4by up to 10k thoughts please

[Swannie]

Hi Guys, after some thoughts about a 4by up to about 10k...

Current situation is wife has her car, I have a fully maintained company car ( not a 4x4) which is capable of towing the swan on the black stuff, plus my old muscle car

But after going away a few weeks ago with everyone that has a 4by got me thinking I NEED one 

Basically I really want it for the times that I will go bush and be in a position to do some exploring with the thing. In the past I've owned
an
- MK Patrol SWB
- 80 series landcruiser 40th anniversay
- 85 range rover with 4.4 leyland

Looking for something comfy, plenty of mod options and capable off road. My initial top 3 are

- GQ Patrol
- 80 Series cruiser
- 60 series cruiser

Guys no need to get into the toyota/nissan thing etc. I'm leaning towards a GQ but as always keen for some other thoughts.

Cheers
Greg

[britts]

Sounds like you have already narrowed the field any one of those 3 would do the job.

[D4D]

GQ will go further than an 80 due to an LSD that works and a driveline that is bullet proof.

[Matto]

There's this one in the For Sale section atm:
http://myswag.org/forum/index.php?topic=23169.0

To be honest, if I was in your situation, I'd be looking for a petrol 80 or GQ. Something like :
http://www.carpoint.com.au/all-cars/private/details.aspx?Cr=8&R=12153803 , or even
http://www.carpoint.com.au/all-cars/private/details.aspx?Cr=6&R=12376877

If you're not going to be doing a lot of kms, then paying extra for the diesel isn't really worth it (IMHO). Or, given the mention of said "muscle car", buy a basic GQ for not many dollars and stick an LS2 motor in the front. Heaps of conversion kits to do that these days, and the fuel economy is pretty good. Ebay is full of gear for GQ's, and everyone knows how to work on them.

Personally, I'd stay away from the 60 just because it's so hard to find a good one, and the leaf springs. Yeah, they can be made to work, but starting with coils is going to give you a much better ride and a much easier time. Again, if the muscle car thing plays out into the rest of your life, a 60 with a big petrol v8 wouldn't be bad either. My concern would be that, having other nice new vehicles, hopping into an old 60 for a month's touring holiday with no AC and old headlights is going to be pretty jarring.

If it were me, I'd buy the blue GQ above, spend another $3k on lockers, and the remaining $2k on bits and bobs - cargo barrier, brake controller, new fluids and filters, seat covers, maybe second-hand set of drawers, etc. All the little bits and pieces to bring it up to scratch as a comfortable tough truck.

Good luck - I'm sure you'll get heaps of other good options!

Cheers!
Matto

[Matto]

Also, re: muscle car...





Cheers!
Matto

[Swannie]

Hey Matto, without going off the topic and I'm sure my car is on here somewhere

Here she is

[chappo555]

Swannie. How urgently do you need it. In a few months I will have a 93 turbo diesel hilux surf with every off road option up for sale for under that money. Genuine 187k on the clock.

[Mace]

Sometimes you can find something from left feild.

Just over a month ago a local yard here in Benalla put a Mint 2001 TD5 Defender Wagon with just under 200k on the clock in the block for $8900 drive away.  I checked it out quickly after work.  By the time Id hummed and haa'd overnight, checked carsales/fleabay (most seemed to go for between 13 & 17k private sales) and gotten back to him the next morning to say I was interested, it had sold.  On the market for precisely 3 hours.

Of the three, try and find a 4.2 GQ if you can.

[dazzler]

Prado 90 series rv with the 2.7 4cyl petrol motor.
Good engine not too bad on fuel. Okay off road. Okay on road. Easy to fix.

[Bird]

theres a bloke on here selling a GU 4.2 for $12k...
Its worth checking out. I think he had it on ebay

[hillbilly]

G'day Swannie, i'd definitely recommend buying that 80 series that is currently advertised in the myswag classifieds that matto linked to earlier. It is in fantastic condition, drives great and I reckon the guy selling it would probably even throw in a rear storage system and fridge slide for a swagger...

Hillbilly

[dazzler]

G'day Swannie, i'd definitely recommend buying that 80 series that is currently advertised in the myswag classifieds that matto linked to earlier. It is in fantastic condition, drives great and I reckon the guy selling it would probably even throw in a rear storage system and fridge slide for a swagger...

Hillbilly

Cheeky sod!

Great value though

[lilstookie]

G'day Swannie, i'd definitely recommend buying that 80 series that is currently advertised in the myswag classifieds that matto linked to earlier. It is in fantastic condition, drives great and I reckon the guy selling it would probably even throw in a rear storage system and fridge slide for a swagger...

Hillbilly

Don't tempt us

We're too poor and too far away atm

Lil

[GeeTee]

Swannie, noice! You got a Hatch Hutch for that?

[hillbilly]

Don't tempt us

We're too poor and too far away atm

Lil

Lilstookie,

If your really keen I'm sure there is probably something else in the shed that could also get thrown in.

Hillbilly

[efjay]

What about a wj grand cherokee jeep?  1999-2004 mod
Great toys

[r0ssrg]

Mate

We had a Holden Jackaroo that never stopped.  Ours. Was a 3.2 V6. You really want the 3.5l version. Should be able to get a good one for your budget.