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The adventure begins

Discussion in 'Introductions' started by darisb, Nov 6, 2015.

  1. darisb

    darisb Member

    My wife and I are buying a 1990 Daihatsu S83P. I am leaving tonight on an 1,900 mile road trip from Oregon to California and back to pick it up. In preparation for the tip I borrowed a 12 foot trailer from my mother-in-law. I removed the plastic tool box and the motorcycle rack from the trailer, earlier this week. This morning I hook up the trailer and start to head off to work, when I realize I forgot something. I drive up from the shop to the house. When I get out at the house, three of the deck boards are falling off the trailer. Further inspection reveals most of the nails holding the deck boards down are rusted off. The only thing holding most of the deck boards down was the tool box and the motorcycle rack. I had to run to the building supply place and buy galvanized carriage bolts, nuts and washers. I ended up begin 2.25 hours late to work this morning. Hopefully that is all that will go wrong on this trip.
     
  2. darisb

    darisb Member

    It's quitting time. I'm heading out straight from work. I'll stop for the night along the way and get some rest. The plan is to pick up the Hijet Saturday afternoon or evening, and then continue South to visit with my brother and sister-in-law for the rest of the weekend. Pics to follow.
     
  3. Tuskano

    Tuskano Member

    Oooo have fun with your trip! Looking forward to the pictures.
     
  4. darisb

    darisb Member

    The trip is going smoothly so far. I met the importer and picked up our truck. It is a 3 way dump with differential lock. It is in pretty good shape for a 25 year old truck. It only has 17,000 k on the clock. Here is a pic from last might.
     

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    Last edited: Nov 8, 2015
  5. Tony Evers

    Tony Evers Active Member

    Nice looking truck. I'm sure you will have fun doing all the improvements over the next year.
     
  6. darisb

    darisb Member

    Thanks. The truck seems to be in really nice condition. The dump bed and tail gate have had a few so-so repairs. The repairs are functional, but not as "pretty" as I would like them to be. I will need to decide how picky I'm going to be about fixing it up.

    I made it home last night at 10 PM. Fortunately, there were no issues with the Tahoe or the trailer. Seventeen and a half hours on the road yesterday. I backed the trailer into the shop last night and disconnected my wife's Tahoe, so that she could take it to work today. We will back it off the trailer tonight after work.
     
  7. darisb

    darisb Member

    My wife and I backed the Hijet off the trailer Tuesday night and took it for a couple quick spins around the property. Wednesday was a holiday and it was raining. My daughter and I jumped in the truck and drove it down feed the horses. The horses couldn't have cared less about the truck. You never know with horses, especially the Arab. Next we drove it to the chicken coop to let them out, and we discovered that we forgot the chicken food. We drove up to the house, grabbed the chicken food, then drove back down to the chicken coop. I had the heater running and we were able to stay dry. My wife drove the truck this morning to take care of the animals. We're both thinking that the Hijet is going to be great for chores around the house.

    I think I would like to install some 250 lb springs, change the oil and plugs, and replace the fuel and air filter.
     
    Last edited: Nov 13, 2015
  8. Tony Evers

    Tony Evers Active Member

    Your right on the money with how your thinking, I installed afco 10" 300# coils on mine because I typically carry 55 Gallon spray tank. But 250# is perfect for two people plus a few bales of hay. You will have to level it out. Because the new coils will raise front end about 2". so make a couple of pairs shackles for rear leaf spring. Also I bought almost new tires. 175/70R13 it really makes a differance. don't forget rotor and cap. wires if you have the extra cash. But I found no hurry for any of those things. just spread it out and enjoy tinkering with your new ride.
    Tony 1996 Carry
     
  9. darisb

    darisb Member

    Thanks for the confirmation Tony. My truck seems to run pretty well. I definitely have cap, rotor and wires on the list, but further down on the list. I want to replace the stock tires as well. We've got a lot going on, so I don't want to spend too much, too fast.
     
  10. Psycho Mike

    Psycho Mike Member

    Sounds like you found a good little truck, Darisb :) Keep us in the loop as to what you end up doing with it :)
     

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