I started a new Facebook page for only kei-jidōsha here in the islands. Appropriately, it is named Hawai'i Kei-jidōsha ! We would love it if you joined and spread the word to your friends that also like kei vehicles and Hawai'i! We're still small, but we're planning on being the place in Hawai'i you can go for all your Kei news, stories, and fun! Some of the stuff we've got cooking in the brain currently: Meetups (along with monthly things like Cars & Coffee, Wheels by the Waves, we'd love to have a semi-frequent "chill" session where we can just hang out. No pressure, no agenda, no requirements. Cruises (we'll make sure the route is posted & known in case anyone is late / gets lost!) This is something we'd like to really have fun with. We live in one of the most amazing places on the planet, and we sure do have some cool vehicles, so let's get out there! On O'ahu, we are aiming for 4 a year, or one each quarter. We're going to rotate the start and end points around the island, so nobody is stuck driving a long way every time. Plus, we've got some amazing sights to see! This is one we are really excited about - TECH SESSIONS! We've got some great resources in the group already when it comes to mechanical work, bodywork, electronic work, stereos, etc. The goal is to pick someone who needs some work done, and have their vehicle be the focus of the tech session that time around. We're a very friendly and encouraging group, so even if you don't know your wrench from a socket, you are welcome! We can help you, and we will show you how you can take care of your little Kei. (ambitious plan of every other month, so six a year.) "Branding" (I hate that term) - We've got a logo in the works, and once that is finalized, we're going to have a giant Nobori made (the vertically hung banners seen in Japan). We're also thinking of some sort of lights to identify us during evening / night events. Merchandise! Along with the branding, we're going to look into at least T-shirts for the group. (2025 update) Now, thanks to my crazy ADHD, we've got not one but TWO projects half-developed. We're working to try and bring some more people into the project to help us out. Lots of ideas, only one brain and two hands at the moment.

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 work, and unless there’s a specific reason why we have to take another vehicle to go somewhere, I’d rather drive it than one of the two new Subaru Crosstreks we have. The Crosstreks are great. Lots of technology. Lots of safety. Totally boring. The Sambar pickup makes me happy when I drive it! One of the things that had bugged me since I got the truck though was the really skinny steering wheel. My KV4 (and KV3) have a thicker wheel, and it’s perfectly fine for driving. The KS3 though reminded me of a mid 1970s American car - they had the absolute thinnest steering wheels (and ridiculously boosted power steering). Along with the skinny wheel on my Sambar though was … the ick. The steering wheel is made out of some rubberized plastic, or plasticized rubber. Either way, after 27 years of use and baking in the sun, the wheel was kinda sticky. I tried cleaning it off with those household cleaning wipes. It was then clean, and sticky. Not acceptable. I contacted a local guy (O'ahu in Hawai'i), that deals with JDM stuff, Storm Proctor , to help rectify the situation. Storm and I talked about putting a different steering wheel in, and he said that having a steering wheel adapter on there would have the added benefit of moving the wheel out a bit so that it would give me a little more room to get in and out. Exhibit A: This is what it looks like when you're 6'6" (198cm) and 300lbs (136kg) and like small vehicles. You fit...because you want to fit. Kidding aside, the Sambar has a couple of extra inches in "knee room" than the Suzuki Carry we had did. In that one, my knees were touching the dash. In a Honda Acty, it's roughly split between those two. So, you want to swap your steering wheel, yes? You’re going to need a few things: A steering wheel A steering wheel hub/adapter to fit above listed item A burning, wretched anger from deep within (more on that later) (edit) - maybe one more tool that I'll show at the end For the steering wheel, I went with one that Storm had in stock. I did a little poking around, and I think it was this one. It comes with the six, hex-head screws and an Allen wrench. (No, it’s not a MOMO wheel, but it also doesn’t cost MOMO prices!) If you would like a different wheel, that is entirely up to you. Just make sure that the wheel you get is compatable with the steering wheel hub, which is compatible with the Sambar. Typically, you’re going to find 5 or 6 “hole” wheels. Just make sure the wheel and the hub match number of wheels. For the steering wheel hub adapter, there are a few decisions to make. This is the one I got from Oh Kei Garage. (The top drop-down has the option for the “Short” one.) There’s also a “taller” one that’s not going to have the issues that we’ll get to here in just a while. Spoiler alert: we’ll cover what it looks like in a bit, but if you get the “shorty” steering hub, you’re going to run into an issue where the steering wheel hub is so short that the end of the steering wheel shaft will protrude above the “top” of the hub. That can be solved with this spacer . The spacer comes with six hex head screws and an Allen wrench to fasten the spacer to the hub adapter. So, you’ve got your parts. You’ve cleared your schedule. It’s time to modify! The first thing you’ll want to do is make sure that your front wheels are as straight as you can get them. Yes, there’s some play in the steering wheel, but we want a good reference point where “straight ahead” is. Nobody wants to go down the road with a wheel that’s 5º off center. Not me, that’s for damn sure. (Thanks OCD and the United States Marine Corps!) I removed the lower steering column surround. You want to remove the screws, not the two (10mm?) bolts in roughly the center of the surround if you look at it vertically. Those hold the whole steering column to the … um… supporty-part. I put them back in once I realized what they were. Removing the lower surround was not entirely necessary, but it did give me a little more room for something coming up soon. I believe, and of course now cannot check, that the steering wheel had two screws on the back side that held the horn “pad” on. Once you take those out and pull the horn pad off, you’re going to expose the 17mm nut that holds the wheel on the steering shaft. You may need someone to hold the wheel while you loosen the nut, as the wheel is going to turn when you apply counter-clockwise force to the nut. What I ended up doing was using one of my larger-handled ratchet wrenches, and positioning it so that the handle was pointing up. I then took a rubber mallet and whacked the handle of the ratchet (remember…lefty loosey, righty tighty!). It was enough of a shock that it broke the nut loose, and from there I was able to spin it up the shaft. At this point, you’re going to want to be careful. The potential for self-harm rises greatly above a non-zero chance in this next part. …and now a story to illustrate why: I used to really be into classic Minis. The small ones. 10” wheels, the “hot” ones had a 1275cc engine, all that. Back in “the day,” we all got our information and entertainment from a forum on the website MiniMania. Well, one time, a user posted why you want to be careful when taking the steering wheel off. Before you start going crazy on the wheel, trying to loosen it from the shaft, you absolutely must take that 17mm nut and spin it back on, just so that the whole nut is grabbing threads near the top of the shaft. Why, you ask? Well, our Mini friend - he was pulling and hitting and hitting and pulling the wheel, tryin to break it loose. It finally did come loose, and it departed the steering shaft at an unholy speed. Said Mini friend smacked himself right in the face. Hard enough to break his nose. Blood everywhere. The worst part? He had to put the wheel back on , and drive himself to the hospital to get checked out. We don’t want that. You don’t want that. For now, we’ll accept our battleship gray interiors, without the blood splatter accents. Safety lesson learned, we put the 17mm nut back on the