OT: JDM Vans??

[72gmc]

Originally Posted by William

Yup, like this one. I see them in the wild every so often around here.



W.

Pretty sure I co-drove one of those from Seattle to Mount Bachelor and back, and might have slept in the front seat in order to "save" on lodging at Whistler, when I was in college. No real recollection other than slow + steady.

[C40_guy]

You want a Volvo Laplander.

Left hand drive, some of the mechanicals are off the shelf at your local Volvo dealer, uber rare.

[Mike V]

[cmbicycles]

Originally Posted by R3awak3n

yeah the space gear is a better van at every single aspect but one, looks... it looks like a mini van. While the L300 was a pretty special looking van, the l400 is not. However, what I say is, if you actually want to use the van, the l400 is the one to get, if you want to have a cute van to use here and there, then the l300 is just cooler.



also the acty is my new obession. I have been looking.

I see one like this around me frequently. Its white, and has huge dual smokestacks behind the cab, probably 8" diameter at the top... it looks ridiculous, lol.

[retropean]

My buddy and I import Actys to the east coast. They are 25 years old - but in relatively great shape, it is rare to find such a raw driving experience in a vehicle that hasn't been hacked to death by modifications and poor maintenance budgets in US market cars.
Hiace is definitely next on my list! Some of them come with built in coffee makers!

[Mike V]

At today’s Cars N Coffee

[JAGI410]

There has been a couple sweet vans on carsandbids lately

Camper style (still available!) https://carsandbids.com/auctions/9lQ...sing-cabin-4x4

Just sold. Including the coffee and ice maker! https://carsandbids.com/auctions/rMz...om-limited-4wd

[JAGI410]

I finally gave in, and I'm loving it! 5spd, 4wd, turbo diesel, 7 seater.

[Ralph]

Originally Posted by benb

There was some sort of Toyota Van that looked a lot like these sold in the US in the late 80s. I remember getting trucked around in one as a kid, and I kind of doubt the people we were carpooling with had gone to some ridiculous effort to import a van.

I can't figure out exactly what it was.. it was probably whatever Toyota sold in the US prior to the Previa. (The Previa was replaced by the current Sienna)

Toyota has a bewildering range of vans they've made around the world but I might try to figure out whatever the heck it was they were selling here before the look changed a lot. You might find one if you're in an area that doesn't rot old vehicles. The 80s one might still be bigger than these modern tiny ones but it'd still be much smaller compared to a modern US market minivan.

edit: They just called it "Toyota Van" in the US in the 80s and it was definitely sufficiently & weirdly japanese.. it had a mid-engine RWD design (in a van!) and a 4-speed transmission. I remember climbing over the strange hump in the cabin to accommodate the mid-mounted engine as a kid.

The Previa had the mid-mounted engine w/RWD too.. apparently none of these sold in huge #s till the Sienna when they abandoned all the Japanese quirkiness and switched to front mounted V-6 with front wheel drive like everything else here.

Dealing with one of these might be a pain but still less of a pain than a JDM van?

I had one of those. Just called a Van by the Toyota dealership, Bought it new, and drove it 105,000 miles without any issues. Traded it back to the dealership, and he sold it off to someone in Puerto Rico.

Mine was a 5 speed manual trans. No cruise control which came with the 4 speed auto model. The engine was a push rod 2.0 4 cylinder. Made like a Toyota fork lift engine. Indestructible! Believe it was advertised at 90 or 100 HP, but it's Tq came at low RPM, so ran OK at 60-65 MPH. Hauled bikes all the country with that thing. You folded the front seat up in the air to get to the engine. A good vehicle. Mine had a factory built in refrigerator. Had front and rear AC also. Might be worth fixing one of those up if you found one with good body.