Well I did it ! I bought a 91 2.8 Super Custom LTD in mint condition (or so it seems) and drove it back from Vancouver to Banff AB yesterday in blizzard conditions most of the way. A great maiden voyage for a van that has puttered around the warm climate of Tokyo for a few years. I must say it stood up to the challenge and the 4WD was great in scary conditions on the Coquihalla and beyond. However, after 700km or so the radiator light came up. After checking the coolant and oil I realized that the Toyota mechanics in Vancouver didn't do such a great job with the 153 point safety and mechanical inspection. The oil was tarry and the coolant brownish. Wish they could have told me to change the oil and coolant before I hit the road. Otherwise after adding coolant and oil we finished the journey and now the adventure continues. Looking forward to exchange experiences on this forum.

SP

Congratulations! Who did you buy from? How did the van do on the passes? Mine was down to 40km/h on the steepest parts!

Have you got a way to plug it in in the cold?

-Pard

I bought it from a private seller. Got it inspected at Toyota dealer before buying it. Not sure how thorough they were. Yes, the passes were about the same speed for me. I don't have a way to plug it now but I get it started and running a bit each day. I'm more worried right now about how much extra I'll have to shell out to pass OOP inspection. Did you have to replace the windshield and any other glass / headlights on yours?

Stephane

Hmm, not to sure about the balmy Tokyo bit though, it was as cold as a polar bear's d**K when I was there last winter :-)

The headlights and Grille were replaced by the dealer, Outback imports. To get it on the road in BC that might have been done. RHD headlights are focused a bit too much into oncoming traffic when you drive them in NA.
Maximum overdrive (maxoverdrive.ca) in Richmond sells a kit - around $300 I think. Otherwise it passed stock. Wait, come to think of it the tires were new too. If you still have the original Japanese tires and they require you to replace them, I have a set of Yokahamas that came new with my van with only 20,000 km on them. I would give you a good price. I had to put snow tires on my van because of actors' union rules.

If you find the beast underpowered living in the mountains, try a larger exhaust and a Magnaflow muffler. It made a significant difference on mine.

Cheers,
Mark

Really? Ha, ha! Are you sure it was that cold? I lived in Tokyo for 6 years and it never got lower than -2c a couple of times during winter. Mostly an average of +10c during the day and 0 - 5c at night. A lot better than Sweden!

To be sure not as cold as Sweden, but even we come a poor second at times to our Canadian cousins. It was cold in Tokyo and the sort of wet cold that cuts through to the bone and beyond, a long way from warm. Actually I believe Toyota recomends 50/50 on the anti freeze in Japan as well as up here in Sweden.

Interesting point, did you know that the Japaneze are called the Swedes of Asia? There has been a few studies showing certain similarities, though I cant for the life of me think of any.

Saloman