exhijet now suzuki carry project

Wow nice Scotia, would love a bullbar like that! And I guess we'll see your friend in the workshop section of this forum soon

Good find those bits, that bull bar looks 'beefy'!

haha yes i think that to tornas.. until now it didnt overheat but in time i think it will

the bullbar is a bitt beefy indeed raggy
not sure if it will look better with it or without it

maybe i will just fitt it when im using the van regular , and when im going to meets/shows i will remove it.. i dont know..
so it can maybe safe my legs when im in a crash.. (hope it never happens!!) but i think the bullbar will protect me a litle.

Die bril!

De een zijn dood is de ander zijn brood!

we started working on the van.
it had some dents and rusty patches that needed welding.




i tryed getting whole wheelarches but they arent easy to come by for the 30 year old van and the suzukidealer asked 580euro per side.
so it will be cutting out the rust and welding new patches
some recontruction

my friend who does the welding also can do dent repair work.
interesting to see him work the dent to the point its almost not visable anymore


lower part of the slidingdoor needed welding to

everything is far from finished but i thought it was time for a litle update.
the work was way more than we expected but thats often the case when you start working on rusty pieces.
the litle van is almost 31 years old now so cant realy blame it for being a litle rusty on the outside.
the underside and chassis are mostly rustfree and thats more important.

i will post more pictures in time..

Excellent work as usual, looks like some filler been used before! look forward to the pic updates

Are you able to give the engine bit of a power boost in any way - assuming that you would like to be able to do that??

I found a tuning company in the South West of London who could increase the power of a 1600 Daihatsu engine from 94bhp to around 125- 130 bhp, lightened and balanced engine components and flywheel, Piper Camshaft, Ported head, matched manifold for under £1000 but that idea has all gone to the wall now with all of last years events. Bit of a shame.

i have a couple of options
-i can fit the 5 speed from a supercarry, that will help a litle with driving on the highway.
- the 1.0 lump from the supercarry also fits my van.

but that would only help litle bits... going from 34hp to 44hp

"tuning"/"modding" it isnt a something i would like to do to it.
its just an old van and low hp and top speed is just something thats goes with it.
its just the way its supposed to be.

if i ever sell it i will buy a hijet and put a 1600 in it
i thought abbout that often the last couple of months.
but i am kind of traumatised by the whole overheating problems      
i have zero trust in the hijets coolingsystem,
and every couple of weeks/days my fears are being confirmed by this site or facebook or for sale hijets with HGproblems.

i would rather have my (t)rusty carry that always starts and is in overall technical good condition.
then a 1600 hijet thats more modern more hp more top speed etc etc and starts overheating so i cant drive it..

i had a verry nice rust free hijet once
the stress from it cost me 15 years of my life expectance
when it didnt overheat i was still eyeballing the tempgage like some psycopat

there are indeed a couple of nice things you can do with the daihatsu engines
i know a lott of people who have owned or still own a 1.3/1.6 charade.
the 1.6 swap is done verry often over here.
my friend whose doing the welding also has one
this is his if youre intersted
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nm8jOMvoMUE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyWI3mcndic

but the 1.3 in the charade can get some nice figures with only litle things like an exhaust and good cold air intake.
like this one Unmounted Catalyst, exhaust & added cold air filter runs 108,6hp https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sisER7O4X6k

then you have options like 1.6 injectors inletmanifold exhaustmanifold etc
the older types of charade g100 types run realy well with just litle tune ups, and sound awesome to.
its a shame the hijet engines were so restricted by their exhaust ecu etc those 1300 lumps run realy nice.

I think you have hit the nail on the head there Scotia. It's the cooling system that causes the problem, not the engines. But it is owners that cause the problems with the cooling system.

We have 3 1600 Grand Moves in regular use and have in nearly 3 years have put about an egg cup of water in any of them. They just don't use or lose water.

My MPV goes for months on end without a topup. Radcaps regularly checked and replaced and make sure that the Radcap seating on the metal pipe under the passenger seat is kept smooth and rust free.
Also check out the hoses and clips for signs of weeping. That is the two Achilles Heals of the Hi-Jet. Water leaks on the hoses and worn seals on the Radcaps and the seating.

