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Please help

Discussion in 'Introductions' started by bmwr71, Oct 16, 2019.

  1. matt167

    matt167 Active Member

    Kei in Japanese means light, so a kei vehicle is a light vehicle. And the law in Japan goes on to limit the engine to 660cc/ 64hp and 10' long by 50"

    However your getting cought up in the mini truck terminology. Those laws were written before they could be imported as exempt motor vehicles. The trucks affected by "mini truck laws" are those that were imported as agricultural used farm equipment.. Once you get one in the USA that is 25 or older and is imported as an exempt motor vehicle with the HS7 and EPA documents, it is an "exempt motor vehicle"according to the FMVSS/ DOT.

    If you read between the lines, and forget your talking about a mini truck, you will find the loophole and the fact it's legal. https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=6152
     
  2. bmwr71

    bmwr71 Member

    Thanks very much for taking the time and effort to help me with this problem. I have wanted one of these for years and I thought I had a way to get past the legal nonsense, and maybe i can get it done in the end if I keep on working on it.

    I get Pintrest emails everyday. As I looked at some railroad stuff a while back and keep looking at it, that is what they generally send me. But they also salt in other subject pictures and if one looks at them, then the future emails may be links to pictures of the new subject. The other day there happened to be a picture of a mini truck mixed in with the railroad pictures (maybe Pintrest is spying on me). I click on the link to the photo origin and it was a Japanese site with maybe 10 pictures of different hot rod style custom mini trucks. I want to do a mini truck military style, but maybe if the first one is good, will need another to do a street rod looking one.

    How would one find a certificate of origin that shows that the mini trucks are not agricultural? I guess I could look and see if any of the groups he mentioned have changed their opinions on mini trucks, but wonder if I can show that they did that he would just respond that it doesn't matter? And still haven't heard back from my state representative and senator, and I am not surprised. I think I may have them on there being no definition of a kei class truck and guessing they will just go quiet with no response or more smoke and mirrors.

    Regarding the Vermont title, need to ask my policeman friend if that could be a problem. Not sure but there may be some law that one must get their vehicle licensed in the county where they live or like that they must get their vehicle license changed to a KY license after so many days of living here.
     
  3. matt167

    matt167 Active Member

    The manufactures statement of origin is a statement from the manufacture ( Japanese parent company, USA divisions won't help you ) on where it came from and that it is designed for the road. Only a couple of states require that and KY is one of them..

    You might look at US Mini trucks. He asks a premium, but only gets premium quality trucks and repairs them if needed BUT. He can also get a title in his state IIRC Texas. With an out of state title, you should have no trouble getting it licensed in Kentucky.

    As for Vermont, most states is 6 months. But it's an out of state title, they should accept that without an issue.
     
  4. bmwr71

    bmwr71 Member

    Thanks again. The Florida dealer is much closer to me than Texas. And it would come with a title shown as a pickup truck. Would think that this would get me around problems. And I wonder if I just went to a county clerk's office and had the inspection and took the title in if they would just issue a title and life would go on??? But have no way of knowing. I have asked how I would get caught in the system and got no answer. I have asked if there is a list of banned trucks or how they determine what a kei class truck is and got no answer so far. I would expect they would claim with the statute on mini trucks being in existence that this fact ends all of my arguments and my quest would be over. That is why I think pushing them on the fact that they have no definition of what a kei truck is is the key to defeating them.

    I asked my friend who has been a policeman for like 26 years if I would have trouble with having a Vermont license on the truck and he said he didn't know. He still suggests I just take a truck and get the inspection and take the title in the building and see what happens. As I said, without a list or definition of what a mini truck is, perhaps it will just slip through the system. But just don't want to end up with a truck I can't drive.
     
