Hello All,
Thought I may as well join here. First off, I'm not Japanese. I live in Japan with my family and we have a 1993 Hiace 4WD (LH119) 2.8 Diesel Camper which we use for getting away with. I believe it's the only model that was actually built as a camper new - by Toyota. It's a beautifully completed conversion.
I have to say, vans aren't usually my thing at all but a family with 2 small kids does tend to bend the perspective. I've actually grown to really like it as it's so good at what it does (except it's so bloody slow.. but more on that later...). It's got 2 double beds, sink, stove, fridge, front & rear air conditioning and good storage spaces too. Downstairs turns into either an 8 seater van (With seatbelts for each occupant), or a 4 person dining room, or a bedroom with full curtains, etc.
I have to admit, I am addicted to modifying stuff (mostly bikes, cars & the house!) but the Hiace isn't going to escape my attention. Neee...hehe.
It's in need of a bit of a makeover as there's a few bits of rust, etc. so I've been collecting bits ready to have it re-sprayed later on this year.
I've been doing stuff like fitting a fan with 3-speed vent on the roof, replacing the (rusted & dented) rear door and back lights with those from a later model (Not shown in the pictures below as this was only recent). I also bought a new complete set of moldings & trims from Toyota & found a few accessories for the exterior incl. a wider sliding door hinge, which I already fitted - so I can fit some nice wide over fenders and some deep dish (zero offset) 15 x 8 wheels after the paintjob is done.
I've also already bought a tow bar and a motorbike carrier, which I plan to fit to the back.... See, it's really frustrating having a van with the home inside when we come to beautiful Japanese mountain roads...
To have a nice lightweight Motard bike on the back would be the perfect answer when we need to have someone whizz off to buy groceries....
Inside it's already got a Parrot 2 DIN head unit, but the standard speakers the van came with new disintegrated years before we became it's custodian. The foam on the rear speakers had turned to powder. So I'm awaiting two amplifiers and have something like 12 speakers and one compact subwoofer to fit behind the driver's seat (Which is a Recaro now - as I hated the original torture pedestal on there!). That'll make long distance trips a little less wearing, I hope. The sound system won't be for pumping bass as such, more about having good sound quality that doesn't need full volume, but gives plenty of clarity. Acoustics in a vehicle are never very good, but may as well maximize the quality so we actually enjoy listening to music.
What really gets to me is how slow this thing is though. Overtaking requires good timing & planning. We've recently completed a 700km trip and I can't say it was a fun drive, although the benefit I guess - is that my wife could drive whilst I slept in the back with the kids, until it was my turn.
But every cloud has a silver lining. In my search for what Turbos (2-LT's manifolds fit quite easily, apparently - but then I may need a CT20 Turbo?) would fit my 3L (2.8 N/A Diesel) engine, I came across this site which I didn't know existed....
Anyways, I could go on, but I'd best stop here.
I have a few questions, but felt it was rude to just jump in asking for help without an introduction first.
So - Yoroshiku!
[EDIT] - Seems I can't post images for the first 7 days, so I guess I'll have to wait.
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Mon Aug 11, 2014 3:02 pm
