Can It Be Saved, Thrashed 1992 Daihatsu Hijet, This Thing Needs Love.
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- Опубліковано 8 вер 2024
- I was looking for a side by side utv for the camp but they were very expensive, then l came across these small trucks from Japan. this one was dirt cheap, yeah there was a reason, lets find out if this one can be saved,
Wasn’t this just on marketplace? Hah I thought about buying it. Now I get to see it without having to spend anything. Thanks Mustie!!
Got an engine story you'll appreciate. I took a gas powered pump that my Grampa was gonna scrap. It turned free, had spark, but no compression. Valves were clean and moving. The engine had been sitting on a dock in Ontario cottage country, where it gets to -25C in winter. Turned out the rings had seized in the grooves on the piston over winter, the engine warmed but the rings did not expand back out.... I sprayed some oil on the rings and actually heard them ping when they let go. That pump is still running strong.
Worked in a garden centre in Scotland in the early 90s, and we had one of the panel van versions (and not limited to 20mph, had it up to 65 on the motorway) for delivering flowers etc locally... Winter we threw a few backs of compost in the back to help hold it down in winds. Running it with 1/2 pallet of sacks of compost to deliver to a customer was challenging, uphill (downhill was pure scary).... and at 6'4" it was a tight fit.
Pan loaf on wheels I lifted one from the back and turned it around one day lol
You got them with diesels in them as well.
Drove a 90's Suzuki Samurai for work. That's a Jeep lookalike as drawn by a seven year old, only shorter, higher and not as wide. The front seats were child sized and the back seat was a cosmetic joke. No one could sit there for more than a few minutes without it becoming painful, and that was if you could even fit there It had a ridiculous excuse for an engine, I'm guessing 40HP, leaf springs all around, drum brakes and the aerodynamics of a drunken bumblebee trailing a parachute. The high center of gravity and the short and narrow wheelbase made it prone to tipping over and the worthless suspension made it wobble all over the place if there were anything resembling a hint of side wind.
Taking that up over 65 was a scary experience. Not only was it dangerous but it also was incredibly uncomfortable. Scary as it was it still had one redeeming feature, four wheel drive with lockable differentials. I think it had a low gear range also, but I can't really remember. But it required that you got out and threw a latch on each of the front wheels to enable it, and with everything locked up you were not supposed to drive faster than 10 or 20 mph.
But all in all, cars like that are really scary. They can and will kill you at the least mistake and don't even think about crumple zones. If you need them then you are SOL.
@@blahorgaslisk7763 a Samurai was my first car. I felt it roomy enough for just me and my dog. Not sure about yours but mine rode great, all new steering components tho
65mph, poor little thing would screaming its head off, valve bouncing almost, ha ha lol.
One of my greatest pleasures in watching Mustie videos is that the comments from other viewers are as interesting and insightful as Mustie himself. Darren has attracted a very knowledgeable and competent community. Thanks to all.
I always check the comments.Some are hilarios ,Namely adam wehi- "flip the switch & you could flame out at 25 mph". Absolutely cracked up.
Darren has NO FEAR! I swear, someone could pull up with half the titanic on a trailer and he’d give a little chuckle…do a walk around…poke it a few times with a stick…and be like “let’s put it on the lift and see what we got”. He’s my hero!!!!
That’s Mustie1!!! 😬
If you get it cheap enough, you can always make $ on the scrapping of it.
I would like to see him tackle a triple-expansion steam engine. The Titanic came with two, as I recall.
Before I retired I worked in the ocean shipping industry here in Canada and every month we would bring in literally boatloads of these used small Japanese right hand drive cars that people import through specialized brokers. They are cheap and incredibly popular (even if you have to be brave enough to pull halfway out in to the oncoming lane if you want to see ahead of the guy in front). You see many this size that even have teeny tiny baby duals on the rear. The most popular non North American model, however, is the Toyota Hiace 4 wheel drive passenger van.
If nothing else, make a vid tearing down the engine to find out EXACTLY WHY it went bad !!!
We like THOSE kinds of vids, TOO !!!
Yes, and a jb weld fix just so we can hear mustie1 giggles when it starts at least !
@@disarm2k10 ml
I worked as head mechanic for a private membership Golf Clubs here in southern California for over thirty years many of the private Golf Clubs here purchased a fleet of these Diahatsu truck`s to get the 30 man Maintenance crew all around the facility. We had the S60 (early model 1980`s) and later the S80 model. These were good work vehicles that was truly over loaded when hauling heavy bags of fertilizer all over the golf course. Timing belt must be replaced at, or to be extra safe, little before the manufacture`s suggested interval. The engines are (interference) engines, if the timing belt fails you can bank on bent valves at a minimum. The cooling fan is electric and I had problems with coolant sensor failures, the engine would overheat due to no fan operation, I had some operators who would continue to drive to engine failure.
