Left Hand Drive Delicas

[Moondog]

I'm trying to gather more information on LHD Delicas. I've seen a few for sale on various sites and tried searching through the forums for more info on where they come from. The only thing I've been able to find was a discussion on a conversion that was done in Taiwan. Are LHD Delicas factory made? Does anybody have one that can provide any information. I'd love to get a Delica, but I'm having a hard time convincing my wife the RHD isn't bad. I'm hoping maybe to find a decent LHD as a solution.

Thanks.

[konadog]

Better to convince her and get a RHD - It's a piece of cake to drive - I NEVER want t drive a LHD anything, ever again! Waaaay more selection too...

[Adam]

Better to convince her and get a RHD - It's a piece of cake to drive - I NEVER want t drive a LHD anything, ever again! Waaaay more selection too...

x2 Konadog is right, hard to go back to driving on the dangerous-on-coming-traffic side of the vehicle after you've been driving a Deli. RHD is really not as big a barrier as your wife thinks it is. Get her in a parking lot with nothing around and set her free, it takes about 30 seconds to feel comfortable and about 2 weeks to stop turning on the windshield wiper when you are trying to turn left.

[marsgal42]

There are factory LHD L300 commercial vans. I've seen examples in Latin America. This is where the headlights come from to make our RHD Delicas compliant.

All LHD Delicas, however, are conversions. Their engineering quality varies. Like all safety-critical features, such a conversion is a priori suspect and must be approached with caution.

Right hand drive is a non-issue. Everybody will tell you this. It's true.

...laura

[Profister]

All LHD Delicas, however, are conversions.

Not really; this 1995 4wd L300 was born LHD and is for sale in Russia:

[Green1]

what you post doesn't contradict what she said. that van is a 4x4 L300, but not labelled a Delica.

basically though, if you find an LHD it will be extremely stripped down, you won't find a factory LHD with the crystal-lite roof, or the captains chairs in the middle row, or the rear climate control, or premium sound system, the cool box, or any of a number of other features. Most LHDs are 2 wheel drive (though I've seen a few exceptions) and most are gas instead of diesel. many of them don't have seats, or even windows in the back.

A few people have heavily modified their stripped down LHD to become more "delica" like (like the photo you posted, and at least one or 2 others I'm aware of) however it is much cheaper and easier to buy an RHD.

That said, RHD is safer to drive than LHD, as well as easier to work with in most situations. Given the choice of otherwise identical vehicles, one RHD and one LHD, I'll take the RHD one every single time (unless I was in Britain, Japan, Australia, or another country that drives on the left, in which case I would choose the LHD for the same safety and convenience reasons)

[marsgal42]

Yup: that Russian van looks like a tarted up L300 commercial van. A worthy vehicle, but not a Delica.

People have gotten in the habit of calling all L300s Delicas. They're not. The vehicles actually badged Delicas have P24W, P25W, or P35W serial numbers.

...laura

[Adrock]

Peoples misconception about RHD is unfortunate. At least for delicas. There are none of the drawbacks of owning say an RHD skyline, where you would want to pass on the highway, and be too low to see oncoming traffic in an intersection when turning left. The delica is unique because it has all the pros and none of the cons.

Too bad you have to experience it to understand. Because the people who are afraid will never understand. Oh well... I'll sell my van some day.

[Profister]

According to it's VIN JMBLNP25WTA000309 it is P25W and it is 4WD with 2.5 L TD engine and it is LHD. Who cares if there is a 'DELICA' sign on it or not?
I had no intentions to argue about all the details and bits but wanted to demonstrate that there are LHD alternatives to those who are looking for LHD Delicas.

[mararmeisto]

LHDs were probably factory-built for Japan's export markets (Germany, Netherlands, etc) just like Hondas and Toyotas, et al. It is not a big cost difference in the end, just the initial design costs (if the company is going to sell the opposite-drive from the native market). If she has her heart set on a LHD, look to import one from those other markets.

Cheaper still, get a JDM RHD and teach/familiarize her with driving on the right - it's not that difficult.

As for the Russian L300, looks just like a regular L300 except the side door is on the opposite side from a JDM. I like how the different bull bars wrap around the side - cool!

[loki]

As for the Russian L300, looks just like a regular L300 except the side door is on the opposite side from a JDM. I like how the different bull bars wrap around the side - cool!

I believe that it actually has to sliding doors.

[fexlboi]

That said, RHD is safer to drive than LHD, as well as easier to work with in most situations.

Any facts about that or is it just your personal opinion?

Moondog, if you really want a LHD l300, then you should look in other markets. There quite a few for sale in Germany right now: http://tinyurl.com/yb9ucqn but before that try it out, RHD is no problem at all.

[Green1]

Any facts about that or is it just your personal opinion?

No facts have been officially collected on the subject in Canada (despite what ICBC would have you believe with their ridiculously flawed report)
However in the UK there was a study done between LHD and RHD land rovers owned by the government, they found that the LHD ones had a lower accident rate than the RHD ones in an RHD country, the opposite would make sense in Canada as we are an LHD country, one would expect that following the same trends RHD would be safer on our roads.
Other studies worldwide have led to the conclusion that very little difference exists, however there are some dangerous roads in other parts of the world where drivers are specifically told to switch sides of the road to put the driver on the shoulder side of the road for better visibility on the most dangerous roads in the world.
The largest ever study done was when a whole country switched which side of the road they drove on, accident rates went down immediately following the conversion, mainly due to speed limits that were significantly lower than normal, however once the speeds were brought up to normal, and within 2 years, the accident rate was identical to before the changeover.

Add to that the obvious advantages, there are only 2 times when RHD is at a disadvantage, passing on 2 lane highways, and turning left at an intersection, both are optional manoeuvres and in both cases the side of the vehicle is a minor factor and you treat it the same way you would in a LHD vehicle, wait until you can see that you are clear before proceeding (on a side note, I've noticed that height is a far more important ingredient than side of the vehicle when turning left, and the Delicas have lots of height.)
All other manoeuvres are equal or better in an RHD. Among the benefits:
- Always step out on the curb side of the vehicle.
- sit further away from the point of impact in the most lethal type of collision (head on).
- sit further away from oncoming headlights at night meaning less loss of vision and more visibility.
- sitting closer to the shoulder of the road allows you to stay further to the right side of the road, more easily avoiding oncoming traffic.
- better visibility for parallel parking.
- better visibility of cyclists, pedestrians, and parked cars.

[Profister]

I believe that it actually has two sliding doors.

You got it!
Actually I am not sure where this discussion is going... I can provide more listings of LHD Delicas from Russia if you are interested.

[mararmeisto]

I believe that it actually has two sliding doors.

You got it!
Actually I am not sure where this discussion is going... I can provide more listings of LHD Delicas from Russia if you are interested.

It started in the direction of looking-to-import-a-LHD-Delica-from-another-market-than-Japan, but I think it's been moving towards we're-trying-to-convince-his-wife-that-it's-easier/simpler-to-just-get-a-JDM-and-or-her-to-learn-how-to-drive-'right'.

Was Russia originally an export market for these vans Profister? Somebody told me they're snapping up as many of the JDMs as they can now.