Shouldn't the seller mention that these are not street legal??

[Lynn]

Unless I'm mistaken, these are similar to a model I saw back in CO.

They are Japanese military surplus, smaller than a Sammy, and imported as off-road only.

The stock engine (which can be seen in the convertible) is a small air-cooled 2-cylinder.

Don't get me wrong, I think it would make a fun little off-roader, but I think a little more disclosure is warranted in the ad.

edit: Looks like the stock engine in the pix is water cooled, so may not be quite like the one I saw.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

I can't speak of that particular seller nor the origin of that rig... but they were legally imported to the US (street legal) prior to the introduction of the Samurai. There are still a handful of them in Utah, in fact one came out to a state 4x4 Association last fall

 

[gary in ohio]

MY lawn mower uses the same engine, should be a peppy little fun toy, legal or not.

 

[subytoy]

What makes you say they are not street legal? I remember seeing one running around back in Nebraska when I was a kid.

 

[lowenbrau]

That's some odd stuff with the Honda engine and all. My first car was just like that hardtop. It had a liquid cooled 997cc inline four and (almost) went highway speed. I drove it 600 miles to and from college.

 

[Lynn]

What makes you say they are not street legal? I remember seeing one running around back in Nebraska when I was a kid.

I was told by the guy in CO that was importing them that they were were for off-road use only, and could not me made street legal.


Don't confuse this with a Samurai, it is considerably smaller, with a much smaller engine.

 

[Lynn]

That's some odd stuff with the Honda engine and all. My first car was just like that hardtop. It had a liquid cooled 997cc inline four and (almost) went highway speed. I drove it 600 miles to and from college.

The one I saw in CO was just like the topless, with a two cylinder air-cooled engine. It sounded kind of like a chainsaw.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

...Don't confuse this with a Samurai, it is considerably smaller, with a much smaller engine.

I'm not confusing them with a Samurai (had one for years ). His might have some title issues or be lacking needed safety equipment, but in Utah its not unreasonable to think they could be licensed... especially as there are currently other ones on the road.

However, if he knows they have some title/VIN/dot compliance issues, he should put that in his ad IMO.

 

[Grim Reaper]

They are legal in GA. I sure as hell wouldn't get it out on the hwy around here though.

They predate smog. They do not requitre a title in GA after 25 years and in fact it is a fight to get the DMV to do a title after 25 years even if you have a good one. I had a hell of a time on a Burb I sold out of state from that.

That one is really clean. There was on on craigslist local for cheap but it was rough. I thought about it for a comuter (I live 3.5 miles from work).

 

[Martinjmpr]

I was told by the guy in CO that was importing them that they were were for off-road use only, and could not me made street legal.


Don't confuse this with a Samurai, it is considerably smaller, with a much smaller engine.

I remember when these things came out. The Suzuki Mini Brute. They were street legal and AFAIK still are. In fact, I used to see one every day when I drove to work in Denver.

 

[762X39]

Baby Suzi

A buddy of mine around the corner has 3 or 4 of them. The are street legal in Ontario which means they are legal in Canada. On a similiar note we found someone that is importing microcars (kei) from Japan. Katherine and I are going to buy a Honda ACTY 4wd truck from them. Total length and width is smaller than the bed of my Unimog. It will make a great conversation piece and be a fun "mountaingoat" for some of our backwoods trips.