This cool item will be the best helper for you in your house or apartment
Just realized 1992 was 30 years ago. Feel old now.
oh no
😵💫😵💫😵💫
😂😂
Correct
If the engine does turn out to be ireperrable I would love to see you retro-fit one of your bizarre collection of engines into it, would make quite a handy little utilitarian vehicle! Great video as always!
Yup the problem with that fancy new trailer is it’s gonna be real hard not to pick up stuff you’d been happy to pass on the day before you got it. 😂. Always good videos Mustie. Thanks bud!!
You ever have one of those friends that just always has a trailer hooked up in case they run across a deal? I had a friend like that, after about a year I think he realized he couldn’t sustain that lol
@@Mrcaffinebean 😂
My name is Justin and who my I be talking to?
Where do you want to meet up at?
Do you have a church that you are going to & what is the name of your church??
I'm in New Zealand and yes we had them here. we had them in the workshop from time to time. We did headgaskets on them. i remember that. Looking into your radiator, seeing the tubes blocked and that hose clip and piece of radiator hose on the elbow underneath. Then the lack of compression and the antioilyfreeze that came out of the sump. She'll be blown. poor little thing . Its a shame as the body isn't bad on it. Time for a repower. Hyabassa. That'd smoke the tyres.
We used to have an Asia (Kia) Towner, pretty much the exact same thing except ours was a "coach" model with a whooping 7 seats. That thing was HEAVEN to drive on the city; had a very tight turning radius, could park it everywhere and the seating position made it easier to approach intersections when your vision was obscured. The build quality was excellent too, but the poor thing was pushing 20 years old so of course plastics and such kept breaking. Also, that tall front end meant fuel economy was bad, especially for an 800cc engine (yes, it carried 7 people with that engine, don't know how). Even then i still miss it, and consider it the most practical vehicle we've ever had (and also the deadliest too, no crumple zone here lol).
I drove a similar van in South America, diesel with manual transmission. On flat ground with 7 fully grown guys I got one rolling in 4th gear, not because I had to but because I had to try!
It does have a crumple zone, it just involves your knees
Your body is the crumple zone 😂
I know exactly what you mean. We call them Suzuki Bolans in Pakistan, still in production as either vans or pick up versions.
Yup ,drove those back in Korea, KIA /Asia was Ford /Mazda back then & its basically the Bongo ....good truck back then
I have a 1981 Mitsubishi micro van. Twin cylinders 550cc. Awesome little machine. Love it. I lifted it and put some meaty treads on it. Gets all sorts of attention.
I live in Japan, Kei cars are below 1000cc and you don’t pay any road tax (unlike the $1200 a year I pay for my 6.2 litre…). These kind of mini-utes are extremely popular in the country towns with handy man types where the roads are narrow and speeds are low, especially snowy towns as they are often 4WD. They are very, very cheap to buy here, run on the smell of an oily rag and typically last forever ‘n ever. A nice surprise to see Mustie getting hands on with one!
I thought they were limited to 660cc
1200 year for road tax!
Kei class vehicles were limited to 550cc pre 1990 and then 660cc afterwards.
What the heck Japan. My car insurance doesn't even cost half of what your road tax is. That's absurd!
@@vhfgamer There is only SO much usable land to work with and making land into roads mean that land can't be used for a building or house or something else that pays taxes, houses people or grows food. So there is a road tax to own a car. And fuel taxes. And some cities require proof you have a dedicated parking spot. Owning a car in Japan is just expensive. Trains going everywhere help make up for it.
In all seriousness, I'm 90% that that extra lever on the transmission is for controlling a PTO. When he's under the truck, there's an extra housing at the end of the transmission and it looks like a transfer case like for a 4x4. Instead of sending a shaft forward, it does...what? That much I don't know.
That would also explain the little extra dealie on the accelerator pedal. That's for locking in a throttle setting for driving the PTO.
It appears to be one of the “Grounds and Maintenance” vehicles imported in the late 80s through early 90s. To meet import requirements, they were limited to 25-mph top speed, and off road use. Unless it has been modified, there will be a CirClip on the shift shafts to prevent it coming out of third gear, and one on the shaft for the transfer case to keep it locked in low range and neutral, and there was a speed sensor on the output shaft at the transmission, which went to the speed controller. As they came up to 25-mph, the black box would pulse a solenoid on the carb, which popped a needle in and out of the main jet, to keep the vehicle so it couldn’t get past the 25-mph limit.
