Thread: OKA, does anyone know what happened?

They went out of production way before the GFC, not sure that actual cause of their demise - it was a shame.

Up to about 2011:

[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OKA_4wd"]OKA 4wd - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]


There is a forum, maybe more information on there:

Home Page - OKA 4WD . com

Bob

from the wiki;

Links to Malaysian Vell Paari

On 24th August 2011, The Malay Mail carried an article regarding various investigations being carried out against OKA 4wd, for 'allegations of misappropriation of millions of ringgit, missing accounting files and "stolen" intellectual property manuals.' Manuals valued at RM80 million had gone missing. They had contained trade information for the manufacture of all-terrain trucks and tour buses. Funds of the company had also been mysteriously siphoned out of Australia to a private account in Europe. There was also allegations of unpaid wages. Vell Paari, who controls OKA 4WD through Reymer Pty Ltd, denied responsibility for the matters raised, saying that he spent most of his time in Kuala Lumpur.[5] Vell Paari is the son of Malaysia's former Minister of Works Samy Vellu.


well there you go, how they managed to screw it up so thoroughly like this is amazing. Sort of comforting though, seems to imply that is wasn't market forces but the usual sociopaths at play.

Market forces to a certain extent...
Friend of mine looked at and drove one before he bought his Defender.

- Going back to when it was Australian owned... reckoned it was noisy and had vibrations in the cabin... Trim and general finish was not what he expected either. Whatever, he was less impressed and thus shelled out for a new tdi Deefer.

He is still very happy with it after all these years.

I prefer Forward Control especially when over rough stuff... the cabin movement may be greater, (discourages hoonish misbehaviour) but its all up/down which is easier on the neck than pitching in a car, which incorporates fore-aft rotation
. - After years of owning a 4WD van, drove a leaf-sprung 4WD up the freeway...only took an hour to give me a stiff neck and headache...

Lets just say allegations of incompetance and misappropriation of funds at the highest levels (in Australia) over a long period have not been refuted.

Deano

I seen that stuff happen from the inside of a company years ago, hence my sociopath comment. It not a random insult, it's very much a real reality in business, up to 10% of executives vs 4% of the general population.

they can lie without blinking and have amazing memories, will work 14 hours a day, but it's all directed towards the scam. the one i knew was working a double scam in the end. scamming the Millionaire behind the venture and living in one of the Millionaires houses for free on one hand, and scamming the trades and suppliers / staff on the other. He walked away unscathed.

I was grateful it all fell over because it is a slippery slope to becoming a sycophant (all the trimings of sociopathy without the mental illness). One white lie, then the next and before I knew it; what was 'innocent' bull**** that everyone gets at work, was wrapping itself into a neat trap for a wide eyed young manager like me.

Lucky 'escape' and lesson learnt. No lies are ever 'white' or worth the money that gets thrown your way. (That's how they get you in, throw money at you and then close the noose)

Originally Posted by superquag

......................................... - After years of owning a 4WD van, drove a leaf-sprung 4WD up the freeway...only took an hour to give me a stiff neck and headache...

There is absolutely no comparison between an OKA's handling on highway or off road and that of a sixty series or a series LR, forward control or otherwise.

The OKA uses semi elliptical leaves in conjunction with aeon rubbers and dual HD shock absorbers in each corner (when fitted) which delivers a remarkably smooth and comfortable ride though like all vehicles if overloaded, driven too fast or with worn suspension components a rough ride will result.

One of the OKA's strong points is its smooth and progressive suspension, particularly off road. Rear spring leaves are 1540mm long, fronts are 1440mm.

It's interesting how times move on and the benefits of this design (long leaves and aeon rubbers) is lost in a world of coil spring suspension.

Coils might be fine for smooth on road performance but really don't stack up against the OKA's suspension off road.

Another benefit of the OKA's suspension is that you never, that's right never, break shock absorbers. Semi-elliptical leaves provide dampening by design as they slide across each other leaving rebound and further dampening to the large double acting Monroe shockers. No broken shockers, shocker mounts or eyes. The use of aeon rubbers means the suspension never bottoms out as they compress progressively to take heavy load.

See how far you get with zero natural dampening coil springs when the a shocker fails in sand dune country. Absolutely nowhere, wheras with leaf springs you can still move.

Don't knock it till you've tried it.


Deano

PS. The reason I sold my Defender 130 after six months of blood sweat and tears and a cartload of $$$ spent in 'doing it up' was that after a one and a half hour drive up the freeway I could hardly walk when I got out of it (in fairness I am 6' tall with stuffed knees). On the other hand I can drive the OKA 1000Km plus in a day and get out tired but not sore.

sounds great. What do you think of the allegation of 'stolen manuals?' I would have thought something like 'how hard can it be?' with regards to engineering them, they are using 3rd party engines and drive train, suspension (?), and a basic body any competent sheet worker could put together with workshop basics?

The more I learn the more I think 'how hard can it be?' in regards to this sort of vehicle construction. Why isn't anyone doing it?

Perhaps the world is a much smaller place than my imagination gives it credit for.