OT: JDM Vehicles

[William]

A few years ago we had this thread running about vans and I had been looking at the Mitsubishi Delicas quite a bit...

https://forums.thepaceline.net/showt...ica+mitsubishi


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fgXXhO51gM


Living on the East Coast at the time there were no examples locally for me to check into. Well, now that we are on the West Coast and not far from the Canadian border where these things are generally brought in I'm seriously considering this again. There are some for sale locally so I can get a close up look and see how well I can fit into one (being from the land of the Giants and all). Putting the local units aside, has anyone here ever worked with an importer and brought a JDM vehicle into the States? They claim there are only two forms to fill out and you are good to go (with some tax fees of course). I'm just looking for info and weighing the pros and cons of going this route.

My Landcruiser friends are going to bust my beans for this but these vehicles have intrigued me.








W.

[AngryScientist]

i have wondered myself.

i'm sure some states are easier than others, but what about emissions checks?

i concur with your assessment, traveling around the pacnw, there are a ton of interesting non us cars/trucks that one sees, not so much on the east coast.

[Andy sti]

I have an 80 series, a 100 series and a Sprinter but I still want a Delica.

[AngryScientist]

the other thing to consider when living out in the mountains is what a real drag it is to drive an underpowered vehicle uphill and on highways.

this is my biggest concern when buying an "adventure vehicle" - the bottom line is that, generally speaking to get to all of the fun adventure stuff usually involves extended highway driving and traversing mountain passes, etc - and it can really, really suck to have to do a 6 hour highway drive in a vehicle that is straining to hold 70mph and bogs down when the road turns uphill.

my guess is that these vans have decent offroad prowess, but are a drag to drive on the road to get to the fun.

[William]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

the other thing to consider when living out in the mountains is what a real drag it is to drive an underpowered vehicle uphill and on highways.

this is my biggest concern when buying an "adventure vehicle" - the bottom line is that, generally speaking to get to all of the fun adventure stuff usually involves extended highway driving and traversing mountain passes, etc - and it can really, really suck to have to do a 6 hour highway drive in a vehicle that is straining to hold 70mph and bogs down when the road turns uphill.

my guess is that these vans have decent offroad prowess, but are a drag to drive on the road to get to the fun.

Turbo-Diesel!

JDM?

Japanese Domestic Market vehicles/








W.

[mtechnica]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

the other thing to consider when living out in the mountains is what a real drag it is to drive an underpowered vehicle uphill and on highways.

this is my biggest concern when buying an "adventure vehicle" - the bottom line is that, generally speaking to get to all of the fun adventure stuff usually involves extended highway driving and traversing mountain passes, etc - and it can really, really suck to have to do a 6 hour highway drive in a vehicle that is straining to hold 70mph and bogs down when the road turns uphill.

my guess is that these vans have decent offroad prowess, but are a drag to drive on the road to get to the fun.

That’s why I haven’t fixed the speedometer in my FJ80 don’t know how fast I’m going, don’t care, and definitely am not speeding.

[ScottW]

Also need to consider availability of parts, to the extent that they may differ from USDM cars. Usually chassis stuff like brakes & suspension is not too bad to sort out. More investigation might be prudent if it has an engine that was never deployed in large quantities in this country.

[jtakeda]

Originally Posted by ScottW

Also need to consider availability of parts, to the extent that they may differ from USDM cars. Usually chassis stuff like brakes & suspension is not too bad to sort out. More investigation might be prudent if it has an engine that was never deployed in large quantities in this country.

I wouldn’t worry about the engine components. The window seals, lights, etc. those are the annoying things to replace and much more likely to replace.

[William]

Originally Posted by ScottW

Also need to consider availability of parts, to the extent that they may differ from USDM cars. Usually chassis stuff like brakes & suspension is not too bad to sort out. More investigation might be prudent if it has an engine that was never deployed in large quantities in this country.

A valid point, though there are times I have had to wait to get parts for my 60. A lot places don't carry the parts due to the vehicles age.

There are sources though...

There are vendors operating withing the United States that specialize in imported car parts. Here are some options that may be helpful – otherwise, drop us a line and we’ll see what we can do.

Coombs Country Auto
General parts supplier with particularly good selection for Mitsubishi DELICA
http://www.ccautos.ca/

Delica USA
Good Mitsubishi Delica info and some parts
http://delicausa.com/

Right Drive Parts
Large supplier but many parts not in stock / shipping delays from Japan
http://www.rightdriveparts.com/
eBay (Sambar example)
http://www.ebay.com/sch/Parts-Access...=subaru+Sambar

Buyee – Japan
https://buyee.jp/yahoo/auction
access to auctions.Yahoo.co.jp auctions and more
good option if you plan to buy from Japan regularly.

JP-CarParts
http://JP-CarParts.com
helpful online parts-book

MegaZip
http://megazip.net/
helpful online parts-book
some delay for internal-Japan order consolidation
costly shipping

Yokohama Motors
http://yokohamamotors.net/
quality OEM parts
price somewhat higher than other options
fast shipping if in-stock – otherwise delay for inner-Japan order

Kei Truck Parts – USA

Minitruck Garage
https://www.minitruckgarage.com/

Minitrucks USA
http://www.minitruckusa.com/

Rocky Mountain Imports
We’ve used them and can recommend
quick delivery to USA
http://www.rockymountainimports.net/

FG Procurements
kei truck parts
http://fgpstore.com/

Buckeye Minitrucks
kai truck parts / manuals
http://buckeyeminitrucks.com/

Japan Mini Truck Parts
we’ve use them and can recommend
Quick delivery to USA
ebay user minitruckdotca
http://minitruck.ca/
http://www.japanminitruckparts.com/
https://minitrucktalk.com/threads/ne...u-sambar.6780/

Minitruck Talk tread on parts
Resource/Cross-reference websites:

W.

[FlashUNC]

Driving on the right in a country where all the infrastructure is designed for folks driving on the left side of the car seems like a gigantic pain in the butt.

If rather get an Audi RS2 of similar vintage.

[William]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

Driving on the right in a country where all the infrastructure is designed for folks driving on the left side of the car seems like a gigantic pain in the butt.

If rather get an Audi RS2 of similar vintage.

Okay Daaaaaad.


They biggest issue I see is the drive-thru at the coffee shop. All the rest...meh.







William

[goonster]

Originally Posted by William

They biggest issue I see is the drive-thru at the coffee shop.

Toll booths.

But I hear you have long arms . . .

[William]

Originally Posted by goonster

Toll booths.

But I hear you have long arms . . .

True dat!

Just go through in reverse! You'll be on the "correct" side then

Oh, I get to practice my Rockford'!! Win win!!











William

[cp43]

Originally Posted by William

Okay Daaaaaad.


They biggest issue I see is the drive-thru at the coffee shop. All the rest...meh.







William

Just go through in reverse! You'll be on the "correct" side then

[FlashUNC]

Originally Posted by William

Okay Daaaaaad.


They biggest issue I see is the drive-thru at the coffee shop. All the rest...meh.







William

Toll booths? Those ticket things to get into parking garages? Parallel parking in reverse after years of spatial and muscle memory?

I love the R34 Skyline as much as anyone. Kei cars rule.

But mad tyte JDM just seems miserable as a primary car.