1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.

1992 Daihatsu Atrai, Port Saint Lucie Florida

Discussion in 'Introductions' started by Mkguyvr, Apr 13, 2014.

  1. Mkguyvr

    Mkguyvr Member

    Hey guys, I bought my little van a while ago, I found the little guy down in Miami in an embarrassing condition. (see pic) Since I have had it I have been cutting out all of the rust and replacing with new sheet metal. I have also lowered it 2 inches in the front, 3 in the rear and put the same size tires on the rear that were on the front so now it has a nice stance. The back window was plywood, so I had to have one shipped from Japan....$$$ :rolleyes: I rattle canned it just to save face in my neighborhood. The Cuban guy that owned it before me was apparently very religious. I and looking to start the body work in a few weeks to get it ready for paint. I am also toying around with the idea of a VW split window bus nose conversion, all steel restoration panels, not the Japanese fiberglass stuff. Im a welder by trade so its not outside my comfort zone to do such a conversion. Anyway heres a few pics of the progress so far.
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     

    Attached Files:

    Last edited: Apr 30, 2015
  2. Mkguyvr

    Mkguyvr Member

  3. Jim Nelson

    Jim Nelson Active Member

    Welcome to the addiction,glad you finally got the registration thing sorted out. Looks like you know what you are doing and hope it works for you. There are getting to be more vans lately and that's a good thing.Keep us up dated on your progress.
     
  4. Mkguyvr

    Mkguyvr Member

    Funny you say addiction...thats the very word my wife used to describe my behavior....lol. I believe she even went as far as saying i was cheating on her with the "Little Van". Truth is she likes the van as much as I do, we take it everywhere, surprisingly its comfortable for long drives. The p.o. installed some 90s BMW seats that recline and are on sliders. As far as more vans, I hope so, I have only seen 1 other van and 1 truck on the road here. The vans seem to be very rare, I wish I could find one for parts. Are there many vans on this forum? Maybe we should start a van section if there isnt one yet.
     
  5. projectsupra

    projectsupra New Member

    Glad to see you made it here! Keep that van on the road, it's the only one in PSL now that mine sold.
     
  6. Mkguyvr

    Mkguyvr Member

    Havent been on in a while, my little van has taken on a new look (mainly for business purposes) which will explain itself. I have been daily driving it for 6 months now and it seems like it wants to run a little bit different every day. A tweek here a twist there and it runs great. About a week ago it started needing the distributor to be advanced quite a bit to get it to start. Once started it would run perfect with the distributor back in its place. It isnt to safe to drive like this due to not being able to start right up if It stalls or I shut it off, its another 30 second dismantling of the floor and removal of the distributor bolt completely and its hot as hell! So i set out to find a "new" engine to power the van. I feel its only a matter of time before it will just be completely stubborn and just quit running. Ive checked everything twice, timing belt, timing, compression-hot/cold, valve lash vacuum advance replaced, plugs,wires, condenser, points, coil, vacuum lines replaced, carb rebuilt, added a manual choke, new exhaust. It runs like a top but once running but it wont start eaisly. I guess the only thing left would be to rebuild the starter, it drags a bit but thats a long shot. Anyways i found the new engine.
    I will be using a 2004 GL1800 Goldwing engine, I found one in Miami and went down this weekend and squared it away. It needs a few bits to complete the fuel management system and will need the exhaust but that will all be easy to sort out on ebay. Heres a few pics.
     

    Attached Files:

    Last edited: Sep 29, 2014
  7. Mkguyvr

    Mkguyvr Member

    Been moving forward on the project, got the electrical worked out and started the engine, injectors are off to the shop for cleaning and flow test, new fuel regulator on the way, just converted the daihatsu drive shaft over to take the Goldwing yoke. here are some pics of the shaft. The shaft on the right is the Daihatsu, the one on the left is the Goldwing, the second pic is of the Honda yoke/bearings and universal joint on the Daihatsu shaft, now all i have to do is shorten it to the required length when i install the engine which should be happening in a few more weeks.
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  8. mr.mindless

    mr.mindless Member

    Subscribing to watch the repower progress. Finally, an engine swap!

