The Daihatsu ‘Fellow MAX’, a commercial cargo van
Daihatsu produced and sold the Midget during the post-war reconstruction period, and together with the then Toyo Kogyo (now Mazda) was a major supporter of the Japanese economy. Later, the Fellow was the first car to enter the market as a kei-car rather than a cargo vehicle. Mr. Shigeru Besshi, an owner of the second-generation Fellow MAX, is an old car enthusiast. We asked him to tell us about his old car and the appeal of this event.
Total of four in the vintage car collection
Mr. Shigeru Besshi’s car at the 12th U-550 Old Light Car Meeting held in Ehime Prefecture, on 5 November 2023 was a 1972 Daihatsu Fellow MAX (L38V model) with an impressive body in beautiful condition.
He has always loved old cars and has driven a variety of them. As a result, he currently owns four other cars: an Isuzu 117 Coupe (PA95 model), a Nissan Silvia (first generation CSP311 model), and a Mazda Carol (first generation KPDA model).
“I originally loved the first-generation Silvia and got it about 15 years ago. I’ve had a lot of other cars, acquired and given away, and now I have these four cars left with me.”
This Fellow MAX he got from an acquaintance about 2 1/2 years ago.
“I knew the person had owned the car for about eight years but had only had it inspected once. It was just perfect timing as I also wanted to attend this U-550 old light car meeting and I wanted an old light car.”
Clutch troubles upon purchase
Mr. Besshi’s Fellow MAX appeared to be in very clean body condition. From his point of view, there were various scratches, but you wouldn’t notice them unless you checked those areas carefully. The body seems to be non-restored, so this condition is brilliant.
“I had clutch trouble right after I got it. When I went to pull it up, it could drive itself, but soon after that the clutch stopped connecting, and it took two to three months to fix it. Also, when I went to have the car inspected, the washer fluid stopped coming out on the spot. The car has an air-powered delivery system, so the air started leaking in the middle of the system. In the end, I replaced it with an electric pump system.”
Troubles are bound to occur when you drive an old car. It is only natural that finding parts is also difficult, and he searches all over the internet auctions for parts for each car, but even this is becoming more difficult nowadays.
“Thankfully, I have an acquaintance who maintains it well. That person takes care of them, so they are very helpful.”
The allure of the U-550 Vintage Kei Car Meeting
We then asked Mr. Besshi about the appeal of this event.
“I think it’s great that so many light cars from those days gather in an area like this. What caught my attention this time were the Honda cars. The Life Pickup is one of the few vehicles produced, and yet today alone there are seven of them. There were also Honda Zs, both air-cooled and water-cooled, side by side. There is no doubt that Kochi and Ehime prefectures have many users who take good care of their old cars, but it’s a lot of fun to see so many rare cars like this gathered here.”
translated by DeepL