S70 front shocks, the search continues...

Hi all, so I've been searching for weeks now trying to find the front shocks I need. So far I've drawn a blank. I've contacted daihatsu in Japan and everyone I can think of, no joy.
Then I had the idea of searching for front shocks for an s65 and by a miracle some turned up in Cyprus, and very reasonably priced. I know it's a long shot but does anybody know if they would fit the s70? The kyb part numbers are very similar and the vans look identical! I'm thinking just buy them and try. Any help would be massively appreciated.

Hello Brisjezza, I own a S70 hijet and happen to have some front shocks as spares (I don't know the condition and they are probably 30+ years old but if you are interested send me a PM)

However my understanding is that the S65 shocks will also fit as they are basically the same trucks but a little bigger, I don't see Daihatsu changing the mounting points of the springs. At most they might have changed the spring rates for the slightly heavier 1L engine but I doubt that.

Hi. Thanks for the reply and the offer. I've actually sent the shocks off for a complete rebuild, I figured get it done properly and they should last another 20 years. However, if you don't mind I'll keep your details for if I need any other bits. Is yours a pickup or a van? As far as I can tell they're getting super rare now. Something like 2 Pickups still on the road and maybe 4 vans still taxed. We're a very exclusive club. And clearly a bit nuts!

Hey, yea I don't mind if you keep my details, don't hesitate to ask some questions as I will probably learn something from it also. (i'm guessing the forum will give me email notifications of activity, but I might not be able to respond quickly)

Yes I do own a 1985 pickup hijet (s70) and there are indeed not a lot of them left on the road. I have searched the number plate registration database of the Netherlands and it seems (this was +- a year ago) that there where about 7 of the "55 Wide" cars registered. I was lucky enough to find two hijets (one with and one without registration)  however one was totally rusted through so I cut that one apart to use as spares (why I have the suspension etc as spare). I should really do a writeup post with images etc. however I have not found the time to do so.

Hi. Thanks. When the shocks are back on, and all the other little jobs are done (mostly lights and electrics) then it's going to have all its chassis and bodywork cleaned up and repainted. I'm sure that's going to throw up lots of problems. It's a Roma home camper, and I'm pretty sure it's the last daihatsu s70 romahome in the UK. I refuse to be the guy who causes the extinction so I'm going to carry on fixing it up. It'll never be worth what its costing but I love it and that's all that matters really. I'm going to keep it as near to stock as possible but maybe put some nice alloys on it! I'll post some pics when I get time too.

Excellent! Glad to hear someone else is passionate about keeping the, going. Post some pics for us to see.