So this weekend I was trying to do some work on my Nissan Pao – I’ll write more on that in a few, there’s some exciting tales of frustration there – and my friend Attila came by to drop off a tool he hoped would help. The tool ended up not working, but Attila showed up at my house with his friend Steven, who drove a fantastic Suzuki Carry kei truck I think you should see.
North Carolina is by no means perfect, but as a state it does have two crucial advantages: it’s one of the only and largest native homes to Venus Fly Traps and the state is remarkably welcoming to kei-class vehicles. That means not only do we have plants that eat bugs, slowly, but there’s also a good number of fantastic little kei vehicles buzzing around the streets. Like the one Steven has.
This Suzuki Carry is a 1999 one, the year they grew a little bit in size and, as a result, have a genuinely useful pick-up bed, but as you can probably tell, the point of this little truck is more fun than work.
You can get a lot of details about the Carry’s build on Steven’s YouTube page, which gives plenty of details about this build as well as his other remarkable cars, including a Jimny, a Suzuki Alto Walkthrough, and even an old ’74 Super Beetle.
But let’s just talk for a moment about this Carry, because that’s the one I got to actually see in person and briefly drive. The whole everything of this little truck sort of encapsulates what I really enjoy about kei cars: they just don’t take themselves too seriously. This buys the owner a lot of freedom to pretty much just do whatever seems fun, and the result is a car that’s genuinely fun as a result.
The platform of the kei trucks specifically is also a big factor here, as they’re sort of blank canvases, often painted Workhorse White and being quite simple stylistically: 2/3rds of the body being a long bed, the remaining third a little angular pod to sit in, and that’s pretty much it. But such a simple starting point allows for all sorts of interesting opportunities, some of which come from pre-made body kits, some from scratch-made bits, and, most likely some combination of everything.
Steven’s Carry is definitely the latter; it started life as a normal, hardworking little truck, but now features a modified Japanese-market body kit that gives it those wonderful and hilarious Testarossa-style strakes along the sides, a bumper from a Suzuki Every kei van, those wheels with their menacing spikes, and a lot of other fun details.
Perhaps the biggest fun detail is this incredible little motorcycle that’s strapped into the bed, a Suzuki EPO 50cc bike, a charming tiny bike with wheels like big wheelbarrow wheels that was only sold in Japan and, oddly, Finland. Some seem to have been sold in Sweden, too, but that’s pretty much it. It’s a perfect fit for its sibling Suzuki’s bed, though, and is, I’m told, a blast to ride. It must feel kind of like riding an extremely fast motorized Kik-Step.
Clever touches are all over this thing; take the badging, for example. Steven and his wife made all the badging with a 3D printer and a Cricut decal-cutting machine, and it all looks fantastic, with its exuberant script typography:
The rear decals work really well, too; this is not the sort of typography that Suzuki ever used on these, but I think it absolutely works in this context:
I also need to take a moment to appreciate these taillights, which are fun LED units that have sequential indicators:
Also clever is Steven’s repurposing of Chrysler Stow-N-Go middle-section bench seats for the cab; they take up very little room, but are quite comfortable in the limited confines of a kei truck cab, where they sit as upright as Pentacostal church pews:
This little Carry isn’t all show and no go, though. That rhymed oddly, but my point is that it’s genuinely quick and fun to drive. There’s a turbo added to the 660cc three-banger, and Steven estimates the power is up from the usual 64 to about 80 to 90 horsepower or so. It sure felt quick when I drove it, and I was told it maintains modern highway speeds with no problem.
I really appreciate builds and projects like these. They’re everything that I want people to get out of their cars: a mix of practicality and fun, a kind of unselfconscious enjoyment of something just because it’s faintly absurd, but at the same time makes absolute sense.
Anyway, thanks for driving out to deliver a tool, Steven and Attila, and thanks for showing me this fantastic little truck.
Photos and top graphic: Jason Torchinsky
Absolutely lovely vehicle. I just want to keep looking at it, well done.
Jason, or anyone who knows Steve, please ask him what material he used to 3D print the badge. I’ve experimented with a couple of different types for a custom dealer badge for my Travelall, and can’t find anything that will stand up to sunlight without melting. (I’ve also tried resin casting but that also got mushy in sunlight).
I’m at the point where I was going to try sandcasting it in aluminum, but if there’s a material I can use with 3D printing, I’m all about that.
Hey, I use PETG it holds up very well, and lasts forever lol. Super easy to print 🙂
This is absolutely fantastic. I hope to do similar fun things (and okay, crazy things) in the near future. I want to do the Alto first, but my better half adores the Copen, so that might be the first kei project in 2027. I say project, but it will probably be limited to bolt on mods, new wheels, and maybe a custom interior done by me.
I really like the cute little circle over the i on the rear decal.
There are literally dozens of JDM kei trucks and minivans running around Tacoma, where I live. I especially like the AWD Honda trucklets I see almost every day.
This is great! And the script is the chef’s kiss. Thanks for this happy article.
That’s more of a nice comfy warm start to the day, so cool.
So f ing cool. I want one. (already tried one on. I m too big)
we don’t have flytraps (Dionaea) here in new england, but we do have sundrops (Drosera spp., which are tiny, maybe it could eat a midge) and northern pitcher plants (Sarracenia purpurea) which are big enough to eat a bumblebee. both are pretty common here in bogs…
cross-train the brain on the coastal plain of maine!
