Hi gals, guys and those undecided. Thought I'd have a wee shufty at what was going on here, the option to 'join up' was too much to resist 
. Got my first 4x4 in 1990, only 22 years ago, not that far back when I think of it. It was a brand new Suzuki Santana SJ410. Not over burdened with power, but a fantastic toy. First Landy followed about 4 years later and was a 1980 ser 111 SWB with side windows, 2 1/4 petrol and a rotten chassis. Had that for about 12 years and over time done everything you can imagine to it to make it better. New chassis + bulkhead posts, 2.5 diesel, O/D with recon box, FWH, kenlow fan, radial tyres, sound deadening etc etc etc. It was a cracker and got used extensively off road, even managed the Corrieyairack pass with a squad from SWAT club.
Spotted a cheap Discovery for sale after leaving the pub one night, and the next day a deal was done and I was into real 4x4 luxury as far as I was concerned. The 88 sort of got left for a bit, parked up for a couple of years. Seven years ago i got my present Discovery, a 1998 300 tdi auto from Special Vehicles. It was immaculate - obviously never bought it in Scotland - and then I had three Landrovers. Two of them had to go as three tax, MOT and insurances were a bit too much considering I had just been made redundant. After discussion with the wife, we decided to keep the new Disco and sell the old one and the 88. Worst decision I made, and I still pine after my beloved ser 111. Not that there is anything wrong with the 300, it has been a very reliable tool, but it's just a bit too civilized. I loved the simplicity of my old 2.5 N/A SWB, but the wife wasn't so impressed with the noise, the draughts, the water leaks or even the 'tide' line round the inside of the door cards from a bit of deep water (mud) wading. Women can be so fickle at times.
So that's my 4x4 history, looking forward to reading some of your stories on here, and giving or asking for advise as required. Cheers for now, Roddy.
. Got my first 4x4 in 1990, only 22 years ago, not that far back when I think of it. It was a brand new Suzuki Santana SJ410. Not over burdened with power, but a fantastic toy. First Landy followed about 4 years later and was a 1980 ser 111 SWB with side windows, 2 1/4 petrol and a rotten chassis. Had that for about 12 years and over time done everything you can imagine to it to make it better. New chassis + bulkhead posts, 2.5 diesel, O/D with recon box, FWH, kenlow fan, radial tyres, sound deadening etc etc etc. It was a cracker and got used extensively off road, even managed the Corrieyairack pass with a squad from SWAT club. Spotted a cheap Discovery for sale after leaving the pub one night, and the next day a deal was done and I was into real 4x4 luxury as far as I was concerned. The 88 sort of got left for a bit, parked up for a couple of years. Seven years ago i got my present Discovery, a 1998 300 tdi auto from Special Vehicles. It was immaculate - obviously never bought it in Scotland
- and then I had three Landrovers. Two of them had to go as three tax, MOT and insurances were a bit too much considering I had just been made redundant. After discussion with the wife, we decided to keep the new Disco and sell the old one and the 88. Worst decision I made, and I still pine after my beloved ser 111. Not that there is anything wrong with the 300, it has been a very reliable tool, but it's just a bit too civilized. I loved the simplicity of my old 2.5 N/A SWB, but the wife wasn't so impressed with the noise, the draughts, the water leaks or even the 'tide' line round the inside of the door cards from a bit of deep water (mud) wading. Women can be so fickle at times. So that's my 4x4 history, looking forward to reading some of your stories on here, and giving or asking for advise as required. Cheers for now, Roddy.
