Bitten by the Delica 'bug'

[El 300 Magnifico]

Hello, all. I'm Rick. I'm living at Misawa Air Base in Japan. Moved here from the U.S. and wanted a 'funky' (in a good way) vehicle unlike any in America. I think all of the tiny Japanese compact vehicles are interesting and novel, but I'm six-foot-three, so they would be out of the question. Unless I ripped the front seats out and sat in the back, ala Bubba "Hightower" Smith in Police Academy.
Anyway, there are Delicas all over the place in northern Japan, so I picked up a 1993 L300 Exceed with the Crystal Lite Roof. I took it for a test drive and everything seemed fine, though the previous owner informed me that he had previous troubles with the right front brake caliper. The wife and I went exploring the area the evening of the purchase, which, of course, was a dark and stormy night. Well, rainy anyway. So, on our return trip home, as we approached three vehicles stopped at a stoplight, I depressed the brake pedal only to have it thump the cabin floor! No brakes. Lovely. Fortunately, while frantically groping around the interior to brace myself, a hand found the well-named emergency brake. After 20-ish feet of rear-wheel-lock-n-roll-hydroplane-fishtail action, we stopped without contacting anything. Then, after five minutes or so, I was able to remove the driver's seat cushion from my sphincter. Fun! Anyway, we've got the brake system all sorted out now and LOVE lumbering around in this beast.
A dragster or NASCAR the Delica isn't, but I enjoy the tractor-like prattle of the motor and LOVE the turbo whine as it spools up! I can't seem to keep my finger off the Crystal Lite (which I believe is also a diet beverage, if I'm not mistaken) Roof sunshade button. I can't help it. I'm a gadget freak. Fortunately, the previous owner installed one of those engine timer things to keep the engine idling for a time after you remove the key in order to allow the turbo to cool off some before it stops turning. I'm thinking of installing a remote engine starter / keyless entry because this whole holding-up-the-door-handle-to-lock-the-door thing annoys me. I like the riding position above / in front of the front wheels. I get a kick out of pulling up to a sidewalk curb and sitting over the sidewalk. The mirrors are amazing and I find that I can back into the tightest of parking spots with ease. The transformer-like captains chairs have been a source of entertainment, as well. With a full van-load, my middle-seat occupants will occaisionally rotate mid-ride to enter different conversations within the cabin.
I've got plans for this van. I'm in the U.S. Navy and was previously attached to an F/A-18 Hornet squadron. I intend to repaint the Delica in my squadron's colors, complete with squadron markings. I've even toyed with the idea of installing vertical stabilizors on top and stub wings with faux mini-missiles on the sides. We'll see how the paint goes first. The vertical stabs might be tricky with the Crystal Lite Roof, and the "wings" may not be the best idea on narrow Japanese streets.
One question I've got right off the bat is if anyone knows how to decode the VIN? I downloaded and installed the Russian/Japanese CAPS program, but don't fully understand how to work it. Any advice would be appreciated.
I look forward to participating in this forum!
Cheers!

-Rick

[delicat]

Hi Rick and welcome to this forum.

You might want to use the search function to answer some of your questions, I can't tell you much about the vin# as I'm trying to figure it out myself and the search will surely lead me to someone with the answer so good luck and enjoy your monster to be.

Delicat