top of the shaft enough to engage all the threads. I then took that rubber mallet and started tapping the wheel from the dash side towards me. (This is where it was handy not to have the lower steering column surround removed, as I could hit closer to the center of the steering wheel) You’re going to need to get angry. I mean, REALLY angry. You’re going to have to hit this thing harder than you think you are. Left slide. Right side. Top. Bottom. Then you’ll put the mallet down and sit in the driver’s seat. From there, you’re going to grab the wheel at 9 o’clock and 3 o’clock, and you’re going to push. You’re going to pull. You’re going to push one side while you pull the other. Reach back, deep, into that childhood anger. You may have to take a few breaks - I sure did. Eventually though, that damned icky wheel is going to one off, and you’re going to be left with this: (The little brass pipe sticking up provides the power to the back side of the hub so that the horn works. I think.) Now what you’re going to want to do is look at your steering wheel and your hub adapter. Both the wheel and the hub adapter had 6 holes. Check. What I later would find out is that when I fastened the steering wheel hub spacer to the hub adapter, it took my carefully aligned holes and offset them a good 10º. Thankfully the hub isn’t on too tight, so a few taps with the mallet and it popped off so I could re-position it with the hub spacer holes where I needed them. It’s also worth noting that your spacer is probably going to have LOTS of holes in it. Just take your wheel and hold it up to the spacer. Slowly rotate the wheel until you see six holes lined up. It may take a few tries, but it’ll work. So now it’s either time to put the steering wheel hub adapter or the hub adapter and the now-attached spacer to the steering shaft, making sure to keep the holes you’ve identified on the spacer as “true” to the position you want the wheel in as possible. At this point, I was excited. I had the hub adapter on, and I was ready to bolt up my wheel! What I learned was that the “shorty” steering wheel hub adapter was, in fact, short. See the threaded, silver dingus sticking up in the middle of the hub adapter? That’s the steering wheel shaft. The problem with that is that the horn assembly that goes into the center of the wheel once in situ does not have enough clearance. The result was an always-on horn. Amusing, but also irritating. That’s when I had to stop and wait for the hub spacer to arrive. So - take II. This is what it looks like with the hub adapter and Mr. Spacer on there. (If you look closely, you can see where I used a black marker to mark the “top” hole for the wheel to make sure it was straight up, or at 12 o’clock) See all those different holes I was talking about earlier? You can also see that the red (power) wire has enough room to attach to the back of the horn button and not foul the steering shaft, causing non-stop honking. Oh - note - when attaching the steering wheel hub spacer to the steering wheel hub adapter, get the bolts in finger-tight, and make sure that the spacer is sitting flat on the hub adapter. Then you’re going to want to take that Allen wrench, and work in a “star pattern” as if you were tightening the lug nuts on a car’s wheel. Tighten one a bit, then jump across the spacer, don’t go to the next one to the left or right. Keep “jumping” around the spacer, tightening the bolts. I’m not sure if there’s a recommended torque setting for those, but I went with “Gorilla Tight™.” I figure I don’t want to get into a situation where I’ve got a steering wheel with an attached spacer…not connected to the steering wheel adapter hub! One final note on that - yes, if you get too crazy tightening the bolts down you’re probably going to snap one. Raise your hand if you accidentally over-tightened the lug nuts on the back of one of your classic Minis and snapped the wheel stud… 🤦‍♂️ So, we’re looking for really tight, but not “ok, so I put it on with 650lbs of torque from my impact wrench” tight. When you do get the hub adapter and spacer on the steering wheel shaft, make sure that it is seated all the way down. You’re going to want to look at the whole assembly from the dashboard side towards the rear of the vehicle, and you want to see that little brass pipe touching the metal disc on the backside of the hub adapter. This makes the horn go beep. At this point, it gets a little fiddly. You’ve got your wheel, you’ve got the power and ground wires to the horn, and you need to be able to fasten the wheel to the steering wheel hub spacer - all with two hands. Because nobody loves me and Storm lives too far away, I did this by myself. I figured out that if I gently placed the top hex screw in the wheel and then gently lowered it to the wheel, I could pull the horn wires through the center of the wheel, and then at least get the top screw started to fasten the wheel to the steering wheel hub spacer. (A pic from before the spacer was installed, but wanted to show you what the connections looked like so you can see why the horn was going off non-stop) From there it was pretty easy. The horn button gets wired up and put in place, and for this wheel at least, there’s a “beauty ring” for the center of the steering wheel that clamps the horn button down. Same as with the spacer, don’t tighten everything in a circle - do the “jump” across the wheel from one fastener to the next. Keep going until everything is snug, then give it an extra “ungh!” What’s it all look like when you’re done? BAM! “But hey,” you say. “That shift knob isn’t stock! You didn’t tell us about that one!” Shift knob (the company, Dewhel, has a TON of different designs for about the same money) The shift knob comes with three different inserts for different shifter column sizes. The Sambar doesn’t’ need those - it’s M10x1.5, which is the size without the brass inserts. On my KS3, there was no “pin” holding the gear shifter knob on. I have seen elsewhere that some models had a little pin that you have to use a “drift” or something really skinny to knock out. Mine just twisted right off. To get it to break loose though I had to put quite a bit of torque on it. The new shift knob looks great, has a good weight to it, 200 grams (7.06 ounces, or almost ½ a pound.) I am very happy that I was able to score such a great KS3. The truck has just over 34,000km (21,100 miles) and is in really good shape for its age. Other than some dents on the lower back of the cab, the bed, and scratches on the bed rails, she’s great. Truck needs a name though! I can’t keep calling it “The KS3” forever. This truck is a great platform to start with, and I’m super excited for the future! We gotta do something about all that gray. It’s killing the retro vibes! (2025 update) - So there's a couple of additional things you're going to want to purchase: "Subaru Sambar Short Wheel Hub Turn Signal Return Ring KS4/KS3/KV4/KV3" from Aaron Henrickson's " A-A-Ron 3D " shop. Not only does Aaron make a bunch of cool stuff for our Sambars, but he's also got videos of how to install them, and he's a great dude to boot! " Orion Motor Tech Gear Puller Set, 3" 4" 6" 3 Jaw Puller Kit " on Amazon. The turn signal return ring is going to help you prevent a problem I now have, where either I did not rotate the white, cylindrical turn signal canceler-thingy to the proper position, or, I rotated it too far. Aaron goes over this in his video. The fallout from this is that since around August, 2024, I have been manually cancelling my turn signals. We do have that cancelling ring now, and it will be installed! The "3 Jaw Puller" kit is going to come in handy with a bunch of stuff. In this specific instance, It's going to allow us to pull the wheel off without having to smack the everliing crap out of it with a mallet / hammer. The "claws" will hook the wheel, and then you can turn the center part down into the steering shaft which will pull the wheel off the shaft. Pictures of me in the truck with the new wheel. Yes, it's still tight, but the wheel doesn't rest right on my legs when I drive. My left leg doesn't rest right on the shifter - but it's comfortable. Right leg has a little room between the door and the wheel, but the existing window crank has to be in the right position to get that space.