    Looking forward to seeing how it fits in there and how the gearing, shifting, and clutching work out for you.
     
    Mkguyvr likes this.
  9. Mkguyvr

    Mkguyvr Member

    Its getting close to project liftoff, as soon as i have the injectors back and the new fuel pressure regulator in hand i will bench test the engine, after that its time to pull the original drive train and get fabricating the engine cradle, it should go pretty quick due to the preperation ive been doing.
     
  10. mr.mindless

    mr.mindless Member

    This had me doing a lot of reading yesterday, I don't think a starter motor driven electric reverse would be capable enough to satisfy my needs, and at $1000-1500 for the standalone reversing gearboxes I found, I think I'll look for large shaft-drive utility quad stuff instead, but I'm still going to be following this with a lot of interest. Good luck!
     
  11. Mkguyvr

    Mkguyvr Member

    I thought that too with the reverse, keep in mind the motorcycle has a larger diameter tire and higher gearing than a Hijet. The end result will be a slower but stronger reverse with the tire size and gearing in the Hijet. Here is a video of a weird conversion with a 1500 i believe and you can see that the starter motor doesnt hesitate, not that fast but works. You will be hard pressed to find the h.p. that the Goldwing has in any affordable 4 wheeler or utility unit.
     
  12. Mkguyvr

    Mkguyvr Member

    I have also seen a guy using a gas golfcart starter/generator for his reverse. When not being powered for reverse it is the alternater, driven off the axle drive flange. It would be a great alternative to the Goldwing reverse if needed. image.jpg
     
  13. Mkguyvr

    Mkguyvr Member

    Fabbed up some engine mounts while waiting on parts, these will be welded to a cradle that will be fabled up when the engine is under the van, they are loose and swivel right now allowing for any number of different mounting angles that may be needed once it is under the van.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  14. Mkguyvr

    Mkguyvr Member

    Got the injectors back today, should be able to fire it up tonight and see how it runs.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  15. Mkguyvr

    Mkguyvr Member

    Had the time to install the injectors and fuel pressure regulator, heres the end result, an engine that runs on its own now.

     
  16. mad659

    mad659 Member

    You got a great project going on there. I've looking at it closely because i have 2 s80's that I plan on swapping the motors for something else. Ideas were to upgrade to a bigger Daihatsu engine (very doubtful), Some type of car motor ( clocking a Baleno engine on a samurai tranny comes to mind) , a subaru boxer or a motor bike engine (no reverse). I didn't know about the Goldwing engine with electric reverse! Now I really want to see how your van will run with the Goldwing gearing + your diff ratio with the small tire. Have you done the math on that or is it more of a stuff it and run it kind of deal? Hope it comes out good, should be a blast to drive.
     
  17. Mkguyvr

    Mkguyvr Member

    Ive thought about the gearing a bit, about enough to know that it will lose the top end speed but be very quick. The reverse wont set any speed records but will be stronger in the van(less work on the starter motor) than it is in the motorcycle which is strong enough to reverse a 800lb bike and 2 riders up a steep incline. It most definitely will be fun, and the sound of the engine will turn heads more that the van does already.
     
  18. mad659

    mad659 Member

    Too much top end on one of these would be freaky anyway. I think I 've done about 50mph on mine and with stock tires, I think it's more than enough. I think that as long as it has any reverse at all it should be fine. Actually mine came 'regulated'( transfer case stuck in 4lo ) and you would put it in reverse without touching the gas because it was so low geared, 1st gear was the same way. You should be ok.
    You got me looking into Goldwing engines now. You got any rough dimensions on that motor compared to the stock one? Looks like it's a lot shorter than the stock but I am curious about the height of it all. Keep it going!
     
