There’s something fun about the idea of a tiny little van, shorter than most compact cars, that’s able to transport six people. Nobody said anything about comfort, but who doesn’t like a Fiat Multipla or its immediate successors? Sadly, the same people who drop six figures on a German bus with too many windows have caught wind of those, so you’ll have to do the usual and be a bit creative about other options. With the rolling 25-year EPA and DOT exemptions, combined with their sale in this continent as off-road maintenance vehicles for large commercial properties, quite a few of the Japanese 550cc Kei vans are slipping into North America. That said, if you don’t like the power in such a tiny van, and don’t have the means to get a hot-rod Kei engine out of one of the sportier variants, what choice do you have but to find a wrecked Goldwing and scavenge its 1800cc flat six, as seen in this 1989 Daihatsu Hijet with Goldwing power for sale for $4000 in Port Saint Lucie, FL?
Rusty But Trusty 