Bought myself a classic

[oyamum]

G'day guys. Iv been a member on here for years having owned a d1 300tdi then a d1 3.9. I currently own a series 3 stage 1 project which I'm selling as I want a weekend toy and don't have time to work on the series. So iv bought myself a pretty well kitted out 89 classic. I'm hoping to pick it up next week as its in the act and I'm in melb.

So she has a few mods like dual batteries, light bar and spotties, uhf, winch bar and winch plus more so I'm pretty excited to get her...

My question is what are some things I should look out for when I pick her up?
Any common problems the classics have? I'll be driving it back to melb so don't want any common problems to catch me out...

Thanks in advance

[Mercguy]

My question is what are some things I should look out for when I pick her up?
Any common problems the classics have? I'll be driving it back to melb so don't want any common problems to catch me out...

Thanks in advance

Answer to 1: Everything.

Answer to 2: What common problems DON'T they have....

I say this to everyone, (especially to first-time MB buyers, who seem to be ignorant of the potential pitfalls of purchasing a 20+ year old car) regardless of their ownership history or experience...

Unless you can do a properly thorough pre purchase inspection yourself (and remain 100% objective) on the vehicle in question (any vehicle that is, regardless of make), then you simply do not know what the actual condition of the vehicle is - and you should get someone to do an inspection for you if you are unable to view the vehicle (and I always strongly suggest you don't buy something sight unseen).

Use a widely respected & recognized independent specialist LR workshop. Do not take it to the local garage.

Their PPI report should give you a detailed list of all serviceable items, as well as those requiring immediate / urgent attention, suspect serviceable items which function but requiring more observation and items which are sound, but due for replacement according to service schedule intervals

That includes listing of all the appropriate sounds/noises are present/not present, fluids, seals, brakes, drivetrain, electrical test results, rust the lot.

Without that information, you cannot make any educated analysis of possible issues. Further to that, to make blind assumptions based on a list of commonly known issues means bugger all as well. Noone can predict what could or will or will not happen when they haven't seen a vehicle.

Seriously, that's a pretty broad reaching question you are asking. If you've seen the vehicle, and you still have this question, then you need to have someone else look over it and do the PPI.

Otherwise, it should be happy motoring, because having done your homework, you should be good to drive.

So long as you have a full roll of tools, coolant, gear oil, ATF, brake fluid, water, gaffa tape, #8 fencing wire, pliers, jumper leads, and a list of phone numbers for flatbed towtrucks between your pickup point and destination.

Don't laugh. I'm serious. Prepare for the worst, Hope for the best. If you prepare, then chances are nothing will go wrong. If you don't, chances are everything that can go wrong, probably will.

Enjoy the drive. Head over the snow, forget the highway. It's a much nicer drive back in through the east.

[Homestar]

Yeah, if the condition is unknown, do yourself a favour and get RACV a total care before picking it up. If it's been modified with winch, etc it may have been worked very hard and things could be very worn.

Having said that, if you've taken it for a drive already before buying it, excessive lash in the drivetrain, clunks and motor rattles should already be known as well as if the cooling system works properly and what electrics work and what don't (I'd be amazed if everything worked) :D

It's a very open ended question, but I wish you luck getting it home and looking forward to you posting some pics of it and letting us all know what you ended up with. :)

Anyway, Ballan isn't far really - done that trip in a 101 that was sight unseen. ;)

[Mercguy]

Might even be easier having it transported and catching a plane home.... could be cheaper..... :cool::D:wasntme:

[DoubleChevron]

Gee's guys,

where is you sense of adventure. fill a backpack with tools as carry on ... drive to the nearest supercheap and get all the lubricants you need.... check them all... add air to the tires ... and start motoring. What is the worse that can happen :wasntme: If it overheats.... drive by the nearest wrecking yard, .... grab an EL fan and hardwire it to the battery... hold it on with a few cable ties until you get home. If it's the radiator ... replace it with a fresh one.

you will need to do this stuff either way .... and is a part of the fun. If you have low beam, brake lights and indicators your set.

Who cares about bushes and knocks and thumps. It'll still drive home no issues, it'll just wander at speed.

seeya,
Shane L.

