Delica Canada | Mitsubishi Van Club

Well, I think I found my ideal vehicle. And what a great site for info!

Now I live in South Korea, but spend my summers in Saskatchewan and Alberta. I've purchased some land where I plan to start building a future home off of the grid.

I'm 46 and I've never owned a motor vehicle, and I think I finally found the one for me. I need something that I can haul my canoeing, cycling and camping gear and get me from folk festival to folk festival.

I lived in Japan in the early 90's and remember the funky cars they had. My Japanese had a a 500 cc turbo microvan than was fantastic.

I saw a Delica at the Ness Creek Music Festival last summer and thought how perfect it was for my lifestyle.

Anyhow, now I have the money and have decided that I'll find a Delica by the summer. I'm especially interested in learning more about SVO and WVO engines. One of the reasons I've never owned a car is environmental (the others being health and cost).

Any, I have a lot of apprehensions about finally buying a motor vehicle. Long term reliability is my main concern. I hope to find something I can maintain and drive for a looooong time. Looking forward to checking over this site to answer some of my questions.

Cheers,

Patton

"Long term reliability is my main concern. I hope to find something I can maintain and drive for a looooong time."

By Can. import laws, delicas must be >= 15 years old. Old vehicles such as Delicas need a lot of maintenance.

The delicas (L300) cab over engine design makes engine access more difficult, especially without a hoist. It also has quite a few powered features; e.g. PW, locks, etc. again, makes things more complicated.

If long term reliability is your main concern, you want a newer vehicle with manual trans, little/no electric powered features, good engine access, parts, etc.

I couldn't think of a worst choice.

dont listen to ABdelica, maybe he woke up on the wrong side of the van this morning...
when you get your new awesome van you make sure that all the necessary maintenence and repair has been done by a Delica experienced shop. ive driven mine over 50,000km, mostly on WVO, in only 18 months. the only bigrepairs ive had done in that time were front brake caliper replacement and an injection pump replacement.
theres tons of parts here and plent of knowledgeable mechanics.
sure, its a 15 y o used auto and its gonna need a tweak here or there. but ill bet its the perfect vehicle for you.
i can help get you set up for WVO so when youre ready drop me a line!

welcome to the forum!

ABdelica wrote:I couldn't think of a worst choice.

ABdelica: Such a poor choice and yet you indicate in your personal info that... you... have one? ? ?

I'll x2 what the more positive posters have already indicated: the L300 is a good choice for (interestingly enough) some of the same reasons ABdelica indicated. Good access to parts (there are a number of suppliers in Canada now who are solely working the JDM markets); little electronics (the door lock and window motor are just about the most complicated thing in the van); being a cab-over design is not as much of a problem as ABdelica is trying to paint it.

My own experience is over two years with my van, during which time I had the alternator changed - that's it! There was the import work (common for a 15+ year-old vehicle), but other than that these are very reliable vehicles (if looked after). If you're going to pound it into the ground, well you're going to have a more difficult time caring for it.

wow... falco if that engine bay were any cleaner, you wouldn't have an engine! I've never been able to keep an engine clean, it just doesn't seem to matter what I do, they end up covered in oil that just won't come off....

I am very envious of your move to off-grid living! One thing to consider with the Delica is that you will need to plug it in during Winter. A way to bypass a lot of energy in that area would be a well-insulated garage (tall by the way). Mine is outside which means it's plugged in 24/7 unless I'm driving it. I don't like it, but not much I can do at the moment.

Not vehicle-related specifically, but something you might be interested in: http://www.sunandstraw.com/

Warmly,
Erik

Green1 wrote:wow... falco if that engine bay were any cleaner, you wouldn't have an engine! I've never been able to keep an engine clean, it just doesn't seem to matter what I do, they end up covered in oil that just won't come off....

Kinky, I know.
If I get bored or need to think about something ~ I take my metal cleaner kit & tooth brush downstairs and do a little luvin' on my baby... healthy oil seals help, too .

Falco.

FalcoColumbarius wrote:I take my metal cleaner kit & tooth brush downstairs and do a little luvin' on my baby... healthy oil seals help, too .

Falco.

I initially read "healthy seal oil"...

mararmeisto wrote:

FalcoColumbarius wrote:I take my metal cleaner kit & tooth brush downstairs and do a little luvin' on my baby... healthy oil seals help, too .

Falco.

I initially read "healthy seal oil"...

Umm.... seal oil might work.... I could buy that. Now that would be kinky! "Um yeah... I use seal oil on my baby ~ she really likes it.... cool ~ kind of an Eskimo thing, like rubbing noses."

"...your personal info that... you... have one? ? ?"

Sorry to disappoint you .... I do have one. Super Exceed.

IMBO, just about every vehicle has it's own pros & cons, and the Delica is no exception. You are free to disagree, I just don't let fanaticism cloud my own judgement.

It's what works for you.

FalcoColumbarius wrote:kind of an Eskimo thing, like rubbing noses."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eskimo_kissing

Wow. Thanks for all the replies. Most of my friends think I should be buying a truck. Like i mentioned, I've never owned a motor vehicle, and I appreciate all the input.