1990 Subaru Sambar (kei truck) driver here...

[GasSavers_DaX]

The Japanese system for determining FE is 10 times worse than the one the EPA uses (used?). They claimed the Beat was capable of 63 mpg, something I never even came relatively close to!

[kickflipjr]

Yeah dax, I thought 40-50mpg seemed high for the truck, because of the fuel economy you were getting on the beat.

[GasSavers_Colin]

Originally Posted by omgwtfbyobbq

Plural, plural!
I always wanted one btw. Shame they're not legal for onroad stuff here.

Where are you located?

They're not exactly legal here, either. I was actually directed to this forum by another kei truck guy, who suggested I ask a kei car driver (ahem... Dax) about the registration process. Currently I'm rolling around on a set of motorcycle/ATV plates from South Dakota. It's got normal automotive liability insurance, so I'm not TOO scared to drive it. I'd like to get my ducks in a row, so to speak, before I take it out on cruise nights and stuff. (Yes, cruise nights. It's a funny little truck and I desire to share it with the local car enthusiasts. )

Originally Posted by cfg83

The Merkur XR4Ti is righteous. What did you do with the original rims? Those were my favorite wheels in the 1980's. I did eyelets for my Karmann Ghia in the 1980's too.

Haha, great... I ditched the eyelid grille a loooong time ago. Actually, it's got no grille whatsoever at the moment. I needed some airflow after adding the intercooler, and it turns out it's cheaper to remove the stock grille than to buy a Sierra Cosworth grille.

I've still got those wheels. They're 14x6ish and have a 4x108mm pattern. They were replaced by the Motegi MR-1, which is now on its way out thanks to a five lug conversion. I'm going to try out a set of 17x7 steelies from a Dodge Magnum/300C - maybe a set of deep dish BBS-style Y-spokes will be in order later. I guess I'm kinda like a woman with shoes, but with wheels instead.

kickflipjr - the Suzuki Carry you pictured is pretty much identical to my Sambar. All the kei-class trucks are very similar. Mazda's "Scrum" is a copy of the Daihatsu Hijet... the Carry is very similar to the Hijet, and Honda's Acty is similar to the Sambar (four wheel independent suspension and a rear-mounted engine rather than mid-mounted like the others.) Externally, they pretty much all look the same.

MetroMPG - I've seen a few body kits for these trucks (mainly for the 98+ body style) with skirts to cover the entire side between the wheels. I'd like to install some skirts, but it would be a hassle to remove them for driving offroad.

Check out http://www.minitrucktalk.com for more info on these things. It's a very small forum, but there are several active kei truck vendors who often link to their sites. Some of these guys go insane with external cages, winch-bumpers, ATV tires, lift kits, etc... All kinds of mileage-killing stuff (not that it matters much when you're putting around in the woods in 1st gear.)

Colin

[minic6]

I use to own a Merkur same year as a matter of fact. It had a big old bulls eye on it. Never have owned a car before or after that liked to get hit like it did!

[GasSavers_Colin]

Originally Posted by theclencher

Don't invest too heavily in it as they are NOT street legal in MN!

Not yet. I've got a plan, though...

[GasSavers_TomO]

WOOHOO! Good to see you made it here Colin. I've always liked to hear how your Merkur was coming along on MNSC. Never knew you had so many vehicles. And welcome!

[CoyoteX]

If the title isnt marked off road use only then you can get it legal in WV. Even if the title is marked off road use only you could get it retitled as a kit car.

It is easy to do in WV I have done it before here with my kit car. After it is road legal in this state maybe it would be easier to just transfer the title to another state and it would be legal there then.

I would check the laws on getting a kit car legal in your state then turn in like 3 titles with your kit car application and say you used parts out of each of those cars. even if it is just a knob or switch is good enough. They will give you a clean title that is road legal. It is easy to find super cheap junk cars with a title so that might be a pretty cheap way to make it legal

[omgwtfbyobbq]

Originally Posted by Colin

Where are you located?

They're not exactly legal here, either. I was actually directed to this forum by another kei truck guy, who suggested I ask a kei car driver (ahem... Dax) about the registration process. Currently I'm rolling around on a set of motorcycle/ATV plates from South Dakota. It's got normal automotive liability insurance, so I'm not TOO scared to drive it. I'd like to get my ducks in a row, so to speak, before I take it out on cruise nights and stuff. (Yes, cruise nights. It's a funny little truck and I desire to share it with the local car enthusiasts. )

Socal desert.

Iirc, what Coyote X stated is legal in CA too, so that might be some way for me to get around everything. The downside is kit cars can't be sold to others, they have to be parted. But I wouldn't mind keeping something like that for a good amount of time.

[GasSavers_Colin]

Yeah, or selling it with a bill of sale as parts and helping the next guy set up a kit car title.

I've got a SoDak title for it right now, and it *looks* to me like a standard automotive title, but it says "ATV" in the "body style" category. I took it to a little hole-in-the-wall license center a few weeks ago hoping they could overlook that category while transferring the title... first thing they did was call the big license center I had been avoiding and start asking questions. D'oh!

It might end up with a set of '86 Subaru GL plates on it after all.

Colin

[SVOboy]

It's no daihatsu hijet, but still! (just kidding)

Welcome aboard.