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 for a cruise East out to Sandy Beach. As before, we tried to keep close to the shore so we could enjoy the views. We only spent a short time on the H-1 freeway near the Daniel K Inouye International Airport (HNL) . From there it was onto Ala Moana Boulevard, through the Ala Moana Beach Park, and back on to Ala Moana Boulevard to get to Waikiki. Of course, a parade of cars this cool had to roll right down Kalākaua Avenue and past Queen Kapi'olani Park, the Aquarium, and around Diamond Head. We drove past all the super-fancy houses in Kahala, and then had a quick stop at the gas station for some go-juice and snacks. After the gas stop, it was East on Kalanianaʻole Highway until we got to Maunalua Bay Beach Park . We stopped there and lined up for some photos and a quick stretch before we piled back into our vehicles and finished our trek out to Sandy Beach . Once again, some really cool kei vehicles on display before we headed out on our drive. Check out the orange and white Suzuki van - hadn't seen that one before! The seating arrangement for this trip were different than usual. My buddy Matt, owner of the black 1994 Subaru Vivio RX-R (KK4, 5MT )  (the only car out there!) and I decided that we'd swap vehicles for the drive. OK, to be honest, it was all so I could get some seat time in the RX-R. Ever since I found that I fit in them earlier this year I really, really wanted to drive one. Matt has a Recaro SR-7 in his Vivio. Being a tall guy himself, he's got it mounted way down on the floor. I'm just a couple of inches taller than Matt, but I fit! Ok, so "fit" may be following my own made-up rules, but I was able to get in there and drive. (I've got maybe an inch (25 mm) between my skull and the headliner in there.) If I fits, I sits. ...and drives. Leaving Neal S. Blaisedell Park My view in the Vivio. I love how there's one  tick mark below 1,000 rpm, and that's what it idles at. A 9,000 rpm redline from the factory, a supercharger, a five-speed manual transmission, and all wheel drive - what more could a driver ask for? What does one do when given the reins of a friend's steed? Why this , of course - this was very shortly after we exited the park. At Maunalua Bay Beach Park - Matt's RX-R next to Joshua's very off-road capable KS4 Sambar truck. Check out that beefy front bumper that houses a winch! A little wider shot showing the lineup and Kaihuokapua'a in the distance. As we left Maunalua Bay Beach Park...a little closer to the redline this time. Even though it's got a stock airbox and an exhaust that I'm pretty sure meets Japanese noise regulations  (Fujitsubo Legalis K, measured at 99db mid-rpm, max acceleration) - even though it meets those regs, I can confirm that shit gets loud when that little 4-banger and supercharger get wound out above 8,000 rpm! Ok, one more shot of the wee beastie: As for driving my truck, Matt said he was surprised how it did for only having 38 hp. He liked the gear shifter linkage - it's pretty impressive how well it shifts despite the cables running dang near the length of the truck back to the transmission. After the meet, I just drove East around that side of the island. My (second) favorite view on O'ahu is there - as you round Makapu'u. Just absolutely gorgeous! Lucky we live Hawai'i.

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 guess is that it’s some sort of mat for barn animals, but I could be completely wrong. It makes a great bed liner though! This is the liner front (left side) and the rear (right side). (edit) it gets people's pants all dirty when they sit on it, so it's not going to stay long-term. While I was cleaning up the bed liner up for a car event, I thought I’d be helpful and take some pictures with measurements. You’ll notice my liner is split towards the right side. This is from the PO (Previous Owner) and then me lifting up the rear portion to access the top engine cover. I’ll give you the dimensions first, and then I will show ‘ya some pictures. 76” (193.04 cm) long. 52” wide (132.08 cm) wide. At the front you can see a cutout on either side (left side of the photo). Those are 2.5” (6.35 cm) long (left to right in this photo), and 1” (2.54 cm) wide. They are slightly rounded on the “inside” corner at the top. Here's the liner as it is oriented from the back of the truck. Detail of the front notch: On the (freshly scrubbed, but still definitely a work truck) bed, going from the forward edge of where the tailgate hinges mount to just forward of the top engine cover, I’d recommend 29” (73.66 cm) if you wanted to pre-cut the liner so it didn’t rip semi-ugly like mine did. A quick search showed you can buy 4’ wide (48” or 121.92 cm) wide ⅜” (~9.53 mm) thick animal mat “by the foot.” Funny enough, the site I found also recommended it for truck beds. If you went with the 4’ wide stuff, you’d still have like 2” (50.8 mm) on the left and right sides of the bed uncovered. Your call. That much of a gap would bug the shit out of me, so I’m glad that the PO did mine the way they did. (flashback scene to April, 2024) Some of you might recognize the scenery in this picture. This was either my first or second trip to Bellows Air Force Station for "Wheels by the Waves." Next to my Sambar, you might notice a small, black car. (Yes, I fit. That was the absolute first thing I did after meeting Matt for the first time.) That li'l bean car, as Matt calls it, would happen to be a Subaru Vivio RX-R (E-KK4), owned by my buddy, Matt. Fun fact, the name VIVIO relates to the 660cc engine in the car - VI (6) VI (6) O (0). Neat, huh? Matt purchased the car in Okinawa when he was stationed there in the US Military, and then brought it with him when he transferred to Hawai’i. It has the coveted EN07X engine, sitting upright in a traditional arrangement vs the rotated back 90º layout of the engine in the trucks and vans. The EN07X engine was the same basic arrangement as the other EN07s, but it was a gear-driven DOHC, oh and it happened to be supercharged and intercooled as well. All that tomfoolery added up to a stated 62hp at 7,200 rpm and 78 lb/ft of torque at 3,500 rpm. From the factory, this engine had a lofty 9,000 rpm redline! having driven behind Matt’s car (and had my doors sucked off because I have an optimistic 38hp at the crankshaft, I can assure you that it makes the appropriate angry bee noises. More to come on Matt’s car…

