|
|
Jan 19, 2012 17:21:23 GMT
|
Some of you may or may not be aware of my fascination with Delicas? It's a bit of a sad tale of a guy obsessed with a particular car. This is one of those cars where some background info might set the scene a little better, so I'm afraid you'll be getting a bit of history about me and Delicas before we get to the actual cars in question. This won't be just a build thread, but a tale of adventures, modifying, more adventures and lots more modifying! Sorry about that, but if I just did this as a build thread then I'd be doing a massive mis-service to these amazing machines.... Back in 2002/2003 when I owned a 2 seater Smart and a 2 seater BMW Z1, I had been thinking of buying something like a Toyota Townace or Nissan Largo to use as a weekender car, something I could just chuck the bedding and supplies into and head off my my GF for some camping and surfing or biking. I'd been pretty happy using either the Smart or the Z1 for this, but carrying capacity for two of us, with a tent, bedding, clothing, 'stuff' and sometimes even bikes became an increasing issue. More space would be great! My hunt for a suitable vehicle culminated in me nearly putting a deposit on a Nissan Largo (boxy shape like this one) The one I had found suddenly made me realise that camping could take on a whole new level of awesome with the facility to have all the space in the back arranged as a bed, or a lounge....or for carrying our stuff in the first place. As said, I was about to put a deposit on the one I'd viewed when, what I can only describe as "this thing" drove past me in the street. It was very much like a Largo, but cooler and taller. It was like a Largo on stilts! I had to have one. Some interwebs searching later I established it was called a Delica...and this led me to finding lots of info on them. I just *had* to have one! My deposit for the Largo got put back in its safe place. After establishing what all the model & spec differences there were, I started out with a bog standard but top spec mint condition Delica back in about 2003 when my 6 month UK wide search for one in the spec I wanted and in the condition I wanted came up for sale about 300yds from my house. It had everything on my 'must have' list which was, by this time, pretty specific. It was also in very, very mint condition. Within 24hrs of spotting it, a deposit was paid and 24hrs later I was the proud owner of my first Delica. Nicknamed the 'Mystery Machine' by some of my friends because of its shape, it's a name that stuck and not only did the Delica become known with that name, it became my user name on forums and still stays with me today. 2 days after picking the Delica up, Amanda and I headed down to Woolacombe for a weekend away - our first use of the new motor. We only had the 'basics' which we'd used previously from holidays in the Smart or Z1 and it all looked a bit lost in the boot of the Delica. No having to pack everything in carefully....just sling it in the boot and hit the road. We took the scenic route rather than the motorway because the Delica feels more like a 'roadtrip' vehicle than a motorway bruiser. It's a "we get there when we get there" relaxed drive in these and I decided to give into this and we ventured to North Devon via the A38 and across the stunning moors and countryside rather than the M5. It was an ace intro to an awesome weekend with an amazing motor and my lovely girlfriend. As soon as we got to the campsite, the tent was put up. For the first time, this wasn't for sleeping in, but rather to use as a 'store' for our stuff while we slept in the van at night and to keep the bedding in during the day while we explored the area and spent some time in the sea The only 'full' shot I've got of it in its standard form. Life with Delica's was looking promising Parked up at Woolacombe beach, we return from some surfing to enjoy a cuppa via our little camping stove and sit & enjoy the sun while we dry off Making the tea & drying off, even Amanda was beginning to like having the space and convenience of the Delica. Even having somewhere to hang the wetsuits was quite a novelty. Next up....first mods.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jan 19, 2012 17:54:41 GMT
|
Hee. I'm an L400 fan myself, but haven't been able to afford a non-rusty one - my last one went a bit crusty on the chassis legs at the front at the same time as the diesel pump doing the usual business.
|
|
|
|
PHUQ
Part of things
Posts: 859
|
|
Jan 19, 2012 19:15:16 GMT
|
Some of you may or may not be aware of my fascination with Delicas? Only if you've had your head in a bucket of sand (or, not looked in to the A52 thread). I googled these when there was one up for sale on here recently, and I've got to say (as a die- hard Landy nut) I was incredibly impressed with how capable and practical they look to be. One on the "I wouldn't mind one of those one day" list.
