new hijet pickup owner!

I'd better introduce myself, I've been browsing for a while, but have only just become a hijet owner!

After a very early start, 4 and a half hours on a train, a dash to the post office and an exchange of cash, I was the proud owner of a bit of an ugly duckling of a hijet. It's a 1.2 diesel pickup, which has been rather badly painted, but had 6 months MOT on it, so I decided to attempt to drive it for the 150 miles home. The guy I got it off hadn't driven it since august when the tax ran out so it took a while for it to loosen up and for me to get used to it. But I made it home in one piece with the only real problem being a slow puncture.

I've got a million and one questions to ask you all already, but I'll have a search round the forum before I bombard people!

If anybody could point me in the right direction of the following, that would be great:
-info on the 1.2 diesel engine
-info on anything useful specific to pickup models
-a guide to replacing handbrake cables
- any good places to get parts

I'm generally quite keen to get my hands dirty and also have a Peugeot 205 GT and am building a honda cx500/650 motorbike at the mo ( i've noticed a few of you are bikers)


cheers

John

Welcome to the site, not a lot of diesels on here, but it made it home and was still running without any overheating issues, you've got a good 'un

Yer building a flying dung beetle, eh? Haven't seen on for years, used to be hundreds about.

Although there was some slight movement on the temperature guage, I'm not entirely convinced it works! But no coolant puking out anywhere so thats probably a good sign (?)

Flying dung beetle? That's a new one on me! I have heard that the germans affectionately call them the 'sh*tepumps'
My bike is actually a bit of a frankenstein creation, part gl500, part cx500, part cx650 eurosport and part cbr600rr. *EDIT: and part finished!*

I suspect the hijet will end up very far from standard if my track record is anything to go by!

Should I go under the assumption that engine bays (mounting points etc) are different on the petrol models and diesel models? I'm pretty sure that's the case with rascals and supercarry's

Yes, engine mount points are different on the chassis itself from what I have been told.

Piaggio put holes and captive nuts in different places for the petrol and derv.

I wrote this little page a while back:- http://www.daihatsuhijet.co.uk/hijet-piaggio-porter-lombardini-1-2-1-4-diesel-engines/

In all honesty, those dervs in my opinion are a bit errmm, individual! You will find it ultra ultra hard to get various parts for it, and timing those engine is a nightmare needing specialist tools. Read the manual regards injector settings.

Not saying they don't work ok, but when they go wrong they often get scrapped. I have 3 people who ring me monthly asking for the same bits. Another guy has let me know he scrapped his after failing to find a vacuum pump for about 6 months.

When I get chance I'll see if I can get some decent photos of how the engine is mounted and compare it to a petrol.
Its definitely an interesting engine to drive, in a 'what the hell were they thinking' kind of way!
I think the shell and chassis are in pretty good condition except the poor paint job, so I expect if I do have any problems with this engine, I could find something a little more interesting to shoe-horn in there!
Yes I'd already spotted that page(and the rest) and theres some really handy info, thanks for that!

Welcome to the Forum with your Flyinging Dung Beetle J.B. New one on me that one Logi but I like it as Dick Emery used to say. 

I have got a 1.2 "P" reg diesel for spares though a few thing have sold off of it. Most engine bits are there plus starter Gearbox axle springs prop radiator etc . 

Have fun in your new beast but get used to being thrashed away from the the Lights by the petrol 1000 and 1300 Hi-Jets. You will think you have left your handbrake on .  

Beauty with the pickups is that you can really throw them round the corners and hang the tail
and most 1300s will go off the clock. Havent a clue where the Diesel runs out of  steam though J.B.

It wouldn't make too much difference if I had left the handbrake on, the cables are rotten through! !
I think my top speed today was a whopping 64mph!
And it was screaming! I think after a good once over I'll have her running a bit smoother, I have a suspicion that there's an exhaust leak somewhere judging by the amount of noise, which is probably sapping a bit of oomph.

I may well be in touch when I figure out what parts I might need, at the moment I'm going to need handbrake cables and a speedo cable (I read somewhere £70!??)

Also, how the hell do the back wheels stay on with no flange on the hubs?? Or am I missing something?

Studs by the sound of things !!   

Ha! Studs are there thankfully, but I would've expected something that is made for carrying cargo would have a flange to take the weight rather than just studs?

Back in the olden days long long ago that was how wheels were attached.

