1992 Mitsubishi Delica L300 Star Wagon 4x4 Turbo-D Super Exceed with Crystal Lite Roof - SoCal

theREDwonder

Observer
For sale is my beloved Bailey, she has served us well for the past 2 years, but the addition of a 3rd child has deemed this little Star Wagon just a little too small for our universe.

1992 Mitsubishi Delica L300 Star Wagon Turbo-D Super Exceed with a Crystal Lite Roof
2.5L 4 cylinder turbo diesel with 115,418 miles (185,748 kms)
4x4 with high/ low transfer case with auto-locking hubs
4-Speed Automatic Transmission
Right Hand Drive!
LEGALLY REGISTERED IN CALIFORNIA
Location:
Costa Mesa, CA
Price: $21,000 or best offer
Gallery of more pictures.

210626_Bailey_Exterior-04.jpg


This van is mechanically rock solid. I’ve driven it from Seattle to SoCal through the mountains. Up to Mammoth on multiple trips (she tromps right through the snow), and out to AZ multiple times. It really is a very reliable machine. There was ~$6k worth of maintenance done at the end of 2018 and its been a champ ever since. You will not find a more ready-to-go Delica for sale today. Faster, more reliable, and more capable than a VW Syncro or Westy (Westfalia), but thats not hard to do. You won't be winning any races in this thing.

How many cars have you seen with a fiberoptically illuminated name in the tail light from the 90s?! What about a factory karaoke machine? It was broken and has been removed, but that gives you a clue into how crazy unique these vans were in the 90s in Japan. This van turns heads everywhere you go. I’ve parked next to $200k McLarens and people would rather talk about this squatty van. It’s so ugly and goofy, but I love it. Half of the stickers inside are in Japanese, the other half are broken English translations. Do you consider yourself a 4x4 Runner? Then this is the van for you, because Mitsubishi built it as "The Special Gear for 4x4 Runners". You can’t help but smile when driving this thing, mostly because everyone else is smiling back at you. There are more windows in this van than a school bus and when they are all shining bright, its hard to feel like you are in a car at all. I had my 2 kids in the captain chairs and they absolutely love the windows over head, so much more of an immersive experience for them.

Driving on the Right Side, not the WRONG SIDE! It took a little getting used to, but is normal once you get the hang of it. Right hand turns are fun because you can hang out the window and look over the curb. U-Turns are a little weird. Being able to pull up to a curb. Sidewalk and hop right out is a big plus. Drive-throughs get a little tricky.

The 2x captain chairs can slide and do full 360 degree swivels. There are pieces of wood in the back that flip open to create a sleeping platform for 1 or 2 for whatever you want.


Things so Unique to this Delica
  • It’s called a “Super Exceed”, what more do you need to know
  • It came factory with a Karaoke machine “Sound Stage” in the back (since broken and removed, such wow
  • Factory 3-pod gauge cluster with barometric altimeter, pitch and roll gauge, and interior/ exterior thermometer in Celsius (multiply by 9/5 then add 32 to get to Fahrenheit)
  • Rear hatch has a fiber optically illuminated “DELICA” spelled out, so everyone knows who you are.
  • There is a dished front mirror that shows you the front bumper, an early “360 camera”
  • Not to be out done, the OG backup camera is a downward facing mirror at the top of the rear hatch that lets you see the rear bumper. It works surprisingly well for backing into tight spaces.
  • A wheelbase of 88” (7’ 4”) and an overall length of 172”, means you are 10” shorter than a Honda Civic! And with enough room inside for a toddler to stand up. The agility of this thing cannot be overstated, you can U-turn on a two lane road and slip in and out of anywhere. At only 67” wide you take barely half of a standard US 10’ wide lane. It is physically small, but amazing spacious inside.
  • The Diesel engine is decently efficient, returning ~20 mpg on average, pretty good for a rolling brick that had 83 hp new.

The technical info and backstory:
Van was imported from Japan into Canada in 2017, then imported from Canada into the US where it was first registered in Seattle (this is key!) in 2017. I purchased it in 2019 in Seattle, sight unseen; flew my family to Washington and road tripped home without a single hiccup.
You cannot legally DIRECT import a car into California, it must first be registered in another state if there is any hope of getting it legally registered in CA. I spent ~6 months and a dozen trips to CHP & DMV to get it registered, but it is and its all good. Registration is due in August, but I’ll re-up it before the sale. The process for getting these registered is getting more and more challenging and I’ve seen plenty of other vans being sold because they’ve been BLACKLISTED by the CA DMV. Buy this one and don’t bat an eye or worry about the DMV or SMOG tests! Diesels older than 1996 are not required to go through smog, so registration could not be easier.

  • Canadian Importer (Rising Sun) did timing belt service at 135,000km
  • Full tune up in 2018 at Rising Sun in Vancouver, BC: Thermostat, hoses, valve cover gasket, fuel/air filters, cooling fan clutch assembly.
  • 5 relatively new Yokohama Geolandar Tires 215/75R16 (full size spare for extra wheel, but with a basic 5-spoke steely wheel), which is in rotation to keep wear even ~ 20,000 miles on them.
  • New windshield Feb 2018
  • New silver Line-X coating on roof (see below) March 2019
  • Dynamat noise reduction all over the inside of the body. May 2017
  • DelicaWorks oversized radiator. These vans are known to run hot, and this oversized radiator keeps it running cool. I drove through AZ in the summer and the temp gauge never even went horizontal (that means it wont overheat).
  • Oil changed this year.
  • 2x new batteries from Costco March 2021, she starts up in a heart beat.
  • New Ohlins Front Shocks - 2019 (nothing special, standard replacement)
  • Comes with a Pioneer AppRadio 3 Head unit for Wireless Android Auto and Apple Carplay, bring some modern tech to this middle aged beauty.

The special features:
  • Russian Birch wood floors, designed to allow Captains Chairs to remain, slide and swivel.The plywood on the floors makes it super easy to clean. We used this as a weekend beach-mobile and cleaning sand out is a breeze with a leaf blower
  • Wood paneling on the inside.
  • Modular custom camping setup for versatility and storage - allows captains chairs to stay installed, sleeps one person with platform deployed halfway, and two with platform fully deployed.
  • Remove the sleeping platform pieces and slide a bike inside easily.
  • Removable storage platforms have built-in 6x9 speakers.
  • All furniture is easily removable with a hex wrench, to turn the back into a cargo van, or put the bench seat back in to haul 7 people. I have the bench seat and all seat belts to go with it, but I never used it.
  • Solid Line-X roof!

The deal:
  • CoolBox has never worked, other than as a nice place to store things.
  • A/C needs a re-charge. It works when charged, but didnt hold a charge too long. Windows work great in SoCal
  • Windshield wiper intermittent setting (only) does not work. Other settings work.
  • Front moonroof is sealed shut. The Line-X people got a little excited and went over the gasket. Either unseal it yourself with a utility knife or let it be.
  • The middle passenger side (LH) Crystal Lite shade is starting to not wind up when opening. When opening, it will fold up instead of wind up. Each shade can open/ close independently or you can open/ close them all from the front.
  • Rear view mirror got floppy so I removed it.

I have a bunch of spare parts to go with it including the rear bench seats & seat belts, all interior trim pieces that were replaced with wood, oil filters, and a lot more. All will go with the van at time of sale.

Price is $21,000 OR BEST OFFER, located in Costa Mesa, CA.


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