Okay, so here is my dilema, I have a lovely little Toyota HiAce 95 which was taken from Japan as an import to the UK, from there she was brought over by a friend to sweden where i took a ride in her and bought her without thinking there would be issues to register here other than buying new head lights. But, guess what, yes, that's right, Toyota doesn't have lights for her in the Left hand drive form as this car was only made for the right hand drive market................

So, now here is the question, anyone done a home convertion or bought a kit? preferably here in the EU. Any ideas or suggestions?

I am open for all ideas.

Saloman

I am in the process of learning about what was done as a conversion kit for my Hiace here in Canada, as one part of the kit has fallen apart on me (side light lens). Not a stunning recommendation, I know, but it does indicate there is at least one person or outfit that makes these. Looks like there is some hacking done to make them fit. See my post below about side lights. I will post more info as I get it, hopefully soon.
-Pard

Hur mycket ved skulle ett skogsmurmeldjur kasta om ett skogsmurmeldjur kunde kasta ved? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grin.gif)

FAAAANNN vet jag (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)

Hi
I have exactly the same problem in France.
The only solution I can come up with for here is to swap the headlights and centre plastic trim from my standard Hiace van on which I have already changed to LHD headlights. Once I have put the new van through the test the option exists to put it back to normal. The left/right dip issue has not been an issue for the Controle Technique (MOT) here.


If you do come up with part numbers for RH dip headlights in the meantime...

Mine has fog lights towards the centre.
Oh & the head just cracked comme d'habitude!

Zut alors!

Heads cracking on Hiace engines are a common problem - especially with turbo engines.

It is due to the heat from the turbo not being able to escape the head fast enough.

The cure is to put a bigger exhaust system on. Go from the stock exhaust up to a 2" or 2.5" system and you will not have any more cracked heads.

Yes it's a turbo in Hiace minibus and the (std) exhaust is already 2" bore.
It has been suggested that fitting an intercooler can lower the thermal load on the head, not sure if it would make that much difference, besides where to site the intercooler and run the pipes, this ones got full a/c and every available space is already occupied?

I am just putting a new head together using the original valves. The inlet valves seem to have a hard skin - I hope they are not case-hardened because they're not now! Any idea?

When I investgated the cause of the cracking I found the thermostat had blown (probably following the ensuing overheat) & that the viscous fan wasn't coming in until around 105'C. I took it apart and slid the valve assembly around so now it comes in around 65'C. Hopefully the thermostat will now regulate the engine temperature and the lower radiator temp will give the cooling system a head-start under heavier load conditions.

Hmm, so you think taking the lights and center plastic from another H1-body Hiace and just transplanting them will work? If only it were so simple, but then it may well be so simple, I will definatly look it up when I get home to Sweden. I can live with different shaped lights as long as I get street legal within a month or so as the winter is comming in and I am going to be blinding everyone in oncomming cars.

Any one tried a transplant from a Euro-Toyota yet?

Saloman

I completed a succesful 'face transplant' on our 'Super Custom' style Grand Cabin using parts from a basic UK van but with RH dip headlights. Nearly all mounts and brackets are the same, I just had to move a couple of the nylon bushes the screws go into. The headlight connectors are obviously the same but you may find the parking/sidelight & foglight configurations differ slightly.

Hmm, this seems to be great news, so you changed from Super Custom to standard grill and lights? Are the new lights the square jobbies with both dipped and high strength in one bulb?

If this pans out I think I may have some work to do when I get home to Sweden next week. It's a shame she will loose her Super Csutom front though, they do look better than standard, here in Thailand I have seen many standards that have upgraded to Super Custom fronts.

Saloman

Yes I used the shall square one-bulb jobs which are easy to find in both L & RH dip as is the grey centre plastic trim. On our minibus I am tempted to revert to the original setup after the 'homolgation' test. I don't do a great deal of night driving & I can always drive on the (yellow!) front foglights which are 55w and don't dazzle oncoming traffic. The headlights don't seem to be checked during the Controle Technique (like the UK MOT test).

This is great news, it will be a shame to loose the Super Custom front but at least
it will be street legal, I am even happier to see that the parts are not at all expensive
at home in Sweden. It seems I didn't do such a bad deal after all, and maybe I can sell
the parts from my Super Custom to some one in the UK afterwards, haha.

I will put up a report here in due time as to how hard I find it, and as I am not so handy with a screwdriver
I have no doubt I will bugger something up along the way.

