JDM Mitsubishi Delica JB500 camper body on L300 truck chassis build

[mobydick 11]

I am sure you will love it. mine is a 1993 ,it is actually the van in this post Jesse old van . yours looks a lot more aerodynamic. That should help ,and you probably have a turbo too. Godzilla as i call her likes to cruse at 90 k or 95 if wind and roads are good . It tops out at 102 K ,but i do not like running on the governor . a lot has been said on here about making it faster ,that would be a dangerous thing to do . I have driven Godzilla a little over 8000 k now , I was an AZM driver in my time .that means i could drive anything but a school bus . at 100 k these vans are becoming dangerous to drive, they are at there handling limit . and I be leave never intended to go that fast . As Jesse has said push back in the seat and enjoy the journey,and it is a fun one . Have a good one Richard

 

[deucedeuce]

Update on the JB470. Picked it up in Vancouver a couple of weeks and made the trip to Calgary with no issues (~1100kms). The gearing limits the top speed to around 85 km/h without running at high rpm. I plan on putting larger tires on it to increase the top end and lower the rpms.

Everything works on the van and it had a bunch of things we weren't aware of. The interior heater runs off the diesel, it has an outdoor shower, two water tanks and a few other small things. We are very excited to take the first road trip.

 

[mobydick 11]

with 15 inch wheels and tires it will run out at 100 k or 60 miles an hour . I general cruse at 95 indicated ,but i think it is 100 k as the bigger tires through off the speedometer some . there is now a couple different threads going on 470/500 jb. It would be nice if we could get all owners on one thread ,so we can share information . My goal is to have my camper ready to take to overland expo east this fall .

 

[mobydick 11]

hay Deuce I have found 15x8 steel wheels that fit .you can order them from amazon for around 87 bucks

 

[deucedeuce]

hay Deuce I have found 15x8 steel wheels that fit .you can order them from amazon for around 87 bucks

Can you post a link?

 

[mobydick 11]

sorry i am not good with computers . but this is what i ordered and i have tried it on and it fits . moves the wheel out some ,but that is good i think . Amazon.com Pacer 297B soft 8 black wheel 15x8/6x5.5-12mm offset . $94.70

 

[Hernandm8800]

with 15 inch wheels and tires it will run out at 100 k or 60 miles an hour . I general cruse at 95 indicated ,but i think it is 100 k as the bigger tires through off the speedometer some . there is now a couple different threads going on 470/500 jb. It would be nice if we could get all owners on one thread ,so we can share information . My goal is to have my camper ready to take to overland expo east this fall .

I bought my 93 JB-500 in Seattle in March. I have sense driven it to the east coast( took the souther route) and then to Chicago where I’m at currently. I have been living in my full time with my dog for the past several months. I figure I get about 20 or so mpg if I keep it about 90kmh or so. I think my fuel filter is a bit old though. I have 550w of solar on the roof, and a 11kw Tesla battery to power my portable air conditioner. Did any of yours come with a generator in the generator bay? I have been trying to find one that fits.

 

[mobydick 11]

No this is the first time i have heard that there was a generator for them . I only have one outside compartment ,right behind the camper door . mine had the propane tanks inside it . I will have three outside box when i am done the conversion .

 

[Torbot]

We actually bought ours back in May but figured there's so few of us around, I should add my info here too (pics below). Ours came with a large solar panel on the roof, two house batteries (one of which was a monstrous boat battery of some kind jury rigged under the chassis. Neither of them worked ). It's a really cool vehicle and gets a good amount of attention wherever we go.



Upgrades/changes:

• removed the old gray 90's wallpaper and finished the underlying wood (Lauan veneered plywood) with about 5 coats of wipe-on poly (really ties the room together ?)
• new wireless backup camera
• replaced the 6 gal. tank water heater with a tankless instant water heater
• replaced the non-working 3-way fridge with a 12v TF65 Truck Fridge
• removed the (also non-working) rear heater and A/C unit (don't use A/C and the rear heater looked pretty beat). Will add storage there instead and either a Propex heater or Webasto (or similar) diesel heater (haven't decided yet).
• replacing all plumbing with new PEX water lines
• new shower head
• new drinking water faucet
• will probably install bamboo flooring as well.

