Advice for newbie

Hi there

After some research I have decided to replace my old tattered corsa for a hopefully slightly less tattered hijet. I love the practicality of them and I am probably looking to get a 1.3 mpv and convert it into some sort of day camper. I have done some research into what to look out for (mainly overheating issues and checking for rust) but I was just wondering if there are any other major issues to look for when looking at potential hijets.

I've been looking online for one for sale, mainly to get to see one up close and to double check my 6ft self can fit in (both in the front and lying down in the back) however picking seem to be on the sparse side up here in Yorkshire. There is one currently on Ebay starting at £900 (I'd put a link but as I'm a new member I cant) in Manchester that I am hoping to go see tomorrow, the price is on the high side but if it is in good nick then I would be very tempted, any thoughts?

Many thanks in advance

Welcome.

My advice would be buy the best you can afford, it can work out cheaper in the long run. Theres a lot of shitty ones around so check carefully, other than overheating, brakes and rust they are fine.....
Get a good one youll love it, get a bad one youll still love it, itll just do yer box in.

I'm 5ft tall and can sleep on my back straight in t he back BUT that's with my feet against the tailgate & head right behind the seat.

This is a pine bunk bed that I modified to allow us to load the frame work for our market stall under all our boxes it is just high enough to sit on the engine cowl behind the front seats, the beams are not cut down only the end supports are removed so it is a full matress length and I can lay on it clear of each end and I'm 5'7".

Im 5'10" and have slept comfortably on an air mattress in the back, is my van longer than an MPV?

Being a metric kid who lives by SI measurements, I'm about 1.71 metres tall, and I can lie down in the back of my hijet straight, but my head is just touching the seats and my feet on the tailgate. A little spooning (the dog etc) and I fit fine.

Logi wrote:Im 5'10" and have slept comfortably on an air mattress in the back, is my van longer than an MPV?

I believe that the 1.3 is a few inches longer than the 1.0 because of the slightly longer engine.

Those few inches all count..... Lol!

I'm not sure about that, I thought the body shells were all the same. But I have never stripped a 993cc.

The length given in the 1.3 brochure is different to that in my 1.0 owner's manual. Logic says that it might have been lengthened to make the usable load bed the same when slightly more has been taken out for the extra cylinder. Certainly the prop shaft is shorter because of the longer engine; that stopped someone pinching mine.

I would bear in mind from studying my Daihatsu product literature they have made loads of errors. One that comes to mind is they claim the 1.3 panel van has the same unloaded kerb weight as the MPV. Sure all that extra glass, window winders, seats, belts, sunroofs etc must weight something?!

I did wonder about that myself.

However, as regards the length I know someone who had a toroidal lpg tank fitted in the spare wheel space underneath his Piaggio Porter 1.3. When I stuck a tape measure under mine the space didn't seem long enough but it would depend on the exact size of the tank used, which I don't know.

Just as a little punt - I'd put a couple of quid on that they are the same body shell.

Hi everyone, thanks for the great response.

I now am a proud owner of an S reg 1.3 mpv, I'll probably start a new thread to upload pics, talk about ideas etc. I've measured the distance from the boot to the back of the front seats (slid forward) at roughly the height that a bed would be and its about 1.85 m and I could probably squeeze a few more centimeters by rotating the seats forward, which makes things a little tight for my 1.83m (6ft) but is doable. I do however have an idea for rotating the front seats but that needs a little more thouht.