PV1 said:
Not road legal in the US.
I think it must vary by state - We have several of them running around here in Mississippi
A local guy had an importing business going for them for 2 or 3 years awhile back. He discovered that by placing the front end of each one up in the bed of the one in front of it, he could get 7 of them in a standard shipping container. He was importing them from Taiwan and almost all of them were RHD models. 3 cylinder 1 liter engines (laying on their side under the seats of the cab) and a really short rear ratio. Rear wheel drive and a top speed of about 45 mph
There were a few 'tricks' to get them titled and registered as road legal, but he had done that many times before and promised to help anyone who bought one get it titled and tagged
He did have one LHD model which also had a slightly taller cab - Obviously made for the western market. It had 13" wheels and tires instead of the 12" ones all of the RHD models had. This one had a blown engine and he had it stored at his house. I tried to buy it several times, thinking it would make a PERFECT EV conversion. Two rows of golf cart batteries just inside the frame rails with the driveshaft between them and a WarP9 motor direct driving the driveshaft with no transmission. With the short differential gears, you'd have a top speed of around 50 or so and plenty of punch off the line
Originally, he wanted $1500 for it, thinking the engine could probably be fixed. When I told him of my plans and offered to let him keep the engine/trans for spare parts, he came down to $1K which I thought was still a bit steep. We never did get together on the price and he eventually gave it away to a friend of a friend. I'm a bit thankful, as about that time we bought the iMiEV
Neat little trucks and perfect for around town . . . .
*if* you can get them road legal where you live
Don
