skinnylew
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 5,546
Club RR Member Number: 11
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Bruce, the more I read of your threads, the more respect I have for you. You are a true pioneer, if something isn't available you design it, and design it well in cad and get it made properly. I'd just bodge things like that but you seek a level of detail unnoticed by the majority purely for your own satisfaction and not praise from others. Its no surprise that you got a few awards at the RRJ or that A52 still goes from strength to strength. Now how long till we get to the bit where i did some shoddy interior trimming on the Delica I want my public praise ;D lol
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dalla
Part of things
Posts: 40
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Awesome awesome
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Jan 25, 2012 14:47:38 GMT
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In between messing around with the mods, I was asked if I wanted to go to my friends stag weekend. Normally this would send a shiver down my spine and have me heading for somewhere to hide....I don't 'get' stag weekends generally and have pretty much hated all the ones I've ever been to. Excessive drinking with a few people you know and a load that you don't in parts of the country/world that you'd normally not want to visit. Not for me. However, being Neil and knowing his view of stag parties was very similar to mine, I asked him what was involved: "A weekend doing as many tors on Dartmoor as we can manage, some pub meals and some drinks" That was enough for me to agree and before I knew it, I had volunteered the services of the Delica for carrying people & gear. This was the first time I'd carried seven people and a lot of luggage so it was a good test of the vehicle for me. Only a few hours driving each way, but I was still excited about taking the Delica and using it for one of its intended purposes...people carrying. We got to the chalet in good time and comfort. Most of the guys are quite tall and apart from Tracey (a 'blokey' girl best mate of Neils) everyone was 6' and over! They were all very comfy in the back and really enjoyed their trip down. The perfect people carrier - comfort, luxury and space ....even if it was a bit more cramped than the 'average size' of the population it was designed to carry. They all loved the thing! (Craig on the right sitting forward makes it look more cramped than it really was. When sat normally, there is about 2ft of space between knees...loads of space) Two days of LONG walks, fresh air and some great converstaions Stopping to catch a break every now & then It probably doesn't appeal to most of you compared to getting shitfaced and legless, but I count it easily as the best stag weekend I've ever been on. Having the Delica for hauling duties certainly added to that enjoyment. Good friends having a good time. That's what it's all about if you ask me.
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Jan 25, 2012 19:44:59 GMT
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Since buying the Delica I had been using the UK's biggest Delica forum/club quite a bit to A) find out more about the car and B) to pass on my experiences & knowledge too. I was invited to become a moderator and accepted. Back in 2003/2004 Delicas were still a fairly unknown quantity in the UK so I found it quite a challenge to produce as much info as possible to help other owners. I wrote lots of guides and tips on how to look after, service and modify the L300 and got very involved in the whole thing. My passion for these vehicles was really taking hold. One thing I noticed though was that all communication was online. There weren't any events or meets. Probably because the cars were still fairly new to us Brits, but I figured it might be time to get something together and organise a meet where some of us could finally put some faces to names and actually take the Delica Club into the real world rather than just on the internet. I decided to have it locally, but also somewhere with space for kids & dogs to run around safely and also something a bit more memorable than meeting in a pub car park & having a pub lunch. Weston-Super-Mare was the venue and I knew the attendence would be low....most people fear the new and the unknown, so if a couple of cars turned up than I'd be happy. Early days, but it all has to start somewhere. I was very impressed when I got to the beach and found a couple of Delica already there. Soon there were four Delicas and a couple of other cars which turned out to be people who were thinking of buying a Delica but wanted to see some first hand and talk to owners to get their genuine views. About 15 of us in all, it was a really good day. Considering none of us had ever met (in person) and seeing as the age range spanned from 20 something up to 50 something, the atmosphere was very relaxed and everybody got on really well. A new dimension in Delica ownership had opened up and it really cemented the feeling for me that these were true lifestyle vehicles (lifestyle as in life enhancing, not trend/status) - seeing everyone just 'clicking' and getting on really made me glad to be a part of owning one of these motors. The food was good too! It was a very relaxed afternoon and the time just seemed to fly past. Suddenly internet 'aquaintances' were becoming friends and already asking me to arrange another one again sometime. I too knew it just had to happen. Having a 4x4 and a backdrop of sand dunes, it seemed rude not to put the 4WD system to the test! The beach was deserted by this time, so a few of us had a go at getting to the top. Most of us got close, but a big ridge near the top prevented anyone from actually making it all the way. It was fun all the same A brilliant day was had, I drove home on a real buzz wanting to do more and more with this car. OK, so we could all have taken any car to the beach, but the sort of people the Delica seemed to attract meant the get-together was a very like minded and enjoyable. MOAR I thought to myself. I'd been to loads of car 'meets' before, but it always seemed to be about one-upmanship and out-doing each other. Status and snobbery hidden behind thinly veiled friendships. Not this time. No egos, no competitiveness, just good fun with a bunch of people who bought these vehicles for seemingly the same purpose - to get out there and get more out of life. I LOVE these motors!