  19. Mkguyvr

    Mkguyvr Member

    Lol, had my Van up to 86 miles an hour on the highway with wind at my back, it was scary to say the least but the little guy could do it, mine came with the 25 mile an hour fuel cut but i bypassed it and jetted the carb out a little bit and played with the timing a little. It was surprisingly fast after 35 mph it took a while to get it through the gears but once in 4th it found its power, a bit hard on the ears, feels like you should have shifted 2 more times but thats how i drove it to stay out of other peoples way. I measured the engine back when i was thinking about buying it, Here's quote from the guy i bought the engine from as well as a porly drawn schematic of the rear of the engine showing the height to be 16 and the width to be 26 and length to be 26, it shows how the driveshaft is off center by 4.5 inches as well so you can off set the engine for the driveshaft to line up.
    "The output spline is 4.5 inches to the right of center when viewed from the rear of the motor. The output shaft is 8 inches from the top and 8 inches from the bottom of the motor.."
    unnamed+(3).jpg
     
  20. mad659

    mad659 Member

    They say a picture (or drawing) is worth a million bucks. Thanks a million! At only 16" by 26" by 26" there should be room to spare. I think the 4.5" offset is no problem at all. If the motor goes where the stock one used to be you should have probably ended up with a longer driveshaft (assuming the frame is the same as a pickup). I am looking at gl1500 carburetted version, looks very tempting.
    Just measured my tranny, transfer case combo and it is aprox. 24" to the ujoint. the driveshaft is about 6.5" only. Seems that the Goldwing is a great option. I guess your drivetrain is different but looks like it'll fit just fine. Have you figured out how your shifter is gonna work?
     
  21. Mkguyvr

    Mkguyvr Member

    My first choice for the shifter will be to try and use the cable system that shifts the original transmission and just fab up some mounts assuming the cable can reach the shifter area, second choice will be to make a linkage system off of the original stick shifter by eliminating any cables and just welding a small ball joint or pivot joint to it.
    One of the best things about the Goldwing engines are that they have little to no vibration issues, the inline engines vibrate horribly and are much louder, the van is like an echo chamber and has very thin sheet metal so it will be a much more pleasant daily driver, also the inline would come up through the floor a lot further any with that bring in the exhaust noise and heat where the Goldwings exhaust are on the bottom of the engine. Im hoping not to have to cut the floor but if I do it will only be for a air box and would end up looking like a transmission hump when done.
     
  22. mad659

    mad659 Member

    Yep, my idea of using the Baleno engine was to clock it 70 degrees like the stock Daihatsu engine but I have to take a look at baleno starter mount to make sure. There are plenty around. I haven't seen a goldwing for sale anywhere on the island but I have no rush for it, I'll keep my eyes peeled. I made a shifter for my dual tansfer case Cherokee with heim joints and it has a solid feel. I am guessing that a boat cable (grey outer) would work great with your setup. At 16" height I'm thinking you might not have to cut the floor and I beleive you could mount the motor to the center and should'nt have driveline concerns. I could be wrong though cus I am basing this off the truck frame, I have never seen a kei van in person. Can't wait to see yours mounted, hell on wheels. Hope you have good brakes !
     
  23. Mkguyvr

    Mkguyvr Member

    I do have good brakes but I have been looking for some sort of swap to disk brakes up front, i havent come up with anything yet, once i get the engine done i will start measuring bearings and offsets.
     
  24. mad659

    mad659 Member

    Well, here is what I'll be doing in a couple of weeks. I bought 4 13" celica supra rims, 2 wide and 2 narrow. I am going to turn the front drums on the lathe, slap on some Hyundai Accent pre '98 discs and caliper which have the same 4x114.3 bolt pattern. I was going to use Mitsubishi mirage discs (4x100) but I just couldn't pass up the supra rims. The adapter looks pretty easy to make and will be held by the 4 bolts that hold the drum backplate, I have done worse setups.What rims are you running?
     
