Daihatsu Trimobile-1969

By Bob May III

To truly appreciate the character of this 1969 Daihatsu Trimobile you have to understand the character of its ownership lineage.  I came to own the vehicle from my father who was a physician in the small town of Cartersville, GA, located about 50 miles north of Atlanta.  He was the last of a dying breed of physicians who made house calls, and practiced medicine to age 77 when he passed away.  Prior to attending medical school he was a tractor mechanic, and even ran a tractor dealership.  Though a physician, he never lost his ‘mechanic’ and simple farming roots, and ALWAYS had side projects going on, usually related to keeping some mechanical gizmo running.  Being a small town, he knew everybody and everybody knew he liked ‘junk’.  Like countless other motorized and mechanical possessions, the Trimobile, or “the three-wheeler” as Dad called it, came to him through an old patient/friend of his, “Old Man…?.. something or other”, I can’t recall exactly.  Some time after Old Man so and so passed away Dad bumped into his widow at the store and asked:  “Whatever happened to that 3-wheeled thing?….” to which she answered:  “That contraption is wasting space in the garage, I wish you’d come get it!”  Needless to say, it took a sub-nano-second for Dad to retrieve the Trimobile and bring it home, then proceed to make a daily driver out of it.  Years later, my wife and I were visiting my dad and she looked out the window of his house across the landscape of his vast vehicular holdings, and noticed the Trimobile and shouted:  “Cool!  That would be great to drive to the grocery store”.  My wife is from Germany and small, practical, Microcars are common to her.  Before I could get my hands over her mouth, it was too late, and Dad uttered the fatal words I’d learned to avoid over the years:  “Take it home with you”.  We trailered it back to Atlanta, and I got it running.  We drove it once to the grocery store on Peachtree Street, and when we came out there were 25 people crowded around it.  It spent many years in our garage and a few more years in a storage unit.  I realized that downtown Atlanta is probably not the best home for this vehicle, and thought there had to be a better home for it.  Simply said, my dad would be ecstatic to know that the “Three-Wheeler” is in a museum in the “big city” of Nashville, artistically displayed and under proper care!

 

Specifications:

 

Manufacturer:  Daihatsu Kogyo Kabushika Kaisha

Country of Origin:  Japan

Drivetrain Configuration:  Mid engine, rear wheel drive

Engine:  305cc, single cylinder, 2-stroke, air cooled

Transmission:  3 speed with reverse

Top Speed:  40 mph

Years of Production:  1955-1975

Number Produced:  Unknown

Original Cost:  Unknown