SCRIPAL

For anyone interested in doing a rebuild, there is a 1982 Dolphin Mini advertised for sale on Craigslist in Fayetteville, Arkansas. 4cyl. manual transmission with 42K listed price of $1,500.

My 1989 Dolphin 6 cyl. has Never, ever gotten close to 18 mpg. 13 is about as good as I have ever done and folks have been known to stretch the truth on Craigslist.

I have noticed from time to time individuals specifically looking to purchase a Sunrader. One is for sale on Craigslist for Fayetteville, Arkansas, in Decatur, Ar. I think this is the one I commented on a few months back as showing up in the middle of nowhere.

@jr. No, he has not inspected the radiator which I would be most happy and encourage him to do if he will send me a replacement which I doubt will happen. But, if by chance it does, I will have a rapid cool transmission cooler installed thereby avoiding another possible failure. I don't usually get burned twice.

A friend who is a certified auto mechanic installed the radiator for me so I failed to inspect it or the box it came in to determine where it was made. The Denso representative asked for a photo of the radiator which I provided and he said lots of their radiators were falsely labeled as Denso. Sure enough, the Denso sticker on the radiator clearly stated it was made in China. Based on that, I assumed it was a counterfeit item. He subsequently admitted it was "genuine" Denso. I did research on the net and found that they have 22 plants in China.

I always thought Denso products were superior to other aftermarket parts and have made it a point to use them and Toyota OEM when I could find them. Most all replacement replacement parts on my Dolphin are Denso. I recently purchased a Denso radiator to install in my 2004 Tacoma thinking by paying more for it I was getting Japanese quality. After less than 1000 miles it failed allowing radiator coolant to mix with the transmission fluid. The result is a blown transmission and thousands to replace. I contacted Denso and exchanged several emails with their senior QA engineer who seemed generally concerned and wanted the radiator for examination. I agreed if they would at least provide me with a replacement. He agreed. I never received the radiator nor any further communications. However, out of all of this I learned a valuable lesson. Their radiators are made in China not Japan. My bad for assuming otherwise $$$.

I used a Sharkbite, easy application and works great.

An individual in Springfield, Missouri, is parting out various parts for a 1992 Dolphin. Those offered can be found on Craigslist for Spring Field.

WME, thanks I like the idea.

I often read on this Forum about folks wanting to find a nice Sunrader which I think are super cool. I have never seen one on the road. My wife and I sometimes take a rural route to a small town about 45 minutes from where we live. There in the middle of nowhere is a beautiful Sunrader parked under a giant oak tree. That freaks me out because it is near the Oklahoma border famous for tornadoes! If I ever see the owner out on his place, I am going to stop and get the history on it. I am wondering if he ever uses it?

Yes, water pump, oil pump, thermostat and timing belt. The baffle was incorrect so, we had to use the old one. The only thing that was not replaced was the oil cooler. $500 for a new one and almost as much for a used one. I already have a used one and it is working fine! The guy charged me $1,000 for the entire job and I supplied the parts. All the parts were Aisin that I bought on line which cost me about $200. Of course I am not happy about this whole thing but, we found that the timing belt had cracks and the water pump was about to go. The oil pump also was not great either. It is hard for me to believe that these were replaced when the engine was rebuilt. All BIG potential problems while on the road. Also, we found that the the oil pickup unit actually had 2 broken bolts rather than one. Whoever rebuilt the engine prior to me buying it really cut corners. Rather than backing out the broken bolts and replacing them with new ones, sealant was used. It saved him some time and it lasted about 15K miles. I suppose I am not the only one who has been had by a "mechanic". The old fellow who did my repairs LOVES Lizzy and wants to buy her. I told him I would give him the first shot if I ever decided to do so!

I am looking for suggestions/pics. to replace the original (and ugly) curtains over the long cab over window in my Dolphin. The current ones are on very small extension rods (top and bottom) and held on each end by some kind of small brackets both of which are worn out. The end of each curtain rod has a hole in it which fits onto a tab on the bracket itself. I have no idea what they are called or where to find them in case I have to go that route. I would really like to replace these brackets with something which would not require nailing them to the wall. Any help/suggestions or info. greatly appreciated.

The fix is complete and the oil light is OUT! Lizzy runs very nice and here's hoping there are no more problms.

89 Dolphin. Eternabond for the seams. Remainder, Kool seal