Thread: looking to buy a classic so advice please

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I am a bit biased on this subject. I have an 86 Hiline - the last of the carby models, and it has never left our family - my Father in law, or us stranded in 17 years of combined ownership. Having said that, it has had a lot of work to improve reliability over the years, but this was all preventitive, rather than reactive. It no longer has any Lucas bits lurking around to cause issues, and I have also re wired a good part of the vehicle.

Guess I'm saying that the electrics can let these vehicles down, but with a bit of TLC, they can be made reliable. Under normal use, the engine, gearbox and driveline are up to the task, and cause few problems. Remember these are now old vehicles, so more maintenance is always going to be required.

I have replaced the alternator with a Bosch unit, starter with an OEX unit, and have upgraded the ignition amp with a Bosch unit. Installed relays for the headlights, and other things, and upgraded a heap of ratty wiring.

Go and get one, you will love it...

Patience is your best buying tool here. Every now and then I see some absolutley great Classic Rangies turn up on Carsales. For instance - there was one recently but gone now - 140 thousand klicks with a service record for every 5000 kilometres and it looked in showroom condition. All this for about $5G.

The price difference betweeen a shabby car and a well preserved one isn't that great. At least not enough to bother with a shabby one in my opinion. In the price range for Classics the best is available for very few dollars in real terms.

But maybe an umnolested Classic may prove to be the better buy in the long term.

thanks for the hints guys.

the search is on, though I have to get fiscal approval from the treasurer yet

So from the sounds of it, the electrics are poor in older classics, are there any issues to note with the Lucas Fuel Injection? (mine is Thor)

Good point Grumbles, I will try hard not to be sucked into the 1st one, but thats going to be tough

later guys

are there any issues to note with the Lucas Fuel Injection?

Unbelievably enough not really with 14CUX but the older flappers are now pretty old. I would avoid a flapper ie 3.5.
Bear in mind that the 14CUX cars are almost 20 years old , and the sensors can be gone.
TPS's are wear items being a variable rheostat.It is expensive but the temp sensors are cheap and these cause most trouble.
The MAF can be dead but this is ironically made by Hitachi.
Regards Philip A

Hi Philip,

good tip, thanks. SO what years had the flapper and what year had the hot wire injection? I think GEMS came in in 96 but I didnt know there was different injection prior to that. Is there any fault code read out on any of the years?

And last question, what is the best (cheapest?) source of the sensors that you mentioned, I expect that either replacing them up front or at least carrying spares would be wise.

On that note, I would be tempted to totally renew all the renewable bits to make the truck as reliable as possible from the get go. What list of parts would be the best to change in order.

One more question that springs to mind, is there any model that is more suited to an engine swap than another?

Cheers
Mick

good tip, thanks. SO what years had the flapper and what year had the hot wire injection? I think GEMS came in in 96 but I didnt know there was different injection prior to that. Is there any fault code read out on any of the years?

Flapper is 3.5 up to 89, although some on the forum have told that some of the last 3.5 had 14CUX. 14CUX is from 89 to 1995 (until 38A) and continued on Disco 1 until 1999.
there is a diagnostic tool available in Britain or you could buy one from a US wrecker. I paid $50 but I understand they then realised there was a market and put up the price to $100. However you have to add wires to the 40pin plug.

Ebay should be good for sensors or any specialist eg Gary at CLR on this forum.

On that note, I would be tempted to totally renew all the renewable bits to make the truck as reliable as possible from the get go. What list of parts would be the best to change in order

.

Look, you would go broke doing that. Just keep your eye on oil and particularly water leaks, and fix them as they arise. I would have the radiator rodded straight up unless there is evidence it has been done in the last few years, then implement a maintenance program assuming nothing has ever been done, eg repack and inspect wheel bearings, replace UJs, new swivel bearings if no evidence of replacement, replace filter and flush auto, check compressions, change axle and swivel oils etc etc. Check that the aircon condenser fans go on when teh air is turned on as this can cause lots of aircon problems. (ask me how I know)
The main killer of v8s is OVERHEATING, so replace all hoses and belts, including those to the heater and the thermostat.
Regards Philip A

Amen to the above regarding spending up-front.- Wait till it breaks (to get the most life !) THEN replace.
Replace all lube fluids as mentioned, and totally flush brakes too, but that applies to any vehicle.

Try and restrain yourself for when the Big Things Go Wrong.

I've never owned a car that gets so hot in the engine-room as my Classic... One thing you can do - if you're still keen to spend money, is to add some extraction grills to the rear of the front fenders, like the current RRS have.

A specialist LR technician here has done that, simple mesh behind a 2" by 10" deep (approx) vertical cut-out, and removing a triangular piece under the fender to let the engine-room air out and into the fender volume. He reckons it makes a big improvement to the under-bonnet enviroment.
Remember, the more heat under there, the more rubber & plastics deteriorate as well as electrical insulation and components...

But I would'nt bother with this if I lived in Tassie or in the Snowy Mts...

There are several great RRC's on Evilbay right now, one with a fair bit of kit also for good prices.