Anyone willing to show me their soft dash in south east melbourne?

[Judo]

I find myself looking at RRC's for some reason. I definitely don't need one. But I've never really seen one properly and I don't think I've been inside one, so who's to say whether I need one or not??

I thought someone around the area might be happy to give me a look and tell me a bit about them. My first thought is a soft dash although I'm not clear how rare these are compared to hard dashes? Maybe I should check out both...

Full disclosure, I can't see myself buying a petrol, but it seems there are a few diesels around from transplants or imports. Now I'm getting ahead of myself though - I haven't even seen one, let alone decided to buy one. ;)

I live in Parkdale, 3195.

[jsp]

A reasonable diesel converted classic, softdash or not, will be harder to come across than you think....if $ isn't a big issue your much better off buying a totalled disco and a rangie with a good body and doing a mashup......

I personally much prefer the styling and space in a hard dash, but the AC in the softdash wins anyday so it goes out for drives.

[DoubleChevron]

A reasonable diesel converted classic, softdash or not, will be harder to come across than you think....if $ isn't a big issue your much better off buying a totalled disco and a rangie with a good body and doing a mashup......

I personally much prefer the styling and space in a hard dash, but the AC in the softdash wins anyday so it goes out for drives.

I would have thought the hard dash air-con would be far better. Much larger evaporator ... not mixer flap rubbish to play up ... two big dedicated fans recirculating the air .......... It would have to be far more effective :)

seeya,
Shane L.

[gavinwibrow]

I would have thought the hard dash air-con would be far better. Much larger evaporator ... not mixer flap rubbish to play up ... two big dedicated fans recirculating the air .......... It would have to be far more effective :)

seeya,
Shane L.

Nah. Softdash is effectively almost D2 vs D1 - I believe they call it progress?

Having said that, I prefer the hard dash with grabrail, but then, I'm an old fart.

[DoubleChevron]

Interesting, my hard dash is so cold, the front passenger generally freezes and tries to point hte vents away from themselves (or turns the A/C off even though the back seat passengers are far from "cold"). The hard dash has its own very large dedicated A/C system.

[FisherX]

G'day Justin,

I just sold my soft dash to a guy down your way in Sandringham. Of course I can't give you his info but you might see it around down there.

PM me your mobile and I can send you a couple of videos of the soft dash I took for him. Might give you a bit of an idea of what they are like. But they are pretty much a post 96 Disco 1 inside at the front with different door trims, seats and of course the dash pad. but still have the disco gauge cluster.

I've had both the hard and soft dash's and I much prefer the soft dash. It's just a bit nicer all round.

Cheers Steve

[Mercguy]

I thought about converting my hard dash to a soft dash some years back. then I started looking at disco's, and ultimately changed my mind.

Everyone has a personal preference, but I have never found the HVAC in my RRC to be anything less than overkill. It's so cold and quick that I only need it on 1 or 2 at the most to maintain frigid coolness in 40 degree heat.

by contrast, I feel that the heater matrix and defrost channels for the dash isn't 'perfect' but it's not too shabby. Mostly the issue is the vents and distribution / air balance.

but if the only real reason is for a different hvac - I'd want to know what isn't working properly on the hard dash - because there's absolutely no reason to complain about it from my own experience.

If it's a cosmetic thing, I can understand. But I have found that I like my Range rover looking like a Range rover and not a Disco.

[Vern]

A reasonable diesel converted classic, softdash or not, will be harder to come across than you think....if $ isn't a big issue your much better off buying a totalled disco and a rangie with a good body and doing a mashup......

I personally much prefer the styling and space in a hard dash, but the AC in the softdash wins anyday so it goes out for drives.Not that hard to find, here is my 4bd1t powered soft dash LSE. Currently parting it out though[emoji25]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190124/dbe2ffdc98a5a73b2f807c9cf4e1755b.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190124/6d7f1f0ef3e6ae20ba337a8becf46455.jpg

[Vern]

I thought about converting my hard dash to a soft dash some years back. then I started looking at disco's, and ultimately changed my mind.

Everyone has a personal preference, but I have never found the HVAC in my RRC to be anything less than overkill. It's so cold and quick that I only need it on 1 or 2 at the most to maintain frigid coolness in 40 degree heat.

by contrast, I feel that the heater matrix and defrost channels for the dash isn't 'perfect' but it's not too shabby. Mostly the issue is the vents and distribution / air balance.

but if the only real reason is for a different hvac - I'd want to know what isn't working properly on the hard dash - because there's absolutely no reason to complain about it from my own experience.