A green van (1996 KS3, the one with the ECVT and the factory installed hydraulic wheelchair lift) in the driveway with the bumper down. At this point in the program, I had really hoped to have the site “live.” Unfortunately, life happens, and this wasn’t as important as some other stuff that needed to get handled. For the time being, Projekt EN07 is a passion project. I want it to become more than that, but that’s going to take time. (I made a small change to the home page of the project, which the eagle-eyed viewer will have noticed lets them in to check out the blog and the rest of this dusty warehouse that is my absolutely-not-complete website.) For the moment, we shall be the site without a cool logo. (2025 edit) - we've got a logo thanks to our good friend Jon from the Classic Mini days. Ok, back to August 2024... I’ve been dallying my ‘97 KS3 (the 2WD truck, 5MT) since about mid July. I’ve been keeping track of gas mileage (and how many km/l) for the last few fillups. Yes, there’s a spreadsheet that I will share at some point, but it’s not pretty enough yet. :) So far this is what I’ve seen: (Mid July) 31.81 MPG (13.53 km/l) 31July2024 29.97 MPG (12.75 km/l) 10August 2024 22.20 MPG (9.45 km/l) - this tank included a trip to Honolulu via the H-3. From the Windward side at the Kamehameha Hwy overpass to the end of the “long” portion of the Tetsuo Harano tunnels at the top, it was a lot of full throttle driving. I kept the truck at 60mph on the flat, and then when the climb started, I went to WOT (wide open throttle). Coming from the Honolulu side back to the Windward side, I think the hill is even longer. 17August2024 34.76 MPG (14.79 km/l) Right now we’re averaging 29.7 MPG over 667.82 miles of mixed driving. I’ll take it. I’m interested to see how the mileage is affected when I start modifying things. I’ve got a call out to the local street rod group to find out how much dynomometer time costs here. I mean, if we’re going to do silly things to a 38.8 hp engine, we’re going to measure the output and make pretty graphs. In the immortal words of one of my favorite TV personalities, Adam Savage of Mythbusters fame - “Remember, kids. The only difference between screwing around and science is writing things down!” No truer words have been spoken, my man. We’re going to control conditions, repeat tests, and write shit down. We’re gonna make Adam proud. Oh, and spreadsheets and graphs. Love those. So not too awfully long ago I decided that I wanted to duplicate the muffler setup that was detailed here in this post over at the Facebook Group “SAMBAR SQUAD.” They give a nice list of parts needed and convenient links to them. The setup is designed to bolt right up to the stock exhaust manifold “log.” I had some folks at Hawaiian Hotrod - Team GKR weld up the stainless 2” ID (50.8 mm) exhaust flange half to the (for me) 440mm “Type C” motorcycle exhaust from eBay. They do really good work. I sure as hell am not a certified welder, so I don’t have any place to judge - but I think the welds look pretty good. If you need local (O'ahu) welding done, give 'em a shout. Something cool arrived at the end of July, 2024. Actually, many interesting things, but I’m only going to show you two of them for now. The first is an exhaust header for the truck! 4-into-1! This exhaust manifold comes to me from Ipunkz Exhaust in Purbalingga, Central Java, Indonesia. I don’t know how big of a shop they are, but man do they make a lot of mufflers and manifolds and just…all kinds of cool stuff. They know that I’m going to review their product, and I’m excited to get to that. There are a few steps before that though, so you’ll have to be patient. Oh, measurements relative to that photo: Length (left to right), 18.25” (463.55mm), Width(depth front to back), 8.25” (209.55mm), and Height 4.25” (107.95mm) The collector has an outside diameter of 2” (50.8mm). The other really neat thing that showed up was THIS: The “single vent” Akabou valve cover in I believe the same “crinkle red” that you’ll find the WRX STI Intake manifolds are done in. In the Sambar it denoted the Akabou, which was a special engine devloped for the Akabou (courier company?) in Japan. These engines had special parts, and were rated to 500,000km without a rebuild! What do we want? Red. Because race car. 🤣 A while back, I started trying to learn more about these valve covers (or tappet covers as they may be called in Japan). I got the part number (which I now cannot find), and I sent a part request to the team at Amayama.com. If you’ve not heard of them and you’ve got a Kei vehicle, you need to head over there and check it out. If you plop in your VIN, you can get the correct online parts catalogs for all the sub-groups of your vehicle! As for ordering from them, I haven’t done it yet - I heard their prices are fair, and shipping is slow. I’m sure I’ll order from them at some point, even if just to test it out. So - back to the red thingy. Amayama said it’s a NLA (No Longer Available). When it WAS available, it looks like it was a roughly $92USD part. Add a little shipping from Japan, etc. Now if you want to indulge in the red goodness, and you head to eBay, you’re going to see them in the $330 - 350 range, and that’s before shipping. That really pisses me off. I think it’s acceptable for someone who has a business to sell something and make a profit. No problem with that. What really grinds my gears though is these jackasses who have stuff like this, see a rising demand, and buy up any available stock. They then turn around, jack the prices up like 3x, and laugh as people have to pay their prices if they want the part. Ok, so if you look at that last photo, you’ll see my bidding page from 500YenShop.com . If you’ve never used it, it’s a proxy bidding site that lets you bid on stuff at Yahoo Japan, Rakuten (japan version I’m guessing) and Yahoo Shopping in Japan. How it works is that you “load” your account with Yen in roughly blocks of $100USD, and they take a percentage. Then you use that “bank” to bid on things like very cool Akabou tappet covers for your EN07 that you don’t need but very much want. Assuming you win your auction, the item(s) then get shipped to the 500YenShop warehouse. Once all your stuff has hit the warehouse, you can order a package to be sent to you. Shipping from Japan is never inexpensive, but it helps when you can have them chuck a few things in a box rather than just one piece at a time. Oh, and they usually send you cool Japanese candies and gum! Shoutout to Yuichi Murakami and Derek MKT for helping the community out. (I’ve had lots of chats with Yuichi, and I can certify him as a “Good car guy.” (2025 update) - I started working for Yuichi in late 2024! But apparently, I digress even further. 😊 You’re used to this by now, I hope you’re ok with it, because this is the norm! Ok- so we’ve now got in our possession what looks to be either a freakin’ brand new, or cleaned-very-well, single vent version of the Akabou valve cover. They came in 2-vent versions also. I’ve got some big plans for this valve cover and the community, but I’m not ready to release that info to the wild. You’ll just have to stay tuned. BAM. Cliffhanger. ;) (another 2025 edit) - so the one I got Has "Subaru" in relief cut near the top, whereas the "real deal" (?) has Kanji there. Honestly, not a big deal for me. My plans aren't goping to invovle 100% accuracy, anyway. That's back to that whole "let's not get ourselves sued out of existence" thing.

