Tacos in St. Louis area

Lol hell no. A Daihatsu Hijet Climber.

 

They take walk ups too

 

fogot about dat, my b.

 

Little far to walk haha. I was thinking it’d be closer to us. Sounds awesome though, maybe next year!

 

You can register imports in MO.

We'll be there wheeling our parts out for 4 days

Was just coming in here to see what's up. Can't remember where tf you're at these days lol.

 

No way. This one hands down.
https://www.duncanimports.com/used/Daihatsu/1991-Daihatsu-Mira-aef9ae580a0e09712bd12ad1855fb407.htm

 

The Hijet could be considered a UTV rather than a highway capable vehicle and thus be barred from the highway despite topping out in 5th gear at 81mph and comfortably hitting 70 without the engine screaming or the truck falling apart. (been watching videos)

In MO they consider a UTV to be under 62" Wide and weigh less than 1500lbs. They say if they fall in that category they must be limited to 45mph, which even limits the efficacy of being a good around the town beater. Basically, I don't wanna spend 5-9k on something I can't use to commute.

I've found one I like for around 4k shipped stateside to Westport, TX + whatever customs fees and taxes, so all in under ~6k, which is a lot less than buying already imported. Though I've read since Duncan hands you a legit TN title that you can get it registered in MO no problem, but that's where the lack of info starts. No one mentions it for highway or commuting, most people buy them stateside to use as, well, a utv/offroader/farm truck. I want to daily it to and from work only, since it gets like 30+mpg and it'd be hilarious for a guy of my size to climb out of a truck that size. When I test drive them in Nashville I'll see if Duncan would handle the importing for a small fee and I'll pay for the price of the shipment. If not I got a line on another guy who imports who imported my friend's Honda Wagon. I'll also see about testing the NSX because why not, how often do you get to try that?
This one's only 2WD but there are climbers that are 4x4 with rear locker. I figure I'd run this thing when it's nice out, and the truck when its snowing/icy. The one at Duncan is 8500 and is a Climber. Really it boils down to ease of process, whether I actually like it enough when I try it out, and whether MO will let me drive the dang thing. Plus this will fit in my garage with so much room for activities


Also they are pretty simple to Motorcycle swap for more Just have to convert the rear diff to chain drive.

Just slap a Tiffany Springs Honda Parts Department sticker on it and use it to run around

 

I'd totally roll it.

Also, I passed one for sale somewhere in my neck of the woods recently, maybe not a HiJet but same design.

 

If you spot it again I'd be interested to see it. I'd also settle for a Honda Acty, but I know less about them. The Subaru Sambar's are unreliable. The Mazda Scrum and Suzuki Carry are the same truck basically, and are comparable to the rest, but I don't like the look of them as much. Toyota has the Pixis but I don't think they have much older the 1998.

 

There's a couple of Mitsubishi and Suzuki ones running around here. Didn't realize you were looking at the mini trucks at first.

 

I've been trying to retrace my steps the last few weeks thinking where I saw it.
It's gotta be somewhere out off H highway between Liberty and Excelsior, went that way a little while back and is the only thing out of the ordinary I can think of.

 

As far as road legality goes, most of that is probably going to be county dependent as well. For example, where I work seeing UTV's on the road is pretty common as long as they're not on the interstate.

 

Yeah there was a bill that was brought up back in 2009 but I'm not sure if it was ratified into law, but it stated they could be operated on highways but not interstates, but I think it still limited them to 45 mph. I'm also wondering if I could make some modifications to it to increase weight to push it over that 1500lb threshold since it's already stock at like ~1477lbs and maybe get it classified as a regular vehicle. Idk why they want to deny them, it's just more tax revenue. The other thing is seeing about getting it insured. I'll have to talk to my agent about if they'd do liability on it.


Apparently 2002 ford explorer rear seats fit perfectly in the Daihatsu with minimal foam modification.

 

Me? I'm in Vegas for the foreseeable future, trying to ride it out till I retire in two years.

 

They go by manufacturer weight, not actual weight.

Just making sure you werent on the island of fire

 

Just fill the tires with water. That will get you there

 

I just don't understand the whole thing surrounding the 25 years from manufacture making it exempt from NHTSA and EPA regulations and if MO honors that or just classifies it as a UTV/ATV. I'll have to send an inquiry to the DoR.
EDIT: Just sent my inquiry. Talking to Duncan Imports on the phone after work.

 

Still subject to NHTSA requirements of the year of manufacturing on older vehicles. But at least in Missouri the safety stuff is pretty basic. Like if you have signals at least one mirror visible lights and a seat belt... You're pretty much good to go.

 

"A motor vehicle that is at least 25 years old can be lawfully imported into the U.S. without regard to whether it complies with all applicable FMVSS." https://www.nhtsa.gov/importing-vehicle/importation-and-certification-faqs