|
|
|
|
duncanmartin
Club Retro Rides Member
Out of retro ownership
Posts: 1,320
Club RR Member Number: 70
|
|
Jan 19, 2012 19:18:46 GMT
|
More please! I love the look of these, but don't know much about them...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jan 19, 2012 19:24:12 GMT
|
I miss my Delica sooooo much... seeing your pics of trips away in it reminds me of good times with mine! So much space and options... time to have a look on eBay and have a browse whats around!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jan 19, 2012 20:11:26 GMT
|
No sooner were we back from Woolacombe and I was back out on the road again. I'd spotted a Delica for sale on Autotrader which had a roof crate. L300 roof crates are rare (especially back in 2003 where there was very little knowledge of them and next to no clubs for the Delica to source parts from) so I rang the seller who happened to be a dealer, and negotiated a price to buy the rack from the vehicle. £150 and I could come and get it. I talked him down to £100 which for a proper Delica rack was pretty good back then. To me, it was well worth the round trip to Southend & back to collect it. It makes me laugh when you read people moaning that a car they really want is "too far away" but I'm happy to do just over 350 miles to collect a large roof rack!! Despite having more load space than I was used to, I wanted a roof crate and I knew it would come in handy, so was very happy with my purchase. ^ the only photo I can find of the new roof crate....but this was a shot where I'd photoshopped the Delica a bit higher because I was already planning a lift for the vehicle even though I'd only had it a week! ^ Next stop....a full-on two week trip away with Amanda. Very excited I was!
|
|
|
|
k18ary
Part of things
Posts: 120
|
|
Jan 19, 2012 20:58:20 GMT
|
Love a Mystery Machine build thread/topic.....the reason I am on RR.
Keep it coming
Barry
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jan 19, 2012 21:33:38 GMT
|
looking forward to the rest of this
|
|
'90 Audi B3 Coupe 2.3 Auto [gone] '92 Audi S4 Avant 2.2 AAN Turbo Auto [gone] '93 Audi 80 Avant 1.9TDi [gone] '96 Audi A4 Avant 2.6 Quattro [gone] '97 VW T4 1.9td LWB [gone] '03 Skoda Octavia 1.9TDi [gone] '05 VW T5 Shuttle LWB 1.9TDi '15 VW Caddy Maxi Kombi 1.6TDi
|
|
|
|
Jan 19, 2012 22:56:39 GMT
|
A week after our trip to Woolacombe and we're off on a two week holiday. Perfect time to really get to use the Delica for its intended purpose...camping out of. Since buying the roof crate, I'd also invested in a proper camping stove, a picnic table, a cheap picnic set....basically stuff to make our stay more 'independent' - home cooking here we come (living out of a Smart or Z1 you tend to rely on pub food!) We head off to Woolacombe again and back to the campsite from before. Except this time it's the beginning of the summer hols and the campsite is very, very much busier. The flat area we were in before is now packed and the only spot we can find is at the bottom of a steep slope near some bushes right in front of some other people. The only real 'space' on the whole site is on the slope behind us, but it's steep enough not to want to try and sleep on, even in a comfy Delica with some levelling blocks (even they weren't enough to get it near level) Luckily, the guys next to us are a right laugh and we get on really well (good job, there was literally feet between us and them). We share some beers and get the Delica set-up for the night on the busy campsite. The empty grass area around the Delica is a LOT steeper than it looks! Here you can see the new roof crate coming into use...with no room to pitch our 'store' tent, the windbreaks and other bits are left on the roof. A very, very comfy nights sleep and we wake to the sight of the sea and the rest of the packed campsite After a cuppa and some bacon butties, we head to the beach and proceed to spend 30 mins quite literally stepping over people in order to find a space big enough to sit down on. I've never been on a beach so packed in my life! We'd been to Woolacombe quite a bit before, but never during the summer hols. No sooner had I sat down, I was up again protesting about how crowded it was and that the campsite was bound to be even busier tonight and for the whole two weeks. I couldn't stand it! With that, I dragged Amanda back to the Delica, we got in and I started driving...much to her annoyance. We drove for 7hrs, back through Devon, through Somerset, past Bristol, across the bridge into Wales, then past Newport, Cardiff, Swansea, Carmarthen and pretty much all the way to the most western point we could go....all the way to Pembrokeshire. A place I knew would be less busy. Amanda was still in a foul mood, so I suggested we set-up camp and make the most of it....if she didn't like it she could drive us back to the mayhem of North Devon! Despite the unhappy girlfriend, I LOVED the drive from Devon to Pembrokeshire. it made me fall even more in love with my Delica and I knew this was the start of something great. We unpacked the cooker and Amanda got to work making some food. I was busy unloading the rood crate safe in the knowledge that the campsite