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 " (神奈川沖浪裏), created by the artist (Katsushika) Hokusai (October 31, 1760 - May 10, 1849). Hokusai created in the ukiyo-e (浮世絵) style, popular from the 17th to 19th centuries. This was woodblock printing , which first arrived in Japan in the late 700s from China. The process is interesting, as the paper drawing was glued to a wood block, and then the block of wood carved, ink applied to the block, and then that block pressed onto the medium they wanted to decorate. I can't imagine creating a single block, let alone one for each color used! Hokusai created his famous " Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji " (富嶽三十六景) when he was in his 70s, approximately between the years of 1830 to 1832. He used the color "Prussian Blue" frequently, and it was introduced to Japan not long before he began his work on the Thirty-six Views. The first print in the series, "The Great Wave off Kanagawa," is probably the best known of the entire series, has been said to be the " most reproduced artwork in history! " Ok, ok. Enough history. This is what part of the original artwork looked like, and I'm pretty sure that 90% of the readers will instantly recognize it, even if they don't know who created it: My better half and I have always loved this piece of art, so we were really happy when we stumbled across it on a website that provides parts for Kei trucks. My only issue was that the cover was $150, and that was without shipping factored in. Enter 500YenShop.com , and the owner, Yuichi Murakami. We'll do a full article on the site, as I use it often, and have always had a good experience with them. (Yuichi is also a "gear-head"!). If you'd like, you can message him through WhatsApp . (It will pop up as "MKT Japan" and the profile picture is an E30 (late 80s/early 90s) BMW M3). I started looking for the Hokusai art on 500Yen, and I found it! (It was listed at ~$65 USD.) I wasn't entirely sure how much shipping would be, so I ended up looking around on eBay and found the same thing for $110. I figured that would probably be around the same amount as I'd end up paying for the item + shipping from Japan, so I just got it from eBay. When it finally arrived, whis is what we got: I don't know where my calipers currently are, so I couldn't measure the thickness of the vinyl. It came with a bag of rubber "ties," but we decided not to use those as we wanted to be able to mount and remove it easily. This is what it looked like draped over the bed. I think it is listed as 185 cm x 212 cm (~6 ' x ~6' 11"). We decided to fasten it to the bed using bungee cords, those being a mix of the "loop" kind that have a plastic ball at one end, and the type that have a hook at each end. We're still trying out different combinations of cords to see what holds it best. Right now, I'm not too happy with how we affix the front eyelets to the "headache rack" on the back of the cab as it is commonly known. (Hi, nerd here. That's the wrong name. It's actually the Lumber Stay, Subar part 59210TA020, or the replacement, 59210TA021.) As you can see, we got a decent "wrap" of things. It certainly looks cool, and we tested it out up to 45 mph on a "Costco Run" - worked great at keeping things safely in the bed on the way home. I won't keep it on the truck all the time, as people generally suck, and I'm sure someone would steal it. The other concern was, even though the vinyl is of a decent weight / thickness, there are some sharp corners it has to go over on the truck. What we might do is get some "pool noodles" (the long foam cylinders that people use to help them float in pools) - we'd take the pool noodle and slice it lengthwise on one side so that we could fit it as a "bumper" of sorts on top of the sides of the bed / tailgate. My thought is that would help keep the vinyl from rubbing back and forth and possibly getting cut on the sharp edges. Lessons learned? Make sure you look around when you find something you like, especially something for Kei vehicles. The vehicles are super popular right now, and the jackasses out there are being greedy and inflating their prices to ridiculous levels. Not cool.

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 Neil S. Blaisedell Park, located over at 98-319 Kamehameha Highway, Aiea, HI, 96701 . We met up before 8:30 am, and I think we finally left the parking lot somewhere near 10:00 am. A good 8 to 12 vehicles showed up, the vast majority of which seemed to be Honda Acty trucks. I was one of 2 or maybe 3 Subarus in attendance. Only one car, and that was Matt in his Daihatsu Move SR-XX, with the omnipresent Honda Motocompacto . I swear, that guy probably puts more miles on his Motocompacto than most people put on their kei vehicles! Seriously - if you like stuff like Kei vehicles, photgraphy with "old timey" 90s cameras, you'd probably really enjoy following Matt's adventures! While we were in the park before we set off, I took a walk around the vehicles. Some cool details, for sure. I'm a big fan of shiny wheels (and shiny things in general!) so I was instantly drawn to this well presented silver Acty. Some work has gone into that one - interior was nice, too! A photo someone else took of (not so little) me! ...and the head-forward-looking-at-phone zombie pose. We headed out from Neil S Blaisedell Park and headed east. We only had to hop on the Interstate H-1 for a short bit, but it was ok because it was flat ground and we all just hung out in the right lane. (Bonus content - YES, Hawai'i has Interstate Highways! The H-1 is one of four. (The fourth is H-201, which was known as Route 78 until 2004. There was an H-4 proposed at one point that would have gone around downtown Honolulu on the water side, but it was never constructed.) We joke about the existence of a real H-4 that goes between Honolulu and the Mainland US. Enough tangents. For now. This the route we took: I included a bit more of the surrounding area for people that aren't too familiar with O'ahu. You can see we started near the USS Arizona Memorial , just north-northwest of the Memorial in Pearl Harbor. Once past the airport, we continued on into Honolulu proper along Nimitz Highway . At Ala Moana Beach Park , we turned in (to the south, or Makai (towards the ocean)). We wound our way through the beach park and exited back onto the main road (in this area, East of Richards Street, it goes from being Nimitz Highway to Ala Moana Boulevard.) We followed Ala Moana Boulevard into Waikiki, through the blight that is the tourist attraction, and down along the water's edge of Queen Kapiʻolani Regional Park . From there, we stayed along the roads closest to the water and made our way to Operation Red Wings Medal of Honor Park (known locally as "Triangle Park," as it's shaped conveniently like a triangle.) Once we arrived at Triangle Park, we parked all along the same curb to mark our territory, and then got out for another pastime of local folks on O'ahu - " talk story! " Spotted a real blast from the past on one of the vans. A radio sticker to the long gone, but not forgotten "Radio Free Hawai'i," which existed from June 1st, 1991 to March 7th, 1997. I can't remember all the specifics of how it formed, but it was basically a college radio station with a MUCH bigger transmitter. It was no exaggeration that you could go from hearing Snoop Dog to a classical piece - it could be that random, and fun! You, the listeners, got to vote every week on what would be played...and more. (While trying to do a little research on the history of Radio Free Hawaii, I stumbled across a 2014 interview with "Sheriff" Norm Winter (madman behind the idea of Radio Free Hawaii) on the website Aloha Got Soul (check them out, too!) Following our "talk story" session at the park, four of us headed over to Kona Brewing Company in Hawai'i Kai. Great scenery, awesome company! Pictured are Tina and Doug, who own the orange & white Daihatsu Atrai van. Matt was just off to the left in this photo. You'd think I liked the guy enough to backup a little and get him in the shot.

