What to do

I have been laning with a guy Hoodoo in Wales, he has a very very nice Lada lifted winched all done right and panda in the passenger seat that smokes a pipe :lol:

What about a WRANGLER??? :think:

Gwagon is wet dream territory sadly :lol:

This is cool and looks a good base, and has a fiat engine in it

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1997-LADA-NIV ... 4ab873eb27

Drove a Merc 'G' Wagon for a couple of years when I was posted to AFCENT in Holland, with about 18 months old when I got my hands on it and around 15,000km on the clock it wasnt too bad, tbh it was more comfy than the brit 90's (not hard) but I found it very under-powered and it sort of wallowed down the road rather than drive in a straight line, corners were a giggle to say the least.

Much prefer the 2.8 to that pile of german nuts n bolts I had to run round in which spent nearly as much time in the workshop as it did getting dragged out of various ditches :lol:

Thanks for your views guys :thumbup:

I am even more confused now :lol:

Get a 90, then work your way up :lol:

If i am completely honest i would have amazon 4.2 but they are more thirsty than my v6. A mate has one and he only sees 17mpg :shock:

or just get a decent trooper mate, big, comfy, strong, and CHEAP!! :thumbup:

I think average mixed driving for the 4.2 standard is around 22mpg and up to 26/27mpg on a run.

My landcruisers used to just scrape 30mpg on a run if you were real gentle and ran a/t's.
Awesome trucks though and less corrosion issues on the later ones.

Wouldnt go G-wagon unless you have a big budget for a later one, or you gonna modify an early one extremely...
Dont get me wrong G-wagons are great, I had a early 90's one for a while...and its cool having factory diff locks...
But and a hooj BUT...they weigh about 5000tonnes are early ones have about 12bhp...
So unless you are gonna shave a load of weight off it, or get a later one with many more gee-gees under the hood, then it is gonna be uninspiring, and may even disapear from sight in a swamp!

GQ swb 4.2 patrol is a good truck, wide for laning but amazingly capable and some had factory lockers.

Jeep wranglers in their many guises are good, better with some dana60's instead or the 44/40 set-up...good thing is with these is that money spent on them gives a return a bit like a 90.

Personally I would go for a BJ40 or 45 landcruiser if I was starting out on a new course with 4x4's, has the charm of an oldskool landy, but masses more potential in offroad ability....and would make a great investment in the long run...Not the easiest to find granted, and would need work probably, but worth every penny you spend and every bit of effort you put into it. But thats just me, I love them old TLC's.

I am going to use the truck as my daily drive and will traveling 30 miles a day to work in it so it will not be to modded :wink:

After hearing what every one has said i am leaning towards something like this :wink:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdXfBU3ynd4

They are IFS at the front and dont touch the early 30l (think it is) :thumbup:

Been an interesting read putting the alternative flavours up for discussion :think:

For me, suppose at the end of the day you get what you pay for and if you pays your money, you takes your choice. Out of interest only, I've often looked at the price tags on Colorado (my choice) and have come to the conclusion that it's alot of money to risk getting bent about - but you do get the goodies.
My nephews a Toyota main dealer mechanic and the feed back I've got from him is they do come back in for head gaskets (3 litre diesels, don't know about petrols). Not notorious like the Vauxhall 2.2 Petrol, but it does happen.
Respecting that your post is for input advice Steve, but I hope you don't mind me chalking one up for the Fronty. The learning curve comes into play once you've got involved and if I'd known then what I've learn't know would I have skipped the Fronty and saved up for a couple of years and spent the big bucks on a motor with all the goodies. Not sure, because I often reflect back that the £400 I bought my 'N' reg Fronty plus the £1,000 odd that I've spent modding it could have easily been double if not treble that on a 90 or Land Cruiser from the same year.
Going back to the comparisons, got to know a couple of fellas with modded 90s. They both carry replacement half shafts just in case :lol:

What are the Mitshi Pajaros like? Not that I was in the market to have bought it, but one of the fellas down here had a 'M' reg SWB 3.6 with locker going for £900.

Mitsubishi Pajero/Shogun's have their place but personally I would avoid them. I will make an obvious for me comparison to the Isuzu Bighorn/Trooper (Vauxhall Monterey).

The Isuzu option is going to be cheaper and no matter what they say The Bighorn, Trooper, and Monterey are all the same animal. The only thing that will be different is the Lotus Edition Bighorns have a different suspension set up giving a firmer and more confident ride on tarmac, but doesn't hinder off road articulation in any great way. This means that parts are easily available, often quite cheap and a doddle to fix yourself with a good selection of tools and confidence. A lot of it under the skin is the same or at the very least similar to a Frontera (rather the Frontera is the same as the Isuzu). You can pick up very tidy ones for £1000-£1500 with all the toys and well looked after. They are big old busses and suit towing quite well with engines with plenty of Torque. I would avoid the Mk.IV 3.0 unless your really brave and know someone with a Tech 2 and experience in changing injectors (the Mk.IV 3.0 diesel is the very weak link in the Isuzu arsenal unfortunatly and gave Isuzu a very bad reputation, but thats a different story) If I had a choice I would go for a post 1995 (Mk.III) Lotus Bighorn with either a 3.1 diesel manual gearbox, or 3.2 petrol V6 on LPG. Tough rugged vehicles that will serve you well.

Good points:
1) Big
2) Torquey
3) Simple engineering, meaning simple repairs if needed
4) Cheap easily available parts
5) Still hold their value if kept in good condition

Bad points:
1) 3.0 (4JX1) diesel is a dog. If it runs, it runs really well. Great engine with buckets of power and economic as well. Play lottery every time you go to start it. Takes up to 10 seconds (for no reason) to fire up. Injector sleeves leak diesel into the oil on earlier engines (though Isuzu run a free recall on them for first off replacement on any age vehicles) Oil Rail Pressure Sensor throws a wobbly and needs resetting. Throttle Position Sensors again mess around and need replacement.
2) Front and rear crossmembers and body mounts are a rot spot on Uk Troopers. Import Bighorns tend to fair a lot better.
3) A few garages refuse to work on any Isuzu due to the 3.0 reputation regardless of the engine you have. Though decent garages realise the differences.
4) Parts suppliers get "funny" with supplying parts for Bighorns ... even though you tell them its the same as the similar age Trooper.

...

Now for the Pajero/Shogun. I am no expert but from talking to owners they seem to all say the same thing. The head gaskets on one of the diesel (2.8 or 2.

are a weak point. Parts for the Pajero are often difficult to find and sometimes very expensive. Glow plugs on the 2.8 quite often need to be replaced every year as they burn out. This is the common feed back I get for issue. On the plus side they are rugged, good off roaders, drive beautifully, and clean ones will always hold their money.

Personally if I was looking for a replacement vehicle I would go for either a LWB 2.8 Frontera, post 1995 Isuzu 3.1 TD Lotus Bighorn manual gearbox, or post 1995 3.2 V6 petrol Lotus Bighorn manual gearbox on LPG.

Thats my tuppence worth