off road topic - considering a vintage terrain vehicle

[Mats Olsson.]

A couple of weeks back it came to my knowledge that an old Land Rover pick-up (early 70's, short wheelbase, 2 door cockpit, low mileage, 4 cyl gasoline engine) is for sale close to where I live. The more I think of this particular vehicle, the more obsessed I get (- all typical gear slut symptoms, the disease is spreading outside of the studio enviroment it seems... ), anyways, today I called the seller, tomorrow I will have a closer look at this green "beauty". I know it is not built for neither comfort nor speed, but they are way cool cars IMO. Before I go there, perhaps there's some thoughts/experiences from old 4WD's and/or Land Rovers that you want to share? /Mats

[saucyjack]

Mats, I'm no expert but I've had a few friends with old Land Rovers....I would get it checked out by a mechanic before buying.If it has been taken care of (and not savagely abused) those things will run forever.Seem to remember body rust can a potential problem. HTH

[Mats Olsson.]

Update: While preparing for tomorrows test-drive, I stumbled on this [url=http://www.lrfaq.org/FAQ.1.what_is.html]web page[/url] , sounds totally irresistible, doesn't it? /Mats

[DJDM]

Hey Mats, I have a Land Rover - Range Rover and I LOVE it! Its a 1989 that came with 203,000 miles on it and it is in great shape. The thing is totally unstopable. The only problems that I encountered were easily fixed and you have to keep a case of oil around beacuse they leak the Texas Tea like crazy but aside from that? Awsome piece of machinery! Good luck with the test drive! - DJDM

[lakeside studios]

Mats - They're very simple mechanicaly and over-engineered,and as such are somewhat unrefined,but very strong and easy to fix.The 4-cylinder petrol engine will use a lot of fuel,but you can get a LPG gas conversion tho. There was a Volvo built only for the Swedish army,in the sixties/seventies,called the Radio car or something like that.They are v.cool if you could find one.But the 'Landy' will be a lot of fun,as long as you don't mind putting a spanner to it every now and then.Kind of like an old BSA motorbike.

[offramp]

Wow...I've been craving one of the older Defenders, myself, lately; saw a '72 on the road the other day...wife and I had a drooling problem.

[Mats Olsson.]

[quote]Originally posted by lakeside studios: [b]There was a Volvo built only for the Swedish army,in the sixties/seventies,called the Radio car or something like that.They are v.cool if you could find one.[/b][/quote]Yes, I know about those, they are quite easy to find here, but the army has stopped selling them because of "enviromental reasons" so the last good one's will go to destructon :( . I believe they where made all the way to late 70's. Great roomy ATV's with incredible clearance. The swedish nick-name for translates roughly to "The Puppy", the Icelandic call them "The Laplander". They could easily be converted to little camping mobiles. The engine & drivetrain is very reliable but IMO it lacks the cool "adventurous/explorer" factor that a basic Land Rover has. Just in case you've never seen one, here's a picture of the Volvo Radio Car: [img]http://www.solace.mh.se/~mckeork/valp/sve/innan_island/valp.jpg[/img] Volvo also made another military ATV in the 50's, the only Volvo that I know of that was factory equipped with a Volvo-made V-8 engine. If you want one of these, good luck, there are only 7 in USA (2 in Houston, 1 in Austin Texas, 2 in Washington, 1 in San Diego and one that Volvo restores for a museum in New Jersey)and this is one of them: [img]http://w1.704.telia.com/~u70402468/galleri/bjornsugga/bjornsugga14.jpg[/img] /Mats

[strat0124]

Well consider a "vintage" rolling tool box to go along with it! :)

[OctaveDr]

>>Seem to remember body rust can a potential problem. i thought that the bodies were aluminum?

[Mats Olsson.]

[quote]Originally posted by OctaveDr: [b]>>Seem to remember body rust can a potential problem. i thought that the bodies were aluminum?[/b][/quote]The body is aluminum, but the framework is steel. A special problem area is where steel meets aluminum, especially in areas where they use salt on the roads in the winter. Steel + aluminum + salt + water = aluminum rot through electrolytic corrosion. Only cure is to use stainless steel bolts (prefferably of marine quality) and to get steel parts galvanised. Unfortunately, on the latest batch of Land Rover Defender they no longer galvanise door hinges etc. up until late 90's they where still galvanised, though I'm not sure about the framework. The car I'm considering seems to be in really good shape, it is a 1972 Series III 88 2.25 litre petrol, that has been used for moose hunting. This moose hunting thing is really good news, as moose hunting is only allowed in the fall and the rest of the year this car has been inside a barn. Most hunters are also quite wealthy and pretty anal about maintenance, this car seems almost over-serviced. There is also an almost new winch on the truck bed that was used for moving freshly killed moose. I am still investigating this vehicle, more will follow if you are intrested. /Mats

[Mats Olsson.]

A short note from the first day of driving this machine: It is black, it is [i]very[/i] different from almost anything I have ever driven on land before (FYI: I have drived several extreme vehicles in my days, including huge 52 ton 18-wheleers in snow-storms on narrow norwegian high-altitude roads). At first I was shocked by how uncomfortable, [i]and[/i] at the same time exciting, this thing is. There is no heat, ventilation is poor, seats are not adjustable, sound system? - forget it, there's nowhere to put it and you won't hear anything anyway! But this ride has charm and attitude, and a very distinctive odour... This 30 year old ATV is everything that my New Beetle is not. I have not made up my mind yet on wether I will buy or pass, later today a mechanic will take a good look at it, I need a second opinion because my GAS condition is probably clouding my judgement. (Some folks say that there are two occasions when a Land Rover will make you feel great - when you buy it and when you sell it.) /Mats

[offramp]

Okay, Mats...now I want one of those Radio cars... Damn, that is one of the coolest things I've seen since the Volkswagen Thing and the Pinzgauer.

[Your Ad Here]

I had a couple Willys jeeps. One utility wagon (the original SUV) and an army jeep. No luxury whatsoever but both of these could climb a tree in 4wheel low gear.

[Audiobotica]

[quote]Originally posted by lakeside studios: [b] There was a Volvo built only for the Swedish army,in the sixties/seventies,called the Radio car or something like that.They are v.cool if you could find one.[/b][/quote]Yeah, the Valp, neat car. If you want to find one, check out: [url=http://groups.yahoo.com/group/valpclub/]The Valp Club on Yahoo Clubs.[/url] Somebody there might have one to sell. Yours in Music, Ben Fury