Thread: D1 V8 (auto), cape york trip

Hi Jim, I did the Cape about ten years ago in our D1, manual and diesel, though.It was a great trip up the Tele track and down the Development road. We included Palmer River gold fields too, well worth doing. I had to winch out of the first creek crossing on the OTT, and tarped up for the deeper crossings such as Nolan’s. My car only has 225x75 muddies on steel rims. Mechanical problems I had were wheel bearings, probably due to water or mud getting in, and the brake pipe on the rear axle fracturing due to corrugations. Wheel bearings are easy to change and not dear, so take a spare set and a spanner to suit the hub nuts, and put a few cable ties around the brake pipe and the axle.
With the v8, I would check out the availability of petrol on the route, and look out for some long range tanks.
RACV total care might be worth investing in too.
Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
Cheers,
Woolly

Originally Posted by Woolly

Hi Jim, I did the Cape about ten years ago in our D1, manual and diesel, though.It was a great trip up the Tele track and down the Development road. We included Palmer River gold fields too, well worth doing. I had to winch out of the first creek crossing on the OTT, and tarped up for the deeper crossings such as Nolan’s. My car only has 225x75 muddies on steel rims. Mechanical problems I had were wheel bearings, probably due to water or mud getting in, and the brake pipe on the rear axle fracturing due to corrugations. Wheel bearings are easy to change and not dear, so take a spare set and a spanner to suit the hub nuts, and put a few cable ties around the brake pipe and the axle.
With the v8, I would check out the availability of petrol on the route, and look out for some long range tanks.
RACV total care might be worth investing in too.
Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
Cheers,
Woolly

Thanks for your reply woody, those odd things like the brake lines are exactly what I want to hear about. I will definitely be taking spare wheel bearings with me, I've had to change them on the side of the road before which is nice and easy on the disco thankfully.
Fuel was one of my concerns but I'll be taking jerry cans with me just in case. And RACV Total care will be something I'll definitely be getting for the trip.
Hopefully I can get the old girl back on the road before the trip but other priorities come first unfortunately.
Cheers!

Fuel range may be an issue. What is your current economy at cruise? Keep the car as light as possible. Remove one of the rear seats if you dont need it. Build yr own lightweight draw setup. Dont use a roof rack and stay away from large tyres. My sons and I would go to the Cape twice a year out of Cairns fishing and walking into remote areas in a D1 - we used very lightweight gear - this the key for range.
My D1 had big tyres - not required - just cost fuel. I went back to softer suspension and standard quality tyres - ride and fuel economy on dirt and corrugations improved dramatically - but a personal choice.
You may get the odd rain squall close to the coast early in the dry season - but doesnt last for long. Inland - just use an all gauze 2 man tent - maybe a small fan if you are there in October. Of course take a shower system and a popup shower tent - plenty of clean water around.
Be ready for morons driving ridiculously fast and overloaded on the corrugated roads - passing you both ways - always be ready for these types - Ive seen them with kids in the back, overloaded in the rear with the front wheels just touching the ground overtaking me at 80-90, and showering you with stones. They would only need to hit one of the thousands of deep bulldust holes to lose control and roll it. You dont want to end up in their accident scene.

To get the best economy ensure all your ignition components are new and fit a fuel pressure gauge. You will get water or contaminants in your fuel - take new fuel filter and pump - or convert to external bosch pump for ease of changeover on the track.

Changeover to Commodore V8 electric fan if you are good with the tools - plenty of threads here. Wiring and fuses must be big - PM me if you want the fitting details. You can use the existing condenser fan wiring but its a bit light.
The v8 fans fit beautifully onto the RRC V 8 so will also fit yours. They pull so much air that the will cool a RRC with a cracked block - my mate drove his RRC like that for months before pulling the engine.
Good tunes are available - my friend has done hours of work on tuning the 14CUX ECU in yr vehicle - he has a RRC with 32 inch tyres and rooftop tent and gets very good economy. He could burn a chip for you but all yr other components - compression ignition, regulator pump etc must be on spec - otherwise waste of time - again PM if you want details - we are in QLD.