I've been a bit slack about putting brochures up and recently have concentrated on Bellett-era Florians.
And today is no different! This brochure features an early-model Florian on the front of the brochure and it takes pride of place inside, then the brochure moves into the entire range, both passenger and commercial. There are some great shots of the 1960's trucks, plus an awesome photo of a Florian, a PR91 Bellett GT, the square-headlight Bellett range (unsure if any of them are Bellett B's - the tails aren't visible), however the freakiest thing is the Subaru 1000 parked proudly in the middle of them.
It WAS a mystery, however Bellett.net user Isuzu117 gave us an interpretation of the text on that page, which explains a dealer-based tie-in between the two marques.
First up the cover, with the original Isuzu Florian lurking in the grass on a misty morning, the headlights cutting a swathe of light through the wilderness. Anyone who's driven a Florian will appreciate just how far their headlights will penetrate, which can be up to 30cm on a clear day with no mist.
- 1967 Isuzu Florian and Isuzu range brochure - 01.jpg (59.64 KiB) Viewed 105602 times
Pages 2 and 3 show a double page of the early model Florian, resplendent in full, reflective-chromey wheel covers (rather than the later brushed stainless look) and white walls. Inset are a couple of pics of the Florian doing its thing in the real world.
- 1967 Isuzu Florian and Isuzu range brochure - 02-03.jpg (94.41 KiB) Viewed 105606 times
Pages 4 and 5 show another double spread, this time with a full-width illustration of the oblongified Florian dashboard, which served basically unchanged through the first and second generation, then our white Florian lurking again, plus photos of the seating options; bucket and bench.
- 1967 Isuzu Florian and Isuzu range brochure - 04-05.jpg (102.63 KiB) Viewed 105704 times
Page 6 shows a square-headlighted Bellett deluxe. Although hard to determine, the rear bootline from this angle appears too tapered to be the square-arsed Bellett B model, despite the B-headlights. It seemed Isuzu started putting these lights on all models as well as the original dual headlight arrangements, and if anybody knows why, that would be great.
Further down the page is a grainy B&W shot of a PR90 race car.
- 1967 Isuzu Florian and Isuzu range brochure - 06.jpg (83.57 KiB) Viewed 105603 times
The next page includes the first of two different lots of side-on diagrams. This includes some vehicles of interest including the PR91G Isuzu Bellett GT Fastback, the regular Bellett sedans as well as two diagrams of the PR40 and PRD30 Isuzu Bellett B in both petrol and diesel respectively, as well as the KR10V Bellett Express. Whew there some rare stuff there!
- 1967 Isuzu Florian and Isuzu range brochure - 07.jpg (96.03 KiB) Viewed 105597 times
Pages 8 and 9 are the last of the double-spreads, and this one includes the aforementioned Subaru 1000, the bug-eyed sedan sitting proudly amongst both square and round-headlighted Belletts, a PR91 Bellett GT and an Isuzu Florian in the foreground.
Bellett.net user Isuzu117 was awesome enough to interpret the text on this page (see below), which reveals the mystery of why the Subaru is amongst the Isuzus. Translation is as follows:
"This mark is a symbol of the strength of Isuzu Motors and Fuji Heavy Industries. You can buy a Bellett or a Subaru 1000 at dealers who display this mark. You can also have your Bellett or Subaru 1000 serviced at garages which display this mark. The red circle symbolises leadership in Japanese motorisation. The blue outline symbolises the strength of friendship and co-operation between Isuzu Motors and Fuji Heavy Industries."
- 1967 Isuzu Florian and Isuzu range brochure - 08-09.jpg (81.93 KiB) Viewed 105593 times
The rest of the brochure is dedicated to Isuzu's commercial vehicles. Pages 10 and 11 show the light duty Isuzu Lite Elf. The hubcaps would be familiar to Isuzu Wasp or Chevrolet LUV or Isuzu KB owners, as would the ribbing of the factory tray.
- 1967 Isuzu Florian and Isuzu range brochure - 10.jpg (70.05 KiB) Viewed 105592 times
- 1967 Isuzu Florian and Isuzu range brochure - 11.jpg (79.97 KiB) Viewed 105589 times
Page 12 features the ultra-bizarre Isuzu Unicab. The chassis of an Isuzu Wasp under a utilitarian Jeep-style body. The white Unicab with the canopy is the KR85 1500cc 8-seater version, with two seats up front and Toyota Landcruiser Trooper-style sideways seating for six (allegedly) in the rear. The yellow item is more of a civilian version, the KR80 with only 1300cc's and a single, forward-facing rear bench for two in addition to the two front seats.
The sun appears in other Unicab-related publications also...
- 1967 Isuzu Florian and Isuzu range brochure - 12.jpg (92.45 KiB) Viewed 105589 times
Page 13 brings us back to the earl of heavier-duty vehicles, including the suicide-doored Isuzu Elf. The large green TY-series truck is unusual not only in colour, but also in the use of small, foot-level windows not unlike a helicopter!
- 1967 Isuzu Florian and Isuzu range brochure - 13.jpg (92.63 KiB) Viewed 105583 times
Page 14 goes back into the sideways diagrams for the commercial vehicles, including the Unicab and the Wasp, as well as the Lite Elf and Elf and a long-wheelbse TY-series truck, plus a photo of one of the heavy duty Isuzu TM truck.
- 1967 Isuzu Florian and Isuzu range brochure - 14.jpg (79.1 KiB) Viewed 105578 times
Diagrams aplenty on page 15, with all sots of different machines including the TX and a short-wheelbase TX tipper, a short wheelbase TY-series, the TD-series tipper which looks quite similar to the TZX, plus a series of buses ranging in size from a Toyota Coaster-sized mini-bus to some quite long wheelbase machines, including one with a 11,044cc motor.
- 1967 Isuzu Florian and Isuzu range brochure - 15.jpg (99.27 KiB) Viewed 105578 times
The final page doesn't really help the mystery. There's no Showa date, so I've listed it as a 1967 as that is the year the early-model Florian was released and certainly the Florian appears to be featured heavily in this book. The hula-girl and "Isuzu Florian Fair" the only English words of note in this publication do nothing to clarify things!
All up though, an interesting journey with some great pictures. If only it answered more questions than it created!