The transfer case, and axle locks are electro pneumatic. Look for a vacuum actuator on the side of the transmission, and on the axles. If you have the vacuum chambers for the actuator, it was 4wd. As said earlier, they were locked in low range, and will have to remove a CirClip to get it into high range.
the vacuum system for the transfer case lock up, may or may not be installed.
Great info! I've seen tons of RHD Kei's here in Canada, they fill containers with them, but almost never a LHD, if it was from Japan I'd expect it in better shape, makes sense its got a BHG!
I forget about the governor. The one i played with we just took it off and was able to reconnect the speed cable
This one had license plate on the back, implying it was succcessfully registered with the DMV for road use. Of course the tag stuck ON the truck might have been from another vehicle. State DMVs have also been on a bender trying to ban these things and other gray market imports even after they had been registered.
The nasty part with US Customs is that it's not their job to determine if the vehicle is 'road legal'. That's specifically assigned to each state to decide what can or can't be on the roads. They still throw hissy fits about the governors, etc. It's an example of bureaucrats with a small amount of authority constantly trying to claim additional authority - even if they don't have that right.
Good info... I was going to reply saying that the lever is for the transfer case as its clearly visible on the underside, whether or not it has the front drivetrain, and must be locked to low range to prevent high speeds. The lever is not present on Japanese 2WD models, only the "Climber" 4x4. I also didn't realize they locked them into 3rd gear.
One place I worked had some newer low-speed trucks (im not sure the brand, could have been Chinese) with fuel injection that used a speed sensor that could be unplugged to bypass the 18MPH (30km/h) electronic governor (you'd lose the speedo, but you'd be able to hit 50MPH).
My favorite thing about your videos is that you never let the frustration get to you. No matter how bad it is you never deviate from your happy "it is what it is" attitude.
Those little vans were popular in the UK in the 90s, the Daihatsus and Suzukis were used for local deliveries, milk floats even really small campers. Vauxhall/GM Europe sold rebadged Suzukis as panel vans minibuses and whatnot.
ya ever see the bedford rascals mad yolks friend had one years ago we would pull a trailer full with double glazing crazy for a 1l petrol haa
@@legin3753 Tis said that RASCAL, stands for 'really a suzuki constructed at Luton' :)
I saw an old flatbed version in auto trader a few years back, bit messy but they wanted £8k for it ...collectable little things.
Commonly known as ‘Sooty Vans’.
@@legin3753 Yeah the Rascals, they were pretty tough!
A friend of mine purchased a mini truck some time ago. It was 4 wheel drive, and I don't remember if it was a
Daihatsu, or a Mitsubishi. Either case, it was about as cramped as a Cessna 152. It ran well, had a 2 cylinder engine, and was surprisingly capable.
He talked to the local Sheriff's department, and California Highway Patrol, and was told that he could drive it anywhere except interstate highways, at least in the county, so long as he had a farm vehicle triangle reflector attached.
It was fun to drive, and had enough power to go faster than the handling permitted.
I cant wait to see what you do with this.
I drove one of these things when I was in the Air Force. We used it on the aircraft flight line for parts and tool hauling. The top two gears were mechanically locked out. They didn't want us to flip them. By the way, I'm 6''4", picture that! Mazda rotaries fit well!
We had Daewoo versions of these in the desert (Air Force) back in the late 90’s. Man, we got stuck a lot. Luckily, the back-end was light enough to get unstuck. They were fun to drive.
We use them at Grissom AFB. What base were you at?
@@robertheinkel6225 We called it “Al’s Garage.” It was actually Al Kharj.
A Mazda RX7 Wankel in that would be lethal.
Hi Mustie1.
I am a 64 year old and love motorcycles (motorcyclenut). I currently own a Suzki VS 800 GL Intruder 1995. It is a very good bike, except for two things. It runs unevenly at low revs and does not disconnect after driving for a while. It does not disengage even though the clutch handle has been pulled in. The master cylinder is okay, vented clutch. What I have left to do is check the slave cylinder. I have not dared to disassemble any of the carburetors. Have looked at someone who repaired a Mikuni carburetors, but then something was missing because the battery ran out for him. Watch as often as I can on your channel, which by the way is a superb channel. You explain and show so well how to do and what to think about. Have not found anyone better yet and I often watch UA-cam, like every night before I go to sleep.
Thanks Mustie1for a super channel.
Kramiz
Orange Angels Driver's Club = DC
I think the combination of the diff lock, the contraption on the gas pedal and the funky long bolts on the rear wheel, allow the rear wheels to drive other machinery when lifted off the ground. A basic PTO if you will.