Saloman

Well, today I was feeling good after dropping the jetlagg I picked up comming home from Thailand
and took a spin into Uppsala, my local city, to check out the prices of the parts needed for
the face transplant. I went to Toyota and asked what the parts would cost and almost dropped
through the floor, they aren't exactly shy those guys from Toyota, they wanted 9218 SEK or
$1415 US for the parts. Lamps, grill, lamp surounds and blinkers. So, being the mean I am I said thanks
but I will have to look around. Five minutes on the net and I find all the same parts (original) for
1734 SEK or $266 US. Something of a difference eh? The only trouble is the company is on a late holiday closure and I will have to wait till the first week of October to get the parts home, but for $1149 I can live with the slight delay. Is it only in Sweden these guys like to take such silly prices or all over the place?

Saloman

HI All, Newb to Hiace here. I am really wanting to drop some $$ on a Hiace LH107 as a family cruiser - SO close. But I really need to find a source for the LHD Hiace headlights and centre trim. Saloman, you mentioned you dealt with a company, could you PLEASE provide that for me/us? I have tried google search, (how I found this excellent forum - cheers), but without LHD lights that say DOT on them I am totally hooped as the inspectors here will not pass me for insurance and I will have a nice lawn-ornament!

Many thanks and looking forward to some quality cruising (slowly) in the Hiace! Woohoo!

Well, I finaly got all the parts together and yesterday I spent a couple of hours
fitting the new left hand drive face to my HiAce Super Deluxe Custom Edition.

Firstly, all parts with the exception of the the cradles for the headlights are stock standard
and can be bought as after market parts in any car parts store that sells ”non-original” parts. The cradle is however not available as an after market part it seems, at lease not here in Sweden. The cradle was however easily found at a scrap yard, and my guess is all the parts could be sourced there but I chose new as the price for new was not that much higher than the price from a scrap yard on most parts for the van. You will also need an assortment of new screws and bushes to mount the new facia and lights as they differ from the original.

Here is a step by step, sorry to say my camara went on strike and decided the battery neede to be recharged before it would work so no pics of the work in progress.

Removing the old front

1)Open both fron doors and locate the screws (one each side) holding the side lights in place, they are to be found infront of where the door hinge meets the body work.
2)Unscrew the screw a few turns and then ”slap” the back of the screw driver to send the screw and the side lights forward thereby loostening them from the body panal in the easiest way. There after unsrew the screw fully.
3)Pull the side lights forward and unclip the wiring.
4)Look either side of the head lights and you will now see two screws on either side which hold the center facia in place, remove these screws.
5)Gently pull the facia forwards away from the van and un-pop the pop-in fasteners.
6)There are three screws holding the actual head lights in place, two above and one below. The two on top are easy to find but the one below is hidden well, on the outer side of the units and you will need a long philips to remove it.
7)”Wiggle” the head light forwards and with the help of a long flat screw driver unclip from the holder which keeps the unit in placefrom underneath.
8)Unclip the wiring and you are now done and ready to mount your new parts.

Installing the new front

1)First mount your new headlights in their cradle, you will need new screws and bushes as these probably wont come with the cradles even if you buy used. Remember to couple in the wiring as once the lights are mounted you cant couple the plug in. A tip here is to check all the lamps before securing as it saves a heap of time should a lamp be broken.
2)Offer up and mount your new center facia, first push the pop-ins home and then screw the two screws on either side to the bushes you place in the holes for the purpose. If the new facia does not come with the pop-in fasteners you can re-use the ones from your old facia, I did.
3)Mount and fasten the new side lights to the plastic frame (bezel?) which goes around the head lights and hook up the wiring before you mount them.
4)Guide the pins on the front of the bezel through the holding holes on the edge of the center facia and then guide the whole unit into place.
5)Have a friend hold the unit in place and fasten the unit via a screw from behind the doors, Use the upper most screw hole in the door frame and be sure to remove the plastic guid that is in their from your original unit.
6)Stand back and smile to yourself as you are now done, then cry when you see it doesn't look anywhere near as nice as it did before, but hey, it's now legal.

Saloman

Soon to be owner of a 1991 Hiace and I'm extremely interested in this headlight conversion issue and as I live in British Columbia I would really like to make contact with other Hiace owners in Canada as we share a similar issues of having to comply with the DOT.

Welcome! I am going through this now, getting parts together. MaxOverdrive Importers in Richmond were kind enough to sell me a "conversion kit". Centre grill, bezels, headlight plastic trim, and side lights - no fastners. I know Outback Imports also has these kits - I dont know if they will sell one though to a non-customer ask them. I would really like to know if this is the same kit or different. Sourcing OEM is $$ prohibitive I think as Saloman says above. I 'll post more when I know more!