Nice Ur... Van! A 1980-ish, E23 Nissan Homy (Caranvan/Urvan)

You may recognise this Nissan van as an Urvan or a Caravan, but this one is actually a 'Homy'. Homys were sold in Japan in parallel to the Caravan but were only available through the Prince dealer network. The two models weren't too different. It was only some minor cosmetic changes and slightly different list of features that separated the models.
It really is a rare sight to see an E23 series Homy/Caravan/Urvan in Japan. As I've said countless times before, cars in Japan tend to get crushed well before their time. This Homy is still hanging in there though. The rust just adding to its coolness.
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Music Credit:
Created by Dylan Benson, and used with permission and much appreciation.
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[@Curi0u50ne]

This was the public transport I used back in the 80s! Also the hi-ace which was pronounced "hiass" which had a friendly looking face :)

[@SPEEDTRIBESAKURA]

Oh how I love nostalgic vans! Their quite rare here in my area. My my grandfather used to have a Toyota Van (or Hiace/Townace/Liteace, you get it), but it was sold quite a while ago. QOTD: My friend Ludwig. I haven't seen him since 2nd grade. He was a good friend of mine along with another kid.

[@b13nissanlove9]

Awesome van rust in all the right spots wheels make the car , old nissan touch my heart

[@aRustyPatina]

My brother had one here in Texas for awhile. His was a bit shorter in length. It was yellow with orange stripes. I love the Homy you featured. I like them as they remind me of VW Buses. You got a great shot of the featured one's steering wheel; an Empi wooden wheel. We used those on VWs too!! Thanks. W.

[@wasabicars]

aRustyPatina The interior show was all too brief. I'll see if I can get some decent shots of it next time.

[@petersisco2499]

Long time no see ... That is pretty common here in US as well , I use it quite often or use to . Really havent had time for friends in some time , always working and what little time I'm not i spend with my wife . She even picks on me because watching your videos regularly is the closest thing to a friendship i have displayed in probably five years . But as far as your question of the day , visited my parents this past Christmas. Havent seen them for couple years , was a great surprise for my mom but I felt bad that i hadn't visited in so long . Driving a truck the days on the road become one then you have days home , so my week mentally is three days so years are passing so fast . Oh and interesting van LOL . Looks humongous when you have images of classic toyotas and hondas in your head LOL

[@wasabicars]

peter sisco I think because I left Australia when I did, I never really had the chance to use the phrase. Hey, I'm really glad you're enjoying the videos so much. That's awesome. Geez, the 3-day week sounds very appealing to me. Well, probably right up until I'd have to do it.

[@MrGGinblack]

Hi Daniel, I do know this car very well! A friend of mine had one about 20 years ago, it was a Diesel with gearshifter on the steering collumn. We have had a lot of fun with that bus, it was very sturdy and dependable. So that's an o~hi sa shi buri for me!!

[@wasabicars]

G Grundmann Haha, nice. ;-)

[@tjbush2012ify]

The good old Urvan. Was my first delivery van, when I worked in freight. Indestructible. :-)

[@wasabicars]

tjbush2012ify Nice. ;-)

[@LegionOfWeirdos]

I don't have the slightest idea why, but I really like this one

[@wasabicars]

Legion of Weirdos - with Christopher Mast Good! Did you get these in the States? I'm guessing the market would've been dominated by domestic vans.

[@LegionOfWeirdos]

WasabiCars In this car's day, vans were completely out of fashion in the states. If people bought one, it would be for cargo or to use as a small bus and they would have bought a Ford, Chevy, or Dodge. Vans went out of vogue after about '78 and didn't make a comeback 'til Chrysler introduced their Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager (same car, different names) in 1984.

[@VictoriaAlfredSmythe]

thank you cool transport. never saw one before being in the states.

[@Curi0u50ne]

This was my mode of transport when I was in eastern Nigeria, these the Nissan (swaying) coaster and the Toyota hi ace mk1!

[@fehquig]

The only Japanese vans I get to see around here are those little diesel 4X4 Mitsubishi Delicas that they sold a bunch of a few years ago... I would like to have one for camping if they made it a bit bigger for sleeping in, and here is the Nissan Homy. It's the perfect size!

[@wasabicars]

fehquig I still see a couple of those big 4x4Delicas around. I never really liked the look of them though. The newer ones I do though.

