subaru sambar (a.k.a lil'van)
Everyone loves my little van!
I originally had an old 1989 Bedford Rascal van that I used for carting around stuff, like oily engines, sofas and my two basset hounds...but that decided to eat itself inside out with rust and there was no way my welding skills were anywhere up to scratch to do that much work, so it had to go visit the scrap man. What that left, was a gap....
After a bit of research, I discovered this little van for sale in Japan. It is a boring standard van that a nice Japanese gentleman then converts and customises, most of them are unique.
I convinced my missus it would be a good purchase, she eventually agreed and 3 months later we had a new arrival....
The interior is in great condition (as you can see). Lots of subtle changes have been made.
The most awesome thing about the van is that it is a Kei car and therefore has a 660cc engine, but it also has power steering and air-conditioning and a 3-speed auto gearbox, making it effortless to drive!
Yep, underneath that section in the middle is the tiny little engine, very easy to work on and if needed in the future a wonderfully large space to fit an electric engine into (already planning ahead!)
The only bit that is a little bit of a pain, is that to check the oil (or do anything useful with the engine), you have to completely remove the rear bumper! But as it's fibreglass, it's not too much hassle to do once in a while.
As mentioned earlier, I used to use the old Bedford Rascal van as, well, a van! I can confirm that this cute little van still operates in exactly the same manner! Yes, you can get a 3 seater sofa into the back of it and take it down to the recycling tip! (albeit in smaller pieces!)
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