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 been increasing the number of Kei vehicles in attendance, and we’re having a good time! There’s a nice, covered lanai (porch, veranda) with lots of tables. During the event, the band Karaoke Stars plays a wide variety of tunes, and they invite people up to sing! Lots of fun to watch. There’s also food, drinks (and adult drinks!), and things to do inside. One of these times we'll get smart and bring some lawn chairs to hang out down by the vehicles. As much as I love the Karaoke Stars , my old-man ears, "enhanced" by tinnitus thanks to the USMC, can't hear crap other than the music when it's going. :) Ok, Andy. Enough blabbering (as usual!) - on to the photos! First up, Joshua's KS4 (Subaru Sambar, 4WD Pickup). Besides having some bad-ass purple wheels, he's got lights (all of them), a friggin front bumper-mounted WINCH, a giant storage box, an overhead frame with awning that he can deploy, and even a cool Subaru storage box forward of the battery on the lower left (passenger) side. Joshua's vehicle isn't just for showing off the entire light and frame packages of some companies - he takes it offroad. He takes it offroad to Kaʻena Point. Kaʻena was the brother of Pele in Hawaiian mythology, and his name translates to "heat." The terrain out there gets to "not messing around" pretty quickly, and Joshua has said that as long as he has the ground clearance, he's fine! SUBARU STRONG! (In the map shot below, the red arrow on the left is pointing to Ka'ena Point, and the white arrow on the right is pointing to where Bellows Air Force Station is.) Jeez, I didn't notice 'till now he's got not only the big awning on the driver's side, but the one at the front and rear of the whole "cage" thingy! ...not to mention, another awesome purple wheel. Joshua also has the cool OEM Subaru storage box just in front of his battery. Bonus picture including Matt! He owns a couple of Kei vehicles - a Daihatsu Move, and a Subaru Vivio RX-R that we're going to pressure him into writing about on here at some point. It's got a cool history! ;) Oh! and a Honda Motocompo (tiny, fold-up electric scooter) that he takes on adventures all over O'ahu.) Matt's 1996 Daihatsu Move SR-XX. It has an automatic transmission, but Matt knows what he's doing when he has to "row his own." Be sure to check all the cool rear-window decals! Matt said that found the "momiji mark" (colloquially "紅葉マーク" or "autumn leaf mark") on the side of a road on Okinawa while he was stationed there. It is perfectly weathered - I kid, you can see what it's supposed to look like here . Next to him, my 1997 Subaru Sambar Super Deluxe Classic pickup (KS3, 5MT). Matt tries to bring the 90s back into his vehicles, and I think he's doing a good job, especially with those 3-spoke wheels! My favorite decal on his window says, "Low Power, High Spirits." Indeed my friend, indeed. Other than Matt, Joshua, and myself, Tina and Doug showed up in their oh-so-cool Daihatsu Atrai! Check out that cool double-glass sliding sunroof. They've customized the vehicle, including a new interior (very cool), and the really fun detail of a "whole mess of" stickers in the door / hatch jambs! Tina and Doug are super-duper humans. Of course, there were non-kei vehicles, too! Major Chhen, the Commanding Officer of Bellows Air Force Station loves to see vehicles of all types out there! The first one with the yellow spoke wheels I'm pretty sure is a Ford Model A Coupe . That puts it in the 1927 - 1931 timeline, during which Ford produced a staggering 4,858,644 units of all styles. (Not only is the German component of my ancestry proud, but also the nerd side at such a precise figure!) This is also a Model A, but I'm not rounded enough on early Fords to know which body style. Very, very cool though. The matte black finish + chrome is appropriately mean! Fenderless wheels... = the business. I may be a 70s/80s kid, but I know a Ford flathead V-8 when I see one! This particular example was dressed up nicely with cool accents. Always love me a big 'ole blue oval badge. My brain only knows this as a "Ford T-Bucket," which I know is doing it a disservice. Then again... I spy a Chevy Bowtie up front, so... call it what you will. I appreciate the color, chrome, and engineering that went into it though! The cool kids all love a high-rise Edelbrock Intake. I vaguely recall one of the guys saying that one of the T-buckets had 18" wide rear tires, and the other, 21". If I put all four of my 155mm tires together, we're wider! (at 14 7/16ths") :D Up front, the blue T-bucket has a " Boyce MotoMeter ," which was patented in 1912, and used through the 1920s to show engine operating temperature before the advent of the dash-mounted temperature gauge. In the mid 1980s, American fast-food chain "Wendy's" had a commercial in which one of the people questions, "Where's the Beef?" - (one of the participants questions a rival chain's "bun growth.") In this case, the beef is right there, ma'am. Right. THERE. What looks to be a set of Autometer gauges and some massive collectors from the air filters to the intake manifolds. I don't know if it's "old school" chrome or Jet-Hot's "Classic Polish, " but either way I am here for it, daddy-o! Nice (Aussie?) guy brought his "just landed on island" Ford Tornio. Someone knowledge-check me here. Is that a 1969? All I know is the body was straight, the vinyl roof was tight, and she sounded good rollin' in! Love to see examples of what I think are just...absolutely gigantic, wasteful American cars from the 1960s and 1970s. :D Part of the beautiful view from the covered lanai of the "Reservations / Turtle Cove Building" (Bldg 220). (Inside there's food & drink, and adult bevvies, shuffle board and pool tables!) (Dear Bellows AFS, building needs a better name.) Absolutely gorgeous VW Beetle I've seen show up at Bellows AFS a few times. I'm guessing a 1973 by the license plate, but I'm not sure. Inside and out, it's mint! Karaoke Stars with a guest singer from the crowd. Ok. Full stop. We need to talk about something here. The way people pronounce " Karaoke "(カラオケ)... is just WRONG. Click the link. It's not "Karey-o-kee". Click the link. Pronounce it like that. Show the originating language (Japanese) some respect! Back to Karaoke Stars. The catalog of music that these guys can play is pretty dang deep. I give maximum points, plus another 10, to anyone who gets up to sing with a live band in front of a crowd of strangers! Maybe... one day. One day I will punish those in the audience with my screeching. One day. Japanese vehicle representation. On the left is the Commanding officer of Bellows Air Force Station, Major Chhen's, Mitsubishi Evolution X, and everything to the right of that is right-hand-drive. ;) Maj Chhen does also own a Toyota Chaser, a JDM ("Japanese Domestic Market" if 'ya don't know) right-hand-drive sedan. I haven't seen that one yet, but Major says that they're both for sale as he's looking to mix things up and (gasp) go German for a while! From left to right, excluding the Major's Evo, we've got a Toyota HiAce - I think it's a H100 variant, but there were so many sub-variants that I'm not sure of the exact nomenclature. Next up is Tina & Doug's Daihatsu Atrai turbo, Joshua's Sambar (KS4), Matt's Daihatsu Move SR-XX (L602), and some tall guy's Sambar Classic pickup (KS3). Interior of the HiAce. It's super plush compared to our Kei vehicles. Look at those curtains! Some Japanese goodness, although they bolted pretty quick. :( All-in-all, it was another successful outing to Bellows AFS. I can't thank the Commanding Officer, Major Chhen and the Bellows staff, military folks and civilian, for allowing us to come on for such a cool event. Are you a civilian without base access? YOU CAN GO ! Email andy@projekt-en07.com for details.

