Delica Canada | Mitsubishi Van Club

No Delica yet, and possibly never, but I'm feeling pretty good about it at the moment.

My story is that myself and my family (two young boys and The Boss) moved out of Calgary to a small town in rural Alberta. We were quite happy as a one car (2005 Honda Civic) family in the city and here in town, but we bought a chunk of farmland fifteen minutes from town with the intention of building a home. Worse yet, I bought livestock and put in a big garden. So I started spending a lot of time out working at the farm. Suddenly, one car wasn't enough. So I bought a little JDM truck, a Subaru Sambar (super-charged, mind you). For buzzing out to the farm, occasionally with a load of manure, livestock feed, or sheep, it was great. All was well. Then I changed jobs and had to start making regular drives of about 400 km round trip. Unfortunately, the Sambar doesn't work for my wife and boys. So I ended up taking it on work trips a lot more often than the Civic. Highway drives of this sort are a bit much to ask of a Sambar and also a bit much to ask of the spine of the person driving it. The change of job made the Sambar impractical for us, so I started looking to alternatives for when I felt I had got my money's worth out of it. And then I managed to somewhat destroy the engine of the Sambar (over-filled the oil).

So I've spent the last couple of months looking for an inexpensive but practical vehicle that I can use for trips to the farm (obviously not hauling loads of manure) and that my wife will feel comfortable using. On a trip to Calgary, I happened to drive past a Delica and had an epiphany.

And that's why I've been browsing around here. The Delica won't be quite as handy for hauling stinky things to/from the farm, but a hitch and trailer could fix that problem. If my little Subaru didn't have many problems with our snowy rural winter roads, I'm sure the Delica wouldn't have any issues. All and all, it looks like about as nice a fit as I could hope for.

I'm hoping to track down a Delica owner down on my next trip to Calgary, so I can look one over, take a drive, and have a chat.

Rural wrote:I'm hoping to track down a Delica owner down on my next trip to Calgary, so I can look one over, take a drive, and have a chat.

With a bit of luck we can probably arrange to get at least myself and Erebus together and you can get a good look at both an L300 and an L400 if you want... a bigger get together is of course always welcome as well.

A hitch and a trailer indeed. I use my 300 as the heart of my gardening service. 5 or 6 days a week that little bus is towing the utility trailer with brush or mulch or plants. The deli is the ideal work vehicle - heaps of interior space for dogs and spare rain gear and stuff that wants to be out of the elements. The roof rack for the gas tools when the trailer is full and a tool box and headache-rack at the front of the trailer and I'm a happy gardener!
Have fun bus hunting

Green1 wrote:

Rural wrote:I'm hoping to track down a Delica owner down on my next trip to Calgary, so I can look one over, take a drive, and have a chat.

With a bit of luck we can probably arrange to get at least myself and Erebus together and you can get a good look at both an L300 and an L400 if you want... a bigger get together is of course always welcome as well.

I'm in Calgary the evening of May 18th and all day on the 19th. That's my next planned trip, but I could always take a day off work. In all honesty, I think I'll have a hard time waiting that long and would prefer something earlier.

Well hello Rural, good to see another face from minitrucktalk on here! My condolences on the sambar .We picked up on of these Delica's for a family vehicle and love it. Way easier to see out of than the little rigs as you are sitting way higher than the trucks. Room for you and the whole Family! There is a nasty rumor going around that the L400's have way more gitty-up than the 300's though. Could not force myself to buy something that looks that close to a minivan . Good luck on your hunt and hope you stay on the right side!

Tinytoy wrote:[...] My condolences on the sambar .[...]

It's not dead yet. I still have some work to do on it first.

Seriously though, I'm looking for a rebuilt replacement engine. If I find one, I'll plunk it in and keep the truck for the farm. It's way too handy.

If you're coming to town, give me a PM along with Green1 and Erebus, I suddenly have more time on my hands now that I don't have to go to work anymore and would enjoy a show and tell.

Jungle Jon wrote: I suddenly have more time on my hands now that I don't have to go to work anymore

I'm not sure if I should offer congratulations... or condolences...

Rural wrote:Seriously though, I'm looking for a rebuilt replacement engine. If I find one, I'll plunk it in and keep the truck for the farm. It's way too handy.

Welcome to the JDM world. May 18 or 19 can work for me, let us know. I regularly see a Sambar in the Heritage LRT station with signs "Legal ATV" on it. Wonder if that is an importer, and if so, if he/she/it can get engines. I'll try to get the phone number off it next time I see it (I pass the station 2x a day on way to work, so no effort).

Where outside of Calgary are you? I regularly go for drives in the countryside, so could quite easily drop on for a visit some weekend.

Green1 wrote:I'm not sure if I should offer congratulations... or condolences...

A bit of both I guess, Kind of came out of nowhere, but lots of silver linings - getting out of a toxic work situation, more time with family, clear out the job jar, etc. Its all good.

Looks like we'll be able to meet. I'll move to PM for the details.

I know a few sources of Sambar parts, so no worries. Just have to get the courage and the time to crack the engine open to see how bad the damage is.

We're in Stettler. Far enough from Calgary that we don't see many folk just out for a drive, but the local train tour is a good family/couple outing and worth the trip.

Erebus wrote:Welcome to the JDM world. May 18 or 19 can work for me, let us know. I regularly see a Sambar in the Heritage LRT station with signs "Legal ATV" on it. Wonder if that is an importer, and if so, if he/she/it can get engines. I'll try to get the phone number off it next time I see it (I pass the station 2x a day on way to work, so no effort).

Where outside of Calgary are you? I regularly go for drives in the countryside, so could quite easily drop on for a visit some weekend.

Jungle Jon wrote:A bit of both I guess, Kind of came out of nowhere, but lots of silver linings - getting out of a toxic work situation, more time with family, clear out the job jar, etc. Its all good.

Getting let go as the economic turmoil hit Alberta last January is one of the best things that has happened to me. Being forced out of a job makes one reflect on what is important more than jumping to greener pastures on your own. It took three months to find something else (a much better fit too). With a three and five year-old sons, those three months were a real gift. Unfortunately, my wife didn't see it so positively at the time. That was the only real negative.

In any case, things are bouncing back in Alberta. It isn't a horrible time to be looking for work. A lot better than 15 months ago.

I'd lean towards congratulations more than condolences.

Rural wrote:Looks like we'll be able to meet. I'll move to PM for the details.

And I've created a new thread in the "meet" section. Hopefully we'll have more than just the 4 of us. http://www.delica.ca/forum/calgary-meet ... -7988.html

Given that Jungle Jon, Green1, and I all live in different parts of town, Deerfoot Mall seemed to me to be a practical alternative.