MiniCab, meet i-MiEV

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PV1

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Our one jobsite at work has an imported Mitsubishi MiniCab, gas powered. I was finally able to drive my i-MiEV down to that site, so I thought I'd take a picture. I'm not sure who owns it, but it's always parked in front of our trailer.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/l2975e96rw79alj/IMG_20150622_092523.jpg?dl=0
 
Road legal?

I love Kei cars, would love to have a kei truck with a dual range 5 speed and the very rare NA 3 cylinder Daihatsu Diesel.

Ah well, to dream
 
Not road legal in the US. It's owned and used by the university on their property, as I found out after my original post.
 
PV1 said:
Not road legal in the US.
I think it must vary by state - We have several of them running around here in Mississippi

A local guy had an importing business going for them for 2 or 3 years awhile back. He discovered that by placing the front end of each one up in the bed of the one in front of it, he could get 7 of them in a standard shipping container. He was importing them from Taiwan and almost all of them were RHD models. 3 cylinder 1 liter engines (laying on their side under the seats of the cab) and a really short rear ratio. Rear wheel drive and a top speed of about 45 mph

There were a few 'tricks' to get them titled and registered as road legal, but he had done that many times before and promised to help anyone who bought one get it titled and tagged

He did have one LHD model which also had a slightly taller cab - Obviously made for the western market. It had 13" wheels and tires instead of the 12" ones all of the RHD models had. This one had a blown engine and he had it stored at his house. I tried to buy it several times, thinking it would make a PERFECT EV conversion. Two rows of golf cart batteries just inside the frame rails with the driveshaft between them and a WarP9 motor direct driving the driveshaft with no transmission. With the short differential gears, you'd have a top speed of around 50 or so and plenty of punch off the line

Originally, he wanted $1500 for it, thinking the engine could probably be fixed. When I told him of my plans and offered to let him keep the engine/trans for spare parts, he came down to $1K which I thought was still a bit steep. We never did get together on the price and he eventually gave it away to a friend of a friend. I'm a bit thankful, as about that time we bought the iMiEV

Neat little trucks and perfect for around town . . . . *if* you can get them road legal where you live

Don
 
Don said:
3 cylinder 1 liter engines (laying on their side under the seats of the cab) and a really short rear ratio.
Don

Most of those vehicles actually have a 660cc or 550cc motor, older ones were 360cc

1ltr are VERY rare and were only used in export markets like the UK or India.
 
rmay635703 said:
1ltr are VERY rare and were only used in export markets like the UK or India.
. . . . and evidently Taiwan, which is where all of the 1 liter ones I was talking about were imported from

Don
 
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