Yanmar's Diesel Microtrucks

"TylerLinner" (tylerlinner1) 06/24/2016 at 20:45 • Filed to: YANMAR, JDM, KEITORA, KEIJIDOSHA, JNC, DIESEL

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A few months ago I posted a trivia question over at LaLD, and lucky Berang guessed the vehicle to win some Hot Wheels cars. Well, after installing Windows to hook up my scanner and Photoshop, I’m finally able to share my reference material with you all! More photos and info (mostly in Japanese) below the fold.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

First up is one of the leading pages in Gakken Mook’s specialty magazine 360cc (360cc minicars). Unfortunately I don’t know for sure what issue it is, other than that the yellow cover features a rainbow halo around a Subaru 360. I think it’s a September publication based on “ 9” on the cover.

Unfortunately I can’t read anything but romaji so I have no idea what it says. If you can help translate, I’d greatly appreciate it!

As near as I can tell, diesel engine manufacturer Yanmar () built either a single prototype or a very low production run of the extremely utilitarian KT in 1958-1959. The rear mounted inline two (?) diesel had an output of 249cc, putting it easily into the keitora category. Details are hard to pin down, as the only online source I have to verify this vehicle’s existence is below, and they seem to have taken their information from the same source as I have.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

That source would be a hard cover, 156-page Japanese language book called “Memories of Japanese K-cars 1951-1975" which devotes a whopping half page to Yanmar’s brief foray into light trucks.

The soft-door KT was replaced in 1960 by the more polished looking (and weather-protected) Pony (). Having apparently learned some valuable lessons on the KT project, Yanmar positioned the Pony’s 356cc diesel V-twin just behind the cab. It produced only 9 horsepower at 3600 rpm, but in a vehicle nearly a meter shorter than a Chevy Spark I’m sure the power was adequate.

Supposedly only 650 Ponies were produced, however at least a single example survives at the snazzy-looking !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! in Nagahama, below.

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

This is all really fun for me but it would be a lot better if I knew what the articles say. So please, if any of you can read some Japanese, do share! Until then, I hope you enjoyed this little footnote of pickup truck history.

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PS- I also ran across this image at !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

It appears to have a Yanmar diesel engine and even says  on the bed side. Update: KnowsAboutCars provided a photo that suggests this is a 1958 Yanmar KT. Again, a bit of translation would help.

Jobjoris > TylerLinner 06/25/2016 at 01:46

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Can’t help you on this one, doesn’t opponaut Flavien Duval live in Japan? And Jonee definitely knows a lot about these oddballs.

KSTN > TylerLinner 06/25/2016 at 08:32

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I can’t help you either, but oh boy... I came to a conclusion that I really want (need) a Yanmar Pony in my life right now. It would be a great addition to all the (almost) identical european vans and pick-ups at the work. Been previously thinking of buying an old Chevy van and making it look like a stereotypical “candy man van” with all the rust and matte black/grey paint and the “free candy” -text painted on the side of it with some leftover latex paint...because why not?

I’m going to Japan this year for 10 weeks (can’t wait!) and I was planning to import some small wacky Japanese oddball that has at least 2 wheels and a small combustion engine attached to it. Something like that Pony is definitely a wet (and probably expensive) dream as a contestant. On the other hand, I haven’t done any research yet about what one ‘small-weird-combustion-engine-with-at-least-2-wheels’ would cost in there...but luckily I like to play things as they come.

Thanks for the inspiration! It would be awesome to combine these two things. I think I’m looking for “a weird small oddball van/pickup with a combustion engine and 3 or more wheels” from this moment on. Cheers!

Ed, for the old good times > TylerLinner 06/25/2016 at 14:49

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Yanmar YT300

TylerLinner > Ed, for the old good times 06/26/2016 at 20:21

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Cool! Do you have any more info on it?

TylerLinner > Jobjoris 06/26/2016 at 21:43

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Perhaps he’ll pipe up. I actually got my reference material from a friend who was living in Japan until a couple months ago- he might be able to find someone to help out.

TylerLinner > KSTN 06/26/2016 at 21:56

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D O

T H I S

!!!

Ed, for the old good times > TylerLinner 06/27/2016 at 07:51

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Apparently it´s an industrial transporter. To be used within a factory site.

Not sure if road legal.

It was produced in the 80´s in Brazil with limited success due to its ICE not being suited to be used indoors.