  5. matt167

    matt167 Active Member

    I wouldn't use a dealer in florida, besides Garanin Corp, and I'm not even sure he is still around. the website looks dead. The reason is, it's far too easy in Florida to skip steps in the import process and actually bring in ' black market ' cars.. This is why you can find R34 GTR's and other known illegal ( newer than 25 year ) cars in Florida.. The Florida title is a red flag for some states, and possibly yours. The way I understand it, is Florida 'tag offices' can be independently owned. You register plates in much the same manor that you buy a hunting license here at a Walmart in NY

    You have to forget the 'statute' on "mini trucks" and "kei trucks" all together. Mini trucks is the agricultural import term, and kei truck is the Japanese term. Once you get past that, and the FMVSS HS7 exempts it, and the EPA form exempts it, it becomes a federally legal, through exemption motor vehicle.. That loophole according to the Kentucky law I found shows that if it's good enough for the FMVSS/ DOT, they will accept it... If you keep calling it a mini truck, or a kei truck. your going to get the same road block every time
     
  6. bmwr71

    bmwr71 Member

    The people I have communicated with so far have made no issue of coming from Florida. I guess I am partial to that dealer as he says he has them titled as pickup trucks and not mini trucks, as you said, forget the mini truck thing.

    I would love to forget the statute on mini trucks, but the jerks I am dealing with sure won't. I read what you had added regarding imports in Kentucky and it wasn't real clear to me that there would be a loophole that would get around the mini truck thing. I am not unfamiliar with dealing with law stuff as I was an enforcement engineer for a government agency for many years and spent the last miserable years working for the agency writing law stuff. On the other hand, with no definition of a kei class truck that is what a prohibited mini truck is defined as, if I just say it is a small import truck, perhaps my problem could be solved.

    Thanks so much again for your help
     
  7. matt167

    matt167 Active Member

    exactly once you just tell them it's " a federally exempt imported vehicle " it becomes legal... I would only buy from a dealer who could furnish copies of the customs/ DOT/EPA documents with the chassis number on it and the copy of the original export certificate... US Mini trucks titles as road vehicles as well, and any correctly imported truck will be titled as such. My '92 Suzuki carry was titled in Ny as an LT Suzuki pickup, and insured as a Suzuki swift which is what my local state farm office did for it.. NY is anti mini truck as well, but I kept copies of the law and import documents in the glove box. I was questioned on it a few times
     
  8. bmwr71

    bmwr71 Member

    I will keep those documents in mind and ask about them. Will be interesting if and when I hear the responses from the "authorities".

    So is the Suzuki what you drive now? I do see that there are the most parts for them on fleabay and the most posts and people for them on this forum. Those things make me think that this should perhaps be what I buy. But the Sambar is also interesting.
     
  9. matt167

    matt167 Active Member

    I did have one, for about 2 years as a daily driver but I sold it. I have imported a suzuki Jimny now, which is the kei version of the USDM Samurai... Parts for most mini trucks are quite expensive unless you know how to search the world for them. That's why I upgraded to a Jimny. 660cc turbo, 5spd and many parts are the same as USDM Samurai or Canadian model SJ413, both of which have parts available
     
  10. bmwr71

    bmwr71 Member

    IS the Jimny also considered a mini truck? Where would one buy one of those?
     
  11. matt167

    matt167 Active Member

    same body as USDM Samurai although most are the tin tops that did not come to USA after 1988.... tiny jeep like SUV. Not really a mini truck. Easy to find them in the USA, they are a popular import. But I imported mine for really cheap myself

    mine is a '93 tin top
     
  12. bmwr71

    bmwr71 Member

    That sounds interesting. Why did you go for it and quit the mini truck?

    So far, never have heard back from either government idiot. Spect that means they can't give an answer where they win. Will rattle their cages again. With no legal definition of kei truck, seems the law is unenforceable and I just need to not use any mini truck talk around the government people when licensing.

    So I watched some review/driving videos of a few mini trucks. On the Carry, the guy said it didn't accelerate fast enough for him to keep up with traffic. The Acty seemed pretty good, but i really don't think I want full time 4wd. Just would rather that the 4wd parts not get wear when not needed. And the Sambar, this guy had a motorcycle and a chest of tools on it to show how it ran when loaded and he went on the expressway and it ran impressively. So, seems for me, the Sambar is good. Seems engine work would also be easy on it.
     
