Well after probably a year and a half, I finally found a mini truck to my liking and pulled the trigger. 1990 Subaru Sambar 660cc 4 cyl 134 000 km (was advertised as 34 000km ) Super Charged Air conditioning Manual Transmission Extra tall cab It's a little rough cosmetically (small rip in seat, dent in passenger door, and chipped paint) but there's very little rust and it seems to run really well. I had planned on reworking these things anyways. I laugh every time I hit a pot hole because both sun visors fall down (they're really loose). I plan on getting some new, more comfortable seats in there, adding a spray in box liner and a new coat of paint. Probably a new radio too. My only issue is that on the drive home (from Calgary to Edmonton) the A/C wasn't working. I'm not sure what the problem is but it's too cold and rainy now to worry about it. It's good noisy fun!
congrats! When i got my truck i thought the same thing about the seats until i wore a groove in them on the way to Arkansas!
Here's some pics of it. Just made my first haul with it yesterday...building a fence this weekend. That's 80 1x6x6' boards in there. I could have put more in but I wasn't sure how she'd handle it. It actually seemed to quiet down the engine noise! Stopping distance was increased a little but acceleration was still good. The battery clamp was broken when I bought it, but someone had wedged a wood screw in between the terminal and the clamp. I stalled it at a stop sign on the way home (first time driving a stick ) and when I tried to start it up again it wouldn't start! A quick kick to the battery case got it working again, but that was more stress than I needed! Any one know where to find a really small battery terminal clamp for these, the standard automotive clamps are way too big. The supercharger helped with some big hills (actually could accelerate up them!), but mostly is for show boating up and down the street! I've squeaked the tires a few times.
Edmonton huh comming to cruise night Three Hills this Saturday? I'll have mine there plan a few rest breaks for getting the blood going if you do lol. I've done the QE II to Edmonton passed nothing but I wish had held out for super charged. The battery in mine wasn't good for our cold winters i changed the wire ends to standard and got a battery from Wal Mart I think it's 700 cranking amps can't remember fits in box with a tiny bit of hammer modifing to attaching plate but no hold down (it has no room to move). congrats on the truck Oh yes 13" wheels will smooth out the ride some but it is still a truck lol
I don't mind long trips with it (my first ride in it was driving it from Calgary to Edmonton) but you really start to notice how ... perpendicular the seats are. Once I get the A/C working and a new coat of paint/bed liner I'll be looking at some upgraded seats/interior. I've been considering getting larger tires, my speedo is reading a bit high when I'm up at highway speeds (gauge says 100 km/h, gps says 93 km/h). It almost looks like 13" tires (like a 175/70 R13) might bring my speed up to match. I'm just worried about going too much larger than stock...a lot of those tire calculators say that's too big of an increase and you can start to have braking issues?