[PhilipA]

Well its the things like sleeve knocks, and auto flares that you are really looking for.
Everything else is less expensive but those 2 should be deal breakers as they are $5000 each and really consign most RRCs to the scrap heap.
I had an optimist friend who was selling a nice soft dash LWB with about 270KK and wanted 10K for it. I asked him about the trans and he said Oh it flares a bit. It then became a 15K car.

Regards Philip A

[oyamum]

Thanks for the advice guys... I should've explained myself a bit better. I am actually a qualified mechanic but not a rover mechanic. So I know my way around cars.. My question was more looking for common issues specifically found in early rovers. Thinking more along the lines "such and such wiring loom rubs on seat rail" or rust in some weird obscure hard to see area. I havnt seen the car in person and have bought it for $2000 based only on 6 pics that he sent me via SMS and some SMS messages explaining condition... Lol yeh I know it's a risk but I love an adventure :)

[Homestar]

Then you should be fine. Wiring can cause issues and if the headlights havnet had a relay fitted and you're driving at night, you may all of a sudden find yourself in the dark. Maybe take some wire, crimps, etc.

Check all fluid levels before you leave - including the swivel housings although they may have one shot in them, but a couple of pumps of gear oil into each wouldn't hurt.

[Mick_Marsh]

done that trip in a 101 that was sight unseen. ;)
And what a memorable adventure that was.
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2016/06/228.jpg (http://s1074.photobucket.com/user/mick_marsh_AULRO/media/Misc/DSC_3831.jpg.html)
Oh, we did have a chase car.

Are you taking a friend?

[oyamum]

Yeh mick I own a new triton 4x4 also so me and a mate will drive up in that and he can drive the triton home and I'll drive the beast lol

[Mercguy]

Yeh mick I own a new triton 4x4 also so me and a mate will drive up in that and he can drive the triton home and I'll drive the beast lol

Pack a tow rope and a couple of rated bow shackles. You'll make it home then regardless ;)

I'd be less worried about electrics than I would about both of the issues Philip mentioned.

test the coolant for combustion gases before you leave, check the fluids in the transmission and transfer case, swivels & diffs, And the usual roadworthy items.

Since you're a mechanic, noone has to tell you what to bring. You already know the triton will have all your gear in the back :D

Send some pics when you get there, and post a few of your road trip. Best of luck and hope you get it home without any issues.

[DoubleChevron]

Pack a tow rope and a couple of rated bow shackles. You'll make it home then regardless ;)

.

Oh come on ... give the poor old Rangie a break. Does she really need to tow the triton home :( .... Nothing would surprise me though .....

[Mercguy]

Haha.. Got an uncle with a Triton. He says It's reliable.... but I have seen it getting fixed more times than I care to recall.

[oyamum]

Lol I have faith in my triton (I need to build faith in the rover) lol

Sorry to say but I'll put the 4d56 triton engine up against any Diesel engine they are brilliant. I bought mine brand new in nov 2014 I now have 110,000k on it and it's never missed a beat. I had a 2012 hilux prior and 2008 rodeo before and the triton is much much better....

But back to the problem at hand lol I may need to budget a **** load for the fuel bill in the classic lol

[gavinwibrow]

But back to the problem at hand lol I may need to budget a **** load for the fuel bill in the classic lol


Not if you put a diesel in it!

[bikeman]

a tank of diesel??? and a tow truck. :o
When I picked up my RRC, 95 soft dash. I checked fluids, filled up with 98, drove Melb to Syd no problems, 3 years later still no problems, well no major ones.
Cheers,
Phil

[gavinwibrow]

a tank of diesel??? and a tow truck. :o
When I picked up my RRC, 95 soft dash. I checked fluids, filled up with 98, drove Melb to Syd no problems, 3 years later still no problems, well no major ones.
Cheers,
Phil
No, put a diesel (motor) in it, NOT put diesel in it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bikeman]

yeah thats what I thought...... But!!!!!!

[gavinwibrow]

yeah thats what I thought...... But!!!!!!
Reduces fuel consumption. I get about 11L/100 km in my TD5 LSE. Having said that we wont talk about conversion costs vs. the differential between diesel and petrol.

