V8 disco v RRC v Patrol

[brendon]

Contemplating my choice of 4x4 and its narrowed down to 3.

The criteria was:
-Cheap under 6K
-Petrol V8 (guess thats the bogan in me..)
-Manual (auto not a fan...)
-3500kg towing (towing around race cars with ease)
-Capable offorad (not hardcore but able to go beach, up to the cape and play in the bush)

there nominees are:
Disco S1 V8 (3 or 5 dr)
RRC V8 (love a 2 dr but don't car)
GQ Patrol (302 windsor) similar to the Maverick in 4WD custom Action No.10.

Disco S1 and Rangie driven both of these (disco in diesel form...) and they fit the bill and look tough/capable. Leaning more towards Rangie due to the lower height, lower centre of gravity.
Eventually I would look at running Patrol diffs to make it unbreakable...if there is such a thing;).

though I also like the idea of a patrol with a v8, parts (in remote areas)and after market stuff mainly as well as the above criteria.

I will be mainly using it for:
Towing cars (ranging from 1.2 - 1.8t)
Beach (9 mile, 5 rocks, 3 rivers mainly)
Some minor rock related fun.
Camping + getting into places to mt biking, Kayaking & Trail bike biking. &
Major trip in 2011 http://www.aulro.com/afvb/general-chat/75099-questions-about-touring.html

The patrol engine conversion would cost about the same as the diff conversion (with lockers).

So its splitting hairs. all fit the bill and will do the job, but all have pros/cons. Looking for some unbias advice that might help me choose.

I will be posting same thread on some other forums so it will be interesting to see the results

cheers in advance

[Grover-98]

If you were planning on doing touring i would get the D1 with the 300Tdi for economy and still a great towing vehicle :)

But for strength i would go with the patrol, as they have one of the strongest drivelines around :)

Sorry this doesn't help much.

James :angel:

[Rangier Rover]

A lot of variables in this one. A V8 conversion in a patrol would be tough but not have the character of a Rangie:D Also may cost a little more than 6K;)

The smaller Rover V8 is no power house and would battle a bit towing the weight your looking at although they will do it in 3rd gear with the ZF 4spd auto and return around 21ltrs/100:eek:

Depends what you want in a rangie. The 3.9 came out in late 89 with 14cux efi (Much better than 3.5) Expect a ZF4hp22 and troublesome viscous center diff:mad: Also have the weaker CVs. Pre 86 have strongest CVs. I think around 86 to 87 had ZF and LT230.

The Rangie diffs will be OK for a wile if you don't run larger than 31" tyres and drive sensibly when off road. A rangie on 31s will go over anything a Nisan can on 33s due to smaller diff centers.
If you go to 33s etc it will become to tall geared to tow. So Nisota diffs or4.11's cwps HT shafts etc.

Just my opinion:) Go for the patrol if you don't want it to break:wasntme:

Tony;)

[blue thunder]

I bought my D1 v8 lpg and petrol for the same reason and it does it with ease.I tow my drag car on a dual axle trailer with spares such as fuel and tyres and jacks and car weighing 1300kgs all up probably about a bit over 2 tonne, I also tow a 7x5 off road box trailer with 2 quads and camp gear with out a hassel and in comfort.:burnrubber::firedevil:

[PAT303]

I bought my D1 v8 lpg and petrol for the same reason and it does it with ease.I tow my drag car on a dual axle trailer with spares such as fuel and tyres and jacks and car weighing 1300kgs all up probably about a bit over 2 tonne, I also tow a 7x5 off road box trailer with 2 quads and camp gear with out a hassel and in comfort.:burnrubber::firedevil:

Thats the reason I bought mine too,good cruiser,easy and cheap to fix,they are alot of vehicle for the money and are very easy to drive eg shopping,school etc.On LPG they are very cheap motoring,I've never broken a rover diff but have come across plenty of failed nissan,toyota ones. Pat

[rovercare]

:) Go for the patrol if you don't want it to break:wasntme:

Tony;)

^^^^that:angel:

You buy a rover cause you want one, then modify it to suit:D

[dungarover]

Go the Rangie. Better looking, better balanced and although I do have a Disco they don't have the character that an old Rangie has :)

Breakage, well yes they do break so does any 20 plus year old 4WD after a life of abuse. The diffs/axles are weak inherently and will cause some pain but they're dirt cheap to replace if you dig around and many people on this forum have plenty of spare ones that they'll probably give to you for a carton of there favourite beveridge :twisted: Upgrades to stronger gear is endless and whatever option suits your wallet or your fabrication skills will work out best.