[@RobertOlddude]

That is a cool van...I like it. I recently saw an aunt and cousin I haven't seen since 2004. They came to my wedding. :D

[@wasabicars]

robert1967canada Good stuff. And, congratulations again. I'm really happy for you both. :D

[@babas0997]

My friends from grade school haven't seen them in 4 years I saw them in December for Christmas at a party

[@jasoncarpp7742]

G'day Dan'l. Sweet looking Nissan van. For some reason, these were never sold here in North America. We did get a Nissan Van in the mid 80s, but I believe it was based on the Vanette, I believe it was called. I would think the Toyota version would be the Hiace. I like the patina on this van. As long as there are no holes in the body work that would affect the safety and performance of the car. Awesome video, as always. Sayonara! :)

[@wasabicars]

Jason Carpp Thanks, Jason. :)

[@Blarbling]

Damn homie, that van is dope. I had to.

[@wasabicars]

Rhyzo ;-)

[@aaronmorgan4145]

Pretty cool Homy/Caravan such more room than VW cameraman. I'm interesting learning speaking in Japanese and it's a great idea do that single word in the nearly end of this show. I'm hopefully going holiday to Japan with my mate is couple years later. :)

[@wasabicars]

Aaron Morgan Nice. Yeah, I'll see if I can introduce more words & phrases. It could be interesting.

[@willdatsun]

E23. Wow is that a little window in the left door? . I have an 81 E23 here in UK.

[@justintime6160]

wow campbelltown! I live close to 45 minutes away! those vans would look so good if it was dumped and a bit of camber haha! nice vid as always!

[@wasabicars]

***** Ha! I knew there'd be someone out there in or around there. Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. ;-)

[@bjkim2578]

Hey there, enjoying your channel, I stayed in p.n.g. for 6 months before and one type of car I buzzed out when I saw them were the kp starlet stationwagons.

[@wasabicars]

Bj Kim Cool. I can't say I can recall seeing them there. I was only in grade 3 & 4 at Korobosea Internation Primary School. What did you do there?

[@bjkim2578]

My parents went there for a business venture, didn't quite work out but they ended up owning a part of a nightclub/pokies place called Diamond club at Port Morsby and I ended up staying behind helping run the place while they went back home to nz. We all stay in Townsville now.

[@wasabicars]

Bj Kim I just spent some time on Google maps. I recall shops like Steamships, Burns Philip, Oyster Bar (great fish & chips), Taurama Barracks, Murray Barracks.... couldn't find most of them. I guess things have changed a lot. I looked for Diamond club too but perhaps it's changed its name.

[@jesseguerrero7789]

Love the mini Japanese lesson idea! Cool van too

[@wasabicars]

Jesse Guerrero Thanks. Yeah, I'm having a good think about other words & phrases I can introduce.

[@twister6910]

thanks,, I'll continue to look 😊

[@ajrobinson6677]

Good vid, i do enjoy freezing the footage when you pull back to view the whole car park! Did'nt see a nissan 610 bluebird though :'( . The mini Japanese leason gets a definite thubms up from me

[@wasabicars]

AJ Robinson I really ought to show the surrounding cars more to give it some context. Yes, I'll see if I can incorporate more Nihongo into the vids. :)

[@AhnkoCheeOutdoors]

Very cool. Back in the early 70s my dad was going to order a Isuzu Elf diesel powered van. Not sure what ever became of that idea. You ever see any Isuzu Elf vans there?

[@rm2005nz]

I have a e24 caravan pretty cool to see an older model

[@wasabicars]

clark scarlett You do? Cool. :)

[@taunusv4power]

Well, the caravan was the fancy model that could be used for transporting guys to the airport or something else, while the homy/urvan was the van for carrying boxes or anything for a company, cool vans by the way, I remember getting on one when I was on kindergarden, to going back home and to school as well, the ride was not bad (1990's JDM caravan model). o hi sa shi buri? hmm cool! thanks Daniel :) question of the day: there must be my uncles, I haven't seen one of them since 2003 and the other one since 2011, I really miss them so much because my family is not too big for the side of my mother, and not united at all for the part of my father, so my mother's brothers are the only relatives that are very close to me; I don't even got cousins to hang out, and I was very very happy for visiting them, specially at this moment that japan is so bad economically :\

[@wasabicars]

taunusv4power Thanks for the info Walter. And, it was great that you could visit and that we could actually have a conversation. Actually, my family is *very* similar to yours. Wow

[@taunusv4power]

WasabiCarsí'm very glad we could talk too :) did you know that my uncle thought it was a joke when he answered the phone? the thing is that the son of his neighbour is called Daniel too and he loves to mess around all time, but then I told my uncle if the guy at the phone was you and it was you :D I forgot to mention that if you look for a homy in Japan, the price would be higher than the caravan? it's kinda odd, but the deluxe caravan has a big petrol engine while the homy came with diesel if I'm not wrong, or at least they are more economic. that might be the reason why I didn't saw too many homy's here in Peru, but I could say a thousand caravan's or more even the 4WD version like my school minivan.

