Get a Fourtrack.
if you have to have a landy, get an Ex MOD one they have been well serviced and never have any rot on..... but be advised there is no defender on this planet that is comfy to drive any distance... los of fun, rugged, but not comfy at all ! plus hey are getting stolen by the bucket load for parts on a daily basis.
What have forum members been up to?
Re: What have forum members been up to?
"You can screw a man down until he takes to drinking......take me to the fantastic place..."
-
- Posts: 118
- Joined: Tue Aug 10, 2010 9:59 pm
Re: What have forum members been up to?
There is but one answer, and that is 80 Series Toyota Land Cruiser. I knew a chap who used to kill Land Rovers on a regular basis (due to that age-old combination of no common sense and a heavy foot), last I heard he'd owned an 80 Series for almost seven years and it was still working. All he did was change the tyres (standard size is huge, so no need for a lift kit) and have some steel bumpers with recovery points fabricated.
I had a 1996 Discovery with the 300TDI, mine was one of the last with mechanical fuel injection. It was great at first but just didn't age well, started throwing up random electrical faults to the point where you never knew whether it'd start after a day or two.
It was reasonably comfy and handled ok after I'd fitted gas shocks, polybushes, and new springs. Performance improved dramatically after I flushed a decade of oily gunk out of the intercooler, turned the injection pump up, and fitted a stainless exhaust with no centre silencer. It was never a fireball but once you got it moving it'd easily bowl along at normal road speeds.
Unfortunately the brakes were scarily bad, even after cleaning and adjusting them. Taught me a lot about anticipation but when some wazzock decides to slam on in front of you for no reason whatsoever it's brown trousers time. Worst part is that you've nearly had a heart attack avoiding the prat, and they haven't the faintest idea that the only reason they're not picking the remains of their car out of their abdomen is that you have the reflexes of a stoat on benzedrine.
I loved greenlaning, met some great people and saw bits of Wales I'd never have seen otherwise, but if I was going to get back in I'd be looking for a Land Cruiser. Even the Prado/Colorado versions seem better built than Land Rovers.
I had a 1996 Discovery with the 300TDI, mine was one of the last with mechanical fuel injection. It was great at first but just didn't age well, started throwing up random electrical faults to the point where you never knew whether it'd start after a day or two.
It was reasonably comfy and handled ok after I'd fitted gas shocks, polybushes, and new springs. Performance improved dramatically after I flushed a decade of oily gunk out of the intercooler, turned the injection pump up, and fitted a stainless exhaust with no centre silencer. It was never a fireball but once you got it moving it'd easily bowl along at normal road speeds.
Unfortunately the brakes were scarily bad, even after cleaning and adjusting them. Taught me a lot about anticipation but when some wazzock decides to slam on in front of you for no reason whatsoever it's brown trousers time. Worst part is that you've nearly had a heart attack avoiding the prat, and they haven't the faintest idea that the only reason they're not picking the remains of their car out of their abdomen is that you have the reflexes of a stoat on benzedrine.
I loved greenlaning, met some great people and saw bits of Wales I'd never have seen otherwise, but if I was going to get back in I'd be looking for a Land Cruiser. Even the Prado/Colorado versions seem better built than Land Rovers.
Matt in Mid Wales
Re: What have forum members been up to?
Be a man and buy a Carrier.... tax exempt, MOT exempt, goes anywhere, cant be clamped, a struggle to uplift by the parking gestapo.... get the wind in your hair and you can fit a full family in, plus shopping and the dogs !
"You can screw a man down until he takes to drinking......take me to the fantastic place..."
-
- Posts: 118
- Joined: Tue Aug 10, 2010 9:59 pm
Re: What have forum members been up to?
Believe it or not "something with tracks" is fairly high on my list of things to buy if I suddenly came into significant money...
Oh, and a big Scammell. And a vintage JCB.
This is one major reason why it'd be a really bad idea to let me anywhere near a farm sale. The risk of coming back with some random lump of machinery because I liked the look of it would be rather high!
Incidentally, if you've not read Spike Milligan's war diaries then there's a fair bit of Carrier content. He and his mates loved them, tales included one bloke who "ironed" his uniform by putting it between a couple of boards and driving the Carrier over the top!
Oh, and a big Scammell. And a vintage JCB.
This is one major reason why it'd be a really bad idea to let me anywhere near a farm sale. The risk of coming back with some random lump of machinery because I liked the look of it would be rather high!
Incidentally, if you've not read Spike Milligan's war diaries then there's a fair bit of Carrier content. He and his mates loved them, tales included one bloke who "ironed" his uniform by putting it between a couple of boards and driving the Carrier over the top!
Matt in Mid Wales
- Renegadenemo
- Posts: 5176
- Joined: Mon Dec 01, 2008 12:29 pm
- Location: N E England
- Contact:
Re: What have forum members been up to?
'twas the good old turkey-chop today...
This year's birds grew well and weighed in at about 20lbs when plucked and dressed. We had a splendid afternoon preparing our Christmas dinner with good friends, hot food and a big pot of mulled wine. The turkeys didn't fare so well but that's just how it goes.
This year's birds grew well and weighed in at about 20lbs when plucked and dressed. We had a splendid afternoon preparing our Christmas dinner with good friends, hot food and a big pot of mulled wine. The turkeys didn't fare so well but that's just how it goes.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
I'm only a plumber from Cannock...
"As to reward, my profession is its own reward;" Sherlock Holmes.
'It ain't what they call you, it's what you answer to.' W.C. Fields.
"As to reward, my profession is its own reward;" Sherlock Holmes.
'It ain't what they call you, it's what you answer to.' W.C. Fields.
Re: What have forum members been up to?
Ah but which big Scammell, so many to choose fromDangermouse wrote:Believe it or not "something with tracks" is fairly high on my list of things to buy if I suddenly came into significant money...
Oh, and a big Scammell. And a vintage JCB.
This is one major reason why it'd be a really bad idea to let me anywhere near a farm sale. The risk of coming back with some random lump of machinery because I liked the look of it would be rather high!
Incidentally, if you've not read Spike Milligan's war diaries then there's a fair bit of Carrier content. He and his mates loved them, tales included one bloke who "ironed" his uniform by putting it between a couple of boards and driving the Carrier over the top!
Adrian
-
- Posts: 118
- Joined: Tue Aug 10, 2010 9:59 pm
Re: What have forum members been up to?
Well, I've wanted a Constructor with a crew cab ever since buying a few Corgi ones about twenty years ago (still got them, managed to replace the one suffering from zincpest). But I know they're massive and rare.
A Unimog is also appealing, with a few useful attachments like the front loader...
A Unimog is also appealing, with a few useful attachments like the front loader...
Matt in Mid Wales
Re: What have forum members been up to?
Hi Matt,
They are nice if you have the room to keep one
Ade.
They are nice if you have the room to keep one
Ade.
Adrian
Re: What have forum members been up to?
Watching Endeavour on ITV. Did anyone else se it? Mini-K7 Lookalike was part of the plot.......
Adrian
-
- Posts: 520
- Joined: Wed Dec 10, 2008 9:53 pm
- Location: Derby, England
Re: What have forum members been up to?
Was it: a model?; a working craft?; computer generated when in motion?Adrian74 wrote:Mini-K7 Lookalike was part of the plot.......
Malcolm Pittwood
The Bluebird Project
Operations
The Bluebird Project
Operations