Driving a Delica

[Thirty-Nine]

I've long had a thing for Delicas, but haven't ever driven one. Well, I finally got my chance. We put about 2,000 km on a L300 Star Wagon while in New Zealand last week. I think I'm kind of in love. You can read about it here.

http://crankshaftculture.com/2016/10/05/like-drive-mitsubishi-delica/

Question: The Delica we drove had an aftermarket temperature gauge, and it would frequently heat up to 100 C (near the "red"). Is getting warm a common Delica problem? We rarely took it over 100 km/h.

(FWIW, I remember seeing the Mitsubishi "Van" at White Bear Mitsubishi in White Bear Lake, MN back in, 1989 or so. I remember thinking it was so cool that the middle captain's chairs swiveled around! Now you're hard pressed to find any surviving 2WD versions.)

 

[Abitibi]

I've had a couple of these a few years ago and yes, they are a little under-powered so if you don't pay attention they can run hot on hills. Installing an EGT gauge would be a must as I've seen quite a few with blown head gasket. But, if driven properly they will happily last over 200,000 miles.



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[Abitibi]

Check this site for more info and maybe find one for sale that's 25yrs old...
WWW.DELICA.CA

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[Thirty-Nine]

Check this site for more info and maybe find one for sale that's 25yrs old...
WWW.DELICA.CA

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Ah, thanks!

 

[Di0n]

Yeah they're still quite a common sight in NZ. The diesel was quite a good motor if serviced regularly but you now find them quite often with head problems or run bearings. A friend had a 2wd one with a 2.0 petrol turbo motor in it from a Lancer Evolution that was a lot of fun.
Also as a side note, I believe the automatic transmission is the same Aisin unit used in toyotas and thus a Lexus V8 should bolt to the trans....

 

[Hondaslayer]

(FWIW, I remember seeing the Mitsubishi "Van" at White Bear Mitsubishi in White Bear Lake, MN back in, 1989 or so. I remember thinking it was so cool that the middle captain's chairs swiveled around! Now you're hard pressed to find any surviving 2WD versions.)

I have three sitting in the back lot at work. Two of them are cargo vans.

 

[Thirty-Nine]

I have three sitting in the back lot at work. Two of them are cargo vans.

There's a guy here in Portland that has about three of them, too. Unless you're him and you moved to Auburn.

 

[Hondaslayer]

Nope, they're not mine, they're sitting at my work. Old parts delivery vans. IIRC they all have transmission issues. Currently being used to store old tires.

 

[Abitibi]

Only MT had tranny issues as the parts aren't readily available. The AT ones were fine.

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