  25. Mkguyvr

    Mkguyvr Member

    The wheels are MB brand aftermarket that have two 4 bolt patterns they fit Daihatsu and Miata i know for sure.
    Let me know when you star the brake conversion, take some pictures too, i will want to do the same to mine, there arent many people doing what we are doing and ideas are all we have to go with.
     
  26. mad659

    mad659 Member

    Well, just to give you an idea, I've done a Ford bronco disc with a Eclipse caliper conversion on a sandrail, various yamaha disc brakes on mini sandrails, currently putting Corvette discs on my ongoing chaindrive buggy project and so on. I am pretty sure your wheels are 4x100, if so, my first layout should work on yours. Mitsubishi mirage front discs and caliper (pre'99 if memory is right). You take out the drum, which houses the bearings, and make a hub out of it on a lathe so it will fit into the mirage dicscs, drill your new hub with the 4x100 bolt pattern and you have most of it done. Then it's a matter of making the adapter plate that will bolt on to where the backing plate used to be. I'm sure you have some fab skills and it really isn't as difficult as it sounds. As long as the adapter doesn't need too big of on offset it shouldn't be too hard to do. This is what I was going to do before I bought the 13' rims, now I have to remeasure everything once I get my hands on the Hyundai discs. I will post pics for sure. I believe it would work great with your project. You might have to use a adjustable proportioning valve also to fine tune the brakes but it should stop the little beast.
     
  27. Mkguyvr

    Mkguyvr Member

    Thanks fro the info,im still a bit foggy on the turning the drum down to make a hub, i get the general idea but pics are how i get the idea fully, im not to that point yet but in the near future. Maybe you could find a pic or draw something and take a picture of it when you get a chance. I am running a 1/4 inch spacer right now so that would probably be replaced by the disc?
    Any way I had a busy day, i dropped the old engine and installed the new engine and got it ready for mock up. Made the gas peddle bracket and modified the Daihatsu throttle cable end to fit the throttle body so that is done. Mocked up the clutch master and know how im going to get that done. Measured for the drive shaft length and will be taking it to the shaft shop for shortening and balancing tomorrow. The shaft lines up pretty well and will be 23 inches long (shortened 9 inches). The engine was a little wider than than the drawing i showed (28) not 26. so it was a little tighter fit and had to be moved back further which worked out great for the air box.

    [​IMG]
    I moved the E-brake cable system to the passenger side about 6 inches to accommodate the throttle body.
    [​IMG]
    Cut the floor out for install.
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    Should be about 5 inches from the bottom of the engine to the ground when finished.
    [​IMG]
    Shows how the engine was moved back 9 inches from original placement.
    [​IMG]
     
  28. mad659

    mad659 Member

    When you turn your dum it should turn out something like the picture. Yes, ditch the spacer as the disc will be your spacer at whatever thickness it might be. Actually I just measured the mirage disc and it is almost 1/4" thick, should work out fine for ya.
    I thought you might not have to have cut the floor but, screw it, think of the extra ponies and it will look beautful anyways.Not too bad at 5'' off the floor, watch out for speedbumps though,haha.
    I guess I would have more space in the truck than you have plus your motor and tranny are a lot shorter than mine looking at your pics. It's looking real good so far. I wonder if it will peel those small tires? I'd carry spare tires if I was you.
     

    Attached Files:

  29. Mkguyvr

    Mkguyvr Member

    A little different than the drum but i get the picture now, thanks for the pic, the only thing is I will have to make a mounting plate for the caliper and find a way to attach it to the strut, i dont know what kind of bolt holes are behind the drum, havent had them off in a while. As far as the clearance of the engine it wont be so bad, most of the cars around here are scrapping the ground they are so low. The tires I have are the front tires on the Smart Car, they are kinda cheap so it wont cost a fortune to keep them on it.
     
  30. mad659

    mad659 Member

    If yours is Daihatsu, (is it?) then the backplate will probably be held on by 4 bolts. I would probably use 1/4" to 3/8" steel plate for the adapter.
     

Share This Page