@@Dat_Carrot hahaha. The first time I did it I was cracking up inside and my drive through bank teller acted like it was no big deal.. total let down. Lol
I'm VERY interested in purchasing one of these when my element dies, i can fit paddleboards bikes, kakas, skis, doesn't matter, the truck version is cool too
@@davem6480 for sure. Sometimes it's just cleaning stuff up a bit and a quick repaint.. Mechanically I think they do pretty great work.. but most of these dealers don't do anything at all so little victories
@@wowsod who did you buy it from? Car from Japan is just the main site when I bought from Diyata took a look time with mine too. At least a month maybe 6weeks Mitsui scheduled it within a week. I think it just depends on the seller.. and how filled the boat is.. they may be all sold out of space. I have another car coming right now going on 3 weeks waiting for scheduling
Thank you! this was really helpful wiring up my LEDs. putting the relays through the front firewall was a great tip. my install looks factory. Next will be stereo (already saw your video on that)
I figured since Led headlights draw less current than stock bulbs , I would go a different route and they worked perfectly. I went with Aramox adapters they were mounted behind headlights and use existing wires only a ground is added also behind headlights and they work perfectly High and Low beams. Aramox brand they simply reverse polarity and Under $20 AMAZON
Thanks for the great content and details. I would never have known that you were essentially forced to use an import agent if you imported more than one vehicle. I love all the forms mentioned and the difficulties you encountered. Unfortunately everyone should plan on a dead battery, thus bring a spare battery and jumper cables. Good work on diagnosing that fuel pump! 90% of the time electrical related issues, i.e. spark plugs, wires, coils, etc. This time you hit the lottery on the 10% fuel issue.
@@Heisenberg-Rules thanks for the kind words and taking the time to comment. Yeah a lot of surprises for me along the way. Especially with how easy the first one went. Leave it me me to pull the 10% problem 😜 thanks again.
@@inkandpistons Great work using the scientific method to diagnose the 10% issue. Enjoy your wonderful truck. we just need to eliminate ridiculous EPA rules so we can purchase economical vehicles. Not huge SUV'S. I like SUV'S , but not everyone should be forced to buy an SUV.
@@Heisenberg-Rules agreed. it so ridiculous. But not even the EPA rules I guarantee most of these would pass any smog tests you throw at them. It's just the big three knowing they would get their asses handed to them in sales. So they pushed for these stupid laws .. now with the EV push it's even worse.. that's why most Japanese manufacturers lean towards hybrids cause it makes a lot more sense.
@@inkandpistons Agree completely. They will definitely pass the Smog and help with CAFE standards. it is all the airbags, crumple tests etc. that prevent even domestic manufacturers from creating inexpensive fun vehicles. would be great to manufacture Kei Trucks, vans, and cars in the USA.
Got to be honest, but all that rust under the door "repair" is a ticking timebomb. The body guy who did this is not too good, except as a cake decorator who specializes in slathering on the icing.
@@jamesplotkin4674um nope, the rust happened after it sat outside for 6 months without paint. Door was perfect prior. I peeled back a bunch of the paint to inspect that area.
@@mattschmit1 haha . I'm considering it... Before the GTR popped up. I was checking out Buick Roadmaster wagons that I could LS swap...that still may be on the horizon
Those suicide doors are badass! I have a 96 Fleetwood, that has Impala parts (rear for posi and 4 wheel disc, and cold air and program). Would love to have doors like that on my fleetwood!
@@inkandpistons my dad bought one in 94, 95, and he wanted a 96 because it was the last year. All new back then! My brother totaled all of them. I wanted to make the back half removable. Just like a truck cap. And Leer made a truck cap that sloped on the back just like it. But never got around to that. It would have been cool.
@@zracer1099 yeah back in the day someone had a kit to convert a Caprice wagon to a El Camino style. It was pretty rad. I don't know if any ever actually got sold or built, but it'd still be a cool idea. Even cooler to have the removable cap
Should put the insurance company on blast!!! Because if we are giving them money because we have that same company then if we know they are shitty, I don’t want to support them and go to another company!
@@zracer1099 yeah I just don't want to get into any legal issues. With them. I consider it finished now.. feel free to ask me who it is and I'm more than happy to give some blues clues 😁
I'm sorry to hear about your loss. You put up a very good fight. You went about it in a very educational manner. You went well above the means that you have should have gone to and were pushed to go beyond. Those means cuz I know that in reality you would have accepted it with an aftermarket high performance frame under it and fixed up. I'm glad that you stuck to yourself and did what you had to do. But I got to say this as much as I'm a fan of the LT1 engine and I did amazing ET numbers in a '97 Z28. I would love a GTR R32 wow way way more. But that's just me. I know you would rather have both but hopefully you get the GTR you want and it doesn't need too much upkeep so you can do the stuff that you want to it!
@@jasonpowell4847 yeah what a friggin fiasco.. i was actually planning an LS conversion so I'm glad I didn't get to invested down that rabbit hole . Agreed if it all didnt shake out I know I would have gotten it back on the road eventually. But it definitely would have gotten retired for a bit .. yeah really excited about the gtr. Luckily I have a few good RB mechanics in the area to fall back on. Thanks again!
