PajEvo
JDM Journeys
I thought maybe I'd post this up here, to show others what can be done with a Mitsu platform (those of you who have mitsu's already know). Everything I post here will also be over at 4x4wire.com, in the mitsu section, which I helped create 10 years ago. If you've previously seen it there, then I apologize for the repeat...
Since I'm a virtual unknown over here, I should preface my build with a little background, and some goals for this project... This is my fifth Mitsu 4wd, over the last 15 years. I've had two genI shorties, one genI LWB, and a genII shorty before this current truck. Previous trucks were built up for the purposes of following my solid axled buddies, and to see how far I could go with a relatively stock platform. While they did pretty well, they do have torsion sprung-IFS, so front wheel travel was never a strong suit.
A few years ago, I found out about a Canadian law that allowed us to import grey market vehicles, as long as they were 15 years old, and passed a safety inspection (they also needed certain other things to be compliant, such as dot lights, reflectors, etc). I immediately jumped on the opportunity, and imported a Mitsu diesel... it was a shorty, and while I loved the truck, my trips seemed to be becoming less about gnarly 4x4 trails, and more about the trip itself, as well as the camping. So my newest build was with an eye toward an expedition type vehicle, still capable of taking on 4x4 trails, but equally comfortable on long highway trips, or multi-mile service roads. Plus it had to serve my 160km/day commute to work.
Well.... I had to stick with Mitsu, since its all I've ever had, and have had excellent service from them. I decided to buy the most robust platform, IMHO, that Mitsu ever offered in an SUV (that was available to me, gray market, in Canada). The 2800 turbo diesel long wheelbase got the nod.
I found a suitable candidate in Japan, and arranged with my importer to have it shipped.
(importer auction pic from Japan, before I signed on the dotted line)
It arrived in Canada in December, and just before 2009 rang in, I had it inspected and registered... so let the fun begin!
(I'll continue to update this thread as I get time, until I'm caught up with where I am as of today, and then will update as the mods progress)
Since I'm a virtual unknown over here, I should preface my build with a little background, and some goals for this project... This is my fifth Mitsu 4wd, over the last 15 years. I've had two genI shorties, one genI LWB, and a genII shorty before this current truck. Previous trucks were built up for the purposes of following my solid axled buddies, and to see how far I could go with a relatively stock platform. While they did pretty well, they do have torsion sprung-IFS, so front wheel travel was never a strong suit.
A few years ago, I found out about a Canadian law that allowed us to import grey market vehicles, as long as they were 15 years old, and passed a safety inspection (they also needed certain other things to be compliant, such as dot lights, reflectors, etc). I immediately jumped on the opportunity, and imported a Mitsu diesel... it was a shorty, and while I loved the truck, my trips seemed to be becoming less about gnarly 4x4 trails, and more about the trip itself, as well as the camping. So my newest build was with an eye toward an expedition type vehicle, still capable of taking on 4x4 trails, but equally comfortable on long highway trips, or multi-mile service roads. Plus it had to serve my 160km/day commute to work.
Well.... I had to stick with Mitsu, since its all I've ever had, and have had excellent service from them. I decided to buy the most robust platform, IMHO, that Mitsu ever offered in an SUV (that was available to me, gray market, in Canada). The 2800 turbo diesel long wheelbase got the nod.
I found a suitable candidate in Japan, and arranged with my importer to have it shipped.
(importer auction pic from Japan, before I signed on the dotted line)
It arrived in Canada in December, and just before 2009 rang in, I had it inspected and registered... so let the fun begin!
(I'll continue to update this thread as I get time, until I'm caught up with where I am as of today, and then will update as the mods progress)