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, at least check the oil. (Facepalm) This is a shot from the CarFromJapan website where I got the car. (They were ok to work with.) f you look just to the left of the top center of the license plate frame, you’ll see the little lock to open the engine cover. I put my key in it, tried to turn it, and got nothing. I put a little more effort into it, and still got nothing. Not wanting to break my key, I turned to the SAMBAR SQUAD  on Facebook. To open the engine cover on your truck: Use a flathead screwdriver. It’s not a lock like the door, but just looks like one. No key needed. You can use your key, just be careful as it's easier than you think to twist a key into a useless piece. Insert the flathead screwdriver into the slot. Push against the engine cover near the lock - push it in, towards the front of the vehicle, with a good amount of force. Rotate the screwdriver clockwise (to the right). Once you take the pressure off the latch, it should turn relatively smoothly. (I shot a little PB Blaster in the mechanism and let it sit for a bit before I tried to turn it. You can find the PB Blaster at your local auto parts store, or Walmart.) Once you open the engine cover, it looks like this! Oh, the result of the engine oil inspection? Plenty of oil, but man, it’s definitely time to change it. Now that you’ve seen the engine cover and latch, I hope you can get yours open with a little less frustration than I had. *The vans had a different system where the rear bumper unlatches and folds down. Similar, just a different operation. We'll show that as well.

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 weather, so Matt and I were the only ones that showed up. I, in my 1997 KS3 Sambar pickup, and Matt in his totally awesome 1994 E-KK4 Vivio RX-R! That was the day l simultaneously learned I could fit in the Vivio and that I wanted one. It has the same EN07 engine family as my truck and vans, it's just this one (EN07X) is DOHC, supercharged, and intercooled, and made 62 hp @ 7,200 rpm (64 PS / 47 kW), and 78 lb/ft of torque at 4,000rpm (10.8 kg/m / 106 Nm). The redline was 9,000rpm. I can't wait 'till Matt gets the little black bean sorted out so I can hopefully take it for a spin. I'm pretty sure that's just going to set the hook further in my cheek and make me want one. Small kei car, around 1,500 lbs (680 kg), manual transmission, stratospheric redline, and angry bee noises? Sign me up! (I'd really  like to find an RX-RA, which was the homologated version for motorsport. That one is going to be a bit of a quest I think.) Here's a couple of shots from that April day: Ok, on to the June 2024 event! Met my buddy, Matt again. This time he drove his white, 1996 Daihatsu Move SR-XX. Turbocharged and intercooled 3-banger. This one is automatic transmission. I drove my 1995 Subaru Sambar Dias Classic (KV4, 5MT). Check out Matt's sweet 90's 3-spoke wheels and neat little fold-down cup holder in the door. Both Keis were a big hit! My '95 Sambar Dias Classic KV4. The Japanese were really good at designing the seats to fold into all sorts of useful layouts. The horn button is missing because I think the day before we had gone somewher and it got stuck in the on position. I just reached down and ripped the whole thing off. Oops. Thankfully it just pressed back on. On to the other vehicles that showed up. They even have live band karaoke, too. It's a lot of fun to watch, but hard to talk 'cause it's loud up there! Matt and I, the last ones to leave.

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 Subaru Sambar Dias Classic vans. Sometime in November, I remember perusing the Car From Japan website. They are, like lots of others, an "aggregate" of sorts that lets you view available JDM vehicles across many geographic areas of Japan and from many sources. Quick word on Car From Japan - Initially I was worried that they might be a scam, and that I was essentially yeeting our hard earned money into outer space. Thankfully things worked out, and they were just fine to deal with. (In contrast, I cannot recommend enough against Mitsui Co, Ltd. More on them later.) In our case, we stumbled across yet another Subaru Sambar with the "Classic" treatment. This time it was a 2WD truck, and it had 31,661 km (19,661 mi) when we got it home from the dock. So, back to the vehicle in question. I saw it on Car From Japan, but it was actually on the lot at Noguchi Motors in Naruto City, Tokushima Prefecture . We really liked what we saw. The only "negatives," and they were minor, that we could see were a few dents in the back of the cab. That just told me that it was a real truck, and not some pretender that never did work! Purchase price of the vehicle including shipping to the Port of Honolulu, Hawaii from Japan was $8,500 ($6,300 for the truck and another $2,100 for shipping + wire transfer fee). I thought that was a really good deal, considering the age, condition, and low kilometers on the clock. (2025 edit - We overpaid I think, but I'm still happy with the truck) We'll go over the real costs of importing a Kei vehicle (at least to Hawai'i) in a future post. Suffice it to say that to get this one here and on the road it's more like $11,000+. Granted, you can spend a lot less money on the truck - I've seen trucks listed for around $1,500 in Japan on these sites. You're still going to pay around $2,000 to ship it to Hawai'i at least, and then you've got a really cheap truck that needs a bunch of work right off the bat. Mechanical problems, rust problems...no, thank you. We chose to be picky on this one, and in the end I think we found a great example at a fair price. We sent our payment out to Car From Japan at the end of November, 2022, and on January 18, 2023 we met our newest truck at the Port of Honolulu to bring it home. Wearing the prerequisite "shipping grime" and windshield covered in paperwork / grease pencil writing, this is what the truck looked like when we saw it the first time. I got to drive it home, and within about 1/2 a mile (0.8 km) I knew we had really picked a winner. It easily drove the best of any of the four Kei vehicles I had driven to that point... I'm sure the 12 psi (0.83 bar) in the tires had something to do with that, considering it should be more like 30 psi (2.1 bar)! One note of caution, which we'll cover more in-depth in a future post: That's my arm on the right side of the photo. Notice how the mirrors are folded flat against the cab? It pays to inspect and photograph the truck before you touch anything, as I would later get home and discover that they folded the mirrors in so hard that the plastic split vertically along a seam from where they mount on the door. The mirrors would both later fall off at separate times. More on that in future posts... All in all, it was great to know that we had a really solid truck with only scratches in the bed / bed rails in addition to the dents we knew about. No rust to speak of. I'm pretty sure this is next photo is right after we got home. I had stopped along the way to put a little gas into the tank, as they ship them nearly dry. Absolutely