Said it before and I will say it again.... This brings back memories of my grama an how we always had something to work on.... Means alot to me that you are doing this... Thanks for being you man
I was a mechanic at a Daihatsu dealer back when these were on the showroom floor. Now I'm seeing a ton of these being imported here in Connecticut and they are everywhere now.
They're super handy if you just need something that can pickup odds and ends and don't need a massive 6,000 lb truck that guzzles through gas like it's going out of style. As far as I'm aware, they geared the Kei Trucks really low. To make up for their incredibly small, underpowered, engines.
My word that radiator looks to be plugged with block sealer...Hope for your sake it is just rust....
@@JosephArata I think these were geared toward landscaping. These came with optional dump beds or raise beds like a man lift with onboard PTO to interchange chainsaws or polesaws.
Also in CT (NE corner) and they’re everywhereeeee I love it
@@slimprez26 yes, a lot of Suzukis too
These Daihatsu were used at work on shift. They ran 24 hours a day and were always overloaded with tools. They are incredibly tough. The garage could pull the motor in less than 25 min. A testament to the Japanese automobile industry.
If you find some part you need that only ships in Japan, I can forward it to you if it is small/flat. I live in Gunma, where a lot of (modern) Mitsuba parts are made.
Thrashed? Hell, that’s way more solid than our daily driver van!
Congrats on the 600k subscribers!
Also, being a Brit one of the side things I like about this channel is that it invariably provides my Sunday afternoon mental arithmetic challenge as I mentally try to translate Fahrenheit to Celsius.
If it were -10F in my part of Southern England the Government would be declaring a national emergency. People in NH just put on another layer. 😂
-10F is just about normal up here in Geordie land like
I still listen to Top Gear and they say quib and some other money value. Kilometers is basically a doubled amount but that damn money thing always gets me. Ps. If you see snow, it just means it's too darn cold to be out long! Hello from Indiana
Nah it would be just another excuse for Boris to have another party...
@@michaelhartzell9758 Your nearly there , …. A quid is slang for a pound.. probably the same as a dollar equals a buck….
I lived in Japan for 15 years. These are the Japanese version of our Pickups and are used by just the same way we use our trucks.
We had a bunch of these when I was stationed on Okinawa with the USAF back in the 80s. KEI trucks. The ones we used had a 5 speed on the column. We put 50 cases of soda in the back of one once- Ended up doing a tail stand. They were a lot of fun, though!
Funny... We had one (can't remember the brand) in Qatar to use as a work truck (I'm not sure why as we also had F150 and F250 crew cabs as well as a Toyota Dyna truck). I could lift the back wheels off the ground lol.
Related: in Germany someone had the great idea to replace all the full size Chevy trucks everyone drove around in with similar mini trucks, but in their infinite wisdom choosing the "lowest cost technically acceptable" contractor, they got Chinese ones. The contract was immediately cancelled when, out of the first batch to arrive, 10 of them didn't run, some missing critical engine components. Great idea, and I'm sure that contractor still made a killing.
One of our shops had a 4x4 Cushman branded minitruck since it could get just about anywhere, but was governed like this one and restricted to base (the Chinese ones were going to be regularly licensed and I figured people were going to get creamed on the Autobahn).
At a base in the states, we had a few unit-owned (not motorpool) that were electronically governed, but someone realized you could unplug the speed sensor and it was capable of highway speeds (but no speedo, of course).
Thanks Mustie1, great day in the shop! If nothing else, made for another great episode and maybe a why it failed/resurrection/engine swap down the road.
I loaded 10 of these at the Long Beach California port year’s ago and we’re delivered to 3 different golf courses. Was used for maintenance on the courses.
Yeah, you're actually able to import brand new kei trucks as long as they have speed limiters
I drove a 4 wheel drive version of one of these back in 1993. Our local town recreation department bought a pair of them to take beach goers from the pavilion/parking lot down to the ocean. The walk was about a half a mile and with kids, beach chairs, coolers, etc one of long island’s most beautiful beaches was going unused because of the distance to get to the water. Topped out at 25 mph with the governor on it. 3 speed I believe.
Worked on several here in the UK back in the 80s. 850cc 3 cyl engines, prone to head gasket fail and cracked heads (possibly because of hard work/lack of maintenance/not checking fluids? Owners of the ones I worked on were not known for looking after vehicles, especially "work" vehicles where someone else got the bill!)
Good luck with yours, hope all goes well.
My dad used use these in the past, i believe there is the vauxhall counter part, Bedford bami/ rascal in the uk .
