ecomoding a Toyota Townace

[flying kurmaster]

so this is my first attempt at ecomoding after reading a bunch on here. I filled in the spokes on the mags, partial wheel skirts, grill block, kamback, partial belly pan at the front up to back of front doors, plan on finishing it sometime soon. I have done as good as 9 ltrs per 100kms but mostly I get 10, I have not had the opportunity to test these new mods. it is a carbed 2ltr 5 speed manual, I installed a vacuum guage to help me with my ecomiling. Thought I would share these pics. You don't see these vans everywhere, this is a 1993 model and I use it as a weekender camper here in NZ.

[MetroMPG]

I think we had those vans for a while in North America in the mid/late 80's - simply called LE Van - mid-engine RWD layout.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

I like these little forward-control vans. Have you ever considered to replace the glasses with plexiglass (for both weight-savings and resistence to impacts)?

I see it has an external antenna: why don't you replace it with an internal windshield-mounted one?

[flying kurmaster]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

I think we had those vans for a while in North America in the mid/late 80's - simply called LE Van - mid-engine RWD layout.

Yes you are right from about 85 to 1990 or 91 then they stopped importing them I lived in Vancouver in those years and we had two in our business the 85 model had almost 500,000kms on it one automatic transmission change and the other one which was a manuel cargo 1990 model, it had around 100,000 they were both 1800cc both were very reliable as is mine here, have had it for 15 years 250,000kms still no oil consumption between oil changes every 10,000kms. they also make a diesel model. I think Chrysler and Toyota had some kind of secret handshake," don't bring your Caravan to these markets and |I wont bring my vans to North America". Toyota has a lot of vans/ trucks that are not available in North America for some reason.There are no Caravans here in NZ or in Australia I am pretty sure. No Chevy vans either. I am sure there has been a deal of some kind.

[MetroMPG]

It's funny: after seeing this thread, I went downtown (Vancouver) and saw two of these vans on my journey. (As with all the other vehicles posted in my Vancouver thread, they're long gone from rust belt Ontario.)

You're lucky you've got the manual transmission. One other mod I'd recommend (if you're up for it) is an engine kill switch (shifter-mounted is best, I think). Though engine-off coasting to stops/some turns may not make a huge difference if most of your use is recreational (ie. highway).

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by flying kurmaster

I think Chrysler and Toyota had some kind of secret handshake," don't bring your Caravan to these markets and |I wont bring my vans to North America". Toyota has a lot of vans/ trucks that are not available in North America for some reason.There are no Caravans here in NZ or in Australia I am pretty sure. No Chevy vans either. I am sure there has been a deal of some kind.

NHTSA safety standards are often blamed for the phaseout of the forward-control vans in the American market. Also, why would anybody consider to get, let's say, a Chevy Express 1500 instead of a Toyota HiAce which performs the same duties at a lower cost?

[flying kurmaster]

so I did some test this weekend on this one. I drove just under 300kms and got 11.13 km per/ltr which translates to just over 30mph imp. which is the best I ever got. a quarter of that was with a stiff headwind, and the odometer is a little off as I have installed 15 inch tires instead of the stock 14 not sure how that effects it but it means it is doing better then what I have figured. So that would equate to about a 10% increase FE, with me Hypermiling and the modifications. Most of the driving was Highway but some of it was gravel roads. I was pretty happy with that so I am encouraged to move forward with finishing the belly pan now

[niky]

We used to have one of those bloody gasoline forward control vans... a Nissan Vanette. Terrible fuel efficiency, and early models tended to overheat in traffic. We were lucky. Ours had a bigger radiator and an extra fan to keep things cool.

One of the problems with compact rear-drive vans is that the extra weight of the prop-shaft and rear differential take a huge toll on fuel economy.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by niky

One of the problems with compact rear-drive vans is that the extra weight of the prop-shaft and rear differential take a huge toll on fuel economy.

Gotta love the Volkswagen Transporter

[Aklbob]

3 years late, but I've been working on improving the aerodynamics of my hiace van, the starting point of my van is worse than a townace, the radiator is tucked up under the van in front of the engine, which is under the front seats. I've made a belly pan, which goes from the front bumper to the edge of the radiator fan shroud.