1996 Daihatsu Sportrak 1.6 16v efi “Anjou”
A career move which is permanently taking me to the Shetland Islands means that I’m having a clear out of all my toys.
Up for sale to start with is my slightly modified Sportrak. (Photos to be found in this thread).
I bought this a few years ago as winter transport to be used as and when needed by myself and my wife and it was a very clean and tidy low mileage example of the breed. It had never been used off road so the chassis and body were in excellent condition. It grew on me though and I really enjoyed driving it and eventually I decided to do something different with it. If you’ve checked out the thread I’ve linked to for the photos you’ll see exactly what I mean.
So, details then:
It’s a Daihatsu Sportrak Anjou which means it had some nice stickers on it, decent alloys and snazzy side steps on top of the usual spec. It has a 1.6 16v efi engine which gives adequate, if unexciting, performance but if you push it hard it’s surprisingly nippy. However, the handling characteristics don’t inspire driving at speed. They can best be described as slightly better than agricultural so adopting a relaxed attitude to getting anywhere is the best way to drive it. Controls and gearchange are nice and light though so it’s quite car like to drive. It has a certain simplistic charm which I have really come to like. It has selectable 2wd/4wd with selectable high and low range. In normal on road use it is rear wheel drive. I can attest that in snow it’s surprisingly good. I haven’t done any proper off road driving with it but apparently it is much better than many would think. It has quite firm and sporty front seats, electric windows, electric mirrors, central locking and remote back door lock switch in the centre console (the back door isn’t operated with the central locking). It has a panel in the roof which can be opened slightly or completely removed and the currently fitted rear deck can be unbolted and removed for totally open top use in the summer. I still have the original hard top and rear window so it can also be used as a van if required. Very handy for those trips to the tip or local DIY store.
So what have I done to it?
The side steps have been removed. The back of the car has been completely stripped out and a load cover with integral back window (acrylic) constructed. The frame is 20mm x 20mm box section steel with 2mm aluminium chequer plate riveted to it. The same chequer plate has been cut and formed to make the cab appear longer behind the doors and subtly alter the side profile of the car. I think it looks better this way than with no back on at all. The spare wheel carrier has been moved from the back door to the top of the load deck, aligned behind the passenger seat. It bolts through the deck to captivated nuts so can be easily removed if you need to use the deck to strap anything large to. It also means that it can be mounted on the back door again if preferred as the original bolts are plugging the holes in the door. Mounting points have been installed just behind the back window to mount a high lift farm jack (the jack is not included in the sale but are quite cheaply available on eBay if you want to maintain the look). The whole assembly is bolted to the bodywork using the existing bolt holes for the original hard top. The rear wiper has been removed and the number plate mount removed. A new number plate mount was made using 2mm chequer plate and bolted flat to the door and a new number plate light fitted as the original was an integral part of the number plate holder. The back bumpers have been removed and replaced with specially fabricated items of my own design. These are constructed from heavy duty 60mm galvanised steel tube and flat bar and are bolted to the tow bar frame. Removing the back bumpers meant that I had to do something with the rear lights as they were integral with the bumpers. I sourced some LED indicators and stop/tail lights from eBay and mounted these into the existing light blanks on the rear quarters. The reverse and fog lights were relocated to the tow bar frame. Four spotlights are mounted to the top bar of the rear deck and just require the disconnection of one wire when the deck is removed. The spots are wired into a switch mounted in a blank on the dashboard so they can be operated independently of the main lights. The front bumper has been modified with the same 60mm galvanised steel tube as the rear bumpers. Slots were cut in the top of the bumper and strips of flat steel bar welded in upright then the two tubes fitted between and welded. Another flat steel strip was welded between the uprights inside the bumper to maintain rigidity. The body was flatted to give a good key for the NATO green satin paint which was applied using rattle cans. Satin black was used for the bonnet, front and rear bumpers, wheel arch covers, petrol flap, plastic side inserts behind the doors and rear frame. While stripping the bodywork for paint I discovered that the rear wheel arches were holed and rusting, a common problem with Sportraks. I had these repaired by a professional welder. While not concourse, they are solid and are covered by the plastic wheel arch covers anyway. When they were repaired I liberally applied seam sealer over the whole repair, then painted it with underbody sealer before finally overspraying all that with the body colour. I also sprayed tonnes of paint down the insides of the panels to try and cover the bits you can’t see or get at to help preserve them. They are good for years yet. I have also applied Decepticon badges to the radiator grille and back door. It really confuses people who don’t recognise that it’s a Sportrak. The look was completed with the application of Zombie Response Team vinyl transfers to the doors and bonnet along with Zombie Hunting Licence stickers to the windscreen and back window. A couple of small and subtle “Built, Not Bought” stickers were the final addition. I had plans to do more with the car but now that I know I’m “emigrating” to Shetland later this year I have stopped spending money on it.