This is an absolute treasure! Thank you so much for writing this up <3
The truck looks genuinely useful! 🙂
Doesn’t North Carolina also have monkeys in trees in the wild? Or am I thinking of South Carolina, or Georgia, or something? I’m sure I saw there were wild monkeys in the south somewhere… not just the ones that escaped from that crashed truck the other week, but permanent residents?
It’s in Florida. https://www.historicmonkeyisland.com/
I think I meant these: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=are+there+wild+monkeys+in+any+southern+state&t=opera&ia=web …just wild monkeys out and about here and there, doings whatever monkeys do I suppose. The only time I’ve seen wild ones myownself was in Nosara, which is on the pacific coast of Costa Rica. They just come out and howl around sundown… they’re usually not too big, so not that scary (I have a totally-rational fear of Chimpanzees and their prediliction for eating human faces and genitals https://duckduckgo.com/?q=chimpanzee+attacks+on+humans&t=opera&ia=web).
Well, you learn something new every day. That’s cool. Certainly understand the healthy respect for chimps.
I like your username btw. 🙂
It’s not often I get to see two good friends getting shoutouts on a platform like the Autopian. Last year when my S12 left me stranded in a construction zone on I-540 south of Raleigh, Steve showed up to keep me company until the tow truck came. He even let me take a ride on the Epo at this weekend’s TriangleRAD show while Atilla happily shot video waiting for me to crash. Which I DIDN’T thank you very much.
Steve’s Carry is a fixture at the various C&C events in the area, including the one that he and his lovely better half organize themselves.
These are great. There is two in my neighborhood in PHL, both are older with the circular headlights.
I now know why Jay Jay gave a hell yea to the unrestricted porn channels! NC is a porn blocking state.
How refreshing. It doesn’t take up a lot of space, in any sense, and less resources were used to build it, unlike the horrid consumer trend we face in the US.
I would love one of these, but also realize that they are not made for people who are a certain size of human. I’ve tried sitting in some of these Kei trucks, and I “can” fit, but would never want to daily it, or do any length of trip due to legroom and ceiling height.
Try the 1999 or newer ones they are a bit bigger, and some give more room than others 🙂 There are also a couple of Jumbos out there that have like an “extended” cab. Super cool options
I’ve continually window shopped these online as a farm vehicle with road capability on back roads instead of a gator or side by side. Way cheaper than those, too, plus you get climate control and protection from the elements. I’ve never sat in one and have believed the press clippings that a Sambar has a little more room, though I really should confirm before making the plunge.
I feel like the availability of kei trucks negates the case for the existence of $10k side-by-sides. The makers of those side-by-sides must agree, since their lobbying has contributed to the kei bans we’ve seen in some States.
For big people, Daihatsu is the way to go, they make the Jumbo model that sacrifices bed space for a larger cab with seats that can go back further.
Maan, ever since I played Easy Delivery Co. I’ve had a renewed interest in importing a Kei truck. This post is not helping.
Keep calm and Carry on.
I have had my Subaru Sambar for several weeks now, and it’s a great utility vehicle! I don’t intend to make many mods. I’m leaving the white paint, surface rust, crinkled back fenders, etc. and just using it. I haven’t owned a manual transmission vehicle in about 22 years, so I’m still adjusting and learning how to drive it. Second gear has been a bit elusive until I figured out I was pulling too far right to hit the gate. Left hand shifting is a learned art! It’s so refreshing to drive something that is so analog and demands that you pay attention at all times. It rattles and shakes and rides like a truck from 50 years ago, not 25. It’s GREAT!
Most people assume that it can’t get out of it’s own way, but being a 2000 model with fuel injection (single), it has no trouble hitting 65mph, but much more comfy at 55mph. Pro tip-get a 1999+ model that is slightly larger and has more cabin space, along with fuel injection. The three-way bedsides are truly handy and don’t require an impossible lift over height even when they are up.
In NC, you can not only legally drive/register a kei vehicle, but SXS/UTV, as well!
I’m definitely jealous! That looks wickedly cool!
Now I want to buy one and give it a blood-drenched paint job and badge it the Suzuki Carrie
Hope it doesn’t end up a smoking hole in the ground, though.
Hopefully it all works out with the Pao!! Goodness knows we need all the Paos *and* kei trucks/cars we can get here in the U.S.A., partly as an antidote to all the bloated SUVs & brodozer trucks and partly & especially just for their own sake as seriously cool vehicles.
“even an old ’74 Super Beetle”
(Smart-aleck voice) That implies the existence of a new ’74 Super Beetle.
The Venus Fly Trap, like the Suzuki Carry, is much smaller than you imagine when encountered in the wild. Similarly, both will cause you to search for where you can buy one after an encounter.
White wheels are the best! Love that so much!
There is not enough oooooo in cooooool to describe that little truckster.
I can’t say I’ve put in a lot of thought into the native range of Venus Flytraps but I definitely would not have guessed the Carolinas!
Also native to radio stations in Cincinnati.
Someone put together two multi-hour shows of music and WKRP clips to sound like real shows. One for Dr Fever and one for Venus, and it’s bugging me that I can’t find the bookmark.