Getting into 4x4 and camping etc

[Staminus]

Hi, I've been looking around for cheap 4x4's to start going out for camping weekends or just day trips around the bush with some friends or maybe a 4x4 group.

I really like the look of the Series 2/a land ROVER especially and I have found one for sale that was an old troop carrier. I have basically no off road experience apart from a few times driving through some dirt tracks etc.

Some general questions, It's 2.25ltr, is a petrol engine or a diesel engine the most reliable for these? Which would you recommend if I had a choice?

How reliable are these cars now? Are they really fragile or are they able to be used often?

How capable are they off road? Can they tow alright?

This is the one that caught my eye.




My question is, should I just get a cheap suzuki or hilux or 4runner to get more reliability or are the older landcruisers still fairly solid?

OOPS

[WhiteD3]

Land Rover, not Land Cruiser. A small but potentially fatal error, around here anyway

[Staminus]

Oh, also how do these go in regards to fuel usage?

[100I]

Petrol? Bad. As bad as 5k/L. Robust simple vehicle overall but do have their weak points (of course, like any other). Lesuirely pace.

[UncleHo]

G'day Staminus

That looks like a very nice clean Ex-army restored 2a and with it's original 4 cylinder motor and there are members of the Ex Military Land Rover (REMLR) register on this forum that would be very happy to see it go to a good home

As you are Probably aware these vehicles are now Vintage Vehicles, and are collectors items, most are between 35-45 years old they are not fast and 90-95 is about max comfortable cruising speed, ( I own a restored 1968 2a exactly the same as that one) but, in their favour they are a simple easy to repair vehicle, with most parts readily available,the Series 2 (58-61) 2a(61-71) and Series3 (71-82) share a large quantity of common parts and these are mostly still available, they are not very economical fuel wise, with an average of 16-20 miles per gallon, (5/6klm- litre) these Series vehicles have a character and they tend to grow on you, as they are a simple but rugged vehicle.

What State are you in ? as there maybe somebody close to you that is knowledgeable in Series vehicles and be able to give you hints at where to look for rust and trouble/wear spots


That is a particularly nice looking vehicle, and it might be worth your while to have a look at the REMLR section on this forum (a few headings down)



cheers

[Staminus]

I'm in QLD.
The car is about 1500 bucks negotiable, does this seem like an OK price?

The petrol usage seems quite high but I was fairly prepared for that to be the case due to their age and everything. Are there any diesel variety and how do they go in comparatively?

I'm having a look at that REMLR forum and it's pretty interesting, IF I wanted to register this normally and drive it around would that be possible too or only on the special plate?

[Aaron IIA]

I drive a 1962 SIIA as my everyday car. It is very reliable, having always got me home. $1500 I would say is a fair price if it goes, stops, and has a good chasis. If all the electrics work, bonus. If there are a couple of things wrong, this is still O.K., as they are quite easy to fix. You would want to be handy with a spanner though, as all vehicles this age are only as reliable as the amount of maintenance you put into them. If it has been heavily refurbished, you should be fine for a long time.
The SIIA ex-military Land Rover is a bit better than the civillian version. They have twin tanks for extended range, two windscreen wipers instead of one, raised suspension and cut front guards, so the wheels have less of a chance of getting caught on them during cross axle situations.
Once tuned up really well, you should be able to get about 6~6.5 Km per litre of petrol.
The SIIA has a stronger gearbox than the SIII. It achieves this by having crash gears on first and second. So get accostomed to double de-clutching. It is quite easy.
These Land Rovers don't have a lot of modern technology so there is less stuff to go wrong. There is no vacuum brake booster, but this is no problem. I can still lock up the wheels on the bitumen. You just have to press a bit harder.
As for ability off road - it gets better when you load them up. They have a welded box-frame chasis that is designed not to twist. By adding a load (six or so willing friends) you get the springs fully working and can conquer more difficult terrain. Petrols also do relatively well in the sand when driven correctly.
The petrol engine is very forgiving, and still drives well even when completely worn out. Diesels are around, but compartively rare. I drive one, but they are not as easily fixed when in the field. Pulling appart and cleaning a carburettor is much easier than pulling appart a complex injector pump and injector system. For ease of use and simplicity, stick to the petrol.
Aaron.

[isuzurover]

I have a 1968 Ex-Military IIA with a 2.25 Diesel (I converted it). Not quite a daily driver, but I did drive it to work today, and I take it offroad every 2nd weekend or so.

Capable offroad you ask? (it climbed that like it wasn't there)


Admittedly mine does have a few minor mods and upgrades. The 2.25D is very economical, but as mentioned hard to find.

For hard offroad use, the only major problem with the SIIA LWB (109") is the strength of the rear axles. However you can upgrade the internals or the entire axle to a SIII Salisbury quite easily. The gearbox layshaft can fail, but that usually isn't a huge concern, and by this stage, many (like mine) should be fitted with an improved (correctly radiused) layshaft which is much stronger.

The standard suspension is far too stiff (especially military models) to get decent wheel travel offroad, however this is easy to fix, and I have posted a few threads on how I have done mine.

EDIT - re Aaron's comment about no modern technology... On last weekend's trip, my near new battery decided to die mysteriously (Completely 100% dead). I just got some people to help push start the IIA, and then made sure I was on a slope whenever I turned it off. I love having an engine with absolutely NO ELECTRICS

[Newbs-IIA]

Or even better - get a crank handle and impress all the shoppers down a coles when you crank start your old landy in the carpark

[Staminus]

Cool, heaps of great information here, thank you very much.
Lastly, in terms of towing capacity what kg are these legally able to tow etc?