{"id":9171,"date":"2026-05-08T11:46:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T11:46:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tegiwa.com\/blog\/?p=9171"},"modified":"2026-05-08T11:46:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T11:46:19","slug":"building-a-ha9-honda-acty-overlander","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tegiwa.com\/blog\/builds\/acty-overlander\/building-a-ha9-honda-acty-overlander\/","title":{"rendered":"Building a HA9 Honda Acty Overlander"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you’ve followed us at Tegiwa<\/a><\/strong> for any length of time, you’ll know we’ve got a serious soft spot for Honda’s pint-sized workhorse, the Acty kei truck. Over the past couple of years we’ve quietly become the unofficial premier supplier of Honda Acty kei trucks here in the UK, having brought more than 20 of these brilliant little machines in from Japan. Every one has its own story, but Luke’s recent build might just be our favourite yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the story of a 2010 HA9 Acty Attack <\/strong>that rolled out of a shipping container and then got the Tegiwa<\/a><\/strong> transformation as a truck that’s ready to take on some green lanes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Why an Acty Attack?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For the uninitiated, the “Attack” badge isn’t just marketing fluff. It signifies the proper off-road spec of the Acty: factory diff locks and a high\/low transfer case sat on top of the already-capable 4WD platform. In Japan these were aimed at farmers, foresters and anyone working out in the sticks who needed a tiny truck that could actually go places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In other words, it’s the perfect base for an overlander build.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This particular truck is also the newest Acty we’ve ever imported, a 2010 model year, which made it an even more exciting to get our hands on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step One: From Container to MOT<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The moment we unloaded Luke’s Acty from the back of the container, it was straight to the MOT station. It might not be the glamorous part of the process, but the MOT certificate is the first proper hurdle. Without it, you can’t get the vehicle registered for UK roads, so it’s always our first port of call once a truck lands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thankfully, this little Attack passed with a clean bill of health and was cleared to move on to the next stage of the build.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Into the Body Shop<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It’s worth remembering that these kei trucks were built to be used<\/em>. Whether navigating tight Japanese city streets or earning their keep out in the fields, they’re work horses first and foremost. They’re not always the tidiest examples when they arrive on our shores. Battle scars are part of the charm, but for this build we wanted a clean canvas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luke had his heart set on Keswick Green, a nod to the classic Land Rover 90 of yesteryear. After a couple of weeks at the body shop, the Acty came back looking fresh. The dings and scrapes had been pulled out, the paint was crisp, and the bed had been given a proper Raptor liner finish. It’s incredible how much character that colour adds!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Back to Tegiwa for the Overlander Build<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With paint done, it was time to bring the Acty home to Tegiwa HQ for the fun part. This is something we want to shout about: we don’t just import these trucks, we can carry out the modifications and supply the parts too, all before you drive it away. A genuine one-stop kei truck shop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Browse Genuine Honda Acty parts<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Here’s what went into the build:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lift Kit<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

First up, a lift kit for some extra ground clearance. Essential for any truck that’s actually going to see the rough stuff, and it sets the visual tone immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Front Bull Bar<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A proper bull bar up front, adding a bit of utilitarian aggression and offering some protection for the front end when you’re brushing past hedgerows on a green lane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upgraded Exhaust<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Worth an honest aside here. A lot of the Actys that arrive to us have a noticeable rattle coming from the back box, and unfortunately Honda discontinued the original part a long time ago, so there’s not much we can do to fix it on the factory system. The good news is that fitting an upgraded exhaust solves the issue completely, and gives the truck a much better soundtrack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Roof Rack & LED Light Bar<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A roof rack opens up a world of practicality for an overlander, whether that’s for jerry cans or recovery gear. Pair it with an LED light bar for the kind of night-time visibility these trucks have never seen from the factory, and you’ve got a setup that’s ready for proper exploration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wheels and Tyres<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This is where things got interesting. We’d originally specced a set of 14X4.5 ET40 Weds Adventure Mud Vance X Type S wheels<\/strong> wrapped in Yokohama Geolandar X-AT<\/a><\/strong> tyres, a cracking combination on paper. Unfortunately, the tyre size we’d chosen simply wouldn’t fit inside the arches once everything was bolted up. Rather than compromise on the look or the lift, we switched to a set of MRF rally tyres<\/a><\/strong>, which fitted perfectly with just enough clearance on that front arch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Interior Touches<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Inside, we kitted Luke’s Acty out with rubber floor mats and seat covers, both sensible additions for a truck that’s actually going to be used as intended. Mud, dogs, dirty boots: bring it on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bed Cover and Decals<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A taupe cover for the rear bed keeps the load area protected and adds a slightly retro feel that complements the Land Rover Keswick Green beautifully. To finish things off, the truck got a set of custom Tegiwacty decals, a little nod to its new home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The First Drive<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With every part installed (literally overnight – the Tegiwa team don’t hang about), the truck was finally ready to roll. We took it out to tackle some grass banks as a warm-up before pointing it at the green lanes proper, and it handled them exactly as you’d hope a kei-spec 4×4 with diff locks and low range would. That is to say, brilliantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watching it climb its first proper incline, you realise just how much character these trucks have. They look right<\/em> doing this kind of thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Acty Life<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Builds like Luke’s are exactly why we do what we do. We’re enthusiasts before we’re anything else, and the Honda Acty has well and truly got its hooks into us over the last few years. We love sourcing them, importing them, registering them, modifying them, and watching them roll out of our doors as something genuinely personal to their new owners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If you’ve been thinking about an Acty of your own for ferrying tools around the paddock, or a wild overlander like Luke’s, get in touch. We’ll handle the lot, from the container to the green lanes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Browse our current inventory of JDM cars for sale<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you’ve followed us at Tegiwa for any length of time, you’ll know we’ve got a serious soft spot for Honda’s pint-sized workhorse, the Acty kei truck. Over the past couple of years we’ve quietly become the unofficial premier supplier of Honda Acty kei trucks here in the UK, having brought more than 20 of …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":9191,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":39,"footnotes":""},"categories":[675],"tags":[676,35,42,383,571,677,541,678],"class_list":["post-9171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-acty-overlander","tag-acty","tag-honda","tag-jdm","tag-kei-truck","tag-mrf","tag-overlander","tag-weds","tag-yokohama-geolandar"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tegiwa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tegiwa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tegiwa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tegiwa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tegiwa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9171"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.tegiwa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9171\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9195,"href":"https:\/\/www.tegiwa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9171\/revisions\/9195"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tegiwa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tegiwa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tegiwa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tegiwa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}