[@user-jo7ry9cq3c]

豪華な装備でユーザーを魅了した新世代ワンボックス・ワゴン

[@XarsVariety]

Great post! Love it! Thanks for the Japanese phrase I will use it next time in Japan.

[@wasabicars]

GS MA Cool. Thank you. :)

[@laytonsri150]

very cool van, some of these are used like the Hiace in vanning with the big bodykits and spoilers, :) QOTD- no one, i haven't used that saying for a very long time, lol keep up the good work Dan :)

[@wasabicars]

funbus Thanks, Layton. Wow. I can't imagine these with all the modifications. :/

[@laytonsri150]

WasabiCars lol, they look very cool when modified, but i would say that, lol

[@jaya1861]

and there are plenty of E20s, 23s, 24s carvans and homys in sri lanka, I'm looking forward to import E24 GLL from Japan to Australia

[@rovnald]

I'm from Latvia, and we have completely different cars, but this would be such a amazing car to own. It has something that really makes it cool! It's really nice to see a car scene in other side of the world. My dream car is - Nissan Silvia, like 240sx but with these long lights in front and back, and in japan these things are probably everywhere. グッド !

[@trojanoutwood]

240sx was a american car only I think? You mean a ps-13 with long lights

[@rovnald]

trojanoutwood 180sx 200sx 240sx are basically the same, i guess, and all of three are ''Nissan s13''. As far as i know, there is also a Nissan Silvia Jack's, Queen's and King's edition, but exact name of ''long light'' s13, i don't know. :(

[@trojanoutwood]

Ronald Calman I know their the same basically, but 240sx was a north america release. Their is another I can think off is a SIL-eighty a mix of Silva s13 front and 180sx back. They did this because the front of a 180 had pop up head lights and expensive to repair so dealers offerd Silvia/ps13 front for cheeper alternative repair.

[@trojanoutwood]

Ronald Calman Nissan jacks (j) queens (q) kings (k) are the class and specs of equipment inside and out of a Silvia. Jacks are basic entry spec 14 inch wheels basic body, cloth interior, non turbo engine. where top entry king bigger wheels areo kits for body better interior turbo engine.

[@rovnald]

trojanoutwood Yep, knew about sil80 also. But good job on learning about all these specs. Thanks!

[@legacyturbo8485]

Haven't talked to my sister in 4 years. It's like what they call estranged. Oh well it is what it is

[@wasabicars]

Zachary Vigeant I'm not so close to my sister either. We talk once a year on her (or my) birthday, but that's about it.

[@MANNY100123]

I once bumped into a friend I've not seen in years... It was really awkward for some reason...

[@wasabicars]

MANNY~EmberDim Haha. I know what you mean though. With some people you can meet after a long while and it's just the same as before. Other times not.

[@MANNY100123]

WasabiCars Yep! For sure! XD

[@twister6910]

hey great video, question.. I have one of these but where can I locate the chasis number on this vehicle ?

[@wasabicars]

+Abdul Sulaiman Hello. Sorry, I know where to look on passenger cars, but not vans. :( I guess under the front seats but I don't know where.

[@banpeinet]

Wow! That's a nice Homey! Yes the patina really suits the van and loving the rims! Can't look them up right now so any idea what brand and design they are? Qotd: too many people who I hardly see these days. I guess the most notable was a fellow DBA who moved from isreal to the Netherlands lately and I met him at a local meet up.

[@wasabicars]

banpeinet Sorry, I don't know what the rims are. Unusual to see old-school rims with 6 studs. Wow, You met a long-time-no-see person from another country. Very impressive.

[@banpeinet]

Well, I normally met him at a conference in the US, so that's even weirder. ;) I found the rims on Kyusha Shoes: SSR F6 Star Six in the size of 14 6J +7. Basically the same as the F5 Star Five (F5) and the Star Shark.

