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It's Here

Discussion in 'General Truck Info' started by downhere, Aug 20, 2011.

  1. downhere

    downhere Member

    My 1996 Daihatsu Deck van finally made it. I picked it up on Wednesday. My first chance to drive it came when I was asked to take it off the car carrier. I am really surprised that car carriers will even haul these things considering how narrow the wheelbase is. It took myself and the truck driver 1/2 hr to take it off. Let the freek show begin. As soon as we got the van off the truck a group of people flocked around to take pics with their phones. It was almost like they had never seen a deck van!!! This thing turns heads. Maybe not like a 69 Camaro. Up until driving this van I had never been closer than a hundred feet to a mini. Needless to say I really didn't know what to expect. My first impression, this thing is crazy. Second impression, The previous owner must have been a filthy chain smoking beast. I keep my vehicles very clean and had a hard time even sitting in this thing. After five hours of cleaning the interior it was ready to sit in. Third impression, right hand drives are pretty easy to drive minus the fact that I keep on turning the wipers on when i'm turning instead of signalling. Since Wednesday I have done the following:

    Cleaned it
    Changed the headlights
    Swapped the markers and signals on the front
    Changed the shifter knob (hand kept sticking to it)
    Bought a daytime running light module (installing it this weekend)
    Bought lap belts for the rear seat (not installed yet)
    Had it inspected (needs the previous 2 to pass but besides that was told that mechanically it is in great shape)

    To come:

    Tires and wheels (undecided)
    Stereo (this thing is killing me)
    Paint or wrap???
    Lift (springs??)
    Plugs, cap, roter, oilchange, timing belt, water pump and thermostat
    Upholstery (not sure??)
    Enjoying it

    Pics to come soon
     
  2. Acerguy

    Acerguy Moderator Staff Member

    Congratulations on your new van! I agree that for me the hardest thing about driving a RHD vehicle is getting the wiper and turn stalks mixed up. :)
     
  3. greg0187

    greg0187 Moderator Staff Member

    Yes! wipers and blinker swaping between rhd and lhd. Don't get the fluids mixed up either or your find yourself in one heck of a pickle. :p

    Congrats on completing the first part of your journey!
     
  4. vtg

    vtg Member

    That only ranks #2 with me. I find the hardest part of routinely driving my mini is that when I do decide to drive my Chevy, I have this tendency to enter it via the passenger door. This almost always happens when there are people around to view my goof and it can be quite embaressing. But I've now found a method of dealing with it when it happens. I continue to open the door even after I realize my mistake and then open the glove box and pretend I'm looking for something in there and then walk away from the truck and go back to it later the proper way after all the people who saw my first attempt have left the vicinity.
     
  5. fupabox

    fupabox Well-Known Member

    LOL...:D you know how many times I've "checked " my glovebox...almost p**sed myself when I read you do the same thing..,,nothing to see here...look away:p

    grats on getting the van Downhere.....liquid Tide,hot water and a nailbrush will remove the human slime from the interior...can't remember how many vehicles I scrubbed out for car dealers in highschool,but Tide always worked the best..the nailbrush will get into the cracks
     
  6. erixun

    erixun Member

    WWWHHHHHEEEEEEEWWWWWWW HHHHOOOOOOOOOO! Finally! I remember getting mine off the trailer, I was like a kid in a penny candy store with a $100!

    The wiper issue will come with time, going to the wrong door of other vehicles... not so much.

    Throw some pics up when you get a chance, but for now, enjoy your little beastie!!!:D

    And are you considering camo wrap? or some other wrap? I think the deck vans are way cool when they are lifted and wrapped.
     
  7. downhere

    downhere Member

    Daytime running lights done! Back seat lap belts done! New snaps for box cover done! Next on the list is to take all the window visors off and redo the two sided tape (rattling is annoying). My wife says that i'm spending to much time with her... She wants me to name her.
     
  8. Stuff99

    Stuff99 Moderator Staff Member

    lol once you name it, its all down hill from there!
     
  9. Meesho

    Meesho Member

    Hello, it is equipped with the new "glow in the dark" feature that I heard most JDM vehicles come with after March 11?
     
  10. downhere

    downhere Member

    Hey Meesho, didn't your parents tell you that if you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all. Every time I read one of your posts there is a negative connotation to it. Did your parents forget to hug you as a kid? Do you need one right now? Play nice or i'll have to start a No Meesho's Club...
     
  11. Ironraven

    Ironraven Active Member

    WOOT!!! Congrats man, I'm glad it's finally arrived :D Now hurry up with those pics ;)
     
  12. downhere

    downhere Member

    Sorry about the wait for the pics but here they are! This little truck absolutely blows me away. It by far exceeds anything I ever expected.
     

