[///RMan]

Sometimes destiny makes you eat your words, and this is my story of one such instance. Gladly though!

In my initial thread of finding and buying the W124, one of the criteria while hunting for the car was

Originally Posted by ///RMan

* Uniqueness - Since I do not see myself buying another one of its kind in the foreseeable future, I wanted to have something unique. Be it the body-style, or the engine.

I had made the above comment keeping in mind that one old car will be enough pleasure (and pain) and is what my financial bandwidth only could afford. So I thought!


Fast forward to about roughly 2 years after acquiring the W124, I thought I had gathered funds to start the restoration on the W124s. But like I said, destiny had other plans...

I'd been an absolute sucker for vans since childhood, growing up watching the A-Team to Scooby-Doo and everything in between, where vans were central characters to the plot. I'd found myself reading and waiting for updates on this thread by rrsteer about his HiAce search and purchase experience. (Buying a used 2004 Toyota HiAce - What can go wrong? EDIT : Now bought!). I knew someday I'd get a van I for sure, probably a modern one, especially since Kia, Toyota and Mercedes had taken upon themselves to flood the market with vans suddenly!

My previous thread out here - The Turbodiesel Trot (The Turbodiesel Trot | GJ to pick up a W123 Mercedes), I finished on these lines -

Originally Posted by ///RMan

This spontaneous trip had been an absolute blast! The journey back as a passenger in the W123 was the cherry on the cake for me.
But, while the cherry on the cake is always nice, it would not be as exciting if there were no cake at all, right?

So, what took the cake? Shall hopefully go to Town writing about it, hopefully soon

Well, enough beating around the bush, I guess!

The cake (and a fairly large one at that) is this - the 1990 Toyota TownAce Super Extra!

I never was in the market for another old car, but as mentioned before,a van was always on the radar if anything popped up in the market.

In the meanwhile, I had window-shopped and looked at everything from the Matador, the MB100/MB140 and even an uber rare Honda StepWgn pictured here (The Imported Vans Thread).
I wasn't really serious, more like I'd just keep tabs on what was available in the market.

It stayed like that till this I made the trip to Ahmedabad to pick the W123 300 Turbodiesel with my friend, and bumped into this TownAce.
We got back to Bombay, and in about a fortnight, I had pursued, negotiated and closed the deal on the TownAce!

The car was kept parked at a friends house in Ahmedabad for a couple of months


After being in storage, the TownAce was pulled out and then on getting a good deal on a truck to get it to Bombay, the car was on its way to the city!
Being loaded onto a truck on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.




The truck arrived in Bombay after two days, delayed due to heavy rainfall and horrible roads en route.




Finally on Mumbai soil!



Like any typical old car, she headed straight to the workshop upon delivery



At Loyal's workshop, where it was joined in with another Japanese car from the same era.















As far as packaging is concerned, van's showcase some great ingenuity and ideas that manufacturers come up with.





Dirty, mucky and dusty from the months of storage and now the rains, little mattered to me that day - the car was home and she was mine!

[///RMan]

The following week, Loyal opened up the car for sorting out the electrical gremlins that plagued the car.
Alternator serviced, battery terminals cleaned and reinstalled, all wiring around the car checked and sorted and mainly, all lights made to work!
I did not know till then that the car had electrically adjustable mirrors, which was a bit of a surprise!



Sorting out the wiring, which was quite a bit of a mess to be honest.




Lights opened up! No bonnet here at all!





A thorough interior and exterior clean-up done, lots of grime and dirt that had accumulated over months of storage done away with.






An exterior foam wash at 3M to finish things off!






Spanking clean interiors post the clean-up! Probably will go through a second round of cleaning once again a couple of months later.






All clean and ready. Lights and sunroof were taped up temporarily till the work was done to avoid any moisture, water ingress and prevent scratches on the lights.










Parked away at night, love the vibe that this photo has!


With it's friend from Japan again, these will be seen pretty often together!

[///RMan]

With the electrical issues out of the way, cleaning done and other small bits and pieces looked at - it was time for the TownAce to make its maiden run!
What better than a Sunday morning breakfast and drive with friends around quaint and scenic South Bombay streets!

The TownAce ft. E36 316


Trust Bombay to put out the most eclectic line-up of cars on a Sunday morning!


We headed to a friends place and lined up all our cars for a pretty picture.


Like I mentioned at the start of this thread - the Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo was one of the many vans on celluloid that left a lasting impression. What better way to bring that to a close than taking a friends pet pooch for a spin - and in a funny twist of fate, his name happens to be Scooby!




Some photos taken by friends en route.












Snagged a few pictures with a not-so-distant descendant of the TownAce.








Some exotica is guaranteed while pottering around Peddar Road.

[///RMan]

With all the lights sorted, it was time to pull the van out at night!
Seen here with my trusty daily, the WagonR!







Love the silhouette!


My brother complained he had not seen the car ever since we purchased it. With his exams out of the way, took him over to Loyal's to see the van and also get some (ok, a LOT) of pictures at night!
















Glass, glass everywhere!