Yep my friends had one that they used for their Ironing business and the van was very reliable when they had it as they looked after it and serviced it all the time. They sold the business cheap to one of the ironing girls who they trusted to be in charge of the other girls when they owned the business and she never bothered with looking after the van until its engine ended up giving up. The laugh was her father said to her don't buy one of these foreign junk vehicles next time - he was driving a Vauxhall Corsa and like most British was too dumb to realise that his car was a foreign - a badge from an ex-British make from the 1920's stuck on a Spanish built, German designed, US owned company - car. He would have probably been just as dumb to tell her to buy a Bedford Rascal which was a Japanese Isuzu with Vauxhall/Bedford badges as well. Of course Vauxhalls are just badges stuck on French Peugeot's now - got to keep on buying British :)
@@williamwoods8022 I still remember to this very day, one of the lads i went to college, arguing the toss with me, that vauxhall is a British car company. I said the only british car manufacture we have, is MG Rover. This was going back in the early 2000s when he had just got his 1st car, which was a corsa, branded my peugeot 306 a heap of shit, that's when i turned the tables on him about vauxhall, which started him bleating on.
Mine was right hand drive and would run like 65. Bought it out of a pasture got it running and it had oil running out of tail pipe lol finally got all the parts to build it and it ran great. Really fun little truck.
Miata seats are a common swap here in the UK, have to fab a little to get the rails to fit.. but nothing for a man of your Calibre!
Megazip is a good source of JDM parts- but not cheap..
I'm considering a kubota diesel swap for farm use on my suzuki carry.. if and when the 660cc engine goes bang!! -Around the farm top speed isn't the issue!
Keep up the good work!
Amayama is often much cheaper than Megazip
What about a suzuki G10 engine from a swift or geo metro? On a related note, I saw someone diesel up a metro putting a kubota engine in it, but the thing could only do 35 mph afterwards.
@@sumplais - 35mph, but it could pull a front end loader down the road?
the US Gov. bought a ton of these in the late 80's and early 90's. Ive owned about 4 of the left hand drives.. I assume it is left hand drive. Yes, it is speed limited. Some had a switch under dash which either kept it around 12 mph or flip it and you could flame out around 23/25 mph. There are a few things to look at. One being the speed cable where it meets the trans. has a control box that when it reaches a certain rpm it kills the fuel. The other will be a clip inside the trans to keep you from shifting into high range. Even though it says D and N between the seat it is possible to come up farther into H(which is high range) but you have to remove the clip in the trans. Use the search function and type in something like "Daihatsu speed limiter" and you should be able to read some info
I'd like to see the engine out and on the bench. That is a very neat body worth saving.
Yeah to do this right that engine needs to come out. But it still could be cracked.
If the engine is cracked, I'm sure there are plenty of motorcycle engines that can be fitted with a little engineering.
@@PapiDoesIt - I'd bet you could fit the engine from something like a Fiat 500 into it. Or an old Geo Metro.
I'd like to see the engine out and know for sure its condition. Might as well as the truck is worth saving.
@@captnmike597 beyond it's designed for it I don't have any preference for the engine in it now. But I suspect it may be the best item for the job? Yet that is dependent on whether it can be repaired. I bet Pakistani Truck could repair it. I've seen them weld cracked blocks. If you like Mustie you have to watch their videos. Safety sandals engaged!
I lived on an out island in TheBahamas for a couple of years. I bought a Suzuki KEI van for a song. It had a super strong 800 cc four banger .Boy! What a fun time I had with it.
A Japanese guy here on youtube 'Tales Along the Way' made a DIY camper for the back of his Subaru Sambar (inspired by Daihatsu Hijet and also shares manufacturing facilities with them) He goes on one night camping trips around Japan, very relaxing videos and cleanest table in Japan. He also is about to hit 600k subs. Anyhoo, now I kind of really want one. Thanks for the vids Mustie1.
Wry not leave the snow out side. d.
It sounds like a channel I’m subscribed to.
TY for the suggested sight.Sounds interesting.
I have a 1991 diahatsu hijet s83p and I order all my parts from G&R Imports they have every thing for them diahatsu has a vanguard diesel motor for it and they are pretty cool a 4bt Cummins bolts up with some adapters that a small company out of Tennessee sells good luck and keep up the good work
While in the Air Force, we picked up two similar trucks, to take with us overseas on TDYs. The were small enough to load on our KC-135 tankers. Unfortunately, we found out if we took them overseas, they would be impounded and not returned.
They were governed to 25 mph, but the cutout only killed the ignition. If they were run hard against the governor, the gas would all end up in the oil pan.
I'm not convinced civilians know what TDY means...
TDY = temporary duty at another location.