On 2 door Rangies, bloody hard to get a hold of and good ones are far and few between unless you don't mind spending weekends nearly rebuilding the damn things but they'res a few good ones getting around for decent prices but they're still a 30 year old Rangie at the end of the day so use your common sense regards to price.

Good luck in finding one, you won't regret it even though at times they can be painful to own (wouldn't have it any other way :D:D:D)

Trav

[pop058]

Contemplating my choice of 4x4 and its narrowed down to 3.

The criteria was:
-Cheap under 6K
-Petrol V8 (guess thats the bogan in me..)
-Manual (auto not a fan...)
-3500kg towing (towing around race cars with ease)
-Capable offorad (not hardcore but able to go beach, up to the cape and play in the bush)

there nominees are:
Disco S1 V8 (3 or 5 dr)
RRC V8 (love a 2 dr but don't car)
GQ Patrol (302 windsor) similar to the Maverick in 4WD custom Action No.10.

Disco S1 and Rangie driven both of these (disco in diesel form...) and they fit the bill and look tough/capable. Leaning more towards Rangie due to the lower height, lower centre of gravity.
Eventually I would look at running Patrol diffs to make it unbreakable...if there is such a thing;).

though I also like the idea of a patrol with a v8, parts (in remote areas)and after market stuff mainly as well as the above criteria.

I will be mainly using it for:
Towing cars (ranging from 1.2 - 1.8t)
Beach (9 mile, 5 rocks, 3 rivers mainly)
Some minor rock related fun.
Camping + getting into places to mt biking, Kayaking & Trail bike biking. &
Major trip in 2011 http://www.aulro.com/afvb/general-chat/75099-questions-about-touring.html

The patrol engine conversion would cost about the same as the diff conversion (with lockers).

So its splitting hairs. all fit the bill and will do the job, but all have pros/cons. Looking for some unbias advice that might help me choose.

I will be posting same thread on some other forums so it will be interesting to see the results

cheers in advance

Good luck with that :D :D I cannot help you with the techo stuff but go the RRC. Heaps more character

paul

[Top End Rangie]

Having owned 2 Patrols,1 coil,1 leaf,and a host of other vehicles including multiple Toyota's,I can honestly say my '83 RRC is the most fun of any vehicle I've owned.
It's also very capable in a towing situation,it has the 14d prefix 9.35:1 compression 3.5V8,bog standard with 235/16 Trailmarks.
Pulls our campervan no worries at 100km/h with a full load onboard as well.Our camper weighs 980kg.Heavier loads and hilly country may be an issue,but the old girls handle 3rd gear work no worries.
Fuel economy is also surprisingly good if that's of concern to you.
We do a lot of beach driving,and the RRC is without equal,and sounds awesome in 2nd gear at 3500 rpm chuckin' sand.
LT95 gearbox tough as.

The closest competitor for pure offroad joy would be my old BJ40 with the Isuzu 3.9 transplant,just awesome,except for the leaf spring/short wheelbase combo.Backbreaking stuff.:mad:

If you are the sort of person who enjoys working on their own vehicles,you'll love the RRC,simple,smartly built,only minimal weaknesses,and tough as.Jap trucks are boring,knuckle busting and heavy,and are 9 times out of 10 dearer in parts as well.
I'm in engineering,and the Brits are very clever designers,(and a bit dumb too sometimes).
If you are not a 'hands on' owner,don't buy a V8 converted Nissan either:(,buy an injected 4500 80series Cruiser.Just need to save up a bit!:D

[Rangier Rover]

^^^^that:angel:

You buy a rover cause you want one, then modify it to suit:D As we do:twisted: Well I intend to:D

[Rangier Rover]

On engineering of Rovers.... If the poms put the engineering into the initial product rather than the notorious engineering a way around an engineering stuff up in the past these Rovers would have been more futuristic, tough and had more captive bolts:p

[rovercare]

On engineering of Rovers.... If the poms put the engineering into the initial product rather than the notorious engineering a way around an engineering stuff up in the past these Rovers would have been more futuristic, tough and had more captive bolts:p

They should of sent the plans elsewhere for manufactureing purposes:angel:

[brendon]

Cheers guys, thanks for the replys so far.

Yeah don't really car about fuel effiecency too much.
Otherwise I'd get a disesl. Not really concenred with 25L/100km. The sigma when it had webers was running around town at that kind of figure, unladen.

