top of page


Cars & Coffee Honolulu - October 13th, 2024
On October 13th, I headed off to the Cars & Coffee event sponsored by Ohana Motorsports Federation . It was held at Ala Moana Shopping...

Andy Kauffman
Oct 13, 20241 min read


O'ahu Kei Cruise - October 6th, 2024
On the morning of October 6th, we joined others from a Facebook group and met up at the Neal S Blaisedell park in Aiea again, this time...

Andy Kauffman
Oct 6, 20243 min read


Bed Liner (and bonus content, a very angry little bee!)
My truck came with a ⅜” inch (~9.53mm) rubber liner over the “floor” of the bed. This is said liner removed for a good scrubbing. My best...

Andy Kauffman
Sep 26, 20243 min read


"Mom, can we have JIS? No, we have JIS at home."
One thing I noticed while trying to work on my 1997 KS3 was that some of the screws looked a little different. After some research, I...

Andy Kauffman
Sep 14, 20241 min read


General update, mid-August, 2024
A green van (1996 KS3, the one with the ECVT and the factory installed hydraulic wheelchair lift) in the driveway with the bumper down....

Andy Kauffman
Aug 18, 20246 min read


Bed Cover for the KS3
Maybe a year or so ago I recall seeing a vinyl bed cover for a kei truck that was really cool. It was " The Great Wave off Kanagawa "...

Andy Kauffman
Aug 17, 20243 min read


O'ahu Kei cruise, August 11th, 2024
We attended an informal cruise with one of the Hawai'i FB groups for Kei and JDM vehicles on August 11th, 2024. The cruise started at...

Andy Kauffman
Aug 11, 20243 min read


Wheels by the Waves, July 2024
July 21st, 2024 we had another installment of the “Wheels by the Waves” at Bellows Air Force Station, in Waimanalo, Hawai’i. We’ve slowly...

Andy Kauffman
Jul 21, 20246 min read


I'd really like to open the engine cover, please!
So after owning my KS3 for a year now (and driving it all over the island,) I decided I should be a responsible car owner and…you know,...

Andy Kauffman
Jul 2, 20242 min read


Let's class up the joint a bit, shall we?
I love my 1997 (KS3-F3UM) Subaru Sambar Super Deluxe Classic…known as “The KS3” for now. I use it as my daily driver back and forth to...

Andy Kauffman
Jun 23, 202411 min read


Wheels by the Waves at Bellows Air Force Station - June 2024
I believe I was invited to my first Wheels by the Waves at Bellows Air Force Station by my buddy, Matt, in April, 2024. It was icky...

Andy Kauffman
Jun 16, 20242 min read


Welcome to the family! 1997 Subaru Sambar Super Deluxe Classic (KS3-3UM) 5MT Truck!
Our KS3's Birthday: 25 October 1996 I can't quite remember what spurred the decision, but in late 2022, we were down to "just" the two...

Andy Kauffman
Jan 8, 20245 min read


Welcome to the family! 1995 Subaru Sambar Dias Classic (KV4-57N) 5MT van!
Our KV4's Birthday: 01 November 1995 In mid 2022, we had a small fleet of Kei vehicles: A 1996 Suzuki Carry dump truck, a 1995 Suzuki...

Andy Kauffman
Jan 7, 20243 min read


Welcome to the family! 1996 Subaru Sambar Dias Classic (KV3-5RC) ECVT van!
On February 14th, 2022, we got our first Subaru kei vehicle, a 1996 Sambar Dias Classic KV3-5RC with the ECVT transmission and a...

Andy Kauffman
Jan 6, 20243 min read


General thoughts on Kei-jidōsha ownership, or, “Do I really want one of these?’
I’m not sure exactly how you landed here, but I welcome you. You’ve no doubt seen a Kei truck / car / van somewhere, and thought “ok, now...

Andy Kauffman
Jan 5, 20249 min read


“Begin at the beginning, and go on till you come to the end: then stop.” - The King from “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” by Lewis Carrol (1865)
In the beginning…there were 軽自動車! (kei-jidōsha, aka “Kei Cars!”) Well, now. You’ve gone and stumbled upon my little eclectic corner of...

Andy Kauffman
Jan 1, 20241 min read
bottom of page