  13. matt167

    matt167 Active Member

    The Carry is probably the quickest out of the trucks N/A. they are the lightest and make the most hp. You drive them like an old Detroit diesel. Keep your foot on the floor and keep it screaming.. It's quick from 0-45 mph or so, and then it slows down, but they will maintain 55-60 very easy on flat ground.

    A Sambar Supercharged will be the quickest truck around but you'll probably never find one at a decent price.

    I sold mine because as a daily driver it was getting uncomfortable to drive, and getting parts quick enough was a problem. The Jimny is just a better daily driver. I now have a cheap old F-250 for my hauling needs. Mini truck would fit in the bed
     
  14. bmwr71

    bmwr71 Member

    Regarding the Jimny, what sort of gas mileage does it get and how did you find one overseas at the cheap price?

    I will have to say, the mini trucks do look way more interesting than the Jimny.
     
  15. matt167

    matt167 Active Member

    32 mpg give or take, but it does need premium fuel. I bought it off Be Forward knowing it needed some work, so the sticker price was only $611. They generally go for between $900-1,500 sticker price though from Beforward. For a daily driver, it's much better. it has real seats, that adjust, mine actually has A/C. Also, solid front/ rear axle while being 50" wide makes it legal to ride on 50" ATV trails

    For a daily driver, my Carry beat me up bad. The feel of driving is like driving a golf cart at 60 mph. It's a fun ride, but it does get old.. That said, driving a 10' cab over truck is very easy to maneuver and I do plan to own another, OR the next larger cabover truck which is like the size of a Ford Ranger and rated for 1/2 ton. Like the Mazda Bongo or the Toyota Liteace
     
    Reticent Sage likes this.
  16. bmwr71

    bmwr71 Member

    Well maybe we are getting off the subject of mini trucks, but seems maybe you are the owner or moderator, so hope you don't scold yourself for drifting.

    Regarding the f250, I have one with 330,000 miles. The oil pressure keeps going to nothing but then again, it has an "idiot gauge" that only shows mid or nothing. Replaced the pressure sending unit, which was no fun, and still does the same thing. It was getting maybe 8 mpg and that was not good on the credit card. But I was hauling dirt for a friend 5 or 6 days a week and it has a dump bed. So I bought an f350 with a 7.3 diesel engine and been "restoring" it, fixing all the problems. But I want a small and cheap to drive truck that is fun.

    I used to drive VW Things for daily drivers. They are pretty Spartan cars and I was always afraid to use the heat in mine as they all had the gasoline furnaces next to the gas tank. In the winter would stop and scrape the windshield here and there as I drove down the road and scraped the inside windshield frequently as I drove. Towel for defogging. Even a winter drafty ride with a hard top because of the flapping vinyl windows. Quit driving them just because I didn't want to wreck them and there are the rust issues and such. They sit at my friend's place covered with ex-billboard vinyl tarps.

    So I drive a Ranger. And regarding loads, when I first was hauling dirt for my friend (to fill sink holes on their property), I used the Ranger. I found a place to get free dirt all the time, a landscape supply place. They had scales for the sale of dirt and mulch and such (I got all the spilled, mixed up stuff) and I had them weigh my truck one day with and without the load and had 1650 pounds on it. Did that sort of load many times until I got the f250.

    Still have not heard back from my government foes. I did look more into the Jimny and I could see going for it. And if it is a version of the Samari, then can't see how they would deny it, even if they could come up with a legal definition of "kei". And perhaps an SUV is not a truck, again, would not be able to deny a license. I saw some interesting ones on a site, carfromjapan.com. Belive they also sell mini trucks. Seems they are a middle man sort of operation where they list cars from different dealers and they ship them when you buy them. They are more expensive than what you spoke of, but they have some nice looking ones. Makes me wonder if they were repainted. Do you have any knowledge of this vendor? They ship to some different ports and I guess the closest to me would be Baltimore. Not sure how to get it from that port to me.

    Are the Jimnys full time 4wd?