I was thinking about running 33s, but might have to reconsider.

Yeah the 'toysan' diffs under the RR/disco are long term, cause yeah they are weak link of the chain.

I'm fairly hands on, rebuilt some motors and currently doing an VX ecotec + sigma transplant.

[Camo]

Go the Rangie

Can't beat em for style and character. Best 4x4 ever made :twisted:

Camo

[Rangier Rover]

If you play with slugmas you will be fine with the Rovers:D
I had a 4G56 with flattops out of a 84 unleaded running the early 2 to 2.6 ltr head, 40/80 cam,balance shafts removed, with Duel 32/36 Weber's on a imported 4G52 manifold . This was in a L200 ute. Used to howl and had back spits on a trialing throttle:twisted: Had enough torque to screw your eyeball out:cool:
I still have the engine here. Its was crying out for a LA lancer till our hill climbs here got canned:(
I can tell you the warmed 4D56 will eat a small Rover 8.

Tony

[Top End Rangie]

If you play with slugmas you will be fine with the Rovers:D
I had a 4G56 with flattops out of a 84 unleaded running the early 2 to 2.6 ltr head, 40/80 cam,balance shafts removed, with Duel 32/36 Weber's on a imported 4G52 manifold . This was in a L200 ute. Used to howl and had back spits on a trialing throttle:twisted: Had enough torque to screw your eyeball out:cool:
I still have the engine here. Its was crying out for a LA lancer till our hill climbs here got canned:(
I can tell you the warmed 4D56 will eat a small Rover 8.

Tony
Mate,a "warmed 4D56 will eat a small Rover 8"?:o
Does'nt our friend here want to tow a car trailer,what about torque?
PS~I think you mean 4G56 as the 4D56 is the 65kw diesel powerhouse!Tough little motor though.:D

[PAT303]

L200's and 4D56's,that takes me back,I had a one owner 90k's on the clock L200,the worst F&%king heap off S#$t I've ever owned.I should have put the damn thing out off it's misery with a hollow point from 6'' away.Get a RRC with a 4.6. Pat

[Rangier Rover]

Mate,a "warmed 4D56 will eat a small Rover 8"?:o
Does'nt our friend here want to tow a car trailer,what about torque?
PS~I think you mean 4G56 as the 4D56 is the 65kw diesel powerhouse!Tough little motor though.:D

Opps....Yes I did mean 4G56 . I have both here anyway:angel: Oh on the 4D56T They can make serious power and torque. I have one in my MJ triton with a safari inter cooler etc (Pics for proof if you like) And it eats the Rovers I have here:eek: Even the Turboed 4BD1:(

The way I look at it.....Like it of not....Truth is the Rover 8 is a out of date asthmatic gutless fuel guzzling pig. (Why I'm supercharging mine)
I'm not saying they're not good as still running two of them here.
I would never part with my Rangies or the 120 even though we have the Jap rivals here as well. The Rover is a heap more fun to drive with a lot of charm to go with it.

If your happy with around 21 ltrs / 100 and not in a hurry up hills they do just fine towing as I do heaps of it with my 3.5:D Have a thread on it here
. http://www.aulro.com/afvb/classic-range-rover/76058-towing-3-5-zf.html

I have Euro and Jap here so I can bash both:angel:

Tony

[Top End Rangie]

L200's and 4D56's,that takes me back,I had a one owner 90k's on the clock L200,the worst F&%king heap off S#$t I've ever owned.I should have put the damn thing out off it's misery with a hollow point from 6'' away.Get a RRC with a 4.6. Pat
Amen to that.
This bloke wants to know if he should buy a V8 Patrol,a Disco,or a RRC.All good trucks.How did we start comparing any of them to a Sigma motor for heavy towing??:(
The only strong Mitso 4 was the old Astron 2000 Sigma,when they upped the capacity to 2.4 and 2.6 the reliability and longevity suffered greatly.No Sigma engined vehicle is suitable for hard towing or beach work as all L200 and Triton clutches are rubbish.
Yes,they make quite good horsepower,but that matters little when your stuck 100km from home with a cracked head.
4d56 Turbo's leak oil out the wastegate as well in later life,then they push it out the Rear Main as well,all over your clutch.
As a point of interest,Mitsubishi has the lowest numbers of repeat ownership in Australia,even lower than KIA.