Too many hoses in the system. Grand Move system is simple.
The main cause of the overheating on all Hi-Jets are the people who drive them. Lack of regular due diligence - - pure and simple.
Regular Overheating of the engine is the cause of headgasket problems and the driver continuing to drive it. That is what warps heads and burns holes in head gaskets. Although age of the vehicle and mileage has a bearing on it. Keeping the system full of Antifreeze/Summer Coolant helps slow down corrosion in the engine and metal pipes. Preventive maintenance pays dividends in the long run.

Woodie wrote:I think you have hit the nail on the head there Scotia. It's the cooling system that causes the problem, not the engines. But it is owners that cause the problems with the cooling system.

We have 3 1600 Grand Moves in regular use and have in  nearly 3 years have put about an egg cup of water in any of them. They just don't use or lose water.

My MPV goes for months on end without a topup. Radcaps regularly checked and replaced and make sure that the Radcap seating on the  metal pipe under the passenger seat is kept smooth and rust free.
Also check out the hoses and clips for signs of weeping. That is the two Achilles Heals of the Hi-Jet. Water leaks on the hoses and worn seals on the Radcaps and the seating.

Too many hoses in the system. Grand Move system is simple.
The main cause of the overheating on all Hi-Jets are the people who drive them. Lack of regular due diligence - - pure and simple.
Regular Overheating of the engine  is the cause of headgasket problems and the driver continuing to drive it. That is what warps heads and burns holes in head gaskets. Although age of the vehicle and mileage has a bearing on it. Keeping the system full of Antifreeze/Summer Coolant helps slow down corrosion in the engine and metal pipes. Preventive maintenance pays dividends in the long run.  

so why do you have an extra switch for the fan then...?
i did read a while back that you and another diehard member from here both had overide fan switches.
if experts like you have one i think it says something

i would love an 1.6 hijet it is an realistic and affordable option.
not like turbos or complete engineswaps that requiere a lott of expert help and money.

if i could get 100hp out of it with some affordable normal tweeks like exhaust etc
i think thats a nice figure for a hijet and it will still run reliable
the only thing holding me back is the worries i have regarding the overheating.

Yes you are right. The cooling system is definitely in need of extra cooling.

Are you one of those people who waits till he gets the flue or gets the start of a preventable illness and then goes and gets an injection or penicillin??

Prévention is better than cure and I have had lots of years to learn that. What is the point of letting your temperature gauge get right up of the scale before the Water Temperature Sensor decides to kick in. Then the fan is fighting an uphill struggle to cool the engine down along with your heater on full blast roasting you in the middle of the summer in a traffic jam.

Prevention IS better than cure, thats why I have an overide switch which goes on at the first sign of the needle going over halfway. approaching traffic queues, long hills, or very warm weather.

It is a poor designed system but if there are other ways to deal with it, then that is why I have the overide switch.
The daft thing about it is that the Grand Move Radiator looks smaller than the 1300 Hi-Jets one, a heavier body, a bigger engine and 50% more power and will I am told touch 100 mph. Yet despite the constant thrashing mine gets it or the other two Moves have never overheated.

I have the override switch and I don't use it through the winter but....when it gets warmer and you have been belting (that for my hijet is in the loosest of terms!) down a motorway then come off to a halt at traffic lights I flick the switch as it then keeps the rate at which the temp builds up to a reasonable level rather than just stopping and all the heat build up going into the engine and having to then wait for the fan to kick in to cool it down. Much better if the fan could be set to a lower temp before it kicks in really and take the manual switch out of the equation. Think that's the key issue that the fan does not really come on till way to late for me.

One useful tip to remember all of you Hi-Jet Owners, when you get stuck in a traffic jam. 1st thing is turning on the Heater as I expect most of you will know. It drops the engine temperature by 5 to 6 degrees.

But even more important. Don't let it JUST tick over. Raise the engine speed to around 1800- to 2000 rpm. A fast tick over basically. This will increase the flow of water through the radiator and heater and will be far more effective if you have the fan override switch fitted.

I saw a guy in a beautiful Carry today. Kentekenplaat VX-22-XX or something, so it was a late 80's van. I was driving the Hijet and waved at him when I crossed him on the crossing. I must have looked like a goddamn idiot waving, I didn't even know the guy...

Woodie wrote:

Are you one of those people who waits till he gets the flue or gets the start of a preventable illness and then goes and gets an injection or penicillin??

