Copen with a new love.

Hello peeps. I've just bought one of these wonderful little bundles of fun after quite literally falling in love with the Copen. Love at first sight, I think.

I was watching Hubnut videos on Youtube, as I do and he presented a review of a cute little Daihatsu Kei car from 1973. I must admit to not having been properly aware of the Kei car until this video but it fascinated me. Both the concept and the well thought out design of the Daihatsu grabbed my attention.

Somehow, and I know not how, I soon discovered the existence of the Copen. I was immediately smitten by its looks and design, Looking into what was available on Ebay, I found I could easily buy one for £1500. Having received a bit of inheritance money, I wondered whether it could be an investment - My immediate impression (and I'm no expert) was that the whole look and design of the car could mean the Copen becoming collectible some day. However, soon realizing that rust can be a problem, I decided to increase the certainty of my investment and buy a younger 23000 mile, 2009 1.3 blob of silver loveliness, in the optimistic hope that rust wasn't the optional extra. I think it probably is, but due to appalling weather and a temporary lack of a driveway, I haven't been able to do a full and decent inspection yet.

I'd hoped that the asking price of £3700 would have been the maximum I would have paid (having traveled 200 miles by train). But of course, when you go ,literally, to Canary Wharf in the City of London to negotiate with a banker, you just know that things ain't going to be that simple. There was a bit more to the story concerning service history (it turned out to have a full service history), but the seller demanded £4000 on advise from the garage she'd bought it from 10 weeks earlier. That was a tough one for me and perhaps illegal on the sellers part, but because the car looked pretty sound, and it was only £300 more, I acquiesced. There had been a question over the extent of service history, which caused the seller to phone the garage who sold it to her. Well, it turned out that history was fully complete. In the larger picture, I think that £4K is still a good price, all things considered, even if the car isn't quite "showroom". I suspect I've got to fix worn wheel bearings. Could be worse..

Anyway, collectible or not, I've committed to owning this beauty and feel committed to at least maintaining it well for a couple of years or so. And like an affectionate pet, I am going to give it all the love, attention and Waxoyl it deserves (probably Fluid Film actually, from what I've been reading on here).

I will post a post a picture or two, hopefully tomorrow, if weather permits. I'm still mulling over a good name for my Copen. I've a long list, but any suggestions of names that didn't quite make it for your Copens would be welcome. "Stella" keeps coming back to me.

Appled jerry

 

I didn't know about the wheel bearings at the time. All in all, I feel that despite the unethical attitude of the seller, the price was still acceptable.

I'm still not 100% sure about the wheel bearings. Because the car was new, I had all sorts of new sounds and rattles to tune into.
I thought the suspect bearing sound was tyre rumble at first, but if that's usually a lower frequency, this sound is a bit more mid range. That's my only indication - the car handles fine. I'm hopefully going to inspect further tomorrow and wiggle and rotate the back wheels, when I retrieve my trolley jack.

I've just installed a Pioneer Double DIN media unit and refaced the pop off centre facia with brushed aluminium vinyl. The red and black interior looks great, but I'd just like to lift the heaviness of the black dashboard a bit. Hoping to wrestle the air vent rings off next and wrap them in chrome vinyl.

I had hoped to install Lockwood white dials, but they've recently sold the last set and won't be making any more. Has anyone got any 1.3/MPH white dials they'd like to sell? Wondering how difficult it could be to design them on Photoshop then laser print them on plastic card? Not sure how to approach the warning lights though.

 

Hi Frettchebman. I fitted a Pioneer SPH-DA230DAB head unit. I can't give precise measurements right now, but I can say this unit fitted perfectly, as long as excess wiring doesn't block the rear. I didn't require the supplied metal frame, so the unit simply slotted into the existing space and all four screw points of the unit matched the dashboard for a neat fit.