Always follow the money. Some businesses are obviously butthurt over competition, so they bribe govt to get rid of it. Cheaper than making a better product.
I haven’t been driving the van as much now that it’s getting pretty cold out. Mostly because it’s been really hard to get it to start the colder it gets. Cranks and cranks but no fire. I threw new spark plugs in the other week to see if that would fix it, and when I removed the old ones they looked pretty lean (and old, maybe original?!)
So when the spark plugs didn’t fix it, I thought maybe the carb needed an adjustment. I was also trying a variety of throttle pedal dances, trying to find the best combination of pedal stabs, foot to the floor, and lifting that would get the mix right so it would fire up. After rooting around in the engine bay (under the passenger seat) I think I figured out the issue. The auto-choke appears to be sticking and not fully closing when it needs to on start-up, so when I put the pedal to the floor to engage the choke, it only closes about halfway. This morning I had the intake off and was studying how the auto-choke and carb butterfly worked with how I was inputting throttle. The auto-choke wouldn’t fully engage, so I just closed it with my hand and it snapped right into place, and the thing started up right away. A little lube on the arm for the choke and it seems to work great for now.
I’ll also be putting in a double-din touchscreen head unit with CarPlay and Android Auto since the Japanese-spec radio in there is a bit useless. Need to replace door speaks too as they’re blown.
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I also was obsessively thinking about this idea too, so I had to get it done so I could stop thinking about it.
Classic Toyota racing colors, a true race van now.
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I just recalled today. At an indoor track I ran a LOOONNNG time ago (In Ireland) we had a Liteace (Or Hiace) as the track vehicle to hail stuff around. Four speed column shift for the win! Unkillable vehicle.
Sweet look. Gonna have to do some sick jumps.
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Did you have that imported, or was it already here in the US?
Nice! Yeah some of the Hiaces were column shifted like that, I always wonder how easy that would be to get used to.
It was imported by someone else in May, with the intent to flip it here. The guy who imported it only had driven it about 150 miles in the couple months he had it. I bought it of that guy in August. So someone else handled all the import work.
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Getting ready to replace the LiteAce with something a little cushier that can do double duty for family friendly trips, so it’ll be going up for sale soon. If someone is interested in a sweet little quirky daytripper kart hauler, I have a number in my head if you want to own the oddest kart rig at the track.
Van is up for auction on Cars & Bids!
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@tjkoyen good luck with the sale. Thing is sweet.
Did you catch the Chevy van for sale on FB that’s set up as a kart/family hauler?
Thanks!
No, link it up!
https://www.facebook.com/100000114679563/posts/7624660217547725/?d=n
Edit: ah man, just noticed it’s marked sold .
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That would be ideal for me. Maybe the sportscar needs to go to a new home.
How much was he asking?
Cool build-out, really similar to what I did with the tables as a platform. Kart fits nice and snug in there too.
$7900 maybe a little high for the miles but looked to
Be well taken care of.
7900 for a nice long wheelbase van is a steal, I would’ve bought that 100%.
Dang! I assumed you had seen it and didn’t say anything when it popped up. 
Isn’t your van cool enough for Bring a Trailer?
There’s a multiple-month wait to list on BaT right now, and C&B was 3 days wait to get it live, plus they doing really well with this vintage of wacky Japanese stuff. Plus C&B’s fees are better for the seller (there are none).
BaT is great for Porsches, classic American cars, and Land Rovers. The demographic budget there is a little higher than what my van probably caters to.