I was in Vancouver Island for the past 2 weeks, tootling around in a =
metallic-red 2004 Toyota Sienna. Saw a lot of T3s, none with vanagon.com =
stickers that I could see. Only 2 or 3 Syncros. All were either doing =
decent speeds or parked; none appeared to be dead. Saw more on the =
island than I did in 2 1/2 mnoths in Calgary.

I didn't see any in wrecking yards (looking from the road as we went =
by), and am still needing those 86+ front suspension parts...

I'm not sure if I will be going back to Vancouver Island to collect =
fossils & shells, but in case I do, anyone between Calgary and Port =
Hardy who has front suspension parts for an 86-or-later van can either =
e-mail me kgrebneff@shaw.ca or phone me at my sister's in Calgary 403- =
202-3755. Parts are about nonexistent in Clagary, apart from one wrecker who
wants
$200 per side..

I saw quite a few used- Japanese-import 4WD Mitsubishi Delicas, no LWB
2WDs...
and they were all 2.7 diesels... pity the poor slobs who buy 'em, as those =
engines are grenades even without turbos... and these are all turbos!

Saw only 2 Toyota Hiaces; one a Super Custom SWB AWD, the other a basic =
white van. Infinitely superior to the Delica (and larger too), though =
perhaps not as hard-core offroad... these 2nd-generation Delicas aren't =
bad in the trackless wastes.

And I saw what I thought I would never see in Canada... some twit had =
imported a 1970s Bedford CF van-based cab-chassis with a camper body. I
guess =
these are close in design to the generic Frod/Generic Motors/Dudge boxes =
over time, and about as flimsy.

Saw lots of Mercedes Sprinter (with Dodge or Freightliner badges) =
campers, one old VW LT cab-chassis with camper body, a T4 with camper =
body and the usual masses of Generic American converted E250s and morons =
in unstable underbraked pickups, which can't even get out of their own =
way when empty, towing huge dual/triple-axle living trailers that must =
be WAY over the pickups' rating and utterly unable to stop or swerve in =
an emergency... not only that, but the trailer's coupling is above the =
pickup bed, moving the rollover point of the trailer way up... just a =
great combination to generate crashes. Super Duty, Powerstroke, HA!! The =
housebussers have the idea... a stable vehicle which can tow a runabout =
car (OR EVEN GARAGE ONE OR A PAIR OF BIKES IN THE BACK!). A Toyota =
Coaster would make a really neat housebus... sufficient performance and =
economy from its 4.2 SOHC turbodiesel six (otherwise found in =
LandCruisers) and great looks... plus the driver has a normal door on =
his right.

Saw a few import RHD BJ90 and BJ100 Cruisers and a few BJ70 Cruiser =
Prados (made before the Prado was made a full model in its own right), =
Mitsubishi Outlanders, a Mitsubishi GTO coupe,=20

BTW, anyone know what the FJ Cruiser is based on? Even with that =
live-axle, it might still be a Camry, as is the Sienna.

Anyone out there have a Toyota Kluger (US name Highlander)? DO NOT expect =
the stability control to save you if you overcook it on a bend... the =
Aussie ones are better-handling then the US ones (d'oh, just like every =
other model)... and the tested car's EST did not function properly =
(wrong settings) and the Kluger rolled big time. A US-market Highlander =
would lose it far sooner under exactly the same conditions, with its =
overly-soft suspension.

Meathead pickups, "the bigger the better", yeah sure, to make up for the =
owners' lack of size... these things are cheap and seen to be macho. =
What they really are is overpowered underbraked crates with zero =
handling ability... accidents waiting to haoppen.

Toyota Tacoma... as far as I can see, the Hilux name has been dropped in =
the US and replaced for marketing "reasons" with the name a. Looks =
like the Tundra is a widebody Hilux. Toyota has experience =
with making various models in narrow and wide variants... Estima, Dyna =
cab-chassis, Camry, Hiace...

Any news on the Subaru dieselboxer? These should be on the road by now. =
I'd be interested in how reliable these turn out to be long-term, which =
is VERY difficult to find out. And how well they perform. However, with =
the NZ chief crime syndicate (gummint) trying to force diesels off the =
road by boosting distillate fuel prices, increasing registration and =
massively increasing milage costs (you have to buy "Road User Charges by =
the kilometer), my diesel days may be in danger. Time maybe to buy an =
upmarket 1997-2003 AE115 Toyota Carib (Corolla) 4WD wagon (1.6, 1.8 or =
2.0 liters) or a similar-year ordinary upmarket Corolla 4WD AE100-series =
(available with 4A-GE 20-valve and 6-speed) and fit a V6 into it... see =
if a Camry 3V_ZE will fit the car and the trans/clutch, and get a fresh =
3V-ZE to avoid the head-corrosion problems these engines are noted for, =
which causes leaks into the main-bearings, causing crank failure... =
sounds familiar??? Maybe a 3.5 from the current Camry (and its Aurion =
and Lexus ES35 variants) or Estima, supercharged...

... and don't ask me why Outlook Express has inserted equal signs when I was

about to copy the message into gmail to resend (messages rejected by the
list
as I initially sent them before my gmail subscription went through).

--
Andrew Grebneff
Dunedin, New Zealand
Fossil preparator
Mollusc, Toyota & VW van nut
Temporarily in Calgary, AB, Canada