[1040] Every Van Musings

I recently had a chat with a friend of mine who was also interested in the Suzuki Every. He watches almost the same youtube channels I do, and he's done a test drive of an Every from a dealer in Cavite.

One of the biggest takeaways I got from him was that the ride was hot. I do know you're sitting on top of the engine, but from what he said I'm not so sure if it was a design issue or if the surplus seller didn't add insulation below the seat. I'm thinking it's the latter.

I was also watching a Youtube video of a DA64W Turbo on a road trip to Bicol and one of the comments in that page was someone mentioning that he was sitting for five hours stuck in traffic in a DA64W and it was hard to walk after. I'm not so sure if it was the quality of the seats or the seating position.

So my takeaways from these are that you need to insulate the engine bay and probably get good seats. That being said, if I actually gain the courage to buy a Japan surplus Suzuki Every I'm still sticking with a DA17V non-turbo AGS as the base model. It can even the the most entry-level variant, since that has manual side mirrors and windows. Then add modifications from the surplus seller like the following.

• Upgrade to DA17W front and rear seats. I've seen videos and the Every Wagon seats look like they have thicker cushions. The headrests are also separate for the front seats. The rear seats are split folding and they're also equipped with headrests. I'd also require seatbelts for the second row since the so-called "captain's seats" do have provisions for seat belts.
• 7-inch Android Auto ready head unit with back-up camera. This is also a very common (and useful) upgrade since it gives you another way to see the rear when you back up.
• Front fog lamps patterned after the DA17W look. I'm curious about additional bumpers and bumper mounted fog lamps but honestly I'm not too keen on adding bumpers since it would add weight. So just copy the DA17W look and add bumper mounted fog lamps.
• Top load carrier. Basically the roof rack. Just have it added and registered so that you can load stuff on the roof when absolutely necessary.

And that's it. I think the mods I'm thinking of adding are pretty similar to the ones I was originally thinking of a few weeks ago.

Additional mods I'd have done that won't be from the seller would be switching the signal and wiper stalks to left-hand drive orientation, better sound system (including better and additional speakers, improved head unit, maybe an amp), rear chase light bar to replace the third brake light, and maybe even some performance related mods.

There's this youtuber who lives in Japan who owns a DA64V turbo and his mods are making me a bit envious of the modifications he's done to his Every Van. Aside from rims, he's added a blow off valve, coilovers, and aftermarket exhaust.

Out.

[1039] Bike Thoughts

Earlier this morning I rode my bike. I also rode it yesterday morning.

Since I'm on holiday until after New Year I decided to change up my morning routine a bit by going cycling instead of walking. I also go out a bit later, when the sun is out.

I have to be honest, my body is not used to riding a bike anymore. My elbows hurt when I ride, I can't bike as fast as I used to, and my stamina isn't there anymore. Quads hurt, right knee hurt, but I still had fun riding.

In fact on a spur of the moment decision I rode my usual East Service Road loop earlier this morning. Not as fast as I used to but I was still able to go around after doing a 2 km warm up inside the subdivision. It felt great.

I should ride my bike more often.

Out.

[1038] Random Thoughts

Trying to overcome a really quick and heavy negative episode now so I'll just ramble here to distract myself and help me overcome the negative stuff.

It's pretty interesting how this holiday break is going. It's a damn rollercoaster of positive and negative stuff, and I guess it's on me to not let the lows be low. I think I'm slipping in trying to control my thoughts so I have to be more mindful.

Aside from that I really wish I could find the strength of will and peace of mind I had been praying for since I was in my twenties. It's a journey and I do think that I have improved in those two aspects, not just what I was hoping for.

Out.

[1037] Rejuvenation

I'll be taking a long break these coming holidays. I'm hoping I can rejuvenate myself overall.

Surprisingly I'm not in a negative space at the moment. Things have been going well these past few weeks and I honestly cannot complain about anything. Well that's a lie. I can and do have some minor annoyances but nothing earth-shattering, to be honest.

I guess another reason why I'm not in a negative space is because I recently let out a decent burst of frustrations and I guess my "frustration glass" is relatively empty at the moment. I have no idea how long this will last or how bad it will be next time it gets full, but I'm hoping with my upcoming break that the "frustration glass" gets bigger. We shall see.

Out. 

[1036] End of the Year Retrospective (Part 1?)

It's the last month of the year. I can't think of anything to write about so I'll do a filler retrospective.

The year has been strange. Full of what ifs on my end. It sort of confirms to me that I really don't want to leave my comfort zone. Or it has shown that I've probably dug myself a hole that will be very difficult to climb out of.

I'm going to be cryptic since deciding I'd rather not be too transparent to internet strangers who stumble into my blog. Let's just say a rolling stone gathers no moss and I'm pretty mossy right now.

Let's just see what happens and if I can kick myself in the butt and keep moving forward.

Out.

[1035] The Suzuki Every Van

I recently discovered a youtube channel of a foreigner living in Japan who owns and modified a Suzuki Every Van. Based on his videos he's owned it for a few years already and has already broken it or something. I have no idea, I haven't watched all his videos.

I just found it interesting that you could modify the Every Van, and that there are aftermarket mods available in Japan. The only episode I've seen is when he replaced the air intake with a cold air intake and added a blow-off valve for his Every Van's turbo.

This just added strong points to the argument of getting a Japan Surplus Every Van here. A turbo Every Van. Though I think his van is a DA64, I still prefer the newer DA17.

Aesthetic mods I'd do are rims and a nice sound system aside from the other stuff I blogged about before.

Out.