WOW I cant believe your insurance company made you call around to get the car checked, I'm from the UK and have had to make 3 (major) claims on my insurance, every time they came and took the car away to be examined by their appointed repairer and each time it was written off and they offered me more than the book price for my vehicle
i just ran across your channel today and have watched a few videos. You seem to be into jdm stuff and importing so you might find my adventures a little interesting. I used to buy many jdm fairlady parts off yahoo auctions and bring them back in my suitcases. Many times it paid for my seat upgrades. When i moved to japan I tried to import my 78 280 back into japan a couple years ago because fairlady z's are way too expensive and rusty. Went as far as getting a few estimates but during covid the ports were mostly shut down. They have what is described as an emissions template and if their shakken shop doesn't have one you have to pay thousands for a new one. I ended up selling it in the usa. surprisingly, 240z's are easy to import into japan and has been done quite a bit. Anyways before the internet i had never heard of a fairlady z and only about 10 years ago learned that they made a special high performance one named the z432. On one of the usa zcar forums i ran across a guy in japan that owned a pristine 70 432 and jokingly asked him if i could go for a ride in it and he said yes. He took it out of a museum and picked me up at the hotel in osaka. We went for a ride on the osaka kanjo loop but the traffic was pretty heavy so couldn't open it up much. It reminded me of an old 60's muscle car with the close ratio 4 speed and that prince engine sounds nothing like an L28. If you're interested in seeing it, i have a video of it on my channel. just search youtube "kats z432"
i don't think the parts fiasco is limited to just suzuki. i've got a 2013 honda nbox and i''ve just ordered the wrong front brake disc pads. Looking at the part numbers online there are about 10 different ones for this make and model! Of course they complicate it with different models like n-box, n-wagon, n-one, n-van and every one has different part numbers! This is why when you go into a parts store here in japan you need to bring your shakken which has the vin, date sold and model name. I got spoiled owning old usdm datsuns. Many parts were interchangeable. Gone are those days
A warning to anyone importing those subaru sambar's that have the vw front end conversion kits, you might have a problem importing it to the usa. I personally have not tried it myself but heard from us military people in okinawa that they had problems with theirs. It makes sense since the original jdm bumper is taken off. Its better to do the conversion after its shipped
Basically your insurance didn't wanna total the car to pay out that $30k! Makes me nervous now because I have to old classics myself (79 & 83) and gonna recheck my policies now!
Hi JR, I’d like to share something you may have found out but. The 1950 Buick Special is the only Buick Special in the 1950’s that shares the same dashboard as the Super and Roadmaster, and it’s the only Special that has rear fenders. That alone makes the 50 Special very special. The 51 and 52 Specials have their own style dashboard, and are unibody construction. No rear fenders.
@ajcaiati hey, yeah absolutely, thanks for sharing. I didn't know about the dash. I was aware of the rear fenders. My buick got rear-ended a year and a half ago and it was a bit of a pain to track down a rear fender and trunk. All the 50 buick sedanette rear panels are unique to it. A 50 olds 98 sedannete has similar trunk but its still different fenders and body lines are all changed. Olds 88 is chevy sized and smaller. Thanks for watching and for the info!
I stumbled upon your channel when looking at Kei Trucks. I love your content. I live in South Florida & wondered about the laws about owning these gem vehicles for an everyday local driving. Mitsui sounds like a great place to start looking. Thank you for posting your vids!
Hey thanks for the feedback. yeah Mitsui is awesome to work with! there are a bunch around so Florida already if you don't want to worry about the hassle :)
@@TheFortWall no problem! Glad to help. Yeah I turned down the pressure adjustment on the top of the shock and it made it way more soft, to the point where I probably won't even swap springs
i also want to note for those people that dont have the courage to do all this, you can use a company like Japan Car Direct and they will take care of almost everything on the japan side. you can tell them what vehicle and specs you are looking for and your budget and they will do all the searching for you. once you decide on the vehicle, you pay them and they take care of getting it to port and on a ship. at that point you can reach out to a customs broker in the US and they will take care of everything on the US side (epa, dot, and customs forms).
This is a great point. its really easy to hand over the keys to someone who has more experience in it and not sweat the details.. I myself am a control freak and cheap :)
i dont know if anyone has addressed this, but negotiating really isnt a thing in japan and if you try to haggle any price you will most likely get ignored or asked to leave. its shown as a disrespectful act there
Did I say that? Nah , I thought they were bad ass from the jump. Took me 6 trips to pull the trigger and get one .. wait till you see what I import next!
I live right around the corner from you off Avocado! Came across your video as we are looking to build a shop as well! Awesome build and a thank you for the informative video. What I gathered is I have a few more pennies to save to get everything I want, lol!
Nice. I think I've seen a couple delivery style like that but def. harder to find.. you may be welding up the windows! Lol. Good luck thanks for watching
@@inkandpistons I actually like the way it rides out of the box. I think I’ll keep it the way it is. I have a lift on mine. So I didn’t actually have to enlarge any of the holes on the body side. My lift just bolted right up to the coilovers.
Good Tuesday morning to you. I loved watching this video, just purchased a Subaru Sambar from Japan. It arrives sometime in August. I am very excited to drive it. I have just subscribed to your channel to stay conbected.
