Thread: Why did you choose...?

Well I grew up with dad &mum owning a swb series 2 and series 3 wagon and 2 discos but it has taken a while for myself to get one but cant wait to get mine 2a ute going

Originally Posted by one_iota

Now Baz...you and I both know that you were stalking this hallowed forum before you drowned the Exploder. Now fess up why?

Hi Mahn, yes it's true, i even had to rescue a Disco with the Exploder
and because of this forum and the help we got from the members, it made easier to choose.

Thanks to Aces BBQ the first one and you, Noddy, Ace, LRH and all the others, the choose was made easier.

Baz.

Originally Posted by Redback

It was simple really why we have the Disco, it was the best 4WD we drove when looking for a new 4WD after i drowned the Explorer.

In fact the criteria was when looking, all of the family had to agree on the car, the Disco was the only one that we agreed on.

Only i drove a Defender (thanks Noddy) if all of us had drove one maybe things would have been different.

Baz.

You drawned the explorer on purpose didnt you Baz it was a plot to get a landrover

When I was in primary school my best mate's dad had a Series 3 wagon ( gold of course) and he would tell me of places their family went on holidays and I would listen and imagine how cool it would be to go there too.

I also used to watch nature documentaries from Africa and they all had Land Rovers, I wanted to be a zoologist just so I could go to Africa and drive Land Rovers. Then came the Leyland Brothers series, Off The Beaten Track and I knew they would be the only car worth having.

When dad started taking me shooting from the age of 12 on I wanted a Land Rover so we could walk less and carry more, all the relatives whose properties we visited had T*%*#@s and I though Land Rovers would do the job better and in style.

Jeff

Jeff , i didn't know Toyota is a swear word, good thing the Filter picked it up.. hehehehe

After having a company supplied Maverick and then a leaf sprung Pajero, also company supplied I bought my first 4wd, a Daihatsu Rocky on which I broke the transfer case at Tibooburra and pulled the rear crossmember off towing a furniture trailer at 100 km/h. I then had a think and summed up the options at the time:
A Patrol, slow and not particularly fuel efficient
A Landcruiser wagon, less slow, more fuel efficient but no aircon standard
or a Disco TDI with aircon, comfort and 11l/100KM economy.
I've just ordered my new Disco 3 and the above statements haven't changed much except the cruiser now has standard aircon.
Regards,
Tote

I have the distinct pleasure and good fortune to drive and repair nearly all LR models for a living.

I chose a RR after a succession of other makes including a headturning but impractical Holden Overlander wagon.

I have had a s2a 109', a 1982 2dr,(Which became our Australian Safari racecar) and finally have my 1992 Sherwood. I would dearly love a 110 Isuzu, but I would be the only one driving in it...SWMBO is a Rangie snob now...
If everything goes to plan poor long suffering Tony (I have been trying to organise buying his LSE for ever now it seems!) will soon be parting with his LSE for the other half to drive, with a 300Tdi conversion, to replace the Lexus.

One reason that sticks in my mind as to why I chose a RRC all that time ago, is that I love the idea of leaving the bitumen in clean clothes and Vivaldi's Four seasons on the CD player while negotiating bottomless slop and insurmountable rocks etc, and returning to the bitumen to go home, having never left the comfort of ones 'lounge'room! Also, having an imperious driving position makes for a very enjoyable long distance trip...

I've loved the exhaust note, the capabilities both on and off the road, the design of the vehicle that is STILL ahead of all others, 4 wheel discs, coils and permanent 4x4 in 1970!!! and the timeless boxy shape of the RRC. Saw a filthy 1986/87 today with a ARB step bumper and decent suspension, looks really purposeful just driving on the highway.

I'll stop dribbling on now...


JC

hmm, 130 Defender crew cab suits my needs perfectly ATM, oh, and it [i]isn't a Nissyota (SWMBO has one of those, a GU ute after having a perfectly reliable GQ Ti wagon and an MQ before that, but I digress....)

A Defender ?
well, I love the practicality, I wanted to have a 4wd again after about 12 years without actually driving one on a daily basis, (project CJ was quietly rusting away in the yard....)
I needed a diesel and I needed it to carry loads as at the time of purchase I was running/working a cattle property, and while we had two Nissan Patrol utes for farm use, sometimes you needed something decent to do the hard jobs
Ended up hardly being used on the farm, usually only to ferry visitors around sight seeing and scaring the willy's out of them on some steep, rough little hills in far paddocks
My background is Jeeps, Dad had them since around 1970 and my first car at 18 was a '74 CJ6 which had been heavily abused on a couple of farms. Fantastically capable off road but shockingly screwed together yet the engine and driveline were pretty much bullet proof.
A full size Jeep followed, amongst other 2wds...
Mums brother had bought an 88" Series III new and he and our families often went away 4wding way back in the seventies, with me often opting to ride in the back of the shorty instead of the comfort of the Wagoneer.
Even though I was firmly entrenched in the Jeep fold (a very exclusive club in those days) I loved the look of the Rangie and the way they effortlessly moved through the bush. Even Dad grudgingly acknowledged that fact.
I nearly bought the Landy off him when he retired and moved up the coast ten years ago and wish I had as it had been fantastically maintained, even though it by then was powered by Holden.

Another influence was a good friend and colleague who had worked at JRA on the Perentie project, had a County and filled my head with all sorts of useless Land Rover stuff while I was planning a spring over conversion, fuel injection on the venerable straight six and Dana 44 front end on my project CJ. He was then coaxed back into the Land Rover fold doing some special projects for LRA and so I had acquired knowledge by osmosis on Counties and Defenders and their strengths and weaknesses.

After this, when Mum and her hubby decided they had had enough of their bones being jarred by their Troopy, Warwick said he thought they might look at Rangies. Too short for the expeditions you do, said I, why not look at a 110, so they did and ended up with a 300Tdi.
It worked out really well for them, trekking all over the Territory, so when we decided to move and run the farm I pensioned of the old F100 and looked for about six months for a 130 CC, was gazumped on one, dudded at the auctions on another so bought one from Alice Springs, via Mum !

I've been abusing her for 5 years now come January and reckon I'll have the old girl for quite a while. Our Patrols have been more reliable, although the Landy has never totally stuck me up, but the Japanese vehicles miss that little special something........

and I like making a statement