I've just spent a bit of time down memory lane looking at the off-roaders that I desired and, ultimately, bought in the early 1990s.
I had a Ford Maverick, aka Nissan Terrano 2, and thought I was king of the road sitting way up above the traffic.
OK, the performance was terrible, cornering was a nightmare and braking from speed a lottery.
At least I hadn't bought a Vauxhall Frontera!
Maintenance was so easy because you could slide under the vehicle without jacking it up to inspect everything.
4x4s are so sophisticated these days. So sophisticated that nobody dares risking them in the rough stuff.
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4x4"s are not used as they were though are they
they are mainly used as bully tailgating apparatus these days
good choice the maverik mind but i preferred the terrannors saurusk nissan
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Long time ago I had a Land Rover 90 3.5 V8 as we lived quite a way from a normal road in those days. Also used to use it for skiing trips in Scotland. Loved it despite its limitations. Didn't love the mpg though which averaged about 15 to the gallon. I sort of miss it but in reality would have no sensible use for it now. It was orange and stripped out with oversize tyres, bucket seats, roll bars, rally lamps, bull bars etc . Probably always looked silly but when young you can get away with that bit to an extent. I would just look ridiculous in it now. It sounded Wagnerian when you wanted it to and was quickish up to a point.
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An early canvas-roof Nissan Patrol - must have been pre-1970 - took a bit of beating for crudity. It had strong torque steer and every panel rattled over every pothole or worse between Lagos and Calabar, and there were millions of them. Drank like a fish too. The upside was that it was quite a lot faster than a Land Rover and could be cruised at 90. Of course petrol is cheap in Nigeria but even so the thing did make demands on the exchequer.
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Drove a Mitsubishi Pajero once and was mightily underwhelmed. Appalling handling and rode like a blancmange. Don't know what it would be like offroad but it was absolute junk on it
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I drove a certain Mr Ferry's LR 110 some years ago and I rather liked it. It was just a rattly TDi but it has an earthy quality that cant be beaten.
Ive always liked purposeful vehicles as I cant stand vehicles that have no stand alone talent of one sort or another.
If I could afford it, id certainly have a big, old and crude 4x4 to potter around in, sometime sits the shortcomings that endear.
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I remember fondly my old landcruiser from that era, certainly the most reliable and simple vehicle i've owned, it was a 70's design and apart from a bigger engine fitted for the last couple of years of production 93 to 95 was virtually unchanged.
No one in their right mind would expect such a vehicle to be a nimble tight handling sports car, and it wasn't but that charming unrivalled total dependability still has me fondly looking at any of that model i see, rare then and more so now.
With good maintenance they would never go wrong, a slight misshap by swmbo (stung by some insect with adverse reaction, she otherwise is very capable, but don't tell her) was the only reason for the motors demise, even then the thing just took out the railings and their concrete base without any crumpling and she walked away without hurt, actually she put the thing in 4WD and reversed through the debris and out, and if the front bumper corner hadn't been touching a front tyre (none of which punctured) could easily have driven the 70 miles home.
Very tough, don't make em like that any more, or the car.;)...good job some say, i look at vehicle designs differently, if its not broke don't fix it.
Out of interest some months after the prang a very nice chap from Bradford phoned me up, he'd bought the motor and put right the bodywork damage and i sent him the spare keys etc for the vehicle, (and the genuine Toyota workshop, forget the aftermarket ones, the real thing has to be read to be believed).
He couldn't get over just how quiet, smooth and powerful the engine was at about 110K miles, sadly it doesn't appear on the MID any more so i assume its either dismantled or used for permanent off roading which it was particularly good at.
If you looked at the suspension and axle designs they were almost carbon copy of LR defender, but somewhat more durable.
The engine was unbelievable in that it would absolutely refuse to stall, never had a diesel except in a truck that would pull from such low revs, way below the turbo's helping hand, you really could pull away in top gear, astonishing.
And for the mechanics here, every electrical item, motor, relay etc had its purpose/title and voltage stamped in English, how many would like to see that on all cars?
Crude? heck yes and thank goodness for that, but i prefer simplicity.
I had an early Range Rover some years before and despite being very capable off road and comfortable on would need constant repairs to keep going, and rust...good grief.
I suppose the Hilux we have now is a slightly more modern version of my old landcruiser, whether it'll turn out to be as durable over time we'll see, somehow i doubt it.
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I've often been tempted to get an ready-distressed vehicle for urban use. Could make quite a difference to those moments when someone wants to aggressively lean on your car to push into a queue. As the Transit found recently when driving the Jazz. Much wailing from the other half. Much cursing and gesturing from said Transit. But did I care? I'd care even less in a Land Cruiser, ready dented:)
Edited by nortones2 on 10/04/2009 at 21:44
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OK, this is my ideal old and crude off-roader.
I especially like the curved windows on the rear quarters.
tinyurl.com/djha3r
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Didn't Jason Bourne's girlfriend get shot inside one of those and then driven off a bridge into a river? :-)
Edited by Fullchat on 10/04/2009 at 22:31
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Doc, unless i'm much mistaken thats a FJ40 landcruiser and in that condition would be worth some decent money, as simple and robust a motor as you'd find.
I keep 'em peeled in case one comes up too.
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Indeed, GB, a Toyota Landcruiser FJ40.
Pictures are from a USA restorer of these beauties, just take a look at his other projects.
When I win the lottery I'm off to see him, LHD no problem as I'm taking it to Europe anyhow to explore its full potential.
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Gotta be a Landy 90 V8 in green. I will have one one day.
Edited by DP on 10/04/2009 at 22:53
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Green from being abondoned under a hedge for 10 years i assume ;-)
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Where it last ran out of fuel, probably ;-)
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Mine was great but I could have stocked a pub with the free tumblers I collected while I had it.
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Come to think of it, I wonder what happened to Green shield stamps......
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Me dad told me about green shield stamps..;)
I did well with the ''options'' vouchers that BP offered a few years ago, in about 2 years i gained a very expensive video recorder and a 28" widescreen telly and several other expensive items i can't remember.
Something like 50 or more gallons a day though....
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It was my job as a child to stick the Green shield stamps in a book. Sometimes there were pink ones too which broke the monotony. We didn't need PlayStations, we made our own fun......
:-)
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Free tumblers, those were the days... when I had an XJ12 the house was overrun with 'em. I never knew the pumps used to shut off at 20 gallons 'til I bought that car. "Could you reset the pump, mate, I haven't finished yet..." :-)
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I think the Green Shield stamp redemption centres turned into Argos.
When I worked the petrol pumps in the early 70s I loved the Green Shield stamp dispenser. Almost as much fun as the Jag that came in with 2 fuel caps and tanks.
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Almost as much fun as the Jag that came in with 2 fuelcaps and tanks.
XJ6. 12 gallons each side - nearer 14 if you brimmed it.
I might have told the story here before; In the early seventies I was with my father when he filled up at a small Spanish petrol station.
The attendant was amazed when the counter got to 60 litres - all they had in those days was SEAT 500s or 600s - but his jaw really dropped when my father walked around the car and opened the other fuel cap..........
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