was about 5% full, there was LOADS of space for us not to be penned in and that the beaches would probably be the same...empty compared to Devon. Literally 50 ft from the campsite, this was our view. Amanda was expecting to be greeted with the same crazy crowds she was in Woolacombe, but I knew different. She would soon forget the 7hr drive. Over the course of the two weeks we were there, we had a pretty good thing going. Our little tent/cooker/windbreak/Delica area was perfected and camping life was amazing. This was about as busy as the campsite got...just look at the crazy amounts of tents we had to deal with! Just 200yds from the campsite, about 2 mins walk down through some sand dunes and this was the beach we had. A far, far cry from the chaos on Woolacombe. It was a real novelty having the space in the motor to carry the cooker, the table, all the stuff we wouldn't have brought in the Smart or Z1. I know an estate would have coped with all this too.... ....but then could you sleep in this kind of comfort in any estate car?? I don't think so? People from all over the campsite came and commented on how comfy it looked in the Delica. It certainly got a lot of people wondering why they hadn't thought of something like as a 'cross' between a proper camper and an estate car. It was such an amazing place to sleep when you're more used to a blowy tent. Having curtains, heating, remote stereo and those electric roof blinds. Luxury! Suffice to say we had an amazing holiday in Pembrokeshire (I'd been going there all my life and knew it would be great) and a large part of that was thanks to my new toy. My Delica.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jan 19, 2012 23:17:52 GMT
|
Cool dude i love it!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jan 19, 2012 23:19:06 GMT
|
Haha....just wait 'til I get going. This thread has been 9 years in the making!!
|
|
|
|
Ginge
Part of things
Posts: 65
|
|
|
Where abouts in pembrookshire did you stay?
Great read this thread, felt like i was there in some parts..
Ginge
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
^^^ This shot...just reminded me of Tofino/Ucluelet and how much I need to go back to Vancouver Island to do some more winter surfing. I am living in the wrong part(s) of Canada. Eurgh. Back on topic - please don't continue this thread , I have 2 buddies now with Delicas MM...I...I....I must resist!
|
|
Last Edit: Jan 20, 2012 4:14:23 GMT by camerashy
|
|
|
|
|
No sooner were we back from holiday and I started on my first mod. Spotlights. Mine was the only Delica I'd ever seen at this point that didn't have any spotlights in the centre of the bull bar. It seemed that they were a staple part of Delica ownership and all I had seen so far had either the factory option spots fitted, or aftermarket ones. The day I headed off on holiday I'd also scored a nice set of PIAA spotlights from eBay for £50. When we got back from our fortnight break, they were waiting for me. They came off a Pajero and were the 'full size' 8" twin filament lights (H4 bulbs) and also came with a stainless Jaos spotlamp bar for a Pajero. I stuck the spotlamp bar straight back on eBay and got £90 for it after some frantic bidding - they are quite sought after (all Jaos stuff is) but I never expected to nearly double my money by selling off the 'leftovers'. Maybe a decent description and some good photos helped me (the original listing for the spots and lamp bar was pretty poor) The spotlights had a fair bit of rust around the chrome rings - rotted through at the very bottom, so I looked up PIAA UK (they are a Japanese make) and found the UK headquarters were based in Weston-Super-Mare.....about 20 miles away. I drove down there to see if they had anything like it in stock but alas, it was a special order item because they didn't hold much stock for these lights. The owner of the place was very kind and actually offered to open a set of brand new lights and remove the chrome rings for me. He'd put the ones I'd ordered back in the pack when they arrived, "save you having to wait for them to come in heh?" Companys like this are just awesome. At only £14 for the pair of rings, I thought it was a very good price, especially when I found out what a brand new pair of these lights would cost: £430!!! It seems my eBay purchase was a true bargain. For anyone that doesn't know much about PIAA, they are the light manufacturer that most motorsport people now turn to for the best quality lights. Without further ado, I set to pulling the front of the Delica apart. Not having any wiring for them meant I needed to install them from scratch and I didn't just want to thrown them in with some stray wire. Lights out, tools at the ready.... It's funny looking back at how basic my range of tools were at the time. A socket set and some cheap screwdrivers....and all work had to be carried out on the driveway or courtyard (this pre-dates Area 52 by about 6 years) Drilled the brackets in the main bull bar section to carry the lamps Trial fitting the lamps and routing the wiring I wanted to maintain the function of both filaments so had to wire them as if running a pair of spotlights and a pair