Due to an unusually busy summer and the upgrades listed above, we haven't really done much camping in it yet, but it should make a great little camper once things are done! Here are some before/after pics of the interior:

 

[mobydick 11]

We actually bought ours back in May but figured there's so few of us around, I should add my info here too (pics below). Ours came with a large solar panel on the roof, two house batteries (one of which was a monstrous boat battery of some kind jury rigged under the chassis. Neither of them worked ). It's a really cool vehicle and gets a good amount of attention wherever we go.

View attachment 547576

Upgrades/changes:

• removed the old gray 90's wallpaper and finished the underlying wood (Lauan veneered plywood) with about 5 coats of wipe-on poly (really ties the room together ?)
• new wireless backup camera
• replaced the 6 gal. tank water heater with a tankless instant water heater
• replaced the non-working 3-way fridge with a 12v TF65 Truck Fridge
• removed the (also non-working) rear heater and A/C unit (don't use A/C and the rear heater looked pretty beat). Will add storage there instead and either a Propex heater or Webasto (or similar) diesel heater (haven't decided yet).
• replacing all plumbing with new PEX water lines
• new shower head
• new drinking water faucet
• will probably install bamboo flooring as well.

Due to an unusually busy summer and the upgrades listed above, we haven't really done much camping in it yet, but it should make a great little camper once things are done! Here are some before/after pics of the interior:


View attachment 547593 View attachment 547594

View attachment 547595 View attachment 547596

wow that looks great . funny my list of things done and in progress is almost identical to yours . what a great idea to pull off the stick paper and wipe on po;y , never thought of that . I had a broken back window ,so I eliminated it. I put a Byers storage box were the hot water tank was . Do not know how to post pictures on site ,but lots of work has been done on the outside of mine . I strongly suggest you make some kind of secondary front bumper and crash bar . If you look under you will see that the plastic front bumper is only connected by 4 5/16 bolts at the cab corners below the doors . In a miner accident I think this could twist the cab and the doors would not fit any moor . I have not been working on mine lately as I got a little burned out trying to replace the electrical and wiring . my be this will get me going again ,Thanks

 

[mobydick 11]

I really wish one of the owners of a JB 500 or 470 could set up something so the owners could share information and ideas . there may be 6 to 10 jb500 and a few 470 out there .I have been heavily modifying mine and throwing away lots of parts . Every time I do this i just keep thinking ,some one out there may need this and it is very hard or impossible to find . I would have gladly given them to someone in need.

 

[ARNOTHILL]

They are great. I have one in central Scotland. It is an elderly vehicle but still cool and easy to repair.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

 

[mobydick 11]

They are great. I have one in central Scotland. It is an elderly vehicle but still cool and easy to repair.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

Nice to hear from a fellow owner . I am in Canada and parts a bit slow to get and a bit pricey as well . but yes they are very basic vehicles ,before they added all the electronics to the diesel motors . I have done a ton of work to mine ,but I do not know how to post pictures . Lifted 4 inches ,KO2 15 tires ,cut 4 inches of sides of body and 8 inches off the back .its been fun

 

[rideglobally]

Happy to see this thread. We are deciding between a JD470 and JD500. Currently prefer the JD470 because they look smaller. Does anyone know the length and wide difference between the two.

Meanwhile we have a 1990 Toyota Townace camper arriving from Japan at the end of June. We are still in the hunt for a Delica camper. thx

 

[mobydick 11]

Happy to see this thread. We are deciding between a JD470 and JD500. Currently prefer the JD470 because they look smaller. Does anyone know the length and wide difference between the two.

Meanwhile we have a 1990 Toyota Townace camper arriving from Japan at the end of June. We are still in the hunt for a Delica camper. thx

Well first its a JB I think you mean ?I be leave the numbers are the metric measurement of the camper ,they were made in Germany .So one is 4.7 meters long and the other is 5 meters long . That is about one foot longer . The biggest difference is they cut the truck frame for the 500 and added 300 mm to the length . This does not mean they are bad as mine is fully boxed .the floor plan is also a little different as well .Just make sure you understand that you will need to do some rewiring as Japan uses a different voltage then us .