As I was scrolling through my local Facebook Marketplace car offerings (as I am wont to do) I came across something you just don’t see every day for sale in Michigan; a JDM camper van, lovingly restored and free from major rust.
My towering amazement came with an equally dizzying price tag, but we’ll get to that in a second. First, let’s take a look at just how unbelievably handsome 33-year-old survivor is, starting with an interior you could eat off of (not that eating inside this car is ever allowed.)
Just look at how easily it goes from usable car to camper! And no one is immune to the coziness of that sleeping area. Some of us are lying in the gutter and staring at the stars, but the luckier among us are lying in a TownAce and getting a decent nights sleep. The airy greenhouse extends all the way from the sleeping area to the cockpit. This is a sight-seeing vehicle if every there was one.
The underside is well preserved as well. Considering this van has lived in Saginaw, Michigan for 50,000 of it’s 80,000-mile life, the lack of rust pockets is a small wonder:
This is a baby that’s never seen a snowstorm, but still has spent plenty of time wandering the world. From the listing:
Just got back from a month long road trip and ready to hit the road for the next one!
4WD Toyota Conversion Van
– Turbo Diesel Auto Adjusting Electronic Suspension 80K miles (4k Miles recently added) Clean Michigan Title in Hand
Built in Ice Box Skylites with built in Shades
Rear AC & Heat Control Limo Tint in the Rear
25mpg-29mpg
Owned since 30k Miles purchased and imported from the original owner this Townace had a complete facelift. This thing handles amazing and can be stayed in for weeks at a time traveling up and down the coast. It has already been to 40 States & 4 countries, serious inquiries only! It’s a Toyota too so built to handle and parts are cross compatible! Take this thing up to 300k-400k miles.
The seller clearly put a lot of love into this van, and I desperately want to treat it right. I’d open up the garage and start treating this van right from the very second my weak human flesh met fiberglass perfected. Not only is it rad, it’s down right useful as both a conveyance (those mpg numbers are fantastic) and as a singularly cool camping van. The seller even threw some beefy tires on it to up this TownAce’s off-roading capabilities.
So, now that we’ve allowed ourselves to briefly live in a fantasy world where we might own this van, here comes the bad news: the seller is looking for $20,000. That is a lot to spend on a 33-year-old vehicle. The seller is open to land trades however. I don’t have any land to trade either. Maybe he’ll take a kidney? It’s a good kidney, very fresh. Just don’t ask how I got it.