This has been a very interesting video! A step by step demonstration
of what sequence to take to diagnose the problem!!!
That lever appears to be a diff lock for the drive wheel with the long studs to be used as a pto for auxiliary machines, that's the reason for the funky setup on the accelerator pedal. My old Suzuki had something similar.
Finally! Jonny, you rock! The first person to answer Mustie1's question which makes sense. So maybe the top lettering said PTO? or P? Then N for neutral and D for drive. That could be a great setup for Mustie1 to use, to clean out rusty gas tanks.
A freind had one but the van version. It was a great run about and fun to brake late when pulling up behind other drivers. We got a bit bored with it so added a Rover 3.0l V8 in the back. Man did it shift. 🤣🤣 It was a LOT of work but worth doing. 2x👍
It’s like a 660cc engine or something close to that. A motorcycle engine would also work. But the diesel is another good choice cuz you have them. But we don’t care which one you get, just show us the video of you putting it in and driving it with a huge smile on your face and your trademark laugh 🤣🤣🇨🇦🇨🇦
Awesome! I drive one of these at work, they make a really good little farm rig.The lever is a high and low rang. Reverse is on the shifter. Kinda weird to get used to shifting with your left hand. When you put it in low range and (4 wheel drive) if you have it those little things can climb really good. Look forward to the fun.
@@keithschneidly3922 Oh wow, my mistake. That is awesome, should be a sweet little project.
It’s times like these, that you’re grateful the boxer engine is in the ‘back’ of your pickup for easy access 😁
Gotta love it when a Mustie1 vid shows up on a Sunday.
I'd love to see Darren do a complete rebuild on that engine and drive train.
Then restore the body.
Build new seats and other missing interior items.
It'd be a perfect vehicle for up at his cabin and elsewhere.
Even as a parts runabout at his shop or his house.
Name it Crustie Jr..
I love this truck!!!! I would love to get one of these and build it out for my business. It would be a unique vehicle for promoting the business.
We had those Daihatsu's at my last job. They ran for 15-20 years with little maintence.
Were hard to get in and out of and your foot always hit the door frame. Made for 5 ft tall people.
They drove fine, so low geared we started in third and then shifted to 4th. Yes reverse is on the stick.
They were sprung to carry a lot of weight, so rode harsh unloaded.
The engine looks similar to a Mitsubishi 3 cylinder I used to work on in an old TORO Workman of about the same vintage. It had a top speed of about 17-20 MPH but because of the low range gearing it could pull almost 2000 lbs.
Get it done. Sounds like a fun little project. Cheap on gas. Good little yard and town truck.
If you get stuck for parts, the Piaggio Porter was still being made long after Diahatsu had gone onto the next generation of Hijets, these were quite popular in Italy with Innocenti doing a minibus version of the same too.
My squadron in Thailand 1972-3 had two small trucks like that Litachi and Hitachi. A Right hand drive four on the floor. A hoot to drive.
Absolutely epic little nugget! We had these at most every base I was at, and I've seen them take serious abuse. There's even a custom set for them over in Japan: rims, body kits, the works. Too bad some states won't let them on the road.
I have a 1971 Suzuki L40 Carry. It had a 2 cylinder air cooled two stroke engine. The engine was toast when I got years ago. I am in the process of converting to a 72 volt !0 kw 3 phase ac motor, motor controller, 72 volt 150 ah lifepo4 battery pack with battery management system and charging system. My first time doing a electric conversion.
Congrats on 600k bud! You deserve it!
It's fun reading the comments coming from all parts of the planet. Greetings from Texas.
You need a snatch block for the winch on your trailer and a place to hook it on the lift less pushing more winching the vehicles on the lift
I worked in Tokyo in the early 2000s as a car exporter and transported an R34 GTR V Spec Nur crate motor in one of these across the Yokahama Bay Bridge on a windy day. Got blown into the next lane! Light little buggers!
I've been looking at these mini trucks for a few years now there's a guy not too far down the road that sells a bunch of them A lot of them even have a dump Box. The only thing that's turned me off is the right hand drive Besides that they're pretty cool little 4 by 4 trucks.
RH drive makes it more cool! I think they would be awful on the highway anyways.
@Big Jay if you have the means, pick one up! Right hand drive is easy to learn as is the shifting. It’s a great conversation starter and it’s always entertaining the looks you get. Plus they’re a blast to put around in!
@@mriguy3202 I don''t know. I think the EU models had slightly larger engines but there were people driving those on the German Autobahn so I'd think they should be driveable on US highways too, at least without the 20 MPH limit.
