PajEvo
JDM Journeys
Haven't been on here much lately. Keep hoping for a resurgence in "that other place" but time is moving on. Figured it was high time to document my new projects from the past year...
Time to play catch up...
In 2006 I imported my first JDM, a 91 Pajero 4D56 diesel. Replaced this in 08 with a 93 Pajero 4M40 diesel. This was finally sold in 2014 to buy a North American domestic market 2003 Montero, which my wife drove, while I daily drove a new Lancer (sportback), for fuel economy. Great car, but... missing something essential. sure, it had traction control, ABS, airbags from every orifice, but no real... SOUL? Early in 2016 I bought my ultimate dream vehicle (not hard to spot in my signature) and it made me realize how much I missed character in my daily driver. That brings me to the subject of this "build", although that may be a misnomer, since I tend to keep things pretty stock compared to many on here.
I decided that a small diesel was what my daily drive was missing. And I always loved the basic quad cab Mitsu's, so the search began for a 90's Strada. I didn't realize how difficult this would be to find. Its no exaggeration to say it was harder to find this truck than the Pajero Evolution that bears number 581 of 2500 ever produced. Why? Several reasons: the Japanese Domestic Market didn't have that many pickups to begin with. Compared to many of the vehicles over there, they are large, more difficult to maneuver, and can't carry as many people. The few I did find were clearly used for work, had hundreds of thousands of miles on them, and were completely beaten. Even then they were commanding a high price AND were sold quickly. I was told that the JDM pickups, almost regardless of condition, were snatched up very quickly at auction and exported to Africa and the Middle East, where life would go on for them. Great testament to their durability, but it made finding one almost impossible.
I'm no stranger to JDM auctions, but in the eight months I spent seriously looking, I saw maybe three that I'd have considered. At one point, an entire month passed with NO stradas at auction at all. The first I actually considered was a 1997 K74 chassis (picture a Montero Sport with short pickup box). It went out of my price limit, to the neighbourhood of 13k of my Canadian dollars. The next one was pulled before going up for auction. This is not uncommon, and the reasons vary. Finally, I saw one that had some plusses and some negatives. It was a K34 chassis 92 Strada R (think 4 door mighty max) so it came with all the factory options available for that model. It had 104k kms (~60k miles). It appeared to have NO body damage (rust, dents, dings, etc). BUT... the maroon paint had severe clear coat degradation, hood/roof. The interior looked to be in shambles. And did I mention it was "maroon"? Based on three pics, it was a tough call. Here is what I was able to see at that point...
(auction sheet indicated clear coat damage, and this truck had clearly been just washed, so the extent of damage was impossible to judge)
(looked great from the back)
(what the hell had happened in here?)
Based on these images, and an auction sheet that was scarce on details, I passed on it. It sold for a reasonable price the next day, and I wondered if I had let a good one get away. The search continued...
Time to play catch up...
In 2006 I imported my first JDM, a 91 Pajero 4D56 diesel. Replaced this in 08 with a 93 Pajero 4M40 diesel. This was finally sold in 2014 to buy a North American domestic market 2003 Montero, which my wife drove, while I daily drove a new Lancer (sportback), for fuel economy. Great car, but... missing something essential. sure, it had traction control, ABS, airbags from every orifice, but no real... SOUL? Early in 2016 I bought my ultimate dream vehicle (not hard to spot in my signature) and it made me realize how much I missed character in my daily driver. That brings me to the subject of this "build", although that may be a misnomer, since I tend to keep things pretty stock compared to many on here.
I decided that a small diesel was what my daily drive was missing. And I always loved the basic quad cab Mitsu's, so the search began for a 90's Strada. I didn't realize how difficult this would be to find. Its no exaggeration to say it was harder to find this truck than the Pajero Evolution that bears number 581 of 2500 ever produced. Why? Several reasons: the Japanese Domestic Market didn't have that many pickups to begin with. Compared to many of the vehicles over there, they are large, more difficult to maneuver, and can't carry as many people. The few I did find were clearly used for work, had hundreds of thousands of miles on them, and were completely beaten. Even then they were commanding a high price AND were sold quickly. I was told that the JDM pickups, almost regardless of condition, were snatched up very quickly at auction and exported to Africa and the Middle East, where life would go on for them. Great testament to their durability, but it made finding one almost impossible.
I'm no stranger to JDM auctions, but in the eight months I spent seriously looking, I saw maybe three that I'd have considered. At one point, an entire month passed with NO stradas at auction at all. The first I actually considered was a 1997 K74 chassis (picture a Montero Sport with short pickup box). It went out of my price limit, to the neighbourhood of 13k of my Canadian dollars. The next one was pulled before going up for auction. This is not uncommon, and the reasons vary. Finally, I saw one that had some plusses and some negatives. It was a K34 chassis 92 Strada R (think 4 door mighty max) so it came with all the factory options available for that model. It had 104k kms (~60k miles). It appeared to have NO body damage (rust, dents, dings, etc). BUT... the maroon paint had severe clear coat degradation, hood/roof. The interior looked to be in shambles. And did I mention it was "maroon"? Based on three pics, it was a tough call. Here is what I was able to see at that point...
(auction sheet indicated clear coat damage, and this truck had clearly been just washed, so the extent of damage was impossible to judge)
(looked great from the back)
(what the hell had happened in here?)
Based on these images, and an auction sheet that was scarce on details, I passed on it. It sold for a reasonable price the next day, and I wondered if I had let a good one get away. The search continued...