    I did email with the dealer I was corresponding with on mini trucks in Florida and he said they have a couple of Sambars, but he didn't give much information and made them sound like they were average shape for their age,
     
  17. matt167

    matt167 Active Member

    Jimny is part time 4wd with manual locking front hubs. The differences between them and the USDM Samurai is the engine is the F6A 660cc EFI turbcharged, the lights are different, mirrors are different and they lack any fender flares due to the Kei restrictions

    Carfromjapan is a site like Tradecarview and is a marketplace. Some legit, some scam. This is how smaller dealers list their cars for export, but it's never safe to use.. For ease of use, I recommend Beforward.jp you can now use your paypal account if you want, but it's easy any way you do it. And they will translate the auction sheets. Any vehicle 25 years to the month or older can be brought into the USA

    Here is a kei car on my radar. These are very special cars. as they are also AWD, while being light and fast. they will tune up to 100hp. and when you put 100hp in 1,500 lbs it will fly https://www.beforward.jp/daihatsu/mira/bg304142/id/1290613/
     
  18. bmwr71

    bmwr71 Member

    I'm kinda diggin the Jimny. I looked at them on the Be Forward and saw one I would love to buy and have other people inquiring about it. I did an inquiry about it, but also offered me like a $29 discount to buy it right then, and it is tempting. But what is the deal on the inquiry? And what other costs will there be? Would I need to use the broker? Would the broker arrange for it to get to me or do I need to find another way for that? I assume there will be some sort of taxes? But I would love to jump on that one. It is white so would not feel bad about doing a new paint job on it (like OD green) and looks like doing modifications on it would be fun. Might start a trend among friends.
     
  19. bmwr71

    bmwr71 Member

    Just received an email from them with a price. Is very tempting to hit the buy button, but still have no idea on the other details of buying it. Also, decided to look at the Suzuki Samari parts on Rock Auto and assume the Samari engine parts do not fit the Jimny, or do they? Do most of the other parts work?
     
  20. matt167

    matt167 Active Member

    You do not 'need' a broker. I did choose to use one, since I imported into the port of New York ( high security ). It does add some costs. As I recall, I had to pay the broker I used $850 which included all of the filings, and the 2.5% tax and a $400 continuous bond. As I understand it, continuous bond is not required and a single entry is only $125.. I spent 'extra' because I had to figure it all out after I clicked buy, and bought and paid for it, so I paid what they told me and it was no sweat. I think I came in at $2,800 to my door, and as I remember. $400 of that was vehicle shipping to my house which I did have to arrange separately. The shipper I used actually could have done the customs brokerage but I didn't know at the time. I used Davidson and sons brokerage and I don't remember the shipper. but it was one that popped up on Google

    No Samurai engine part will work on a Jimny 660 except the radiator. However, the timing belt is the same as the Suzuki X-90 1.6l which came to the USA in the late 1990's.. But every part is available for them somewhere in the world. I find the factory part numbers through Megazip.net and then use niparts.com to break it into an aftermarket. 99% of the time, I'll find something that costs pennies vs what Megazip gets for OEM. Some is available in the USA. I can tell you also that the brakes are the same as the canadian SJ413 from the early 80's and USA parts houses can get them. Tires are 175/80/16 and while the size is unavailable in the USA, a 205/70/16 is the same size just a little wider. was/ is used on cars like the Chevy Trax and Jeep Liberty and has a wide selection... There is also the option of upgrading to Samurai brakes. they bolt on... All in all it's a pretty safe vehicle to buy.
     
  21. bmwr71

    bmwr71 Member

    Sent an email to the compoany asking what I asked you and got no response. Also asked how I would pay them? Maybe they are closed on the weekends or maybe they just don't answer questions. Will look on bing to see about some hauler. Not exactly sure what to look for.
     
  22. matt167

    matt167 Active Member

    I looked at my stuff.. https://www.kingoftheroadtransport.com/ is who I used for transport of the vehicle from port to my house, and they said they can do the brokerage as well.

    Beforward is probably closed right now. But they won't really help answer the USA import questions. They will get the car on a boat, but then it's up to you.
     
  23. bmwr71

    bmwr71 Member

    Will check with that company to see what solution they can offer. So did you pay Be forward with a credit card or what way did you pay?