In addition to all the cosmetic work I have also fitted a new exhaust and catalytic converter, which it needed for the last but one MoT. It also needed new rear brake shoes at the time as the braking was uneven and weak at the rear. It has also had new front pads in the last year. The car is mechanically sound and the bodywork and chassis in excellent condition. It is due to be taxed this month so I will tax it for six months. I can’t remember when the MoT is due but I intend to have a fresh MoT done ready for the new owner.
All in all for a car of this age it is in fantastic condition and attracts attention wherever you drive it. Comments like “Daddy, daddy, why is that man driving such a crappy car, is he very poor?” and “WTF!!” are not uncommon, as are frantically waving, pointing and laughing van drivers on the motorway. This is not a car for shrinking violets or sensible people. It will appeal and appal in equal measure. Perhaps the addition of a Marmite sticker would be appropriate. Whatever, I’ve become really fond of it. We also have an SLK and an X Type and I still prefer to get in this on nice sunny days to tootle around in locally. I’ll miss it.
Having said all that, it’s not perfect. Yes, it’s ready to just drive away and use but there are some niggling faults that any new owner will either live with, like I have, or will want to fix.
They are:
When starting from totally cold the engine does not deliver 100% of its power so seems slow and sluggish. However, after about two or three minutes of driving it feels like a switch has been flicked and full power restored. I think there is something amiss with the cold start system, might even be an easy fix for someone with more engine know-how than me. As I don’t use this as my daily driver I haven’t been particularly bothered and this ethos applies to the other faults listed.
When first started either the fan belt or idler pulley squeals. A quick blip of the throttle stops it.
The passenger door lock will not lock/unlock with the key. It works fine on the central locking. The driver’s door lock requires some wiggling of the key to lock/unlock. No doubt the wear and tear of 17 years of use.
The rear deck is not 100% weathertight. It requires a bit more work to make it so or you could just put the hard top back on for winter use.
It’s the original colour inside as I only resprayed the outside.
All I’m asking for this brilliant, unusual and unique Sportrak is £975 and that’s only because the weather is nice. I’d ask a bit more if winter was just around the corner. I think it’s a fair price considering how much people are asking for them on eBay and doesn’t come close to repaying me for all the money and work I’ve put into it. The mileage is exceptionally low for a vehicle of this age and it has been garaged for the entire time I’ve owned it. The original hard top, back window, roll bar and rear seats are all included if wanted so that it can be put back to some semblance of normal if required.
I’m located in Bedwellty, South Wales. This is about 15 miles north of the M4 between junctions 31 and 32. Postcode is NP12 0BB for Googling or satnav purposes. Call me on 01443 822982 or message me through RR for more information if needed and to arrange viewing. I’m more than happy for people to tyre kick, test drive and negotiate to their hearts content.
A career move which is permanently taking me to the Shetland Islands means that I’m having a clear out of all my toys.
Up for sale to start with is my slightly modified Sportrak. (Photos to be found in this thread).
I bought this a few years ago as winter transport to be used as and when needed by myself and my wife and it was a very clean and tidy low mileage example of the breed. It had never been used off road so the chassis and body were in excellent condition. It grew on me though and I really enjoyed driving it and eventually I decided to do something different with it. If you’ve checked out the thread I’ve linked to for the photos you’ll see exactly what I mean.
So, details then:
It’s a Daihatsu Sportrak Anjou which means it had some nice stickers on it, decent alloys and snazzy side steps on top of the usual spec. It has a 1.6 16v efi engine which gives adequate, if unexciting, performance but if you push it hard it’s surprisingly nippy. However, the handling characteristics don’t inspire driving at speed. They can best be described as slightly better than agricultural so adopting a relaxed attitude to getting anywhere is the best way to drive it. Controls and gearchange are nice and light though so it’s quite car like to drive. It has a certain simplistic charm which I have really come to like. It has selectable 2wd/4wd with selectable high and low range. In normal on road use it is rear wheel drive. I can attest that in snow it’s surprisingly good. I haven’t done any proper off road driving with it but apparently it is much better than many would think. It has quite firm and sporty front seats, electric windows, electric mirrors, central locking and remote back door lock switch in the centre console (the back door isn’t operated with the central locking). It has a panel in the roof which can be opened slightly or completely removed and the currently fitted rear deck can be unbolted and removed for totally open top use in the summer. I still have the original hard top and rear window so it can also be used as a van if required. Very handy for those trips to the tip or local DIY store.
So what have I done to it?
