Thread: Buying Ex Military!! Help me!

Oh and one more thing! Are they hard to get registered in QLD?

there are a few threads floating around already.........and this website could be helpful

buymilitaryvehicles.com

Qland rego is no problem have a look through this thread its long but lots if info
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/military-v...-disposal.html

They are rather high in the gearing so highway speed is not a problem and the 4 speed box is almost bullet proof, which you can't say about the land Rover 5 speed alternatives.

If you can get a Isuzu 4BD1 bellhousing on an LT85 it gives you the fifth gear, but by far the best option is "the Grubb's" Isuzu 5 speed gearbox conversion. You are looking at several thousand dollars to get all the bits for the conversion.

Diana

Hey Romey,
Registration in QLD is not a problem now as both the hard tops & soft tops have been added to the Dept of transport & main roads vehicle list. They do not require inspection on site either as long as your roadworthy is current.

Keep in mind when buying though that you will only get the vehicle registered for seating which is both forward facing & has compliant seatbelts. In most of the soft tops this is 2 seats only with the 5 door lightweight personnels being registered for 5 seats. ( side facing rear seats are considered non compliant.)

If you do intend to buy one the best advice I can give you is to research, research, research!
Check the log books & inspect them if you can.
Most importantly learn how the GraysOnline auction system works, it's not EBay, you don't win instantly if there has been bidding activity in the 10 mins prior to end of auction.
So find the one you want, bid on it with just under 10 mins to go & you might just pick it up for a song. Whatever you do don't get drawn into a bidding war when it enters the 'going, going, gone' frenzy

I was able to sneak in a quick look at a few today (was not able to take it for a spin around the lot ). Found one that I like, the log book seemed i good order, plenty of work done on it recently belts, seals etc. The engine fired up first time (was a bit noisy/rough)! had the usual dints and scratched and all of the light worked.

My only concern was the front diff looked wet but I couldn't figure out what it was. I think im going to make a few bids on it tomorrow and see how I go!

Thanks for all of the info!

You were lucky to be able to hear it running, at Minto there are a lot of signs saying they must not be started.

G'Day Romey, welcome to the Forum.

Stick with the 4 speed, the 3.9 litre Isuzu has the torque to pull you along sufficiently for an old 4wd. Remember, just because it has a soft top doesn't make it a sports car
The gears are stronger and you can do some easy mods to get highway 'legs'.
You may want to change tyres anyway. if you go up to a 33 inch tyre you will pick up the higher speed enabling you to keep up with highway traffic, just buy some earmuffs.
No, seriously!
Not a lot of sound deadening in thin wall aluminium and canvas. quite the opposite!
Low down performance won't suffer thanks to the previously mentioned Torque mountain of the Isuzu donk.
Keep watch on the Buyers Guide site. I have the nose to the grindstone the next couple of weeks to get the Guide finished and checklists available.
I hope this helps.