 

no woodie i am the kind of guy who doesnt want to get sick at all
if i know the flue is somewhere like for instance at my parents house i just dont go in that general sick erea because i dont want to get sick.
youre talking about putting yourself inside this sick erea with a facemask in the hope that will prevent you from getting sick.


the things you guys are talking about only confirm my worries about it.

i wave to other small vans to lex  
there are a couple others here in my erea and have spoken to some of them.
they were just as happy to see me than i them.
heres one encounter

Yes I understand what you are saying Scotia. You don't want to put yourself in the position where you have a vehicle that you are constantly looking at the temperature gauge and every time you go out in it, your heart is in your mouth all the journey.

My own MPV seldom overheats. Last time was when Raggy came over last year. One of the additional connections used in the LPG Conversion was weeping and took a bit of finding. Fortunately I had another connector from another LPG I had dismantled and that sorted out the problem.

My Romahome pictured in my Avatar has only gotten very hot over 2 years ago on my journey to Sidmouth. There is a steep hill going up into Beere Regis and I got stuck behind a pile of pooh - a VW Diesel Camper throwing out enough black diesel smoke to fill the years quota for the whole of London. It was crawling in first gear at 10 miles an hour. Normally I would have stormed up there in second gear.
A lot of the troubles as I have mentioned is down to poor maintenance by the garage or the Hi-Jet owner.

As I have already said. Prevention is better than cure. A good check out looking for water leaks is good prevention and so is having the Override switch.

You love your Suzy's and I love my Hi-Jets. This Forum is called the Micro Van Owners Forum but it is usually referred to as the Hi-Jet Owners club or Forum and is definitely the best Hi-Jet Forum around. Rascals and Suzy's don't seem to have the overheating problems we have and are certainly more basic and reliable but any vehicle has its strengths and weaknesses. Each to their own isn't it? But I can't speak for all on here but personally I really enjoy your very balanced input to the Forum and all the information and pictures you contribute. Thank you very much for that. I am sure many other regulars will feel the same too.

thanx and yes i agree with you
its not a discusion from my part what is better.
they are both in their own box if that makes any sence..
i love all small vans and pickups and i have a soft spot for cuore/miras to

first i have to finish the carry and if i still feel the same in a couple of months maybe i will go down the hijet 1.6 route and sell the carry.

i did a mufflerectomy,
replaced the rearmuffler with a pipe.
the sound was a litle more than i expected  

klick on youtubelink for video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M71MwOax5SQ

before


after

Looks neat and tidy underneath, watched the video, certainly a bit 'raspy'

Will this adjustment pass the dutch APK? (= MOT)

apk has nothing to do with sound.. (police on the other hand will not be happy)
as long as your exhaust is airtight it will pass.
and the van is from 1986 so doesnt need a cat or has to pass the emmision tests

it pops when i let go of the gas while driving..awesome

I bet it sounds a bit raucous!! Love it!!  On overun the exhaust note ideally should be continuous. If it is popping then it can mean that air is getting into the system - possibly where you have joined it. Easiest way as I am sure that you know is to stick your hand over the end of the pipe and listen for a slight blow.

Ha ha ha, people will be wondering wtf is coming down the road. Ny mate has a Mini with a Rover V8 in it, you should see folk's faces when that starts up

Logi wrote:Ha ha ha, people will be wondering wtf is coming down the road. Ny mate has a Mini with a Rover V8 in it, you should see folk's faces when that starts up

you should hear it when it start it up
with the choke one so revs pretty hard and its parked in a garagabox made of concrete

More videos please!

Haha, funny to see your home town in someones movie. Nice video material! Are you going to make a movie of your van like this as well?

scotia wrote:there are indeed a couple of nice things you can do with the daihatsu engines
i know a lott of people who have owned or still own a 1.3/1.6 charade.
the 1.6 swap is done verry often over here.
my friend whose doing the welding also has one
this is his if youre intersted
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nm8jOMvoMUE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyWI3mcndic

but the 1.3 in the charade can get some nice figures with only litle things like an exhaust and good cold air intake.
like this one Unmounted Catalyst, exhaust & added cold air filter runs 108,6hp  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sisER7O4X6k

then you have options like 1.6 injectors inletmanifold exhaustmanifold etc
the older types of charade g100 types run realy well with just litle tune ups, and sound awesome to.
its a shame the hijet engines were so restricted by their exhaust ecu etc those 1300 lumps run realy nice.