The side steps have been removed. The back of the car has been completely stripped out and a load cover with integral back window (acrylic) constructed. The frame is 20mm x 20mm box section steel with 2mm aluminium chequer plate riveted to it. The same chequer plate has been cut and formed to make the cab appear longer behind the doors and subtly alter the side profile of the car. I think it looks better this way than with no back on at all. The spare wheel carrier has been moved from the back door to the top of the load deck, aligned behind the passenger seat. It bolts through the deck to captivated nuts so can be easily removed if you need to use the deck to strap anything large to. It also means that it can be mounted on the back door again if preferred as the original bolts are plugging the holes in the door. Mounting points have been installed just behind the back window to mount a high lift farm jack (the jack is not included in the sale but are quite cheaply available on eBay if you want to maintain the look). The whole assembly is bolted to the bodywork using the existing bolt holes for the original hard top. The rear wiper has been removed and the number plate mount removed. A new number plate mount was made using 2mm chequer plate and bolted flat to the door and a new number plate light fitted as the original was an integral part of the number plate holder. The back bumpers have been removed and replaced with specially fabricated items of my own design. These are constructed from heavy duty 60mm galvanised steel tube and flat bar and are bolted to the tow bar frame. Removing the back bumpers meant that I had to do something with the rear lights as they were integral with the bumpers. I sourced some LED indicators and stop/tail lights from eBay and mounted these into the existing light blanks on the rear quarters. The reverse and fog lights were relocated to the tow bar frame. Four spotlights are mounted to the top bar of the rear deck and just require the disconnection of one wire when the deck is removed. The spots are wired into a switch mounted in a blank on the dashboard so they can be operated independently of the main lights. The front bumper has been modified with the same 60mm galvanised steel tube as the rear bumpers. Slots were cut in the top of the bumper and strips of flat steel bar welded in upright then the two tubes fitted between and welded. Another flat steel strip was welded between the uprights inside the bumper to maintain rigidity. The body was flatted to give a good key for the NATO green satin paint which was applied using rattle cans. Satin black was used for the bonnet, front and rear bumpers, wheel arch covers, petrol flap, plastic side inserts behind the doors and rear frame. While stripping the bodywork for paint I discovered that the rear wheel arches were holed and rusting, a common problem with Sportraks. I had these repaired by a professional welder. While not concourse, they are solid and are covered by the plastic wheel arch covers anyway. When they were repaired I liberally applied seam sealer over the whole repair, then painted it with underbody sealer before finally overspraying all that with the body colour. I also sprayed tonnes of paint down the insides of the panels to try and cover the bits you can’t see or get at to help preserve them. They are good for years yet. I have also applied Decepticon badges to the radiator grille and back door. It really confuses people who don’t recognise that it’s a Sportrak. The look was completed with the application of Zombie Response Team vinyl transfers to the doors and bonnet along with Zombie Hunting Licence stickers to the windscreen and back window. A couple of small and subtle “Built, Not Bought” stickers were the final addition. I had plans to do more with the car but now that I know I’m “emigrating” to Shetland later this year I have stopped spending money on it.
In addition to all the cosmetic work I have also fitted a new exhaust and catalytic converter, which it needed for the last but one MoT. It also needed new rear brake shoes at the time as the braking was uneven and weak at the rear. It has also had new front pads in the last year. The car is mechanically sound and the bodywork and chassis in excellent condition. It is due to be taxed this month so I will tax it for six months. I can’t remember when the MoT is due but I intend to have a fresh MoT done ready for the new owner.
All in all for a car of this age it is in fantastic condition and attracts attention wherever you drive it. Comments like “Daddy, daddy, why is that man driving such a crappy car, is he very poor?” and “WTF!!” are not uncommon, as are frantically waving, pointing and laughing van drivers on the motorway. This is not a car for shrinking violets or sensible people. It will appeal and appal in equal measure. Perhaps the addition of a Marmite sticker would be appropriate. Whatever, I’ve become really fond of it. We also have an SLK and an X Type and I still prefer to get in this on nice sunny days to tootle around in locally. I’ll miss it.
Having said all that, it’s not perfect. Yes, it’s ready to just drive away and use but there are some niggling faults that any new owner will either live with, like I have, or will want to fix.
They are:
When starting from totally cold the engine does not deliver 100% of its power so seems slow and sluggish. However, after about two or three minutes of driving it feels like a switch has been flicked and full power restored. I think there is something amiss with the cold start system, might even be an easy fix for someone with more engine know-how than me. As I don’t use this as my daily driver I haven’t been particularly bothered and this ethos applies to the other faults listed.
When first started either the fan belt or idler pulley squeals. A quick blip of the throttle stops it.
The passenger door lock will not lock/unlock with the key. It works fine on the central locking. The driver’s door lock requires some wiggling of the key to lock/unlock. No doubt the wear and tear of 17 years of use.
The rear deck is not 100% weathertight. It requires a bit more work to make it so or you could just put the hard top back on for winter use.
It’s the original colour inside as I only resprayed the outside.
All I’m asking for this brilliant, unusual and unique Sportrak is £975 and that’s only because the weather is nice. I’d ask a bit more if winter was just around the corner. I think it’s a fair price considering how much people are asking for them on eBay and doesn’t come close to repaying me for all the money and work I’ve put into it. The mileage is exceptionally low for a vehicle of this age and it has been garaged for the entire time I’ve owned it. The original hard top, back window, roll bar and rear seats are all included if wanted so that it can be put back to some semblance of normal if required.
I’m located in Bedwellty, South Wales. This is about 15 miles north of the M4 between junctions 31 and 32. Postcode is NP12 0BB for Googling or satnav purposes. Call me on 01443 822982 or message me through RR for more information if needed and to arrange viewing. I’m more than happy for people to tyre kick, test drive and negotiate to their hearts content.