LOVE the Classic gauges. Just wish Subaru would have included a tachometer with them. The (EN07C, a carbureted version) engine in this truck revs to a 7,000 rpm redline. It makes maximum power after 6,000 rpm. It would be nice to know how far I'm flinging it into the stratosphere when I rev it up! Japanese vehicles are required to carry some sort of signaling device should they break down and need to pull to the side of the road. This is the first one I've seen make it to me with the flare still in place! We got the truck home, cleaned 'er up, put air in the tires, and started enjoying it. Here's a shot of the truck all cleaned up and registered in Hawai'i: At first I wasn't too sure what I thought of the "wind / rain deflectors" on the side windows, but they have grown on me. Initially I thought of removing them, but I've since decided against that, as they're part of the JDM vehicle! (ultra rare, JDM acrylic!) Here's a shot of me at Marine Corps Base (MCB) Hawai'i alongside the Ulupa'u Crater  (which is behind you in this photo). This is the base I was stationed at when I was in the United States Marine Corps (1990-1994), and I have lived right outside the main gate now for the last 24 years. Just ahead of the truck in the background you can see "KT" also known as "Kansas Tower," and by it's Hawaiian name, Pu'u Hawai'iloa. It is a cinder cone . Maybe we'll cover the geography of the area later. ;) Behind that, in the distance, you can see the Ko'olau Range . Another fascinating (to me) piece of history, the Ko'olau Volcano, rose to an estimated 9,800 ft (3,000 m), or like three times what it is now. Today, the highest point of the remaining shield volcano is 3,100 ft (945 m). On the roads, we climb to maybe 1,100 ft (335 m), but with all of 38 hp on tap when it left the factory in 1997, it's a struggle. 4th gear, foot to the floor for 4 - 6 minutes depending on the route, managing all of ~40 mph (~65 kph) at an estimated 5,500 rpm. As you read previously, this is one of the things we intend to change with this whole "projekt" thing. Another shot from on MCB Hawai'i, this time at Pyramid Rock Beach , which is in the northwest corner of the peninsula that MCB Hawai'i sits on. From this orientation, the "Pyramid" that the beach gets its name from is off roughly to the left. In the distance, behind the cab, you can see the Ulupa'u Crater that the above shot was taken from. One more shot from on base, this time from the parking area adjacent "Secret Beach."  ...which, I suppose is not exactly "secret" anymore. The 4 door late 90s Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS that I parked next to demanded that I take a picture. Unfortunately, the left side of the Impreza had substantial body damage. Still...my favorite Subaru design era. As you can see, we still definitely do "truck stuff" with it! A bunch of crap from the house to go to the dump, "retired" Hawaiian Airlines service carts, and a whole damn couch from Costco! I was pretty surprised that the couch fit and just required me to drop the tailgate. In the above photos, you may have noticed that the wheels changed. We'll cover the wheel upgrade in an upcoming post. I really like how it changed the look of the truck, though. We kept the original "steelies" + hubcaps on the side.

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 Carry truck, and the 1996 Subaru Sambar Dias Classic van with the wheelchair lift in it. We purchased the 1996 Sambar van in hopes of using it with a family member who was in a wheelchair, but we also wanted a really nice Sambar Dias Classic van with a manual transmission for ourselves. Imagine our surprise when not only did we find a nice one, but it was here on O'ahu, and already registered and on the road! We met the owner and checked out the van. It looked to be in good shape, and already had a set of aftermarket 13" wheels and a ~2" lift with "lift up" springs from Forest Auto Factory  in Japan. It's surprising how tall the van is, especially with that extra bit from the springs. When I wash the van, even I, Gorilla Man, have to get a step stool to reach all points of the roof. The "Classic" front that my wife and I love so much. It's such a cool look! Rear of the van. On the top of the hatch, passenger side, you can see a dent. It looks like someone backed into something and creased the hatch. Eventually that will get fixed. (Yes, same GTI up front.) Not only does it have a sliding door on each side, but the door windows roll down! Close-up of the Forest Auto Factory "Lift Up Springs." Closer shot of the A-Tech "Final Mind" GR wheels in 13." The van came with...snow tires on it. It has been registered on O'ahu for a while. We got a new set of 155/65 R13 tires from an online retailer and swapped those out. Even with new tires, all four wheels seem to have a (thankfully) slow leak. Might get something different, but we'd stay 12 or 13" I'm pretty sure. Mrs. Alli will be in charge of the overall design of this one - we've got some neat ideas - so if she wants different wheels, we'll get different wheels. Here's the driver's seat. The little coiled-wire cup holder on top of the cover over the brake fluid reservoir has come in handy a few times. You'll notice a button (it's red) on top of the gear shifter. That's the "on / off" switch for the 4WD system. The last time I was around 4x4 vehicles, you had to get out and "lock the hubs" manually. That was more than a few years ago. Rear seats and cargo area of the Van. Everything in pretty good condition. Even with the rear seats in this configuration there is more than enough space for our Costco / Sam's Club runs. Previous owner showing us the different configurations for the rear area of the van. You can have the seats up (as above), fold the backrests of the seat forward, or fold the entire seat assembly flat with the floor. (one still "up" but you just have to flip it forward and it becomes a very large, enclosed area for cargo. With everything folded flat in the back, I laid down and put the top of my head against the back of the center column, and we successfully closed the rear hatch. We figure the available, fully enclosed, flat-floor area is at least 6' (183 cm) x 4' (122 cm). It's really nice to have the option of a covered space if the weather is yucky and you don't want to take the Sambar truck, which...as of this post hasn't been properly introduced yet. We ended up buying the van and bringing it home. With the massive assistance from a good friend, we put a new "head unit," replaced the worn out 4" x 6" speakers in the lower dash, and added a powered, enclosed 10" subwoofer under the rear seat ledge. It's not going to win any sound competitions, but with the doors closed it sounds pretty dang good. We also ran a rear camera. That was a job I don't look forward to ever having to do again - took a good hour, hour and a half to fish the damn wire through the tiniest spaces in the side of the rear hatch. The resulting pull-out screen for the "head unit" and rear camera makes backing up a lot easier with the reduced vision because of the solid coverings where the rear side windows would be on our KV3.