[@Dillon7932]

too cool

[@MrRanvic]

There a whole bunch of these van in trinidad the country

[@ThatDeltaBravo]

My Uncle too actually. Long story with that one. Lol. I like the phrase idea! Also, that van would be cool to turn into a mini camper. That's something I want to do one day: turn a van into a small camper. :)

[@wasabicars]

DB Productions Sounds like a plan... Oh, and I still didn't respond to your email. Sorry, Dylan. Getting back to the camper idea. Being a qualified coach-builder, building a camper van is something that I should technically be able to do. It's been a few decades though. :/

[@ThatDeltaBravo]

WasabiCars Haha. Don't worry about it man. And it's something I'd love to do. It would even be great for a place to go after work before driving home. I don't know. Lol. And you should make that video talking about all this past stuff Mr. O'Grady! (Instead of snoopin' 'round real shady.) :P

[@lotaugaseh7926]

cool rims...only in my dreams

[@qmechkeys]

Nice

[@doodclaw8786]

Heh, it looks like precursor to the Elgrand in some ways.

[@bigvee401]

The caravan version was a camper van with a pop up roof

[@wasabicars]

Perhaps, but in Japan, these were named Homy, or Caravan depending of which Nissan sales chain. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Caravan

[@jayrivera1913]

I want yo say that i really like it video and i am a biggest fan . I just like to know more words in Japanese its what i eant to learn and actually go there to explore

[@wasabicars]

Jesus Rivera Really? Awesome. Thank you very much. Okay, I'll try to include more Japanese language words & phrases in future videos. :)

[@josefspereira]

Nice vids broo and happy 2015 but im steel waithing for your sticker from your portuguese frind big hug cheers

[@wasabicars]

Jose Pereira Thanks Jose. Yes! I really do have to organize some stickers. It WILL happen. :O

[@JDsHouseofHobbies]

Check out that steering wheel! I love it!

[@wasabicars]

WikdSeafood You're the 2nd person to point out the steering wheel. I must confess, it was lost on me. I'll try to get some interior pics next time I see it.

[@JDsHouseofHobbies]

I have a thing for old school wood steering wheels with metal spokes.

[@Flying3SZ]

ill answer your question i met my friend at school just now i havent seen him for a while

[@wasabicars]

Amzar Hazeeq Thanks. :)

[@trojanoutwood]

You still need to find me a Mazda parkway rotary bus :}

[@wasabicars]

trojanoutwood Japan is the enemy of classic rotaries. There might still be one in a museum somewhere though.

[@crispinsugita9398]

That would be a nice jalop car if it was brown.

[@bjkim2578]

Yeah most likely, this is going back about 10 years. I'm sure I could find the building on Google earth if I looked. Dodgy place though aye haha. Not long after I left, the place got raided by guys with guns and turned the place upside down. Think they stepped up the security after that.

[@wasabicars]

Bj Kim Damn raskols.

[@leroyrowe93]

I have a homy, in Jamaica

[@subaruimprez4]

I didn't see my dad for 4 years!

[@wasabicars]

William Conway-Hyde Oh. :( I seem to be in the same boat though. It's very hard to get back to Australia to see my parents.

[@gred_cz]

great,that pattern is awesome :D about qotd,this didnt happened to me recently,but like few months ago,i have one childhood friend,aaand lets say he did few mistakes and ended up in jail....later,other firends that know him aswell etc sayd me "hey did you heard that X couldnt handle it and killed himself in prison?" i was like wtf,but more ppls sayd it to me,so i was like oh shit...well one day not so long ago,someone was knocking at our door,so i went to open and....that friend stood infront of me,what,so we went to have a beer,he got out like week before he showed up,i told him about that rumor and he just sayd "hmm,retards"...so dont much trust to the rumors guys,i usally dont,but this one somehow got me,lel

[@wasabicars]

bosozokuGRED Wow. That's quite a story. I'm glad your friend wasn't dead. LOL

[@tevitaphillips3196]

I say Kyle the Dutch demon again lol

[@tevitaphillips3196]

*saw

[@realstreetninja]

O hi sashi Daniel O'Grady

[@thesheepherd9904]

QOTD: a friend of the parents of my ex-gf, not a happy long-time-no-see ;)

[@wasabicars]

The Sheepherd Lol.