedia: history, versions, export assembly