Fitting in the back of almost any full-sized pickup bed with the tailgate down, this rarely-seen-in-the-U.S. 1969 Mitsubishi Minica Super DeLuxe (LA23) is just under 10 feet long, 51 inches wide, and weighs 1,170 pounds. In case you’re wondering, that side pipe is most definitely not a factory original piece. The seller has this rare and almost perfect car posted here on craigslist in “FresYes” (Fresno), California and they’re asking $1,000 per foot: $9,950. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Rocco B. for finding this one!
This has to be one of the – dare I say it? – cutest cars ever made. There, I said it. The 3/4 angle of the first photo makes it look like a station wagon but it really isn’t, it’s a sedan, a very short one, with an extended rear roof to allow two semi-normal-sized humans to fit back there. Shaq is not fitting in this car unless the front seats are taken out and a sunroof is installed, but I mean anyone in the five-foot range, maybe, possibly. A ¥380,000, give or take, Japanese Yen price in 1969 = $21,200 today, just as a reference.
I’ve wanted one for years and this one is already here so there are no import fees, no shipping fees from Japan, and no paperwork nightmares. It already has a clean California title so zippy-ding, “Hello, DMV? Yes, I have a 1969 Mitsubishi Minica LA23 Super DeLuxe and…” (insert dial tone here) The first-generation Minica was made from the fall of 1962 until the summer of 1969. Ahhh… the summer of 1969… Sorry. The Super DeLuxe (whistles) (I stole that from Howard) is, as you’ve already guessed, the top model for this generation.
Being a Japanese market car, the steering wheel is on the WRONG SIDE. Just kidding, it’s on the right side, so that may take some getting used to for us ham-fisted Yanks. I’m not sure what the dark spots on the top of the dash are, but the interior looks outstanding otherwise, both front and rear. The trunk looks nice and it may be big enough for some actual luggage for an actual road trip! I’d want to trim it out with a fitted piece of carpet for sure. With “no rust” and new tires, this car is hard to beat, and that asking price really isn’t bad since all the shipping, import fees, and paperwork have been done and this car has a clean title. This car won’t appeal to a massive audience here on Barn Finds, I know that. But for those of us who like these unusual Japanese market cars, there isn’t a muscle car around that’s even half as appealing.
The engine is not an SBC, LS, or Hayabusa (yet), it’s a Mitsubishi 2G10, a 359-cc two-stroke water-cooled inline-twin with 23 horsepower and 24 lb-ft of torque. It’s somewhat similar in spec to the famous Subaru 360 engine, or a lot of Kei car engines in that they had to be under 360 cc, but this one is water-cooled. It sends power through a column-shifted four-speed manual to the rear wheels and the seller says it “runs absolutely pristine!” I love the unique way the engine-mounted spare tire flips up for servicing the engine. Very nice work, Mitsubishi designers and engineers. That “custom expansion chamber” sounds unique, according to the seller, but it would go away the first afternoon I owned this one. Have any of you seen a Mitsubishi Minica?
The site must give exclusive rights to the unusual to the author. Try as I might, I can’t find this stuff anywhere else. What’s interesting is how different countries do things differently. I’ve always had a hankerin’ for an Asian woman, but culture differences put the ka-bosh on that. Same with cars. Looky here, those fender mirrors, seemingly an Asian car exclusive, look like a hassle, the suicide doors, and not only the steering wheel, but the column shift is wrong too.Try teaching someone on this one. And a motor that powers our motorized wheel barrows, but again, application. These are the cars you see floating in a monsoon and horribly inept for our kind of travel. I all but guarantee, you’ll be the only one in the Wallyworld parking lot with one. I’d still go with the King Midget, but it is a neat find.
This is an amazing find. Wish I had the garage space.
I think a storage locker might do,,
Really cool find. And other than that silly exhaust it looks to be in an incredibly nice original condition. Should be a lot of fun for the next owner.
I can’t understand the passion for Japanese import “kei” cars here. Has anyone ever driven one on a freeway? I passed one once, the poor thing was would out, doing all of 55 in the slow lane. They’re not engineered for the American traffic infrastructure. Besides that, what about parts? They’ll go for a premium if you can find them. As car #2 I suppose they’d have their use, but to pay that much when a good used Civic would cost less and be much more practical, doesn’t make a lot of sense.
Terrry, I’m confused by your comments. Of course, these cars were never made for the American market so driving at 75 mph on a freeway wasn’t a thought then and it shouldn’t even come up now. I’m not sure why this comes up every single time a little car is shown on Barn Finds. It’s an unusual, vintage microcar for another, smaller country with tight roads and crowded cities, it’s not for driving 30 miles to work each way on a U.S. freeway.
Can you imagine the comments if we showed a late model Honda Civic because it was a more practical commuter car than this 1969 Mitsubishi microcar? The torches and pitchforks would come out.
Do people commute with their Hemi Cudas? Most likely not. I don’t understand your thinking on this one at all. It’s a vintage microcar made for another country, it’s not for the U.S. market and especially not for freeway commuting. 99% of the cars shown here don’t make practical sense, they’re not daily commuter vehicles. This site is supposed to be a fun escape, a way to see unusual old vehicles, they’re not supposed to be practical commuter vehicles. I’m stumped as to how or why you think the vehicles shown here should be daily drivers.