[Rangier Rover]

Amen to that.
This bloke wants to know if he should buy a V8 Patrol,a Disco,or a RRC.All good trucks.How did we start comparing any of them to a Sigma motor for heavy towing??:(
The only strong Mitso 4 was the old Astron 2000 Sigma,when they upped the capacity to 2.4 and 2.6 the reliability and longevity suffered greatly.No Sigma engined vehicle is suitable for hard towing or beach work as all L200 and Triton clutches are rubbish.
Yes,they make quite good horsepower,but that matters little when your stuck 100km from home with a cracked head.
4d56 Turbo's leak oil out the wastegate as well in later life,then they push it out the Rear Main as well,all over your clutch.
As a point of interest,Mitsubishi has the lowest numbers of repeat ownership in Australia,even lower than KIA.

OK.... Now you have stepped over the edge with me:mad: :D My MJ Triton has over 300 000 on the clock. One clutch due to spigot replacement original gearbox Diffs aircon and all trim still together and I have kids in it. Ive never seen a Rover achieve this have you;) Strange thing is I have not had the above issues with mine. I did crack 2 turbo housings as was running egts over 850 deg for a wile. Do this to other makes and they drop valves etc.
Most Diesel mitsu heads went porous with age and a few cracked from being overheated. If they are pushing oil out must be well worn, cooked or breather has been bloked of moderfied.


Why I was on the Mitsu topic in the 1st place was only general common interest with this guy as I thought he would have related to it being a modified Mitsu owner. Every thing I have owned has been modified anyway.
The early 2.6 ran the same gear as a 2 ltr so same strength and were a good donk when the later 2.6 oversize bolt conversion was done to chain tensioner. Have you ever seen how big the crank and rods are in these. Like it of not they were a very robust engine if you know what you are doing.


I'm sorry I was off topic but is the truth from here.


Go for a V8 Rangie if you have a bit of spare time and plenty of fuel to burn:D As I pointed out before they can cope with the towing OK

Tony.

[Camo]

My Rangie has just hit 300,000k's

3.9 Motor/gearbox has never been out or even touched:eek: Even spent 200,000k's of its life on LPG. Aircond and everything still works!

Stuffed if I know why people say they are unreliable :confused:

Camo

[Top End Rangie]

OK.... Now you have stepped over the edge with me:mad: :D My MJ Triton has over 300 000 on the clock. One clutch due to spigot replacement original gearbox Diffs aircon and all trim still together and I have kids in it. Ive never seen a Rover achieve this have you;) Strange thing is I have not had the above issues with mine. I did crack 2 turbo housings as was running egts over 850 deg for a wile. Do this to other makes and they drop valves etc.
Most Diesel mitsu heads went porous with age and a few cracked from being overheated. If they are pushing oil out must be well worn, cooked or breather has been bloked of moderfied.


Why I was on the Mitsu topic in the 1st place was only general common interest with this guy as I thought he would have related to it being a modified Mitsu owner. Every thing I have owned has been modified anyway.
The early 2.6 ran the same gear as a 2 ltr so same strength and were a good donk when the later 2.6 oversize bolt conversion was done to chain tensioner. Have you ever seen how big the crank and rods are in these. Like it of not they were a very robust engine if you know what you are doing.


I'm sorry I was off topic but is the truth from here.


Go for a V8 Rangie if you have a bit of spare time and plenty of fuel to burn:D As I pointed out before they can cope with the towing OK

Tony.
Our Rangie get's 8-9km/litre pulling a camper at 100km'h.Standard SU carbs,I've never even tuned them properly.
Sorry if I offended you mate.Andrew

[Rangier Rover]

Our Rangie get's 8-9km/litre pulling a camper at 100km'h.Standard SU carbs,I've never even tuned them properly.
Sorry if I offended you mate.Andrew
No worries.... I'm under a bit of stress atm so my come back there was a bit out of character. My apologies there. I may get a mod warning for some of that:eek: I guess at least were in general chat if a bit off topic.:angel:

You are getting very good fuel economy there... The EFI just wont do that well.
The 84 p11 I'm restoring here has 9.2:1,twin CDs and used to do 25 mpg with a Lt77 when well tuned.
Seems Ive forgotten how good these older ones can be:)

Cheers Tony

[PAT303]

My disco was good touring,around the 14ltr mark and it was very reliable as well,one ABS sensor other than normal servicing for the three years I owned it.They are lacking compared to modern motors but they are also cheap and can be made to give good performance quite easily,in saying that unless you drive a 4.8 or 4.5 nissan,tojo you won't be any better off going the jap way. Pat

