There's a Japanese Subculture for Modding and Racing Crappy 1971-2003 Dodge Vans

The rumor is, it got started like this:

1. Japanese motorcycle racing enthusiasts needed a way to transport their bikes to the track.

Listen beautiful relax classics on our Youtube channel.

2. Someone realized that the handful of secondhand Dodge cargo vans imported to Japan were perfect for the job–large enough to carry a bike, but stilly stubby enough to navigate Japanese streets. (And presumably cheap, because no one in Japan wants unstylish Dodge Ram vans made from 1971-2003.)

3. Japan being Japan, everyone started using Dodge Rams to transport their bikes to the track.

4. One day during a break, some jokester pulled one of the vans onto the track, and barreled through a run. The incongruity elicited laughter, and others pulled their vans onto the track to give it a try. Then they realized it was fun.

Now there’s a robust subculture for Dajiban (say “Dodge van” with a Japanese accent), led by the website Dodgevanracing.com and supported by modding shops like Abe Chuko Kamotsu (“Abe Secondhand Cargo Van”). That shop’s proprietor, Abe Takuro, is tasked with custom-crafting elaborate Ram hacks because, as Dodgevanracing.com owner Takahiro Okawa told Road & Track, “There is nothing specific for Dodge vans, performance-oriented, so he has to build it.”

Takuro opened his shop, which only handles Ram vans, last year; he now has over 100 clients.

Here’s a look at how a typical Dajiban track day goes down:

To learn more about this subculture, check out any of the links above. The R&T article has some great gems in it, like the following: “Abe’s gray 1994 Ram 150 serves as development mule for customer modifications; he says that he has ‘the price of a new Ferrari’ in it, and that it hasn’t been washed in 20 years.”

Lastly, remember Dodgevanracing.com’s motto: “No Dodge van, no life.”


Source: core77

Rating There's a Japanese Subculture for Modding and Racing Crappy 1971-2003 Dodge Vans is 5.0 / 5 Votes: 5
Please wait...
Loading...