There’s nothing wrong with muscle cars and restomods that can go down the interstate at 90 miles per hour. But personally my interest is in the oddities and vintage vehicles (and especially trucks), most of which would be hard pressed to do 40 miles per hour, some a lot less. So hopefully there is room in a site like this for both. And if you don’t like a particular genre of vehicle, skip over it, like I do with muscle cars. Thanks Scotty for this writeup, and please keep them comming.
Excellent reply Scotty. Not every vehicle needs to be a highway cruiser to put a big smile on your face.
Here, here. I attempted to upvote Scotty’s excellent reply but the temperamental thumbs up button did not cooperate. So, consider this a written thumbs up!
I’ve driven a kei car on the freeway – many years ago I used to own a Subaru 360 sedan which of course was actually sold in the U.S. for a few years. For a short time it was my only car when I was between “real” cars. The thing could manage 55 miles per hour on level ground (the speed limit at the time) but at that speed the poor little 2-cylinder 2-stroke engine was screaming its guts out. Gas mileage was no better than a period VW bug.
Around town it was fun though, kind of like having a go-cart that was street legal and you could drag race VW Microbuses from a stop light without anyone even realizing it.
Needless to say a Suzuki RG 500 Gamma square 4 cylinder 2 stroke would help it achieve 55 mph with authority & fit in the engine bay with 4 little exhaust tips popping blue smoke out back!
Can you even find one of those motors? I’m thinking Hayabusa instead..
Us “ham-fisted” Yanks usually don’t go for Clown Cars. But people bought Smart Cars, and the original Prius, so you’re not alone in your desire to be seen in this oddity.
We owned two of the second generation Prius:
#1: 2015- 120,000+ miles, never in the shop, except two Toyota recalls, standard maintenance (oil/tires), still had original brakes. Never broke down. Totaled in hit and run. Replaced with Prius V.
#2: 2018 Prius V- 140,000+ miles, never in the shop, no recalls, standard maintenance, never broke down, sold during Covid for $2K more than purchase price. Replaced with used 2019 RAV4 (38K miles) for visiting ghost towns (laughed at salesman offering Extended Warranty- told him that their products don’t break- waste of money).
Prius are no oddity- just quality products that perform exceptionally well, with no hassles. No character, but extremely reliable. There is a reason that over 6 million Prius have been sold. For fun, we have other weird vehicles- Cortina GT estate, ex-USAF Dodge Ram, Ford Fiesta (1978), Falcon station wagon, AMC Pacer station wagon, etc.
I’d be like….
Best reply ever…put it in H
Please note, this thing must be S-L-O-W-!! That Speedometer is in Kilometers and the red zone starts at 80 – about 50 MPH in Americanspeak! But, like the Bugeye Sprite that also appears today, a fun although not much faster, alternative to commuting by golf car!
I think this little JDM gem would work as a city car and not a highway cruiser. That four on the column shifter would take a bit of practice to get smooth shifts in traffic. I once drove a Ford Econoline van that had a four on the column and it took me a while to get it right. Problem was that the linkage was worn out.
Great write-up, Scotty, for a very interesting vehicle. Keep ’em coming!
I have not driven a kei vehicle on the freeway. I have not ridden my bike on the freeway either. That’s not what it is for. 99% of my driving is under 45 mph. This is perfect for me and it even has fins (kind of). There is likely as kei truck in my future if the DMV get it together
me too if it had: frnt WD, a “lift back” (ie that which appears in trunk ran up to back of the seats to the driver), LHD, auto… So count me in w/those scolded. Love “lill” (even “4 seat motorcycles” like this) but am particular (peculiar?) to what’s sought for myself. Love all presented here but am not among those who say “Drop in the LS!”; “Where’s the 4 speed?”; “Can it drive like a modern vehicle?”, “10 inch (or 40) Tires?” etc.
“To each his (her) own.” All in love of the automotive (ur throwin in a boat/airplane is OK too). I say “All comments accepted” (that follow the site’s etiquette rules, no personal attacks, etc). So feel our bud Scot ‘boxed my ears’ too…
8^ )
but I have difficult relations w/‘authorities’…
My apologies to Terrry and others, but this isn’t a site for showing practical daily commuters, it’s for showing old, sometimes forgotten, dusty, original, and/or restored vehicles to have fun with driving around the neighborhood or to car shows, not vehicles to commute with on freeways. I’d gladly show newer commuter cars since most of us have and love them as daily drivers, but I wouldn’t last long on the payroll. My SG coffee cup would be removed from the cyber breakroom instantly. You’re right, though, chrisful: all comments are welcome, I may have stepped over the line myself and I apologize for that if I did.
I am watching this side for oddball cars and cars that I have not seen in years, Scotty is the writer I follow the most, everyone of them are great, plus new writers, all great, I pass up on mustangs chevelles and Cudas, but that’s me, I also like to wait for Howard& Geos Responses, which make this site even better, even though they do not work for Barn Finds.
I too must accept some responsibility for the authors rant. I’M usually the guy making a stink about how unacceptable these cars are for our roads, so I kind of agree with Terrry, however, I’ve said many times how much we enjoy Scottys posts, and whether we like the particular subject or not, he shows us how the world can work, regardless how different that may be. We’re spoiled by wide open spaces that require a 20 foot long, 400hp beasts, Japan just doesn’t have that. This, apparently is,,( snicker, sorry) adequate for what they need. I don’t think you’d get a 455 Firebird out of 2nd gear there.
Thanks again, SG, you da’ man,,