1970 Daihatsu Hijet Powered By A Mid-engine V8

by swaptastic Friday 20 March, 2015 Published in engineswapdepot.com

The 1970 Daihatsu Hijet originally came from the factory with a two-stroke two-cylinder 360 cc engine. That engine produced 22 horsepower and 25 ft-lb of torque. The Hijet now runs off a 400 horsepower Chevy V8. There was no way the engine and transmission was fitting under the cab like the factory motor did. So it was put behind the cab in a mid-engine layout. The chassis was upgraded to a Jeep DJ5 which has been narrowed and shortened to fit the small Hijet. This helps strengthen the truck and replacement suspension parts much easier to find. The builder estimates the truck weighs 1,700 lbs. The builder has several videos of this build but has disable the embed feature so you will need to go directly to the project’s Youtube playlist.