If it's a cosmetic thing, I can understand. But I have found that I like my Range rover looking like a Range rover and not a Disco.A range rover soft dash doesn't look like a disco though, it looks like a range rover soft dash! Exactly how land rover wanted it to look[emoji4]

[Judo]

Not that hard to find, here is my 4bd1t powered soft dash LSE. Currently parting it out though[emoji25]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190124/dbe2ffdc98a5a73b2f807c9cf4e1755b.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190124/6d7f1f0ef3e6ae20ba337a8becf46455.jpg

:( :(

[Judo]

What’s the boot space like? It’s one thing that is great about a 110...great for packing heaps of stuff! Is the Rangie boot space any better than a Disco? We filled the Disco way too easily...

[Vern]

Rangie boot space is deeper than a disco, by about 2-300mm, but the disco is higher. Having the lower tailgate is good though, makes a great bench.
But at least the rangie boot you can easily access every square inch when open, unlike the 110

[Judo]

Rangie boot space is deeper than a disco, by about 2-300mm, but the disco is higher. Having the lower tailgate is good though, makes a great bench.
But at least the rangie boot you can easily access every square inch when open, unlike the 110

That’s good to hear. Depth was always the issue with the Disco and the only thing that annoys me about the 110 is the narrow door compared to body width. Also I’ve come to realise nothing beats a folder down tailgate. Seems like the Rangie wins in this department. :)

[Judo]

After reading more about hard dash v soft dash I think I should at least see both.... I was probably a bit premature in saying soft dash only.

[Mercguy]

What’s the boot space like? It’s one thing that is great about a 110...great for packing heaps of stuff! Is the Rangie boot space any better than a Disco? We filled the Disco way too easily...

There is not enough space in an RRC for any real serious long journey. Not unless you remove the spare and put it outside, fold the seats forward or remove them, and use the rear passenger area for storage.

Weekender? sure, no issue - if you have a roofrack. but anything more than a long weekend and you really have to get creative with your use of space.

Some items, like large swags for example, simply will eat up useable interior space, so it's best to lump them on the roof.

Keeping the heavy stuff low as possible (on the floor behind front seats is best) helps with weight distribution / handling.

A 110 is far more utilitarian, and therefore has easier to manage rear cargo space. the Disco has the higher roof and can make better use of a rear drawer setup than a rangie can - mostly because of the rear door - but the RRC's tailgate is a very useful space and makes a great seat as well.

[Vern]

Dunno, spent over a month touring tassie in mine, with my wife and 2 kids, was no different to mates with us in their patrols and landcruisers. We did have a roof rack, and due to tyre size, the spare belongs on the back.

[Mercguy]

Dunno, spent over a month touring tassie in mine, with my wife and 2 kids, was no different to mates with us in their patrols and landcruisers. We did have a roof rack, and due to tyre size, the spare belongs on the back.

Really depends on what you're carrying for sleeping gear, and how many provisions you're taking.
I have a 60L engel in the back and there is barely enough room for one basket full of dry provisions beside it.
No room for "gear" unless the seat is folded or removed.

Fwiw, for weekends, my swag will barely fit across the back seat (sqashed in by the doors) and my spare is inside (245/75/16) to keep everything "low"

Heavy stuff on the middle of the floor in front of the back seats, jerrycans of water on each side for even weight distribution.

I maintain full-access on the tailgate area, and my fridge can easily slide rearwards as can the basket no slide required and saves weight and space.

but again, once you chuck your fishing gear in, or a bike rack on the towball, you're really limited by the amount you can carry in the rear.

Certainly compared to mates 110's or lwb GQ's the RRC cannot match it for ease of use - and it's not the tailgate, it is the taper of the roof that is the actual issue that causes the storage in the rear to be problematic.

I love the RRC - it's so damn ugly it's beautiful, but it absolutely is not as practical as a 110 or a GQ - and those have a level of 'ruggedness' that also gives you some degree of leeway with regards to how you treat it. I'm far more careful packing the RRC than I was with my old Pathfinder or the GQ... and certainly don't overload or just jam stuff into it.

[blackrangie]

After reading more about hard dash v soft dash I think I should at least see both.... I was probably a bit premature in saying soft dash only.Go softdash

[Vern]

Go softdashDo you need a second LSE project? I think you do[emoji6][emoji38]

[blackrangie]

Not that hard to find, here is my 4bd1t powered soft dash LSE. Currently parting it out though[emoji25]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190124/dbe2ffdc98a5a73b2f807c9cf4e1755b.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190124/6d7f1f0ef3e6ae20ba337a8becf46455.jpgHang on, did you say you are parting it out??

Why?