My son owns a '92 fj80 which has adventured in tandem with my RRC for many miles. It compares well with the Landy although my coil conversion puts Stinky a bit ahead of the fj80. The Toy also uses more gas, if you can imagine.

I know people in the, um, "security" business in Afghanistan and the fj was their go to vehicle. They argued over it. Here in the US they are everywhere. Parts are easier to find than RR bits and cheaper.

I will give the prototype Range Rover huge props for its 4x4 innovation - such as the coil spring suspension and full time 4 wheel drive- but I think the Cruiser is a better vehicle.

its funny , the full time 4wd was becuse the diffs were too **** to run 2wd with your yanky v8. it was only 130 bhp in the form first used on the rrc. joke really

bet you love the front and rear difflocks as standard on the toyota? well if its the same as uk spec anyway
 
The Jap 4x4 are more popular in the Southern hemisphere for geographical reasons as in Japan is a two thirds the distance closer to its common trading partners. I haven't said that a P38 was more reliable I said that it would be wrong to assume that a Toyota is more reliable than anything else. I had a Disco with 312k on it's original engine ;)

is that on the orginal cam? it would be a first if it was i think.

i agree location is why btw, you made my point for me regarding range rover comparisons really

and i would say on balence the toyota of the 80 series era was more reliable accross the world than other 4x4 although the isuzu were very good too.
 
is that on the orginal cam? it would be a first if it was i think.

i agree location is why btw, you made my point for me regarding range rover comparisons really

and i would say on balence the toyota of the 80 series era was more reliable accross the world than other 4x4 although the isuzu were very good too.
Only bits to get attention was water pump and timing belts. Never even had a head gasket ;) . If I had to choose a different 4x4 for around £5000, I would definately not pick an Isuzu. (I used to work for GM and I saw way too many corroded examples ;))
 
The Jap 4x4 are more popular in the Southern hemisphere for geographical reasons as in Japan is a two thirds the distance closer to its common trading partners.

I don't think that's entirely correct. Sure, that's a good influence and no doubt the Japanese have dominated the Asia Pac market but I think it would also be churlish to not assume that it was for reliability reasons too and that it was this reason that permitted the erstwhile dominance of Land Rover to be very quickly eroded.

It is a widespread stereotype but which must have a basis in reality that people buy Jap 4x4s because when they're a million miles from anywhere and their lives depend on the car then a Jap car is less likely to let you down. Can you imagine anyone in their right mind to drive across Australia in a P38? You'd have to be nuts not to take a Jap 4x4 and, for me, this is the acid test : if your life depended on it, what would you take? For most, however, this is not the argument but moreover which one you prefer.
 
Cheers Fett. I love my Land Rovers but I just sold a Puma 110 which, after three years of family use needed a new axle! A new axle on a three year old car!
 
Only bits to get attention was water pump and timing belts. Never even had a head gasket ;) . If I had to choose a different 4x4 for around £5000, I would definately not pick an Isuzu. (I used to work for GM and I saw way too many corroded examples ;))

for 5 k it would be a nice 80 series petrol on gas with the lubeguard kit.

i already have a 72 rrc insured for 8k.

i paid £1700 for my trooper which is an import on 70k. no rust on it anywhere but i know they can rust.

the phrase among trooper owners is "they can rust, but not as bad as landies) which says it all lol
 
Cheers Fett. I love my Land Rovers but I just sold a Puma 110 which, after three years of family use needed a new axle! A new axle on a three year old car!

yeah its just daft isnt it, we all know it. we love em but they are ****e :p
 
I don't think that's entirely correct. Sure, that's a good influence and no doubt the Japanese have dominated the Asia Pac market but I think it would also be churlish to not assume that it was for reliability reasons too and that it was this reason that permitted the erstwhile dominance of Land Rover to be very quickly eroded.

It is a widespread stereotype but which must have a basis in reality that people buy Jap 4x4s because when they're a million miles from anywhere and their lives depend on the car then a Jap car is less likely to let you down. Can you imagine anyone in their right mind to drive across Australia in a P38? You'd have to be nuts not to take a Jap 4x4 and, for me, this is the acid test : if your life depended on it, what would you take? For most, however, this is not the argument but moreover which one you prefer.
If you put it into context then Japanese 4x4s have followed a similar pattern to motorbikes. Originally priced low and mass produced thus eventually squeezing others out of the market. I think you will find that Australia doesn't have a home grown 4x4 which explains why the Japs have a stranglehold on the market which also applies to the African nations. I am not saying that they are not reliable just what do you compare it against when it is all you could realistically buy. Would I consider driving across Australia in a P38, yes. If it has been prepared correctly you are no more likely to have problems than with anything similar. Common sense says if you fail to prepare then prepare to fail.
 
Cheers Fett. I love my Land Rovers but I just sold a Puma 110 which, after three years of family use needed a new axle! A new axle on a three year old car!
Not good but more or less the norm with all modern utility type vehicles. Look at Defender body cappings which literally rotted in front of your eyes. If you look at all modern vehicles they are too complex and will faill long before they rot due to expensive electronics or over engineered mechanicals.
 
The article in this months Landrover World magazine by Roger Hicks compares Land Rover ownership to Leica camera ownership. Ok, Roger has been know to waffle and is a bit of a cock, but he does make a good point.....

Choosing and owning a Land Rover is a consicous decision. That is, you have to want a Land Rover to own a Land Rover. If a potential owner is comparing a LR with another make, chances are they don't really want a LR. Its less applicable with more recent LR models, as I guess LR knew this, but with old LR including Range Rovers you've really got to want one to own one.
...if you expect anything else, you will quickly begin to hate your LR!

just my thoughts


P.S Leica's are generally ****e to use, and not particularly reliable (a mate of mine has owned an M9 for near a year, but 6 months of that has been in the workshop being fixed!)...but he WANTED one, so there it is

I think for some of us that's a load of ballcocks. I got a P38 because I coudn't afford another decent Pajero or a Land Cruiser and also because the parts are cheap and ALL the info is available for home workshop fault finding/repairs. If I win the Euro Millions I will be getting a Land Cruiser, later Pajero's are not too good.
Don't get me wrong, the P38 is a nice drive, but the build quality, or lack of it is depressing:(
 
Would I consider driving across Australia in a P38, yes. If it has been prepared correctly you are no more likely to have problems than with anything similar. Common sense says if you fail to prepare then prepare to fail.

I think you make some interesting points, Rob, but there's no amount of preparation that would make my life depend on a P38 and I suspect you are in a very small minority there. Hey ho. As I said earlier, we're all different. :D
 
I think for some of us that's a load of ballcocks. I got a P38 because I coudn't afford another decent Pajero or a Land Cruiser and also because the parts are cheap and ALL the info is available for home workshop fault finding/repairs. If I win the Euro Millions I will be getting a Land Cruiser, later Pajero's are not too good.
Don't get me wrong, the P38 is a nice drive, but the build quality, or lack of it is depressing:(


i agree with all that data, bar being mean to joe :p

i have hard nearly as much bad on those later pajeros as on the p38
 

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