plasticbadger Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 I took my DD Disco 2 to 7 Sisters this weekend with J33P and throughly enjoyed getting back off road after over 2 years without a play thing. The problem was keeping the shiney DD intact meant some serious excitment restraint and even then I may need to replace the bumpers! So I reckon come spring I NEED a toy again, but what to get? Time and money are in tight supply in the Badger house hold, plus the baby Badgers are now 3 and 4 and intrested in coming to play days. So the new toy needs to be cheap, family friendly and suitable for both play days and paying it's way as a family addition, doing things like fire wood and tip runs to save the shiney truck. If that was the simple criteria then it would be easy, but those of you who know me will know that I can't settle for mud tyres and lift kit. In fact there's discussion on doing Dresden-Breslau in 2 to 3 years time. So I want some thing that can start out mild and be built up over the longer term. Ideas are currently: Disco 1 / Range Rover Classic: having had these as my last two trucks means I know they'll fit the bill and what I can get for a low budget. I just feel I've been there, done that and want a change! A RRC with Tdi could tempt me though. 110 Station Wagon: I'd love a proper Defender, or older 110 with Tdi, but it seems these are loads of money for a solid example and if I set a £1500 max budget I'd struggle to get even a major project truck. Plus I think they're a bit too bulky for playdays. 109 Station Wagon: Cheap to buy, cheap to run and cheap to insure, plus all that rivet counting character. I don't know I could drive around a series these days though, all that rattling and shaking! Jeep Cherokee XJ: Cheap and come with a rear locker, but are they really as c##p as people make out? Landcruiser: I love Landcruisers since running the axles under the LRs, but most are silly money, except the 78 series, which could fit the bill, but they seem to suffer engine problems. Or a 60 series, which is like a 109 Station wagon without the door gaps. Toyota Surf: Seem difficult to modify beyond the very mild. I'd love to stuff some Landcruiser 80 series axles uder one, but don't have the time or money. Nissan Patrol: Good solid trucks with the option for a rear locker from the factory. The two door is a pain with the kids and the four door is huge though! Lastly, Volvo C202: There's one down the road from me and I love liberating deralict cars, but it's just a very, very silly idea! Let's hear your thoughts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtyninety Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 Ive recently been looking hard at XJ's, There cheap to come by, parts plentyful and the yanks seem like them thus there being plenty of information on the net about them. they do however have head gasket and rear axle problems.. What about a p38? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disco_al Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 Jeep Cherokee XJ: Cheap and come with a rear locker, but are they really as c##p as people make out? yes Disco 1 / Range Rover Classic: having had these as my last two trucks means I know they'll fit the bill and what I can get for a low budget. I just feel I've been there, done that and want a change! A RRC with Tdi could tempt me though finding a rot free one for your budget will be fun Toyota Surf: Seem difficult to modify beyond the very mild. I'd love to stuff some Landcruiser 80 series axles uder one, but don't have the time or money. suffer badly from cracked heads, plus side is parts are fairly easy to get hold of another option would be a vitara lwb, pretty capable and cheap ish to run - find one with the peugeot engine and there good on fuel too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 Was about to say, get yourself a Vitara 5 door, reasonably comfy to run around in, light, can get a V6 petrol which makes for reasonable performance and you can sling any sort of axles you want underneath with some work, which I know you are not shy of.... Best thing is the 5 doors go for very little money compared to the 3 doors, which even a 1995 soft top will go for over 2K (I know my mate sells a lot of them!), 5 doors rarely make more than a grand, and tend to have been kept away from beaches more often. Careful on the Yota LC80, they do suffer from the big ends failing more frequently than people let on, plus they are a huge amount to buy still £4-5K for a good one, and even then it will have done 150,000+ miles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToyRoverlander Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 Solid axle Hilux would be an option too.. I wouldn't worry about the 4.2 BEB problem. Just swap em out and you're done. They're an awesome vehicle. A good 60Series is seriously expensive.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moose Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 I took my DD Disco 2 to 7 Sisters this weekend with J33P and throughly enjoyed getting back off road after over 2 years without a play thing. The problem was keeping the shiney DD intact meant some serious excitment restraint and even then I may need to replace the bumpers! Let's hear your thoughts! cant think why you would need new bumpers now... and from your list of options it looks like you haven't considered a mighty, pink, 7 seat, off road warrior like this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eightpot Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 What about an Isuzu Trooper? Seem to go pretty cheap, and the 2.8 diesel engine is excellent - seem to have a decent enough following as an off roader, ITOC forum is busy enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 Freelander. They do everything, are cheap to run, and are embarrassingly capable. Even TD4's are in your budget now. Also it's quite an unexplored path using one for "proper" off-roading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToyRoverlander Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 What about an Isuzu Trooper? Seem to go pretty cheap, and the 2.8 diesel engine is excellent - seem to have a decent enough following as an off roader, ITOC forum is busy enough. Freelander. They do everything, are cheap to run, and are embarrassingly capable. Even TD4's are in your budget now. Also it's quite an unexplored path using one for "proper" off-roading. Both of them haven't got solid axles ... therefore they can't be an option Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve_M Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 and from your list of options it looks like you haven't considered a mighty, pink, 7 seat, off road warrior like this Nah, becasue he loves fixing stuff he thought he might go for the type that starts the first day with a shock falling off and then has to finish the weekend early in clouds of engine smoke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasticbadger Posted November 30, 2011 Author Share Posted November 30, 2011 Thanks for the replies, some good varied ideas! To answer the suggestions - What about a p38? I fear that a P38 may not be the best machine to bury in mud and drive