    Attached Files:

  13. downhere

    downhere Member

    Here are some more!
     

    Attached Files:

  14. downhere

    downhere Member

    Here are some pics showing some of the work that i've done. The seat belts were mounted to the back of the cab because there wasn't any real way to mount to the floor without a massive amount of work. I used 1/4" x 2" x 4" plate steel to back them up. It probably would have been cleaner to go through the floor but I would have had to drop the tank and hack up the seat bracket. I also installed new snaps for the tonneau cover. The old snaps were rusty and loose so I riveted new ones on.
     

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  15. Stuff99

    Stuff99 Moderator Staff Member

    very nice!
     
  16. downhere

    downhere Member

    I installed my stereo last night. It was killing me not having any tunes in the truck. I chose a Pioneer DEH-7300BT for two reasons. First being price, I have an account at an electronics wholesaler and got it for $150.00. The second reason was the bluetooth feature because on Sept 1 Alberta is handsfree. The speakers are the TS-A1072R which are 3-way 4" to go in the stock door spaces without any mods. I will be putting some rear speakers in later but have to decide what and where. The deck went smoothly because of the info on this site as i'm an idiot with wires.
     

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  17. walk thru ko

    walk thru ko New Member

    Do you mind if I ask, why did you decide on a Deck Van rather than a Truck? Is your primary reason for purchase a people hauler, as it seems the hauling capacity for the Deck Van is limited?

    Just curious because I am nearing my first purchase of a Mini Truck and I am trying to decide between a Truck or a Truck with a dump bed.

    What process did you go through to finally decide on a Daihatsu rather than a Mitsubishi or Suzuki, again curious because I am trying to decide between those three?

    And, is it OK to ask, who did you purchase from? Are the Site Sponsors here the most reliable dealers to work with?

    Thanks a lot!!
     
    Last edited: Aug 30, 2011
  18. downhere

    downhere Member

    Hello and welcome to the site. I bought the Deck van for may reasons. First being that I think that they look real cool. Second that I have two kids and didn't want them to have to play rock paper scissors every time we went out. So yep a people mover. Third is that I think they look real cool again. I have a 3/4 ton diesel truck so I really don't need a big box. The Daihatsu is the only factory deck van so i really had no options on brands. I didn't buy the truck from a site sponsor because deck vans are pretty rare and I found a importer who had one in Japan. As far as the site sponsors go, they all seem to be very active on this site sharing very helpful info. That in my mind shows integrity and a desire to spread knowledge. I would give one of the sponsors first kick at the can on your purchase. Good luck!!!
     
  19. Ironraven

    Ironraven Active Member

    Snazzy! Congrats on finally getting your truck :)
     
  20. bcjj

    bcjj New Member

    That is the coolest thing I have seen yet!
     
  21. downhere

    downhere Member

    I was recently stopped by the DOT sheriffs to check if my Deck van was up to par. After 1 1/2 hrs all they could get me on was my tires. I expected they would catch the lack of DOT certification on them. I went back and forth on the rim choices. I had a choice of automotive rims or atv rims. With the automotive rims I would have to purchase hub adaptors and still not have much choice. With atv rims they would not be DOT certified. I phoned ITP the manufacture of the rims in question and asked them if the rims would work for this application and got a resounding HELL YEAH. In europe they do this all the time on street legal atv and utv's. So here it is...
     

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  22. downhere

    downhere Member

    Here are a few more! Because of the offset of the rim I only have about 1/2" of clearance between the sliding doors and the tires. It's amazing the change in looks by adding tires and rims. I thinks my next step will some sound proofing and then hopefully over the winter a new paint job. I also need another set of speakers for the stereo. I would like some more bass but have limited space for it. I built some speaker boxes for under the rear seat but there is only enough space for 6" speakers. I thought about buying a powered Bazooka tube but would need another inch under the seat.
     

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  23. fupabox

    fupabox Well-Known Member

    truck looks sweet...the rims look great..."Tang Band" makes a great range of high quality subwoofers from 2" and up...yes 2 inches...and they are amazing to hear in person...easily fit some 4 inchers under the rear seats
     
  24. zeroduty

    zeroduty New Member

    The wheels and tires look very good. What size are the tires?
     
  25. downhere

    downhere Member

    The tires are 155 65 R14 Nokian Hakka R's. The rims are ITP 212 machined 14"x6". I am really happy with the feel as the truck seems to have more stability with the wider tires and rim offset. The ride is also cushier which is nice...
     

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