How to preserve a l400 over time? Storage and seals?

[Mr. Flibble]

My L400 gets a little exercise once a week, I take it the 1 km drive down my (very steep) driveway - a descent of over 500 feet; most of the descent is in a stretch of less than 500m. So, the driveway is a minimum 10% grade, going up to above 20% in places.

However, I only drive my Delica along this route to drop off and pick up the garbage cans. So I drive this route about twice a week. It is, as I have stated, quite short.

As you might guess, the engine works very hard coming up the driveway, but not hard at all, apart from engine braking going down.

I cannot take my van out on the regular roads. :(

So, my van will get regular weekly exercise like this, and maybe some 4X4 from time to time.

Is this enough to keep it in good shape for years? What sort of problems should I look out for? If I keep it confined to this route, what negatives are there?

[mararmeisto]

What is the status of forestry roads in Washington? Are they considered 'public' like here in BC? Is there an off-road camp somewhere nearby?

I know an old shipmate who bought a 40-yr-old Ford truck from a university/college that had as little as 30000km on the gauge. Small campus, drove leaves from one side to the pile on the other side. Never went on the main roads. Thing was beautiful.

At 25 years, your Delica should still be in pretty good nick. 8 years isn't much longer compared to the 17 it's already seen. Is it a sure thing to be able to register once the clock strikes '25'?

Do you still maintain an address here in BC? A driving license? You could get a temporary permit for a week's worth of driving, make a road-trip every couple of months.

[Mr. Flibble]

I have more than enough space to drive it here - 31 acres of mountainside with private 4X4 roads. I cannot take it anywhere other than my own property. I can bring it back to Canada in 8 years (or any time actually) but once I do, I can't bring it back. At least not until May 2020.

[mararmeisto]

Well, I guess you're going to get pretty intimate with those 31 acres over the next 8 years.

[Mr. Flibble]

Well, I guess you're going to get pretty intimate with those 31 acres over the next 8 years.

Yeah, but I will have a very nice low milage 25 year old Deli with a bunch of neat mods by then. ;)

I do have an address in BC, I can get temp insurance on it, but that would not be legal as far as I know. I could bring it back for my yearly BC ski tour trips, but it would sit unused for the rest of the year. :(

Driving the garbage down with the Deli is a bit more fun than using the Kubota to do it. And it keeps her in shape.

It is a shame really, as down here I get more looks with it than if I had a brand new gold plated Ferrari!

I know that there are some various JDM's around, but none are legal and they have no insurance or "fake" insurance. Basically, if you get into an accident you are SCREWED here in the US. You are likely going to prison for it! I have no interest in going down the illegal import road - so I can either sell Starbug or hang on to her.

So, I will hang on to her, and fix all the broken bits she has over time, then I will have the lowest mileage Deli "new" around in 2020! ;)