Welcome to the forum

From one noob to another, welcome to the forums! Hope your plans work well. I'll have to be replacing my handbrake cable as well. It was snapped when I bought it and the owner gave me a replacement cable along with the purchase to install later. Still have not really found time to do it as I have gotten used to parking with my shifter in gear... which I should stop getting used to hahaha.

I've been parking in gear too, and also popping a couple of small chocks under the wheels, but of course yesterday I forgot the chocks were there and drove over them! And today I forgot it was in gear and tried to start it!
so now ive put myself a little note in the cab!

johnnyboy666 wrote:I've been parking in gear too, and also popping a couple of small chocks under the wheels, but of course yesterday I forgot the chocks were there and drove over them! And today I forgot it was in gear and tried to start it!
so now ive put myself a little note in the cab!

I don't have chocks... but if I am cleaning it in the driveway and have to climb on the back, I through my carjack under a tire. It works lol. I have forgotten too when it is in gear and am starting, both in reverse and in 1st hehe.

Another time was when I tried to start it when the L/N/H shifter was in neutral. I did not get very far until with help from a friend I noticed it. That was after we left a very excited 5 year old girl playing in the cab... Somehow they are great toys for kids to play in due to their size

Logi wrote:Back in the olden days long long ago that was how wheels were attached.

In your younger days Logi they also had knives protruding from the spoked wheels ( wooden ones with no Dunlop covering either   ). 

J.B. & Tuskano you SOUND a good bit younger than me ( I have got 13 months before I draw my full pension though I have been fortunate to be getting a Civil Servants Pension -- index linked since  1989 which has been a great help ) so what the hell are you gonna be like when you reach my present age???       . In all seriousness I have been doing those sorts of daft things all my life. I could fill a book ----  . 

If you have problems finding a Hand brake cable I  could with a lot of arm twisting be persuaded to take one off an axle for you under great protest. 
It sounds to me J.B. that its more a case like me of finding the motivation to get round to doing the job --- am I right ?? 

Dont know how far back you have dug back into the Forum Annals but I have 6 pick ups two of them Tippers and all 1300s plus the Diesel 1.2 for spares.
Three of them are also LPG . The 05 plate one has done 34000 miles and I am when time permits I have a 1600 Grand Move engineto put in it when the weather picks up in Spring/Summer. 
 
The Hi-Jet spares business is a hobby that has overtaken the Handyman Services and Flat roofing so trying to find time to send out spares at times
can be a Logistical Nightmare. 

    By the way the Civil Servant job I retired from was an HGV driving job for nine years with the local Council ----- Driving a Dustcart !!! 
I am not bothered what I do so long as I am happy at what I am doing and the Hi-Jet Spares Business certainly fulfills that criteria. Woody.

Hold on a minute, L/N/H shifter? Do they all have these??
Woody- you're on the right track there, I am the tender age of 25! Mind you the way things are going, retirement will be a long forgotten myth by the time I reach 104 or whatever the pension age will be by then!
Regarding the handbrake cables, I think my first port of call is to take one off and see what the ends look like, as I reckom I could modify one of my copious spare Peugeot ones to fit if they're just a standard cable end.
I forsee this project being done on a tight budget!

Wow, I'll be 25 in a few months. Military here, so when I "retire" it will be around 40ish if I do my full 20. I'll be lucky if I get to 104... I would possibly be doing the same things as I am now.

Yep, you would have 4 wheel high, neutral, and low. It is on the driver's side next to the handbrake. If I remember correctly without going outside and staring at the handbrake cable I have to put in, the forward side is threaded with a nut and the aft end is attached to a box with bolts I think. The whole thing is a good foot and a half to two feet.

No, your pickup won't be 4wd, they are rarer than rocking horse teeth, sadly

Tuskanos is a rare beastie

No, your pickup won't be 4wd, they are rarer than rocking horse teeth, sadly

Tuskanos is a rare beastie

Are they really? Wow... then I'll have to read up on that then. As I was typing that I was wondering if 4wd came with all trucks or if there were ones that were just rwd.

Well, they're rare in the UK.

Damn, I thought for a second there might be another ratio that would allow me to beat my current top speed of 64!

There are hills. And slowly speeding up over time in the excitement of staying with current traffic. Did that once when I was on the highway late to get to the movies with a friend... look down at the gauge, and am going 130ish kph! Was too fast for comfort and ended up slowing down to my normal 115 that I can usually do with.

well there's plenty of hills round me, so that should help (except getting back up them)

I think the cable that attaches to the handbrake is serviceable, just the other two at the rear that are shot