My latest bad decision involving an obscure Japanese car

Hey guys, 

The lower silver part of the body has a fair amount scrapes and such. What are your thoughts on repainting it, but in a dark gunmetal color rather than the silver? Also the interior (mostly the rear) plastic panels are faded. There is a almost certainty that I will not be able to find good replacements, so I'm thinking about trying to paint, or dye them to get them looking better. Any thoughts on how to do this? Lastly, I think I'd like to upgrade the wheels. I think bronze might look good with the dark green, but I'm a sucker for bronze wheels in general. What do you guys think? 

Years ago, my brother bought a 1970s Toyota Crown. It was kind of like a Lexus, but decades before that they started that venture. The Crown was so odd and obscure that it was impossible to get parts for, and we had no idea how to work on it, being new to cars. It taught me the consequences of buying something really odd - not enough that I wouldn't do it myself, but at least I know what I'm getting myself into...

kb58 said:

Years ago, my brother bought a 1970s Toyota Crown. It was kind of like a Lexus, but decades before that they started that venture. The Crown was so odd and obscure that it was impossible to get parts for, and we had no idea how to work on it, being new to cars. It taught me the consequences of buying something really odd - not enough that I wouldn't do it myself, but at least I know what I'm getting myself into...

The internet, and 25 year rule has made this much easier it seems. When I imported my Delica almost 7 years ago I was super worried about what I was getting myself into. It turns out it was not a problem at all. Now this is a bit different, but it's not like they didn't at least sell this body style in the USA. It might prove to be a difficult car to live with, but we'll see.

Stampie (FS) said:

Mndsm said:

Mazdax605 said:

Mndsm said:

You bought it? Sweet baby jesus that's awesome. 

Yes, I bought it. Have you seen it before?

I knew about it. I've been looking at similar for quite a while now, but the Mrs has argued that maybe I should buy a garage to put all my cars in first. 

There's a reason I don't have a practical thinker in my household.  How do you know how large a garage you need until you buy all the vehicles you want?

This is sound logic. 

Has me wanting to renew my search for a Stagea.

That looks like a really cool car!!!

Sweet ride! You should have some fun with that. Do the fly and drive, it's a twofer, you get to see the in laws and have a fun adventure home.

If you fly and drive, keep us posted. I'm in Gainesville and would happily buy y'all a meal in exchange for getting to see the new ride!

Just so everyone following along knows.

Hyper Sports Gear

That is so cool.  I'd heard about 4G63T swaps on Expos and Summits, but hadn't realized they were a factory option in Japan.  

akylekoz said:

Just so everyone following along knows.

Hyper Sports Gear

This was what I wanted, especially in that color.

I really love the idea, but having thrown away a good portion of my youth trying to keep early DSMs in one piece, that car scares the crap out of me

In reply to calteg :

Well, If it's anything to you.....It's more based off the later DSM. You'll have a new generation to take your time.

calteg said:

I really love the idea, but having thrown away a good portion of my youth trying to keep early DSMs in one piece, that car scares the crap out of me

I've never owned a DSM, but friends did back in the day. Honestly I'm a little worried about this as well, but what the heck. 

I really don't know anything about DSMs at all, but I have to post this picture because it's just plain funny.

In reply to Keith Tanner :

See crank walk, walk crank, walk.

DSM's have a bad rap, but there is nothing inherently wrong with them. Rubber bits didn't last as long as they should- high under hood temps were tough on hoses and wiring. I don't think I'd trust hoses any 25 year old car, so that's pretty moot by now. The timing belt has an extra step that needs to be done because of the hydraulic tensioner. Many "mechanics" skipped that step and set the tension wrong, resulting in broken timing belts. Unreliable mechanics were the problem, not the cars. They often skipped the balance shaft belt while they were in there, which would break before the next timing belt was due. Do the job correctly, and it will be worry free. I put a couple hundred thousand miles on DSM's as daily drivers, all modified with lots of track miles. Also, realize that these engines evolved (no pun intended) greatly over just a few years. A '95 4G63 engine shares very few parts (maybe only the valve cover?) with a '90 4G63. Crank walk was way overblown- didn't happen to many cars and happened at low mileage. Not much chance of running into it now unless you got unlucky with an extreme low mileage time capsule. 

The Chariot has been registered. Now I need to figure out how to get it up here to MA. Anyone with an empty trailer headed north anytime soon? Anyone looking to drive up to MA in an oddball car? 

What about a GRM relay? It might not get it all the way to MA, but we could get it closer. 
 

My son and I could get it from your in-laws over to Jacksonville. I bet Stampie or PimpM3 could hold it or move it further north. 

I just have to say that "Chariot" has to be one of the best automotive model names of all time and in retrospect it's sort of surprising that the only one I've heard of is an obscure Japanese turbo/hatch/minivan thing that even the GRM crowd didn't know existed.

Mind blowing really.

Just when i think I've got a good grasp on the insanity that is '90s JDM, something new comes up and blows my mind.

The chariot is AWESOME.

Matt B (fs) said:

I just have to say that "Chariot" has to be one of the best automotive model names of all time and in retrospect it's sort of surprising that the only one I've heard of is an obscure Japanese turbo/hatch/minivan thing that even the GRM crowd didn't know existed.

Mind blowing really.

I still don't understand Resort Runner GT though. But then again there are some bizarre jdm model names from the past. 

dyintorace (Forum Supporter) said:

What about a GRM relay? It might not get it all the way to MA, but we could get it closer. 
 

My son and I could get it from your in-laws over to Jacksonville. I bet Stampie or PimpM3 could hold it or move it further north. 

I Like this idea. I have plates for it now. It's all legal and insured. 

Mazdax605 said:

dyintorace (Forum Supporter) said:

What about a GRM relay? It might not get it all the way to MA, but we could get it closer. 
 

My son and I could get it from your in-laws over to Jacksonville. I bet Stampie or PimpM3 could hold it or move it further north. 

I Like this idea. I have plates for it now. It's all legal and insured. 

I'm up for helping!

Does the Amtrack Car moving train from Stanford,  FL to Lorton, VA require the car to be accompanied? 

If no, send it to Lorton via rail and take a train down to Lorton to dive the last leg.

Or, call this shipper I once used who is based out of Jacksonville.  Contract with him directly at prices that cut out the brokers like I did.  An enclosed trailer arrived but I paid discount open trailer rates 

Or, call me during the day and ill walk you through uShip.  Email for phone number directly to .... jwelsh02 .... yahoo 

DEAR GOD! What a CAR! And the NAME! Just stop it, stop it right now!

This is exactly what keeps me coming back to GRM.

Add me to the list of people who had no idea they made this. And I went through a weird phase of wanting an Expo/Summit and heard about the swaps. Jesus, they made one from the factory! These is why Mitsubishi was so cool in the 90s. 

Congrats on the buy! Even if this thing is a total nightmare, it may run on kitsch alone!