    Thanks agin for taking the time to help. I did see there are Jimny groups to join. I did see that Be Forward had Sambars, but newer than 25 yrs old.
     
  24. matt167

    matt167 Active Member

    I had to do a bank wire when I bought mine, but soon after I bought mine they connected to paypal. You can do either at this point.. Their stock on kei trucks varies all of the time. They have a few Acty's which are similar in design to the Sambar
     
  25. bmwr71

    bmwr71 Member

    Paypal would be good. Sure the credit card company would be sending a message asking if I made the purchase.

    So which engine on the Jimnys is considered the best?

    Searching on the Be Forward seems a bit weird, I get results from a search, but then see others at the bottom of the page of a car I am looking at that didn't come up in the search. And was happy with the idea of the hard top (being cold now), but then saw a rag top and one of those half rag top types like the Samari. I do like rag tops, but can be cold and you know the old rag top will eventually go bad and also not secure.

    Hope to hear soon from that trucking company. Will call them if I do not. If the right car comes up, want to get it before it is gone. Probably should also check with the insurance company on it, but they were good with insuring a Carry.
     
  26. matt167

    matt167 Active Member

    Beforward can be a little janky. There is 2 different site layouts. The old one is best but seems to be default now. cars at the bottom are recently viewed

    As far as engines. The Kei Jimny came in only the F6A 660 turbo after 1990 and the F5A 550cc before that. since they are much the same, get a later one. The Jimny 'Sierra' was a JDM model and that is almost identical to the USDM Samurai except they were available in tin top after 1988 and they all had fuel injection. The Sierra demands a premium
     
  27. bmwr71

    bmwr71 Member

    Would that mean that parts would be easier to get on the Sierra? Is the engine on that one the same as the Samari?

    I saw others the have JDM and I haave no idea what that means. Would ones not listed as Sierra but have the JDM shown also be like the Samari?
     
  28. matt167

    matt167 Active Member

    JDM just means Japanese domestic market. Just as USDM means US domestic market.. Almost every vehicle that comes from Be Forward will be "JDM"

    The Sierra has the same 1.3L engine, gearbox as the Samurai. Main difference being it is right hand drive. The only parts that would not work on a Jimny Sierra would be the tie rods and other steering components. That said, they demand a premium and were only manufactured after 1994.. The 1.3l makes ~66hp and the .6L/660cc turbo makes 58-62hp depending on year, so it does not really make too much of a difference.. The Jimny 660 has lower low range in the transfer gear for better crawl ratio..

    There are tons of parts available for the Jimny/ Samurai and anything on the interior is interchangable. if you need a windshield or whatever, it's all the same. The dash is the same, just reversed. Any Jimny/ Samurai you find will likely have a broken glovebox door, but they cost about $40 for brand new genuine part. The seats will probably be roached, but there is a company in NH called A1 Corvette that makes sweet vinyl covers.. The factory optional inclometer is still available as well, but it is $200 for a basically useless toy
     
  29. bmwr71

    bmwr71 Member

    So you make it seem that there is not much of an advantage for getting the Sierra. Is that correct?

    Have not heard back from either Be forward, other than an auto quote, no the trucking company. Think I will call the trucking company, but maybe they are closed. I am sure tempted to just go ahead and buy the one I first saw that I like. It is plain, but low miles and good condition. Plain just means a blank canvas to work with.
     
  30. matt167

    matt167 Active Member

    A decent unmolested Samurai in the USA can be had for $6-7k for a tin top ( 1988 or older only on US Samurai ). That will be a carburated 1.3L. The advantage to the Jimny Sierra is the tin top was pretty common, and they had EFI. But you'll have $10k into it to get it into the USA. You could get a 'good enough' Samurai and do a 1.6L swap out of a Tracker/ Sidekick for a lot less. The only real option that never came to the USA that both the Sierra and 660 variations had was an automatic transmission

    Since you can get a 660 Jimny into the USA for less than half of that, it makes them a far better buy.. And if the engine ever went out, you still have the option of using a Tracker/ Sidekick 1.6L swap.
     

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