I have a 94 Honda Acty. These kei trucks are capable on and off road. You *will* benefit greatly by replacing the front springs as they do age and get weak. Lift kits are cheap help as well, while allowing you to put 13" tires on them as well. You will have to get used to answering a lot of questions by curious people if you get it on public roads.
These also came with a 1000cc 3 cilinder in the EU, did supermarket deliveries in a van version untill the doors fell out.
Basically the same engine as the one in Darren's Hi-Jet truck. Think the European versions had higher compression, though.
@@john242ti kei car is maximum 660 cc.
@@MultiArrie Yes. The US Market Hi-Jets received the 993cc engine from the Charade.
I am in the UK and had a Perodua Kancil car with 850cc 3 cylinder engine, which was a badge engineered Diahatsu Mira, then owned a Daihatsu Charade car with a 1L 3 cylinder engine. The 3 cylinder engines are very reliable if looked after. Both of these were Kei sized but their engines were too big to qualify for the cheap Japanese tax and the black and yellow license plates that would have gone with it.
As for the vans these were marketed in the UK as the Bedford Rascal. I believe they were very prone to cross winds especially when overtaking trucks, as indeed my cars were. I do hope you manage to get this one working.
BTW I also owned two Ladas and the "drivers seat" in this van looks only slightly less comfortable :-)
Even the considerably larger Mitsubishi L300 is annoying to drive on windy days. Probably not as bad with the pickup version as with a van because there's less surface for the wind to push on. And it's mostly an issue at much higher speeds than this thing is capable of the way it's set up.
I have one here in Japan. Great little truck. Oh and be careful of tsunami parts. Some shady dealers cannibalized thousands of these trucks after the earthquake and tidal wave and dumped them in the market.
First thing I said to myself was it will be a blown head gasket if your lucky but most likely a cracked right down the middle head, They were notorious for that back when I was working on them ! Having said that if serviced correctly they will give years of trouble free service and great fun machines with a great exhaust note.
such a cool little truck, gives me vw cab vibes, you should do a motor swap, we would love to watch!
I had one of these years ago. Bought it cheap at a yard sale, it was actually painted like the general Lee and even had the Dixie horns. It was extended cab hi top as well,but was 4x4 and actually had AC. I have a series of videos on it. The carbs can be finicky on them especially the choke setup. I kept it for awhile but didn’t use it a lot so sold it and used the profit to buy a truck.
Good morning, nice little truck, to bad about the engine. I would recommend taking it to Mustie 1, that guy can fix most anything. 😉 Great video and good luck with the truck. 👍
On the compression: I had a '84 cavalier with a 2liter. High compression was 50#, low was 40#. Drove it till rusted so bad it wasn't worth working on. I really had to get a good head start to pass anyone. Uphill? Forget it. I nicknamed it "rodnock".
Sweet, it was a kei truck! Great find.
So much fun these mini vans, they are wheelspin machines! Drop the clutch at 4k revs and spin the front wheels for weeks.
I want one of these badly…I think they’d be perfect to run back and forth to lowes etc. No idea what the market is like for them or the maintenance/parts availability. Just dreaming!
There are suppliers in the US, with agricultural shops being common as they got imported as groundskeeping and industrial plant vehicles a lot. Parts art not that bad in price but you do have to order and wait.
Damn, been watching you a long time now and this is the first "holy crap" moment. My local shop was run by a woman for almost 50 years {hard worker and has retired a multi millionaire all from hard graft} and she bought one brand new in the early 80s{van version, not flat bed} and it was her trusty work horse until 2012 when the rust put an end to it because of the NCT { irish road worthy test for motor vehicles "national car test"} forced her to replace it. And i remember she was so angry because they didnt sell them anymore so she was forced to buy a toyota and she HATED it.
I live in Japan and whenever one of these pulls out of a side road in front of me I become depressed. These are mostly used by small holder farmers like a JP pickup truck but are really fricking SLOW.
Getting stuck behind one of these out in the country side will really screw up your drive.
haha, FWP.
I grew up having to wait for hay haulers to let you by. Nothing new. Not to mention a friend's grandfather, who drove like he was charged by the MPH.
I saw one on the highway doing 55-60. MPH
LOL maybe you need to slow down and enjoy the scenery?
I have a two cylinder one. Shortened it, stuck some 10 inch skid steer tires on it and a tipper. Makes a great wheel borrow replacement.
Good stuff brother 👍🏻 BIG RESPECT from the UK 👍🏻😎👊🏻💯🔥🔥💨
Sometimes you win - Sometimes you loose - good time Charlie's got the blues (an old country music song,just playing),Thankyou for the video.
