Throwback: The Hello Special Kei Truck – A-Z Eventz

It’s all the time enjoyable to look into the lighthearted facet of world automotive tradition. And when you too can present what may be achieved on the excessive finish of the customizing spectrum, that usually results in distinctive characteristic automobiles. Or, on this case, a truck.

While JDM kei pickups are designed for hauling small hundreds round Japan, with slightly out-of-the-box considering, they are often a lot extra. Back in 2014, Dino confirmed us a loopy construct from Hello Special based mostly on the pint-sized Suzuki Carry platform. Let’s revisit that story for this week’s throwback publish…

2014 Feature

In April 2014, I headed out into the Japanese countryside – or inaka – to search out a shocking instance of a shakotan S30 Fairlady Z owned by Oda-san. As thrilling because the hunt for the S30 was, an equally compelling purpose to be there was to research some quite vibrant kei vans I had seen a number of months prior on the Tokyo Auto Salon. If you realize the extra curious facet of Japan’s customized automotive scene, ‘Hello Special’ would possibly ring a bell. If it doesn’t, then what I’m about to indicate you will provide you with a fairly good perception into the acute work of this tradition kei builder.

By now, you understand how various Japanese automotive tradition is. If there’s a sort of automotive, there will likely be a scene for it, and if there isn’t, somebody in the end will make one. I suppose that’s how Hello Special got here to be. Oda-san noticed the chance and took it. And by this, I imply he went full-out and arrange a tuning outfit that offers solely in kei vans.

Kei automobiles and okayei vans (kei referring to a light-weight class of automobiles restricted in bodily measurement with a most engine of 660cc) are highly regarded as they’re low cost to run and don’t require parking permits to indicate that you’ve area to maintain a automotive exterior, or near your home. Kei vans, however, have eternally been the selection of Japanese farmers – their small footprints making them notably nicely suited to be pushed down slim entry roads round rice paddies or related fields. And like something with 4 wheels in Japan, they fall into the tuning entice! And that’s when Hello Special is available in.

With this wild kei, Oda-san got down to present what may be achieved on the finish of the customizing spectrum, and within the course of, have some enjoyable – recognizing that almost all kei truck proprietor could solely wish to add a number of dress-up goodies to personalize their pocket-sized pickup. To achieve this, he contacted a long-time pal whose store is a 30-minute drive again in direction of the middle of Kyoto.

It looks as if we is perhaps mentioning Miura-san rather a lot these days, however the reality of the matter is Rocket Bunny has been on the core of the JDM aero world for fairly a while. The means he works has reduce design and manufacturing instances to a fraction of what they as soon as was once, which in flip has made it extra economically viable for small outlets – like Hello Special – to supply their very own traces of authentic aero, which is strictly what you see right here. Oda-san calls this one the Birichino package.

Along with the one-piece entrance bumper, which sports activities a sequence of built-in facet vents and a bucktooth decrease lip, Miura’s contact for the little Suzuki pickup included a set of works-inspired fender flares. This was one factor Oda-san actually needed to go for, as it might permit for a much more aggressive fitment when it got here to the wheels.

To obtain the look he was taking pictures for, Oda-san fitted Hello Special’s very personal ’86’ authentic wheels – a contemporary rim styled to imitate fashionable designs from the late Nineteen Seventies and early ’80s. The 14×7-inch wheels have been color-matched to the remainder of that retina-piercing pink of the outside and had skinny 155/55R14 Nankang Sport NS-II tires stretched over them.

The Miura-designed aero has a deliberate continuity alongside the facet of the truck, facet skirts setting the tone with outlined air intakes mimicking the opposite vents all through the package.

You simply have to like the facet intakes – very Ferrari Testarossa-like!

A tall rear bumper part offers the Carry a rear finish you’ve got by no means seen on the again of a kei truck – all built-in with a diffuser-like grilled outlet on the very backside.

Ever seen a kei truck with a mattress spoiler? Well, now you’ve got!

Oda-san has stored issues purposeful, so there’s no loopy quantity of destructive camber to be seen. The rear finish runs a stable rear axle, in fact, which is why the wheels sit good and sq. – albeit sporting simply the proper quantity of poke.

Aside from a Hello Special exhaust tip, which truthfully doesn’t rely, the engine stays inventory customary. The solely actual mechanical improve is the welded diff, which was made to remodel the little farmer’s workhorse right into a fully-fledged drift truck! Okay, so ‘fully-fledged’ is perhaps a bit deceptive, however when the on-track alternative permits, drifting is exactly what Oda-san makes use of his pink pickup for. With actually no weight over the rear axle, slim tires, and an aggressive sufficient clutch kick, the Suzuki Carry has no downside getting all crossed up. And with cautious use of the throttle (learn: pinning it to the ground), it may be stored there.

The coolest contact of all must be the bumper-mounted exterior oil cooler. How Hakosuka-like of the little Carry!

If you thought Oda-san might need stopped on the exterior with the modifications, you’re very mistaken. The hottest components that Hello Special sells are inside equipment, and all the things contained in the cabin of those little vans may be swapped out and upgraded. For his drift truck, he settled on a number of choose particulars.

That consists of the delicate, quilted pink-camo steering wheel cowl and a silky-smooth carpet panel on the dashboard. What made it fascinating to me is how some, if not all of those particulars are stuff you would usually see within the dekotora scene – one other Japanese customized automotive sub-genre that Mike briefly investigated in 2013.

Like the seats under them, the headrests too obtained the pink camo therapy.

You are one of the fashionable Hello Special gadgets accessible: a heart-shaped tsurikawa prepare deal with strap – one thing we all the time see on kaido racers.

Here Oda-san lifts up the passenger seat to disclose the little three-cylinder 660cc KA6 engine that provides the 50 or so horsepower to the Carry’s rear wheels. Despite what the truck’s exterior dimensions could counsel, the engine’s place truly makes it fairly a nice-handling and neutral-steering little machine.

With the cab actually over the entrance wheels the entrance suspension turrets are literally within the footwells. That makes it very simple to rapidly modify the settings on the Hello Special adjustable coilovers!

Judging by the situation of these rear Nankangs it’s positive regarded like Oda-san had been having fun with the odd skid – however I used to be reassured that form of stuff is all the time completed throughout the security of a monitor. 

I begged Oda-san to provide me slightly drifting demonstration, however there was no means he was going to interrupt the tranquility of the Japanese inaka by throwing his truck sideways and bouncing the engine off the limiter. His neighbours could be removed from impressed!

And so my time with one of the distinctive characteristic automobiles of 2014 got here to an finish in the course of the Kyoto countryside – the little Carry’s pure habitat. I left completely satisfied to have met one man that has turned a enjoyable concept into a correct enterprise, catering and constructing automobiles that make folks completely satisfied.

The A-Z Eventz
Instagram: thespeedhunters

Dino Dalle Carbonare
Instagram: dino_dalle_carbonare
dino@A-Z Eventz.com