[Top End Rangie]

No worries.... I'm under a bit of stress atm so my come back there was a bit out of character. My apologies there. I may get a mod warning for some of that:eek: I guess at least were in general chat if a bit off topic.:angel:

You are getting very good fuel economy there... The EFI just wont do that well.
The 84 p11 I'm restoring here has 9.2:1,twin CDs and used to do 25 mpg with a Lt77 when well tuned.
Seems Ive forgotten how good these older ones can be:)

Cheers Tony
No worries,I too got a bit carried away.I've got the 'know it all' gene I'm afraid.
My wife's car is a 1998 TF magna with 340,000km on it,bit noisy on startup,but uses no oil or water and has never been touched.
Best of luck with your '84 mate.Andrew

[DiscoDan]

Having gone through a Rangie and a couple of Disco's and driven a few Datto's both long and short wheel base....(on and off road) AND

Yes the Dattos are a tuff truck but for all round comfort and ability the Land Rover products are the pick.

The bodies on the Patrols are tinnie and tend to crack around the firewall, rust out in the gutters and I know of a few that the rear diff housings have been welded up due to cracking. However the drive train is the strongest (standard) but low tech. Good point though, if you get a Maverick you will have a blue badge on the outside to go with the Windsor.

I drive a Disco now days but I beleive the Rangie would be the pick but finding a later model in a manual will be harder. To be honest finding a Land Rover built after 1990 in a V8 manual is hard but not impossable.

Danny

Oh and as for your passion with the Jap Valiant, highly underrated in my opinion but that's all it is. Great to see others with a passion of the combustion engine:twisted:

[brendon]

Thanks guys.

Interesting to note about the carbies getting low fuel consumption (even when out of tune). whats that equate to in l/100km.

I was thinking about upgrading to the 4.6L eventually.

Yeah never toy with 4g powered 4x4 but yeah def no good for towing/beach.

cheers

[2_door]

I have had each of them Brendon.

I had the V8 Disco and loved it, towed well, fuel economy great for a V8 and would make a great tourer. Will take a GQ diff conversion and there are plenty of parts still available for the early D1's. When you are finished tourer can be easily converted into a great rock/mud/beach/track/weeken truck

Then I had a GQ diesel. Nice but not the same as the Rover. V8 one would be the pick but in the long run doesnt have the charachter of a rover or the dedication/following/committment of rover owners. We are a faithful bunch :eek:

Now I have an older 2 door RRC. Love it to death but its not a tourer by any stretch of the imagination. If you decide on a RRC, go the later 3.9 ones, basically the same as the Disco but with a different (better :eek:) body.

If you want an allrounder, then go the Disco ;) does everything to want in style if you can live with 'the hump' ;):eek::p

[brendon]

I have had each of them Brendon.
Now I have an older 2 door RRC. Love it to death but its not a tourer by any stretch of the imagination. If you decide on a RRC, go the later 3.9 ones, basically the same as the Disco but with a different (better :eek:) body.

If you want an allrounder, then go the Disco ;) does everything to want in style if you can live with 'the hump' ;):eek::p

Yeah cheers. Sounds like we have similar ideas, yeah the hump is interwsting to say the least.
They look great without it (using paint on the computer)..

Why do you say the RRC isn't as much as a tourer as the disco?

[dungarover]

2 door Rangies, love 'em to death but realistically just too old and 99% of them need a fair bit of TLC in many areas. Good ones will fetch good money but it's what you're prepared to pay.

If you don't mind spending a few weekends in the shed, buy one. I've been there and done that and I mis too may club trips so I just go for something a bit more modern and in an auto of course :D:D

My pic for a starter would be 87-88 Hi-Line, auto, EFI and LT230, comfortable to drive, better electrics (if they'res such a thing on a old Rangie :wasntme:) plus simple enough to work on. parts like all model Rangies are cheap, plentiful and easy to obtain on sites such as this, e-bay etc..

Whatever vintage you buy, they're all good in there own way but they're still the best all-rounder for that sort of money you can buy.

Trav

[Stue 3 doors down]

God bless my 3 door D1 with 298ks and it is still way more reliable than 2x 2006 brand new 4.0 Courier's, Triton which blew up near Robe on our honeymoon, my 60 series that had a turbo but died at 300 k, the old hilux had a tree fall on it so it doesnt count. What else have I managed to wreck? Not much else but Stue my disco keeps working hard and really quite good and beats the Couriers on fuel (just).
Go the RR for size in side.