I have been checking out this site for the past couple months. It is a wealth of information. Today I purchased a 1996 Daihatsu Hijet GX Deck Van. I purchased this van through Terra 2 Imports out of Vernon BC. They seem to be very knowledgeable and customer oriented. I want to say a HUGE THANK YOU to Jeremy at Mini Brutes for all of the help he has given me on info about what to look for. For all who haven't dealt with or met Jeremy this guy is a Class Act. The van will hit the water at the end of the month and hopefully make it home middle of next. I have never driven a Kei so this will be an experience. My boy's (10 and 8) and I are planning to do the usual 2" lift, bush guard, Cammo wrap and tires and rims. The tires we will use are the EFX Blades and Motosport Alloy Diesel rims. Thanks for a great site..
Wow, that van is crazy! What a tiny little deck at the back! That being said, the deck-to-van-body ratio isn't that different from some of the crew-cab pickup trucks around here...
Pretty excited! I have a question about the lift though? I know that this is a dead horse question but should I go with the strut spacers up front or a set of 225 to 250 lb springs? Also I have been looking at some of the camo wraps and came across carbon fibre! Maybe an option...
if driving on the street as well as off road I would go for the springs only ...carbon wrapped hmm.. sounds different..kinda Batmanny ..Is that even a word..Batmanlike Batmannish....either way different is cool
Would the springs give me enough lift to stuff a set of 23x10x14R EFX Blades? Batman is kind of a stud so.. I wonder if i'll get more top end out of it with the fast looking carbon fibre??? Kind of debating on vinyl wrap or paint. Is the wrap very scratch resistant?
I think the vans switched to F.I. before the trucks did, have to do some checking though...I am running 155/80/13s which work out to 22.8 and no clearance probs.with just 250# springs...although at 10" wide you will need more lift to clear.....the carbon does sound cool
Welcome to the forum! Nice truck/van! I wanted one of those, but they were a bit out of my price range, I think they look cool with a lift and camo.... but I say that about everything....
So I spent about two hours last night trying to research anything about this unit??? Here is what I know. It is a S110W Twin cam12V. That is it!!! Exporter said it's not fuel injected. The importer isn't so sure about that! The internet isn't so sure about anything to do with these machines! How do I find this out? Will this be a surprise? Heres something that i've been thinking about, the rims that i'm looking at are 14"x7" Diesels with 23"x10"x14" Blades for tires. Will the side doors open with tires that wide? Is there a shorter spring to use in combination with the strut spacer to give me the clearance I will need for the front tires? Whoever answers all these questions will be my new best friend! P.S. I only give that out about 5 times a day so consider it a privilege.
10" being 250mm is going to be quite wide (and power robbing if you are using it on the street)..the rear sliding doors possibly wont clear the rear tires...I wouldn't go for a shorter spring as the stock strut travel is only around 6 inches...you could however go for a 2" longer spring and add a strut extender ..that would give you the needed clearance.....dropping the front diff will be necessary to keep the driveshafts from binding...you will also get some camber issues as you can see from this page,there is little certainty until you lay eyes on it if it is EFI or carb.:frustration: http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/ダイハツ・EF型エンジン
The last one of these I saw in person had wide tires on it (dont remember the size though:frustration and when you opened the rear sliding doors they did rub on the tires. But they still opened with a little effort... just grease the hips and throw in a twinkie. Also just my .02, my camo wrap stuff is more scratch resistant than the paint.
Thanks for all the replies! My wife thinks i'm a bit on the mentally challenged side for having this machine on the brain 24/7. Kind of funny that i've always been a Chevy guy who likes big trucks but this thing excites me. This will be a fun project for the family and a cheap alternative to the big diesel for in town commutes. As far as offroading i'm sure we'll do a bit but we all ride quads so nothing real serious. Looking forward to people walking up and saying what the H**l is that?
I just found out that the deck van is not fuel injected:frustration: Oh well I guess i'll have to live with the minor inconvenience. By chance I was looking for more info about these units on the net and found the Exporters site and was able to see about 30 pics of the van. Sorry about the run on sentence. Still not sure about tires and wheels as I have started a new thread " Riddle me this".
Got news this morning the deck van is coming ro ro and will land in Vancouver at the end of the month.
Well I got an email from the importer concerning shipping on the deck van. This is what it said Regarding the Deck Van - Ro/Ro has been put off (by the shipping line) until the 11th of July (depart) and arrives 25th of July. Was meant to depart between the 24th - 28th of this month and land in the first week of July. My guess, they do not have enough new vehicles so they have delayed it. I am really bummed out waiting for this van. I am naturally impatient by nature. So waiting longer doesn't sit well with me. I understand it isn't the importers fault but i'm tired of talking about the van like its a distant cousin in the Ukraine that i've never met . I am soo looking forward to creating our own little frankenstein with this van.
Very nice van! I know what you mean by being impatient I had to get mine from across the country (USA). By the way wanted to ask what exporters are you using?
Van---Concern First of all let me say it is a beautiful van. Buyer beware... This is what I have read in an article 2 weeks ago and it might help. The world (except Russia) is concerned about the recent Tsunami in Japan and the radiation leaks. All the shipment have been halted (suspended) from Japan because of the concern of automobiles arriving with radiation. This may be one of the reasons that your van is held up. Some containers have been shipped to Russia and then forwarded to their destination. Not meaning to scare you, but I would get somekind of official documentation that the vehicle is free from any radiation, etc. Just my 2 cents. Malcolm
Thanks guy's on the compliments! The van was held up because the Ro Ro wasn't full. As far as the radiation?????? Who knows? Don't they have to steam clean them before they leave the country? I do know that the van is coming from the south in Tōkai, Aichi. I'm sure Canada customs will pull out the geiger counter. Chris, I bought this van through Terra2 imports out of Vernon BC. The patience level is Nil, Negative and lastly NOT! I guess i'll have to buy something in the meantime to pacify me! Ipad here I come!
The Renegade is an awesome quad! I have put a couple of goodies on mine. Full muzzy pipe, power commander 5 programmer, STM roller secondary clutch, steering dampener, full skids, aluminum bumper, Viper 3500lb winch, 28" Zilla's on 14" diesel rims and a custom snorkel kit. We made the snorkels out of aluminum turbo piping. I would highly recommend Can Am's. Only problem with the quad is that it seems to be a magnet to mud. LOL
New update! The deck van will be arriving in Vancouver on July 20. Kind of works out well as we are taking holidays and will be in Vancouver around the 26th! Here's to Canada customs having there act together! I will be renting a U Haul flat deck trailer to tow behind my Duramax! Trailer will cost me $220.00 compared to $525.00 with it being delivered! I know that the fuel will cost me a little more! This whole plan hinges on CANADA CUSTOMS being quick! I have 7 day window for it to work
3 weeks...I'd be getting serious squirrely by now...I think I got my patience at the same place you did...I returned my patience for a refund and got an extra dose of impulsiveness ...gives the spiders in my brain something to chew on
Patience: An ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or annoyance when confronted with delay. I don't really understand what this means???This is driving me CRAZY! Sorry if I have offended any crazy people by saying that but.....I really need to purchase something to take my mindoff this thing! Thought about buying another guitar but believe that 3 might be enough! Terrible thing to say but I don't need anymore tools! Holidays start in a week so maybe that might work.
