My 03 Suzuki Carry mini van aka Money Pit!

[Gasolinescream]

Hey folks new to the forum and thought I’d share my ride with you. It’s a stock Suzuki Carry mini van, 1.3 16v RWD nugget and love it. It’s now turned into a full blown project and the modding has begun. I’ve got big plans for it and have already a nice collection of goodies for it but it’s only just the start really.
Still looking at different tuning options but hoping to copy a friends set up using twin stock throttle bodies and a few other mods. His Carry rips and nice and simple and still running stock ECU. These G13BB motors in Indonesia etc make big power so lots to learn. Hoping to post up my mods and see the van evolve somewhat. Only other upgrade would have a talk to Scotty @ Haltec and work out a suitable ECU for it.
The van is pretty straight and rust free inside and outside but underneath is a friggin nightmare and taking a big chunk of my budget. These vans weren’t under sealed in any way and they rust like crazy. After some welding, sandblasting the whole area, prep and painting, etc i’m replacing most parts underneath. All old suspension, steering, hubs, brakes, bushings etc are getting binned. My coil overs arrived a few weeks ago and rest is on order.
I’ll get some pics up soon but here’s the nugget on my homemade ramps to suit a lowered van. Have fun, Dan

[Gasolinescream]

Hey folks well if this doesn’t make your toes curl and instant porridge pants there’s something wrong with you! A custom set of coil overs for the nugget were ordered and here they are.The kit is from BC and it’s their V1 series which is pretty much an entry level coil over. Adjustable spring platform gives between an instant 30mm drop adjustable to 80mm and has 30 setting damping and compression. As the strut tops in the front are in the cabin I can adjust them from my seat haha.
Bolt in application on the live rear axle with the rear springs being height adjustable as is the shock. Rear shocks also have the 30 settings. I’ve tracked down a few folks that have fitted these to get some pointers and glad I did. The rear spring adjuster thread can rub the spring in some cases. I’m looking at getting the stance as low as possible and probably won’t be messing about too much with settings once done. So as others have done I’m going to delete the adjuster as in the pics. The bump stops need to removed or seriously cut down however the shocks do have inbuilt bump stops. Currently on 14 x 6’s on 185/60’s, with the new 13 x 7’ rims on 185/60’s it should sit about 3” lower than stock and the James Bond effect arches visually drop it another inch or so.
All good fun, big investment at over £750 but hey, I’ve got friggin coil overs so who cares, only here once.

Keep the faith, Dan

[MHR1294]

BC are good quality though! well worth the cost

Added bonus that you can adjust the fronts from the inside, you can but extension cables as well I'm sure.

could go crazy and fit servos to them

[Gasolinescream]

Being a FD Carry there is little to no tuning parts in the UK. Most parts stem from Indonesia and Japan. Well chuffed with the box of goodies and it was definitely worth it. Supplied all nice ally c spanner’s, huge sticker kit, well impressed TBH. Now waiting on the rest of the parts so i can rebuild the front end. Big cost to this, the rest of the parts are over £600! I won’t start talking about the tuning cost ffs! All good though, having fun which is what this van is all about. I’m a DIY, weekend warrior when it comes to working on cars and have a tiny garage and not a lot of tools. I’m doing as much myself as possible but farming work out when needed. Wish I could do more but hey hoe.

[Gasolinescream]

Okay we have some movement on the Carry. I now have a complete but manky inlet that’s getting stripped, painted, new hoses and yes folks..... bigger injectors!
Twist to the plot I’m not going twin throttle bodies, pretty sure I can get a good balance of air-fuel with a few mods. Exhaust manifold has been built and on its way in a week or so, next pay day in other words. Few pics to be going on with....

Keep the faith brothers and sisters

[patricialob]

Hey, Gasolinescream. Have there been any updates on that since then? Actually, I’m currently looking for a minivan, so I’d like to know how good your Suzuki is for transporting goods between cities.

[ariegley]

Hi there. Actually, that van is probably the best we’ve had. We replaced it just because it was too small for all the things we had to carry. Still, it’s really fast and reliable I’d say. I’ve never had a feeling my van could break at any moment. So that’s my rec to you. If you still can't make a choice, check this list here https://www.truck1.eu/vans. Actually, I found my first van there. Btw, we eventually replaced it with a VW Crafter Luton van. It was exactly what we needed then. So, anyway, let me know what vehicle you've chosen.