I love slapping stickers on my car. Yes, it isn’t a complex or even a performance-enhancing modification, but it sure as hell is better than putting a double-decker Amazon wing on your FWD Civic isn’t it?

I digress. This article isn’t about stickers, but rather a recent acquisition of one of my favorite sticker manufacturers. Harry, the brains behind the operation of JDM-inspired accoutrements known in the online universe of Instagram as “Midnight Konbini” has become the proud owner of a Kei truck.

While a far cry for the lifted monsters that we know stateside as “trucks”, Japanese Kei trucks prove that a vehicle need not rival the Titanic in size to be a useful. These small but mighty bois have recently gained a following outside of their native land for being different, nimble, and just downright cute.

Henry’s love for Kei anything falls along the same lines: “They are light, fun, easy to maintain and cheap on consumables. They’re a great foundation to build whatever you want, whether it’s for track or off roading, even camper. I’m a big Kei car advocate, I think these cars are just the perfect first car for people to start tinkering with cars.”

This particular truck is a 2008 Suzuki Carry DA63T. Given that these things are treated as nothing more than work trucks, it took a month or two for a friend of his to find one that wasn’t neglected by your everyday hauling worker. This cute creampuff was all stock with 66,000 kms on the odometer, or a little over 41,000 miles for those of us used to freedom units.

“For the longest time I’ve been wanting a Kei truck for Midnight Konbini because I think it really resonates with the brand,” Henry told me. “It’s a mix of the everyday and the hardcore JDM vibe. I initially wanted an older gen Carry with the Pandem widebody kit. Since I want to use it as both a delivery car and a show support vehicle, I wanted something that I could easily find parts for. That’s when I started looking into the newer gen.”

Immediately after sourcing this example, the pair sourced the ESB Suzuki carry widebody kit, ESB wheels 13×7 +25 offset, tires, Kei Zone front coilovers, and Kei Zone rear lowered leaf springs. Everything was installed in Japan before bringing the truck to our part of the globe to save on shipping the parts separately.

Immediate plans include fine tuning the bolted body kit and suspension fitment. The kit was simply bolted on in Japan, so a bit of modification is in order.

“Being a light vehicle, I want to really tighten up the suspension and chassis and see how far I can push the truck.”

Then comes fixing the surface rust and other mild imperfections on the truck. As per the Japanese auction grading, a 4B condition truck like this basically means that it has been used and has a few minor wear and tear items that need addressing to make it more presentable.

Future modifications once everything is in order largely consist of personal touches.

“I just want to put bring that Konbini aesthetic to it. Maybe by end of the year I’ll to put a small turbo on it. I’ve never been big on power. l’m more interested in the power to weight ratio and handling aspect of tuning. I guess that’s why I’m drawn to JDM.”

As for my take on this, which I’m sure none of you want but I will give anyway, I’d give three thumbs up if I didn’t lose my third arm. Kei cars of any kind will always be some of my favorite things to come out of Japan, with the Suzuki Cappuccino being one of my dream cars. Getting to write about Harry’s Carry (rhyme intended) makes me wish I lived in Canada where the import laws are better than here in the US. But still, I can dream right?