Ed, for the old good times > Ed, for the old good times 06/27/2016 at 07:54

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Ah, if you turn the handle bar 180º you go backwards, no need for a reverse gear.

TylerLinner > Ed, for the old good times 06/27/2016 at 08:32

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I’m going to guess it’s not road legal. There are four-wheel electric cart/trucks about that size at my workplace, and they are definitely not road legal. Do you think Yanmar produced the trikes, or just supplied engines?

I love the simplicity of the reverse “gear”. Also probably necessary, but still interesting: The fork is straight up and down- a 90 degree angle head tube (aka no caster)! The handling must have been interesting.

Ed, for the old good times > TylerLinner 06/27/2016 at 10:32

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They engineered and produced the trike but could not find any production numbers.

The gas engine makes around 3 HP and cargo capacity is 300 Kg.

TylerLinner > Ed, for the old good times 06/27/2016 at 12:17

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It is quite excellent.

KnowsAboutCars > TylerLinner 07/02/2016 at 10:26

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This photo found here seems to have some additional information about the last car. Unfortunately I can’t speak Japanese either so I can’t get much out of it but it seems to suggest that this is another KT.

This is great stuff btw!

TylerLinner > KnowsAboutCars 07/19/2016 at 08:17

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Thanks for the info. The website you linked doesn’t work for me, though! I’ll update the post though.

KnowsAboutCars > TylerLinner 07/19/2016 at 10:02

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Weird, it works fine for me. That photo is from Toyota Museum.

You bringing this up again got me to do little more research and I found this history booklet from Yanmar. This is how Google translates the truck portion of it:

Expand the horizontal water-cooled diesel engine in the late 1950s

Work as a strategy to continue to sales, such as agricultural machinery and construction machinery

As it is considered to continue to sell and set the machine

became.

It became its forerunner in the Company, 1956 (Showa

31) years and 6 extraordinary vehicle unit that was newly established in May (later renamed the working machine part)

The development of a diesel small lorry which was started in.

Challenge to the automobile manufacturing, Yamaoka also by the strong will of the Vice President

It was for.

All from the vehicle body to work on the development in-house production, 1957

June, agricultural small diesel engine as agricultural work vehicle

T65 form (265cc) prototype equipped with KT1 form a. Then KT2

To complete the form, it was repeated and the test operation.

5 May 1958, received a type approval as a light car

Launched the KT3 form and KT4 form, about 50 to up to August of the same year

Stand sold. And then the engine in order to achieve an output up

T70 form (308cc) developed the FM1 form and FMS forms the retrofit,

About 330 units sold through August 1960 from October 1958

did. Nicknamed “Yanmar pony” is given from this FM-shaped

The obtained. With these can be loaded up to 300kg,

As portable power a diesel engine mounted on the rear

Farmers, there was a characteristic that can be used for civil engineering work.

However, it is time to just so happens tiller the spread, the Company

The needs of the tiller than agricultural work vehicles exceeded. there,

The Company except for the function as a portable power, engine position

To move the location to the driver’s seat backward, full-fledged an enlarged view of the loading platform area

We have developed a light truck. KYT which was completed in January 1960

It is in the form. OHV air-cooled 90-degree V star of the new design in the KYT form

Equipped with an in-engine, 5.3 horsepower of FMS forms the highest output

It was improved from 9 horsepower.

KYT form is released in October 1960 under the name of Yanmar pony,

650 units by May 1962 was sold. Japan’s light four-wheel

It was a pioneering presence of the lorry.

However, sales structure and compact as a common vehicle of the Company

Overall intuition problems, such as the output suitability of diesel engine

To draft, we decided to withdraw from the lorry business. This Ken

Research accumulated technology in development of use in tractor development after

TL;DR version as I understand it:

KT development starts in 1956

There are 4 KT versions two prototypes and two production models (there’s a photo of the 1st(?) prototype in the pdf I linked and I’m guessing the photo that spawned this discussion is the 2nd prototype)

KT was replaced with FM aka Pony which was basically updated KT with 308cc engine. (This one also had portable engine farmers could use elsewhere when not needing the truck?)

FM was replaced by KYT, the V-twin Pony

TylerLinner > KnowsAboutCars 07/19/2016 at 12:33

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Thank you! I think this may deserve a bit more research to produce a more cohesive English-language info source on Yanmar trucks. The early ones being prototypes makes a lot of sense.