The center row has a quirky party trick up its sleeve, swiveling in the opposite direction at the with a couple of mechanical louvers under the seat.
Seen on plenty of Toyota vans, it still is my favorite feature






I had absolutely no plan to join the trip to Ahmedabad when my friends coerced me to join at midnight, I'd never have dreamt that it would lead me to finding a van on this absolutely impromptu road-trip!

It isn't perfect, it needs a fair bit of work. AC needs to be sorted, as well as new tyres are an immediate need. But it is a survivor for over 3 decades, and ofcourse a Toyota while at that - so it is only upwards from now on!

This is going to be my go to car for road-trips as much as possible, especially where I'm guaranteed of good roads! Will try and keep this thread updated as much as possible, if the pictures aren't too much by now

To more memorable trips and drives! Cheerio!

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Imports section. Thanks for sharing!

Going to our homepage today

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by DicKy

That was one heck of a trip!!!
Sorry to see that Cedric. Hope someone from your gang picks up either the LS400 or the TownAce.

Originally Posted by ///RMan

Haha ! You'd be surprised

Glad to see the TownAce in your hands. Those wide bar front lights are one of the most futuristic things in late 80s/early 90s car design. Remembering most of the Fords/Mercurys had it barring the SUV/trucks. Always had a thing for Japanese vans of the 80s and 90s, especially in the peak egg shell shape 1st gen Previa.

Some more deep cleaning and period correct new interior carpeting, this would be a looker and keeper.

[AKSarkar1]

There was definitely a certain sense of excitement when I saw the title of this thread!

Japanese/JDM cars from the 90s are truly evergreen and your Toyota is a perfect example of this, not many cars out there that can handle Indian roads despite being 30 years old. Would love to see your car in person someday!

[VNair]

Wow! Looks brilliant! Can be converted in to a super tourer or a camper van. Was always a fan of this one since I saw it in a movie [It was a tamil one, I suppose].

Wishing you lot of miles and smiles with this beauty.

[ajayc123]

Such a charming vehicle. I really feel sad about being in the NCR and being subjected to the NGT restrictions, we can’t even see such cars around.

A thought crosses my mind, if I should relocate to another state, for the love of experiencing such beautiful vehicles more closely.

[benbsb29]

I had a toy version of one of these in blue, when i was a kid. Brought back memories of playing with it back then.

Congrats on your find and looking forward to updates on your ownership thread.

[jeeva]

Glad that people like you still exist. :-) May your tribe grow.
Thats a beautiful van- exudes charm and character.
Not to nit pick, but do I see a tinge of blue smoke from the exhaust? You might want to try one of these - http://www.xado.co.in/index.php?rout...&product_id=90 and see how it fares.

[ROG_AK]

Wow! this is absolute nostalgia! I grew up in Africa with a Town Ace (1989 model) and there are so many unforgettable memories touring in this amazing van. It still remains my benchmark till this date. We had a Town Ace Royal Lounge, which was the top spec variant back then. It had features back then that put most of todays cars to shame:

• Velvet seats
• 360 Degree rotating captain seats in the middle row
• Curtains all round
• Skylite Roof with an individual sun roof for each passenger on all rows
• Hot and cold freezer
• Dolby Stereo

Managed to dig up a few pics:

[rrsteer]

Originally Posted by ///RMan

. I'd found myself reading and waiting for updates on this thread

Hi ///RMan, congratulations on your acquisition. Hope you get to enjoy the van as much as you want.

Its a co-incidence but I have been preparing to put up a thread on the HiAce recently. I have written most of it and aim to have it up by the coming weekend.

[coolmel]

Originally Posted by ///RMan

This is going to be my go to car for road-trips as much as possible, especially where I'm guaranteed of good roads! Will try and keep this thread updated as much as possible, if the pictures aren't too much by now

To more memorable trips and drives! Cheerio!

My man! I passed by you and wanted to stop but couldn't. Haha! I saw its a unique Toyota, wanted to park mine next to you and take some pics if you didn't mind. Id still love to do so, please dm me your location and ill definitely swing by to see the beauty. Drive long and safe bud.

[Arbind Ray]

From Enid Blyton's Famous Five to Fatty & the Five Find-Outers, Hitchcock's Three Investigators to Hardy Boys, Scooby Doo to Knightrider... As a teenager they each created a perceived filtered version of the world I'd always imagined to find myself living in one day. During college days I thought of owing the Pontiac Trans Am or the Rover seen driven onscreen by actress Neelam. Even dreamed of being Michael Knight behind the wheel. Or a Private Investigator. At 14 I had business cards printed during my stint in India and walked into the office of my local Chief Inspector looking for Work to be politely reminded to finish school first!! I digress, but ever so slightly...

Your post of the Town-Ace made all those memories resurface. I've achieved most of my childhood ambitions, even customised a brand new Renault Traffic extended wheel base Van into a mobile home theatre with Sony Bravia HD TV, 5.1 digital surround sound with floor & ceiling mini recessed spots for mood lighting, even a 3kw sine wave inverter that could power a 240v hairdryer

A modified camper van like the Town Ace has appeared on the radar from time to time, overtaken by diverse projects from one decade to another resulting in hours spent watching various renovations on YouTube. Then I read your recollection of the Mystery Van and wonder... maybe one day.