I have been waiting for the Delicas to come in at Silk Road Autos on the King George Highway in Surrey. I went by there on Tuesday night to see if they had been brought up from the customs storage yard to their dealership lot. They still had not been released but Karim had a beautiful 1991 Nissan Safari (known as a Patrol outside of Japan) 4.2 L Diesel 7 Passenger Wagon that he had just brought up. To make a long story short and my good news, I purchased the Safari. :D The price was right and I could not pass up the proven dependability of this SUV. The engine and drive train on these trucks are well known to go to 400,000 - 500,000 kms before any major servicing and repair. Many of them with regular service and maintainence will still be on the road at 700,000 - 1,000,000 kms. Check out some of the Safari Patro web sites if you are interested.
So I guess the bad news is that I no longer qualify for this group.
The good news for you people still searching is that I have found Karim to be a polite and strait forward preson to deal with and he is bringing in more Delicas. The P25 should be on his lot by next week. Karim's phone number is 604 727 0232. If you want to look at a vehicle, call him first, as he is often away from the lot dealing with customs, inspections, etc..Karim recommended that I have the Safari independently inspected. I did not have a clue as to who to go to for a JDM diesel. I checked out North Shore 4X4, as I know that some of the JDM Land Cruiser people go to them for parts and service. They also have a store and service shop in Surrey off of Enterprise Way. They were willing and able to do the inspection but could not fit me in until later next week. However, they recommended G.C.T. Auto-Tech: #1 - 19295 Enterprise Way, 604-530-2774. The owner is George Tefenkojian. He is a Lebanese born Armenian. He knows these JDM diesels very well as there are many of them in Lebanon. He also had a shop in Montreal and told me that he worked on JDM vehicles there. He is a bit of a character but a fine detail strait shooter. If you go to him make sure you do not call him anything but an Armenian and do not bring up the subject of Turkey!
Well, now I am learning more about my truck and researching parts supply. One little problem is that all electrics on the truck are 24 volts. I found that Lordco has the lights. What I can not get from them, Karim can order in or I can get off of e-bay. A new radio will be another issue which may require a converter.
Good luck everyone. :D Cheers,
John