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ruffgeezer
Posted a lot
Attracts french tat.
Posts: 1,252
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Jan 25, 2012 20:46:33 GMT
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Great to finally have the story to follow Bruce, must be the way you tell them, you've got me wanting a Delica inspite of the fact I already have one!
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Jan 25, 2012 21:47:03 GMT
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Looks like lots of fun to be had with the mitsi, and are often overlooked. My friends breaking one around a m plate if anythings any good to you Bruce drop me a pm.
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Jan 25, 2012 22:22:07 GMT
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I'd never really given these much thought until I started reading this thread yesterday and then, driving from Subic Bay to Manila, noticed hundreds of the things. Hmmm, will have to give this further consideration, they'd make a great bus for me here.
Looking forward to the rest of this read
Heads off to Philippine Autotrader!
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Last Edit: Jan 25, 2012 22:24:29 GMT by georgeb
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Jan 25, 2012 22:40:26 GMT
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Back on my drive and back to the mods....I decide it's time to ready the Delica for some bigger boots. The stock size wheels with standard issue tyres: I've always felt that L300's look a bit heavy or burdened with the skinny wheels tucked into those arches. Before I can get something more apt on, I need to tackle the issue or clearance. First things first, get the car up and the wheels off... After some measuring, the size of tyre I want to fit will catch on this part of the front step (it's not actually a step, but that is what they are generally called) Some grinder action to clear the area where the tyre will hit on full lock (looks a lot less in the photo!) Remove step and paint the exposed metal to prevent it from rusting My measurements also tell me the tyre will probably catch on this bit of arch at the bottom. Some chopping later, the bottom of the sill end it cut back along with all the plastic trim that you can't see from 'outside' but would hit the tyre. Next up....some new shoes!
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Jan 25, 2012 23:24:52 GMT
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Hmm, they appear to be going for around GBP2,500 - 3,000 here. The trouble is that the adverts aren't very enlightening as to specification e.g "4x4, manual, aircon, full automatic, sariwa,walang pagagawa". See what I mean?
Heading back to KL tomorrow but this may just be a little hunt next time I'm back here. And it's all MM's fault!
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Jan 25, 2012 23:28:26 GMT
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GET ONE!!
Seriously, best vehicle I've ever owned. By a long way.
What you've read so far is just the very beginning of a long and enjoyable journey (for me anyway). I cannot recommend them highly enough and encourage you to get hunting, view some, drive some and get a feel for them. You'll never look back. I get blamed a lot, I am happy to accept that as a burden as long as you give one a go. You'll soon see what I mean ;D
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Jan 25, 2012 23:29:48 GMT
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New shoes? Maybe a bigger shoe size might be in order too. Something like this maybe?? More to come tomorrow....
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skinnylew
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 5,546
Club RR Member Number: 11
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Surely the plural of 'Delica' is 'Delici' ;D
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A gathering of Delicas could be a Delicatessen with all the meat that seems to happen.
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Last Edit: Jan 26, 2012 0:38:04 GMT by Deleted
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BT
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,772
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I think i need to buy one of these simply for this... You have a factory fitted cool box!!! Look forward to seeing the new shoes fitted!
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I think I need to buy one of these simply for this... You have a factory fitted cool box!!! The cool box is a neat feature. Not only can you set it to cool, but also 'HOT' which is great for warming up pasties on a long journey or keeping a take-away warm while driving home. The other function is 'ICE' where it can actually freeze things too. It even comes with a hidden compartment inside with its own ice tray!