[Mercguy]

a tank of diesel??? and a tow truck. :o
When I picked up my RRC, 95 soft dash. I checked fluids, filled up with 98, drove Melb to Syd no problems, 3 years later still no problems, well no major ones.
Cheers,
Phil

^^^^^^^^

That's optimism right there! :D:D:D:D:D:D

[bikeman]

gotta get lucky sometime......... just keep the service up and cross legs and thingshttps://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2016/06/138.jpg

[superquag]

Reduces fuel consumption. I get about 11L/100 km in my TD5 LSE. Having said that we wont talk about conversion costs vs. the differential between diesel and petrol.

. . . That's not the only 'conversion co$t' we'll talk about...

But a Td5 LSE is pure heaven to drive... boulevard ride and... wait for it..."Power" going up hills. It's the engine the softdash should have had.

When you do yours, dump the air and go back to coily-steely springs...
-No, Don't ask !:angel:

[Mercguy]

Not the first time I've heard that statement :D

[gavinwibrow]

Just refound an old article on putting the 2.7 TDV6 into a classic - 5 pages, plenty of pix if anyone wants a copy emailed - to many bites to post here.

[Mercguy]

I'll take a copy :D

[rangieman]

:ttiwwp:

[superquag]

Just refound an old article on putting the 2.7 TDV6 into a classic - 5 pages, plenty of pix if anyone wants a copy emailed - to many bites to post here.


Is that the same Tdv6 as wot ford use in some of their ' Mummy-taxis / school-run' exploders ? Should be cheaper to buy at the wreckers than a branded LR one ?
Or not...:o

[gavinwibrow]

I'll need an email address for any copies of the 2.7TDV6 article to be forwarded as its 3MB with lots of detailed pix - PM?

[Mercguy]

Hey Gav, I'd already sent you an email via forum earlier - did you get it at all? let me know if you didn't and I'll send you a PM instead

thanks mate.

[Bradtot]

Hi Gavin why don't you upload it to the files section?
On aulro ..look at the top..just a suggestion:)
Brad,:D

[gavinwibrow]

Hey Gav, I'd already sent you an email via forum earlier - did you get it at all? let me know if you didn't and I'll send you a PM instead

thanks mate.
I don't think the article will reduce enough to send by PM, hence the request for email - which I'll then delete once article sent

[gavinwibrow]

Hi Gavin why don't you upload it to the files section?
On aulro ..look at the top..just a suggestion:)
Brad,:D
Will try - didn't know we mere mortals were allowed to do such things

[gavinwibrow]

Will try - didn't know we mere mortals were allowed to do such things
Woopty do. Its in. I put it in manuals etc, even though its really an article. I'm sure a mod or whatever can relocate if necessary

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=7&id=171

[bikeman]

Just a thank you to Gavin for the email. This looks like an interesting project. You would need deep pockets to do this, even more so from way out here in Ozland. A lotto win, long holiday in Old Blighty, buy LSE and talk to these guys. I can see it in the future....... Yawn, wakes up, stops dreaming. Bugga

[gavinwibrow]

Hey Gav, I'd already sent you an email via forum earlier - did you get it at all? let me know if you didn't and I'll send you a PM instead

thanks mate.
PM sent

[DoubleChevron]

Just refound an old article on putting the 2.7 TDV6 into a classic - 5 pages, plenty of pix if anyone wants a copy emailed - to many bites to post here.

Try uploading it. I have a feeling a 3MB PDF will be allowed! We are all quite interested in this conversion. I wonder how the spindly little diffs handled the power :wasntme:

[superquag]

Diffs don't need to worry... scanning through the article, the v6 (allegedly) "...drives like a 3.9 , but with nicer engine note and less thirsty..." - paraphrased.
So, I'm guessing some of the excess POWER / Torque, is traded in favour of MPG. Anyway, a Td5 doesn't rip them to bits, so a 2.7 should be safe, even if it's not de-tuned.

When I win Lotto. . . :o

[gavinwibrow]

Try uploading it. I have a feeling a 3MB PDF will be allowed! We are all quite interested in this conversion. I wonder how the spindly little diffs handled the power :wasntme:
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/local_link...catid=7&id=171 (http://www.aulro.com/afvb/local_links.php?action=jump&catid=7&id=171)

[Homestar]

Diffs don't need to worry... scanning through the article, the v6 (allegedly) "...drives like a 3.9 , but with nicer engine note and less thirsty..." - paraphrased.
So, I'm guessing some of the excess POWER / Torque, is traded in favour of MPG. Anyway, a Td5 doesn't rip them to bits, so a 2.7 should be safe, even if it's not de-tuned.

