I have always admired the Previa. My cousin had one back in the early 90's and I liked it, but never really understood it. We would diss each other and I would say his van looked like an egg.
Of course being into Japanese imports, I was really digging the Vanning scene when I went to Japan. I was a huge fan of the wild build of the Toyota Hiace and those slammed VIP styled vans.
Even, when I went around Osaka with my other friend, Nobuo, I saw many vans build up and I had to stop by and take pictures!
When my good friend Megesan, Nao, Camo and Takashi brought me to various spots, I talked to a club that did Dress up Vans.
Of course, I got caught up with my FC rx7, my 89 240sx, 93 and 2k civic hatches and my F31 infiniti M30. The M30 being my favorite and of course, my identity since it was different and I was able to help build f31club.com
I am also a fan of scale model cars
and when I was in Japan, I picked up
an Estima and Hiace model.
------------------------------------
Fast forward to 2014. I just had my second son. My Mitsubishi Outlander seems too small now. I was really thinking about getting a brand new Sienna
I have rented a couple on my trips to Canada and I absolutely love it. Great van.
I just did not like that $36,000 price tag. So I decided to look at either a Honda Odyssey (early to mid 2000's model), but for some odd reason, I decided to look in to the Previa.
Once I started to learn more about them, I started to be interested more than ever. RWD or All trac, factory supercharged in the later models, mid engine (which I did not know), dual sun roofs, dual A/C and 2nd row captains chairs. Plus the idea of being able to tinker with vehicle made me feel like I did when I was younger and into the car scene.
When I started to look into them, I noticed many of them are high mileage, but were priced pretty reasonably, $2000.
I met up with a guy selling his Previa, it was in alright condition, 1997 with captains chairs. I took it for a ride and also started to see some issues that I would have addressed had I bought the van. I realized that I did not want leather seats (I am not a fan of them).
I started to come up with ideas. I felt I would have to rebuild a motor when I realized that most of them are over 200,000 miles. I found a shop selling 91 body without a motor, but I wanted supercharged and that didnt come out til 95. Thought about a swap and someone said, "it is too much work to do, just buy a van with a supercharger".... which did make sense.
I started to jump on forums such as Toyotavantech, toyotanation and toyotaestimaownersclub just to get more information on the previa.
After that, I decided to buy a previa and rebuild the motor and try to make it as brand new as possible. The body had to be clean, no accidents or major damage. Interior had to be clean with captains chairs, non leather, and good condition with all components (many of the vans I looked at were missing the headrests!).
I looked at all TSBs and got an idea of what were common issues (another good reason to get an older vehicle), which included SADS.
Finally I found one, a Salvage yard selling one with a blown head gasket. Since the mentality was to refresh the motor, I felt it was the perfect candidate.
 |
| In Osaka next to a Toyota Hiace, 2004 |
Even, when I went around Osaka with my other friend, Nobuo, I saw many vans build up and I had to stop by and take pictures!
When my good friend Megesan, Nao, Camo and Takashi brought me to various spots, I talked to a club that did Dress up Vans.
 | |||||
| Dress up Club Honey - I am holding their logo, which they gave me! |
Of course, I got caught up with my FC rx7, my 89 240sx, 93 and 2k civic hatches and my F31 infiniti M30. The M30 being my favorite and of course, my identity since it was different and I was able to help build f31club.com
I am also a fan of scale model cars
and when I was in Japan, I picked up
an Estima and Hiace model.
------------------------------------
Fast forward to 2014. I just had my second son. My Mitsubishi Outlander seems too small now. I was really thinking about getting a brand new Sienna
I have rented a couple on my trips to Canada and I absolutely love it. Great van.
I just did not like that $36,000 price tag. So I decided to look at either a Honda Odyssey (early to mid 2000's model), but for some odd reason, I decided to look in to the Previa.
Once I started to learn more about them, I started to be interested more than ever. RWD or All trac, factory supercharged in the later models, mid engine (which I did not know), dual sun roofs, dual A/C and 2nd row captains chairs. Plus the idea of being able to tinker with vehicle made me feel like I did when I was younger and into the car scene.
When I started to look into them, I noticed many of them are high mileage, but were priced pretty reasonably, $2000.
I met up with a guy selling his Previa, it was in alright condition, 1997 with captains chairs. I took it for a ride and also started to see some issues that I would have addressed had I bought the van. I realized that I did not want leather seats (I am not a fan of them).
I started to come up with ideas. I felt I would have to rebuild a motor when I realized that most of them are over 200,000 miles. I found a shop selling 91 body without a motor, but I wanted supercharged and that didnt come out til 95. Thought about a swap and someone said, "it is too much work to do, just buy a van with a supercharger".... which did make sense.
I started to jump on forums such as Toyotavantech, toyotanation and toyotaestimaownersclub just to get more information on the previa.
After that, I decided to buy a previa and rebuild the motor and try to make it as brand new as possible. The body had to be clean, no accidents or major damage. Interior had to be clean with captains chairs, non leather, and good condition with all components (many of the vans I looked at were missing the headrests!).
I looked at all TSBs and got an idea of what were common issues (another good reason to get an older vehicle), which included SADS.
Finally I found one, a Salvage yard selling one with a blown head gasket. Since the mentality was to refresh the motor, I felt it was the perfect candidate.
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