That would be ideal for an engine swap. A nice little 3 cylinder turbo diesel or a Perkins 4 cylinder turbo diesel would go lovely & give it all the speed & power it could ever need or handle 👍
Not really, any normal engine is too tall. It needs to be one designed to sit with the cylinders pointing sideways.
@@celeron55 what about a Subaru engine? they're designed like a VW Beetle engine except they're water cooled
Would love this so much, engine swap and just a fun project
It would be good for a vin swap and buy one with seats in decent condition then switch the driver's seat side, etc.
I was thinking about a Wankel out of a RX-7.
I always enjoy watching you work on things and sometimes I learn a little something
That thing will rust to nothing if you don't keep it covered. We had 10 or so of those on site at my work place. They had piles of rust under them when parked for any kind of time.
Find an old Honda Goldwing that needs carb work and has no title. Idk about where you are but those are a dime a dozen in Florida. You’ll have a great little water cooled engine with clutch transmission and gear box into a drive shaft. You certainly have the skills to adapt that into this neat little truck.
Marty, from "Mighty Car Mods" just got one of these little monsters. Did a bunch of mods to it too, of course.
Fairly decent little 4x4, with some work. Seem pretty useful right out of the box really.
Might be worth checking out for some ideas. Love seein' the Musty style. Looks like this gonna be a good workhorse for ya.
"in the bin"
Glad somebody mentioned it. I looked it up and they started building theirs in Nov 2020. Turned out to be a pretty useful four wheeler.
Yeah great little build series that was
MotoCheez: has a whole series on UA-cam with his. latest for it was the addition aof a supercharger. I’m deciding whether to keep the AirConditioner/Dehumidifier, which is really handy when I’m plowing snow in the nice, warm cab, or add the supercharger. Space is limited, and the AC compressor space is where the supercharger would need to go.
The international community here is amazing. Nice to hear from around the world.
Best wishes to Mustie1 from across the pond 🇬🇧🇺🇸
That vehicle is so cool! You must remove engine and rebuild. Sometimes the project outweighs the cost. I know it's not my money, but i would do it. Looking forward to it!
Looking forward to seeing what happens with this project. Hopefully it’s just a bad head gasket
Cool little truck. I have always liked those. Mustie1 the Bob Ross of wrenching!
A winch or snatch block mounted to the front of the lift would make easy work of rolling dead vehicles on and off the lift.
Fun facts: Mazda and Suzuki made these under license among other car makers. There is no OEM push bar in front of these. Batteriy case was moved to under seat because I believe batteries were robbed. This model, people added chains and locks to prevent this. Seal around the seat bottoms goes bad and heat passes into cab easily. First I’ve seen an extended cab. I bought a refurbished Japan conversion (right to left drive) for under $4k. 4 WD with working AC. We are in Philippines. After market parts are easily found including fiberglass shell (1/2 size) for bed and fold down seats in the bed.
Hopefully you can get a head gasket. There should be parts available for these around. Hopefully you can get it running
Just the gasket is the best case scenario. But with no coolant you can chew up cylinder walls pretty good.
Hi maybe not the place the world has become a sadder place with what’s happening in Europe. Please bring a smile 😊 to our faces with your clip’s.
Would be cool to have a diesel in it but I was more thinking an engine like the one in my Yamaha MT-09. Almost 900cc but lots of torque and about triple the hp of what that has when it's running, haha. I'm a speed guy though so thats always where my mind goes.
Hi Mustie, I am new to your channel and really enjoyed this video. I don't know if anyone commented on your question about the center lever with a D on it, My Daihatsu Hi-jet has the same level and it is to put the truck in either High or low four wheel drive. The gear shifter puts the truck in 1st - 5th gear but the center lever placed in D or high to move forward or reverse. With this lever in N for neutral the truck will not move.I have had my Daihatsu for about 10 years now and use it for everything, but mostly a hunting vehicle. Good luck getting yours to run, you will really enjoy it.
I'm still wondering why it wasn't pumping oil to the top? There's still something wrong there-- maybe the pickup tube rusted from the water or something simple. I personally would yank the motor out and tear it down to see what all it needs before I ordered any parts.
My guess is it already spun a main bearing and it's blocking the oil passage to the top end...
With all that coolant in the sump, the oil pickup would've been trying to pick up coolant. The pump would struggle to prime and make pressure on such a thin fluid, which would explain not seeing anything at all emerging at the top end.
Drove one of those mini van trucks all over the place when I was in Korea. Great around town. Scary as hell on the freeway.
good Morning all
Good luck Mustie! Got lots of tips from folk who know this little guy well, I would go for dropping the engine, much easier to work on and to share with us!