When I win Lotto. . . :o

Yep, but let's face it, if you're going to drop those dollars on the conversion, you'd probably lash out on some uprated parts for the rest of the driveline at the same time - I would.

[DoubleChevron]

Yep, but let's face it, if you're going to drop those dollars on the conversion, you'd probably lash out on some uprated parts for the rest of the driveline at the same time - I would.

You noticed that too.... Similar torque my arse.... those things ..... Your talking 440 Nm .... LOL.

Actually, I was thinking your try a similar thing to what the roadkill guys did to put the hellcat engine into the old charger. You keep unplug and disconnecting everything in the donor vehicle until you work out what the engine needs to run ... .Then move over the bits from the donor car it needs to work.

It makes an LS1 conversion look easy with the aftermarket fueling and spark systems available (gee's you can even run your own ... eg: megasquirt).

seeya,
Shane L

[Homestar]

Yes, the old Chev is simple by comparison but not in this league if your worried about fuel economy. But even on that point, how many miles would you need to drive to make the conversion pay for itself just based on fuel? I can see plenty of good reasons to do this, but saving money isn't one of them. :D

Hmm, must go and look at LS1's for sale while I'm thinking about it... ;)

[Mercguy]

I average between 18.7 and 23.66L/100km in the rrc.

So lets just say 20L/100 as a rounded figure.
At 1.43/L for 98RON, that's $105.53 right now for my 72L regular fill.

A diesel already has better econ, but let's say 15L/100 as a hard figure example, and the current price at my servo of $1.23 for ultimate diesel.
For the same 72L fill that's $88.56

The diffference is, 480km per 72L @ 15L/100km for $88.56 versus 385km per 72L @ 18.7L/100km for $105.53

So, 95km further per tank, and $16.97 saving on a single tank 'on average'

Let's say it costs $10K do do a complete swap.
That means roughly that you'd need to fill up a vehicle at these prices 589.27 times to 'save'
Over the existing 'best case' scenario of 18.7 l/100km from the existing v8.

But it's not about ongoing costs in most cases.

The main reason people want to swap is for more power (chev example) or more range per tank (4bd1t as an example)

In this case, the range of almost 100km per tank is a far better margin. Not only that, you can't GET 98RON in many remote locations, meaning you simply cannot take that huge v8 anywhere remote without taking your own fuel, which increases weight, reduces fuel economy and subsequently reduces range further.

It's however not an argument that works only one-way.
The power from the petrol as opposed to extracting the same power from the diesel, will mean the diesel fuel consumption figures would likely be higher than the example I used. How high, I could not tell you.
The issue of course goes WAY further, and other drivetrain components need to be considered, tyre size, diff ratio transmission, torque output, acceleration.... Vehicle mass.....

So it's more likely that 'personal preference' has more to do with the conversion, than considering many of the other modifications which also need to be considered to make the whole package the most 'efficient'

Either way, you're probably not ever going to get your money back. I don't think anyone who undertakes these projects really believe they will..... Unless they plan to keep the vehicle forever, or have a fuel source that costs nothing.

Just a thought....

[DoubleChevron]

why would you run 98 in a low compression engine that dates back to the stone age :confused:

[350RRC]

I bought my POS with the 350 already in it and already on gas. Probably cost prohibitive to do such a conversion with an alloy 350 these days unless you really want one.

ATM it costs a bit less to run than having a 300tdi or TD5. That's with gas at 47.3 cpl.

Mine is all cast iron (apart from the thermostat housing :D).

Power is only a minor consideration with having one of these mooring blocks, the others include the cost of parts like starters, water pumps, the cost of a rebuild if necessary, the lack of stoopid rover idiosyncracies like oil pumps losing their prime, slipped liners, etc.

No electronics is a major plus. Call me old fashioned..........

cheers, DL

[Homestar]

why would you run 98 in a low compression engine that dates back to the stone age :confused:

Only on a hot day - above 35 ish, with 14 degrees of advance wound in, 98 helps a lot. I only use it now when towing on hotter days to stop pre ignition.

For everyday use it's a bit of a waste IMO.