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New wheels!! (We all like new wheels don't we?) After scouring eBay pretty much solidly since buying the Delica, I'd seen lots of wheels, but none that really made me want to start bidding. That was until I saw this set of rims that I just knew would work. A set of 3pc split rim cross spokes, I'd never seen a 4x4 wearing this style and I loved them instantly. The fact they were mint and also came with a set of very good BF Goodrich tyres was enough to have me hovering over them in my watch list for the whole of the 7 day auction. As the listing got closer to the end, my want levels ever increased and my excitement mounted at the thought of winning them. I decided my maximum bid and waited, and waited and waited until the very end. They had been listed at £80 and right up until the last few seconds, they remained with no bids. I just knew they would go for silly money in a frenzied bidding war at the last second but I wanted them badly. I had decided on £400 as a max bod knowing the tyres alone would cost me more than that (new BFG's were about £120 each at the time) With 10 seconds to go I fired in my bid then didn't refresh until I knew for certain that the auction had ended. When I did refresh I was met with the message saying I was the winning bidder. I looked down at the total and, shockingly, it was £80!!!! Yep, no one had bid on them...NO ONE! I couldn't believe my eyes! I immediately contacted the seller to say I'd be over on Saturday to collect them...which was only 24hrs away. 100 miles each way, a true bargain and awesome find for my motor. There must be a catch? There wasn't. I got to the sellers house to find a set of mint wheels and tyres. He didn't seem bothered by the low sale price so I paid him, thanked him and loaded them into the Delica, itching to get back and try them on. I had to do a bit more trimming to get them to fit and I was certain that the front steps, although clear of the tyres, would have to come off because they were very close to hitting the tread. So after trimming duties were finished I bolted them on and took the jacks away to be greeted with this sight: Yep - that'll do! They filled the arches out beautifully and really looked the part. Better than I had imagined. For £80 I was pretty damn happy I can tell you. ;D They needed a bit of air and I could see that the front was sitting a bit low, but adjusting the ride height on these is brilliant. A spanner is all that's needed to raise and lower the front....adjustable torsion bars means simply tightening a nut on a long threaded adjuster and up it goes. You can adjust it on its wheels with the full weight of the vehicle on the ground so that you can see it raise millimetre by millimetre until optimum height is acheived. I did this after the photos were taken...but boy did it look good. Things were really starting to take shape. ...and the best bit - I'd had an offer of £120 for the original alloys. They are L400 alloys and were in mint condition. An L400 owner wanted them for his because his own alloys were quite corroded and he decided it was cheaper to buy mine in this condition than to have them refurbished. Happy days!
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I had a 1989 Delica starwagon 2,5 td with ralliart additions that I bought around 1999 . Metallic light blue over white. I bought it to double up for work /pleasure , replacing my transit. Living in Devon at the time their was quite a number available for sale , I was quite spoilt for choice. Bought mine down torquay way in the end. It was an excellent vehicle & the only problem I had , apart from the fuel consumption which didn't matter at the time as I was self-employed , was the over-wheel seat arrangement. I could never get comfortable . I even looked at trading for the newer version ( shown in your WSM photo's ) with engine under bonnet , but at the time the price of them were still around 9-11k !
I brought the Delica down here to Spain with me in 2002 & it ran faultlessly , apart from the 10gallon tank meaning refills needed every 2 & a bit hours ! Ideal to sleep in, wife , elder daughter & 2 dogs had no problems . The air-con is the best of any vehicle I've ever owned . Even with 8 people in it , stuck in traffic the a/c would still drop the temperature so that you could hang meat in it ! lol. In 2003 the engine exploded spectacularly , no idea why as it had all new belts, serviced regularly & only had 80k on the clock . It got parked up as had no time what with rebuilding a house . I did look into replacing the engine but as spares of any sort here have prices to make your eyes water ( 2000€ for an engine from the breakers !!! I could get a recon shipped from the UK for 1/2 that price ! ) I made a few attempts at getting it out the way but as most salveage yards around here wouldn't take anything on UK plates . After 14 months & fed up with having to push 2+tonnes of Delica out of the way on numerous occasions I finally found a bloke who took it off my hands.
With hindsight & then realising that they were sold from new here I wish I hadn't. A lhd one here , even 20 years old , would set you back a minimum of 8k euros ! & that's with near on 300k kms on the clock !! I did have the opportunaity to buy a later one off of someone returning to the Uk about 3 years ago for 50€'s but with a lack of income couldn't really afford the running costs. I've got some pictures somewhere taken on the way down to Spain , which I'll sort out & post when I've a moment. P.S. when I bought mine the blokes I worked with started calling me shaggy or scooby-do from the cartoon 1 ;D
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Last Edit: Jan 26, 2012 9:22:29 GMT by guslopez
Todos con Lorca
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danneh
Part of things
Posts: 65
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Another Mystery Machine thread bookmarked When did the BIG TOO reg come about and when you got it did you already have the end result planned out in you mind? Id love to get BIG SHO for me shogun but i think its probably gonna cost more than i paid for car!
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2004 C2 - The Daily 1992 Shogun - The offroad toy 1991 MX5 - The new project
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stealthstylz
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 14,829
Club RR Member Number: 174
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Jan 26, 2012 10:00:11 GMT
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It's funny seeing the build now whilst knowing what the end result was.
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dalla
Part of things
Posts: 40
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Jan 26, 2012 10:04:31 GMT
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I love it
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