Delica Canada | Mitsubishi Van Club

Hello all! I'm new to the Delica world. In fact I'm not yet an owner We are an active couple (canoe,kayak,bike, ski and camp) who are looking for "do it all"transportation. I am also a carpenter who primarily works on cottages in Muskoka ON.,so the 4WD and interior volume aspects of the Delica have great appeal to me. I've joined this club to get more information about what seems to be the answer to our needs. Here is my first set of questions.
- what is the towing capacity?
-where do I go for service in Ontario?
-how difficult is a WVO conversion
-Has anyone done a WVO conversion and regretted it and why?
-the plan is to travel the continent . Does one need to make adjustments for altitude?
-Most owners and dealers seem to be on the west coast. Are there dealers in the east?
Thanks in advance! Karl

Welcome to the site! Its always good to me a fellow Muskokan. I grew up in Port Sydney between Hunstville and Bracebridge. Good luck in your search for a Deli you are talking to the right people for information. Buen Suerte.
Andy Wilson
Sayulita Nay.Mx.

Hi Karl,
I am also new to the site, (see English Lake District-Canada) and all being well will be heading for Grey County or possibly Orangeville in 2010. I am pleased to learn that Nishby is in Owen Sound, which would be pretty close for me. Delica's in the UK are not rare, service/replacement parts are quite easy to obtain here. The Delica seems to be a perfect vehicle for Canada, I know they've been held up by the 15 year rule but I'm surprised that Mitsubishi have not taken advantage of the market in Canada.
If you decide to go for a Delica make a note of my member name!
Cheers Steve.

Hi and welcome. We tow boats, if you check thru my posts i have various happy comments about how my deli tows stuff. To see my posts, click on my profile button at the bottom of this message. Obviously, I keep my speed down especially on bends when towing, and use surge brakes (Mararmeisto uses electric brakes for his tent trailer), as the delica doesnt weigh much and you should only tow less than half your weight unless you have extra brakes.

Veg Oil in winter might need special consideration, I don't know anyone in cold areas with veg oil, and Vancouver is a little sub tropical paradise for delica. I did not do any extra installations, I just add veg oil into my diesel filler cap, in summer I run almost half n half (but 1/3 oil is the usual recommended amount), in spring/summer I run 1/4 oil, in cool weather below 10 degrees I add no oil. It is very happy and perky on oil. The danger of a cold snap is that the oil congeals in your injectors and that's bad ... if in doubt put a bit of oil in glass jar, leave outside overnight and see if it is thicker than diesel in a glass jar. Delicat did a veg install, I watched, you should read his posts he put quite a lot on the website about it ... lot of work as you need to attach wires (first find a suitable wire) to systems and drill holes to attach things to (tight confines) ... and the veg system sellers probably do not have a book of how to install on a delica.

If you arent mechanically inclined, you might want to find a trusted diesel mechanic, and 4by4 mechanic. They are simple vehicles, with no computer crap, but they are older vehicles so expect maintenance.

As mentioned Nishby in Ontario, and Jamie in Ottawa, and 1 or 2 more in Ontario (do a search for word Ontario in the search engine here). Most people come to BC to visit, attend a meet-up and poke at heaps of deli's and ask owners what they like/dislike, and then buy one from one of the respected dealers rather than buy from someone unknown to us. Sometimes it takes a few weeks for your delica to arrive from Japan, so you might need a 2nd trip back. You are welcome to stay with us. Mardy of Amaing Autos is always very helpful to out of towners, sales and service, and answers his cell phone at all hours, very useful with time zone changes and you hear a wierd noise in your deli.

Good Luck, Cheers, Christine.

-where do I go for service in Ontario?

Unfortunately Ontario is a pretty big place, so without more detail it's hard to say. In reality ANY diesel mechanic can work on them, they're a very simple diesel engine, in practise, many mechanics are deathly afraid of "different" and will refuse it on sight...

I was stranded in Ottawa with a blown turbo last year, and Metric Auto were excellent at getting me back on the road, they're normally a VW shop, but they didn't seem to have any trouble with the Delica, and were very accommodating.

Hi again guys! thanks for the welcome and info! I get a real sense of community on this site and the amount of information is huge. I'm learning a ton about what seems to be my dream vehicle.Thanks for the offer, Jay and Christine, we may take you up on it in the future. For now, I'm researching like mad and absorbing as much as possible in order to make my best descision. Thanks again, Karl

Green1 wrote:

-where do I go for service in Ontario?

Unfortunately Ontario is a pretty big place, so without more detail it's hard to say.

And from his initial post...

adventurguy wrote: I am also a carpenter who primarily works on cottages in Muskoka ON.

How much more specific does he need to be? lol

I'm just being a trouble maker!

Welcome aboard Karl, I am sure you will find this to be a very helpful informative and warm family... heck, we even tease each other.

Josh.