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Greetings from the Canada!


oprn
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Hello all!

I just found this site a couple days ago and am anxious to read all about these cars. I didn't even know they existed until I saw one for sale on a Japanese import website about a week ago. I then realized they are one of the several VW models we saw in Argentina on our visit there 2 years ago that are not offered for sale in Canada.

A little personal car related history: there has been VWs in my family since about 1967 and we have owned and maintained Bugs, Buses, Square backs, Rabbits, and most recently Jettas. There are also 944s, a sand rail and a Manx copy Buggy presently in the stable. 

What brings me here? My wife delivers rural mail here in our area and as you know we drive on the right side of the road with the steering wheel on the left. This makes it awkward to stuff letters in mail boxes on the right shoulder of the road. Enter - right hand drive cars imported from Japan, problem solved! The first was a Dihatsu mini truck, worked alright but the low gearing and 660cc engine made for slow going and lots of engine difficulties. Next was a Subaru Forester, Yee Haw!! No more snail mail! She gets out and goes but fuel consumption is up considerably and now with over 200,000 km on her we find repairs to be getting more frequent.

So - how about one of these little Lupos? Maybe a happy middle of the road option? I hope so... it is on it's way... 2002, green, 67,000 km, 1.4 automatic... 

We shall see!

Edited by oprn
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It will be a while before we see it too, 6 weeks on the boat from Japan, A week clearing customs in Vancouver, then another week and a half on the train to Calgary where it has to be inspected before we can register it in Alberta to drive.

I expect it to look identical to the ones you have there with the steering wheel on the wrong - pardon me - the right side! :D

Then we will see if this 6'2" guy can even get in!

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16 hours ago, mk2 said:

I reckon that'll be just about the smallest car on the road.... i can't wait for pics of it parked in a mall parking lot :)

perfect for the delivery run though.

Yes the present Subaru is only good for mileage in the mid 20s at best. The Missus may miss the all wheel drive on a handful of days of the year though.

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  • 2 months later...

An update, The Lupo has arrived from Japan to the port in Vancouver, has cleared customs and is to be shipped to a city a couple hours from us for inspection before registration for the road. Now there is a rail strike in the offing so not sure how that will effect delivery!

Now for a question,  our broker claims he could not find a Lupo with a standard shift transmission without going the GTI route so much to our dismay this one will have an automatic transmission. I have an allergy to auto boxes - they make my wallet break out in a sweat! What is the durability track record on Lupo auto boxes?

Thanks Merv.

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as with most auto boxes, they last a very long time so long as they have their regular maintenance. which translates to regular fluid and filter changes. so first thing is to get a new sump filter and change the fluid. I'm not completely sure about the lupo auto box, but the diff section usually has a different lube in it, which will also need changing (if it does have it). there's usually a magnet in both sections which indicate how worn the box is. fluid colour/smell also indicates how old or roughly the car was driven in the past.

one bonus, an auto box usually protects the engine. engines are usually fine as the gearbox gets all the abuse!

exciting and very exclusive times ahead! :)

 

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Thanks for the speedy reply! If this car is the same as the Forester that we got from Japan it will come with no service records. Not that records in Japanese would be of value mind you so oil, belt changes and such will be the order of the day on arrival. We understand it to have 69K km on the clock so should be in pretty good nick I hope. It will be the first VW auto box I have ever owned in over 40 years of VW ownership.

IMG_0231.JPG

 

Edited by oprn
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This is all we have to go on so anxious to see it in person! My first choice of color is red but the missus really liked this color and I can't say that it is not attractive especially with the matching seats!

IMG_0234.JPG

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Is there any possibility that the wheel bolt pattern is the same as the old Rabbit/Gulf from the '70s and '80s?

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Yes road wheels. I have 4 sets of aluminum wheels left over from my Rabbit days.

No I had not considered a standard transmission conversion. I am thinking of leaving is as is unless the auto tranny fails. Just for interest are the Rabbit/Gulf tranys the same? I have spares of those already.

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if you need any parts shipped over, i'm sure a few of us on here would be happy to help.... it does look like it's in great condition. yeah, my fav colour too.

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I sure appreciate that offer and may need to take you up on it. The timing belt will need changing for sure. I have no idea how old it is. There are virtually no Lupos in Canada but the local VW dealer (2 hours away) seem to think they can order parts in. We shall see...

Thanks!

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The Gulf is the smallest car here and the smallest engine you can get in petrol was 1.8 liter. Now there is a 1.4 liter TSI with twin turbos. I am not sure if it is the same basic 1.4 liter engine that is in the Lupo.

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  • 3 weeks later...

The Lupo arrived in a city 2 hours west of us for an inspection before registering it to drive. Two issues have come up, the rear hatch glass is smashed and the mechanic tells me the oil light is flashing. They are trying to locate glass for it but the oil light worries me. He said the oil level is fine so what would make it flash? He thought maybe it was a warning that the oil was overdue to be changed?

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the rear window glass is so annoying... that will be a real pain to replace in canada. special order I'd imagine. v expensive. I hope you dont have to pay for it. They are expensive over here in the UK. Like £200 fitted, so maybe £150 to buy? how immensely annoying. i hope they keep it out of the rain, or the inside will be destroyed. and everything started out so well...

Flashing oil light coukd be anything. Light or LCD service indicator? The only reason the light will flash usually is because of low oil or a defective instrument cluster. has anyone tampered with the instruments? my gut feeling is that the oil pressure is fine and someone has been messing with the sensor or something.

@Rich- on the 1.4 petrol, is the oil pump drive a 'free' pulley off the back of the cam belt? trying to figure out why the oil light would be flashing all the time. wouldn't the buzzer go off as well if you ignore the oil pressure light, like on old polos?

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