of fogs. To maximise their brightness I decided to run them direct from the battery via relays and also through independent switches. One set to come on with the headlights (but could be switched off anytime) and the other set to come on with the main beam (again, with the function to isolate them if I wished) This meant a fair bit of wiring! Also taking a feed from the existing dip & main beam to act as triggers for the lights I always try and keep my wiring as neat as possible Because of the way the engine lid lifts the whole passenger seat and centre console I had to run the wires quite a long way to get them to the centre console where the independent switches would be placed All tidied up and ready for the spots to be fitted and hedlights to go back in For some reason I can't find the pics of cutting the bull bar plastic cover to get these to fit and sit correctly, or the pics of the switches on the centre console, but here they are all fitted and making the front of the Delica look a bit more purposeful. I wasn't too keen on the black grilles on the front, it didn't quite work with the chrome bull bar, so I decided it looked cleaner and neater with them off The difference at night was amazing! The original dipped and main beams were very good anyway, but these things just managed to illuminate everything so well. Visibility was massively improved and my journey into the modifications had begun.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jan 20, 2012 10:20:56 GMT
|
^^^ This shot...just reminded me of Tofino/Ucluelet and how much I need to go back to Vancouver Island to do some more winter surfing. I am living in the wrong part(s) of Canada. Eurgh. Back on topic - please don't continue this thread , I have 2 buddies now with Delicas MM...I...I....I must resist! Vancouver Island you say? Tofino? Maybe these will jog some fond memories then: A familiar sign on the Pacific Rim Highway Looking down onto Long Beach On the stunning Long Beach In Tofino itself, looking out over the islands of Beck, Stone and Amet. I will return there one day. Funnily enough, a big part of this thread will include Canada, but that happens around 2006, we're still on 2003 at the moment, and a hell of a lot happens between those two dates ;D
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jan 20, 2012 12:13:45 GMT
|
With the front lights sorted, you'd think that would be enough...but no, not for me. I wanted MORE! Off came the PIAA's and the bull bar top cover. Inside is a middle support bracket that seemed to have no real purpose other than to support the top cover I did think it looked a bit heavy duty just to support a thin, light bit of plastic. However, it would be very suitable as a base to mount some more lights. A rummage around in the garage and I come across this stray bit of ally. Some measuring, cutting and drilling later I had a plate that 'kinda' fitted into the area inside the bull bar main cover After offering it up it hit quite a few bits of the main bull bar and also blocked access to the mounts for the PIAA's. Some more measuring and trimming later, this fitted pretty well and allowed full access to refit/remove the PIAA's for future maintenance. With the template made, I headed indoors and drew up a neater version to be made in steel. I also made some spacers to allow the new spotlights to clear the bull bar cover and sit neatly in the space I had planned. I could have made the spacers much simpler, but seeing as I was getting the laser cutting done anyway, it made sense just to have these cut at the same time and then stacked to give the correct spacing/alignment. I can't find the CAD drawing anywhere, but here is the new bracket made along with the spacers...next to the original mount. All these parts were then sent off to be acid dipped and zinc plated. When I got the parts back from the zinc platers, I started assembling the lights (stainless KC Daylighters flipped upside down but with the lense and clamps mounted the right way up) This is the only photo I can find with the lamps fitted before I carried out any more mods to the car. Combined with the PIAA's and already good main beams, lighting on dark country lanes was phenomenal! Next up....roof crate (again!)
|
|
|
|
nutter81
Part of things
I joined facebook so i could talk to the missus
Posts: 928
|
|
Jan 20, 2012 13:01:43 GMT
|
been waiting for this one
|
|
|
|
nofrills
Posted a lot
my wings are made of Steeeeeeeel!!!
Posts: 1,243
|
|
Jan 20, 2012 15:24:03 GMT
|
Gotta say i love reading and looking at your stuff MM you always do a great write up with some awesome pictures, bookmarked!
|
|
|
|
smellyferret
Posted a lot
Back in a retro after 7 years!
Posts: 1,121
|
|
Jan 21, 2012 12:08:26 GMT
|
This is going to be a looooooong thread! (and call me biased but I love an L300 too..)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jan 21, 2012 13:35:18 GMT
|
i spy a polo coupe on the far left! is it wrong i think this would look cool slammed, sorta like those rascal vans but bigger, but you wouldnt do that as it would be less usable which defeats the object of having it ;D keep up the good work
|
|
1977 mk1 Polo & 1991 Polo Coupe NZ
|
|
|