through water with limited time to maintain! Was about to say, get yourself a Vitara 5 door, I thought of that, but Mrs PB Vitoed the idea on tha basis that they are 'horrible looking little things', Mrs PB doesn't generally like little cars... Solid axle Hilux would be an option too.. A good 60Series is seriously expensive.... Solid axle Hiluxs are like rocking horse poo in the UK, add the need for a crew cab or 4runner and it gets very unlikely to find one at any price. A rusty 60 series could be in budget though, just requiring a weld-a-thon. What about an Isuzu Trooper? As with all the IFS options, I fear a time will come to rip those wishbones out and put in a proper axle. Options to do this to a left hand front diff IFS truck are limited, hence why I may consider a IFS Surf, but hadn't thought about Daihatsu, Isuzu or Mitsubishi. Freelander. As much as it goes against the above comment, tell me more. I don't know about them enough and terms like IRD and viscous coupling float around in my head. Is there proper gearing in there, could you lift and increase travel, would the CVs live with proper abuse? The bizare exhibitionist in me really likes the idea... Nah, becasue he loves fixing stuff he thought he might go for the type that starts the first day with a shock falling off and then has to finish the weekend early in clouds of engine smoke. Steve, I don't think I can even get close to affording such a fine piece of Land Rover based engineering. £000's and years of work to have the shock fall off on a slightly rough road puts me off too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddy Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Surley a Left hand offset front axle isnt such a problem when you drop an lt230 in there My cousin had a swb 3.1 trooper with a hilux front axle that was ok off road, although i think something like a DC hilux,brava,d22/21 l200 etc on some 33's would be cool and practical. (especialy with airbags for easy loading and unloading ) Will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reggie Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 Maybe just go back to what you know, the disco or the rangie? You could pick up a decent one for your £1500 budget. Most other options don't really tick the boxes do they? Jeep is probably the next best thing, I seen a very capable machine on 37s in a YouTube vid & it was unstoppable. Freelander is also maybe another option, just bought the misses a 54 plate 3 door TD4 & seems a decent vehicle, no low box though for any serious offroading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangeyRover Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 2 ideas from my club. A Mitsu LS200 with coil springs at rear, family friendly A Suzuki Jimny with Gwagon axles, Ford V6 and merc autobox Personally though, I saw your last Toyota axle Disco, so I think that a 5 door freelander with solid axles, a daydream of mine for years is within your capability, and the donor car should be cheap. Build it to prove it can be done, the HeeP is a monocoque too, so freelander and HeeP are similar pains to heavily modify, the advantage of the HeeP is that it was already rigged for solid axles and low range transfer box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark-d Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 id go for a disco 1 or if you look hard enough you can pick up a 90 for your budget, i did. Or not for me but a couple of mates have had fronteras they are cheap and not so bad off road. freelander doesn't have low range so it rules it out as an offroader for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicks90 Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 What about a shogun? Plenty in your range a nd very reliable. Plus I believe the ifs can be replaced with a yota axle as the diffs are the same ratio on certain models. Nice v6 on lpg and locking rear diff with a yota solid front... sounds nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasticbadger Posted November 30, 2011 Author Share Posted November 30, 2011 I'm not sure a 90 would fit the bill, seating young kids in the back is not their strong point. I've done some looking on shoguns and again they have a left hand front diff, complicating any future major mods, but they seem extremely well regarded in semi-standard form. I kind of like the idea of an all steel truck, opening the door for future mods. I can envisage easier chopping and roll cage options without the complication of alloy panel work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retroanaconda Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 5-door D-lander? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B reg 90 Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 go for a suzuki. Very light. If you want an axle upgrade than fit LR axles. Sounds daft, but the axles are cheap, under a light truck they will be man enough. Weight is every thing off road. Drive round all the stuck 2.25 ton landies...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtydiesel Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 As with all the IFS options, I fear a time will come to rip those wishbones out and put in a proper axle. Options to do this to a left hand front diff IFS truck are limited, hence why I may consider a IFS Surf, but hadn't thought about Daihatsu, Isuzu or Mitsubishi. All the isuzus are driver side drop on the front, patrol axles go very very well under a second gen trooper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtydiesel Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 A Suzuki Jimny with Gwagon axles, Ford V6 and merc autobox That build might be a little out of PB's budget it cost 18K to build that truck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discomikey Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 you can pick up 110s for cheaper than 90's and i reckon a 110 double cab pickup would just fit the bill right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtydiesel Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 you can pick up 110s for cheaper than 90's and i reckon a 110 double cab pickup would just fit the bill right. Cheapest 110 dc on ebay is £8250!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasticbadger Posted December 1, 2011 Author Share Posted December 1, 2011 All the isuzus are driver side drop on the front, patrol axles go very very well under a second gen trooper. I didn't know that! That's very interesting, as they seem pretty good trucks, then add the scope for easy future modification and it starts to sound really good. Just been looking and that driver's drop also applies to the Vauxhall Frontera with Isuzu 2.8 TDI engine. I think we could have a new front runner, they're cheap, fit the bill, seem well regarded and could be easily upgraded in the future. As for 110DC, or even most of the Jap double cabs, they're just all too much money. Ideally I'd be spending under £1500 on the road and ready to play! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fozsug Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/150706266145?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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