We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more ›
What do you get when you combine an adorable, lovable Kei truck with a rugged Polaris Ranger side-by-side 6×6? As proven by the Grind Hard Plumbing Co. YouTube channel, you get one of the most fun looking off-roaders we’ve ever seen.
To make this six-wheeled mutant Kei truck, they started with a Polaris Ranger chassis, equipped with its engine, transmission, and 6×6 drivetrain, just without its body. They also had a Mitsubishi Minicab Kei truck, which was fully intact but not exactly running well. So why not combine them, right?
The Polaris chassis needed about 18 inches cut out of it in order to fit under the Kei truck body. But that wasn’t even close to the hard part. It actually seemed fairly straightforward to chop up and weld back together. Getting the body off of the Kei truck also proved to be similarly straightforward. However, marrying the two was far more complex.
One of the hardest parts of the build was hooking the steering rack up. Being a Japanese-market Kei truck, the Mitsubishi’s right-hand-drive steering column didn’t match up with the Polaris’ left-hand-drive steering rack. So many modifications were needed to get those two matched up, which seemed like a daunting task. However, they managed to get it to work and the 6×6 Kei truck now has more steering articulation than ever before.
It also has a bigger engine than before, as the Polaris Ranger’s 760cc engine is bigger than the original Mitsubishi’s 660cc engine, and has more driven wheels. The Mitsubishi Minicab had a selectable four-wheel-drive system but the Polaris Ranger is six-wheel-drive, and more is always better. Its suspension also features far more travel than the Minicab’s, so the new Franken-Kei car is far more capable off-road than ever before.
Maybe the best part about it, though, is that it combines all of the rugged functionality of the Polaris with the looks and comfort of a Kei truck. The Polaris Ranger is a completely open-cab, off-roading toy but the Minicab has a normal pickup truck cabin. It has doors, wind-up windows, a windshield, normal seats, and even a glove box. Compared to a Ranger, the Minicab is like an S-Class inside.
The project isn’t finished just yet, so you’ll have to stay tuned for a follow up video to see the end result. However, you do get to see it rolling around with the body mostly secured to the chassis and even with functional steering. Just seeing it roll around the snow, being pulled by a hilariously off-road-ready Tesla Model 3, is proof that a 6×6 Kei truck is the off-road pickup truck we’ve always wanted.
Got tips? Send ’em to tips@thedrive.com
