V8 disco v RRC v Patrol

[brendon]

Contemplating my choice of 4x4 and its narrowed down to 3.

The criteria was:
-Cheap under 6K
-Petrol V8 (guess thats the bogan in me..)
-Manual (auto not a fan...)
-3500kg towing (towing around race cars with ease)
-Capable offorad (not hardcore but able to go beach, up to the cape and play in the bush)

there nominees are:
Disco S1 V8 (3 or 5 dr)
RRC V8 (love a 2 dr but don't car)
GQ Patrol (302 windsor) similar to the Maverick in 4WD custom Action No.10.

Disco S1 and Rangie driven both of these (disco in diesel form...) and they fit the bill and look tough/capable. Leaning more towards Rangie due to the lower height, lower centre of gravity.
Eventually I would look at running Patrol diffs to make it unbreakable...if there is such a thing.

though I also like the idea of a patrol with a v8, parts (in remote areas)and after market stuff mainly as well as the above criteria.

I will be mainly using it for:
Towing cars (ranging from 1.2 - 1.8t)
Beach (9 mile, 5 rocks, 3 rivers mainly)
Some minor rock related fun.
Camping + getting into places to mt biking, Kayaking & Trail bike biking. &
Major trip in 2011 Questions about touring

The patrol engine conversion would cost about the same as the diff conversion (with lockers).

So its splitting hairs. all fit the bill and will do the job, but all have pros/cons. Looking for some unbias advice that might help me choose.

I will be posting same thread on some other forums so it will be interesting to see the results

cheers in advance

[Grover-98]

If you were planning on doing touring i would get the D1 with the 300Tdi for economy and still a great towing vehicle

But for strength i would go with the patrol, as they have one of the strongest drivelines around

Sorry this doesn't help much.

James

[Rangier Rover]

A lot of variables in this one. A V8 conversion in a patrol would be tough but not have the character of a Rangie Also may cost a little more than 6K

The smaller Rover V8 is no power house and would battle a bit towing the weight your looking at although they will do it in 3rd gear with the ZF 4spd auto and return around 21ltrs/100

Depends what you want in a rangie. The 3.9 came out in late 89 with 14cux efi (Much better than 3.5) Expect a ZF4hp22 and troublesome viscous center diff Also have the weaker CVs. Pre 86 have strongest CVs. I think around 86 to 87 had ZF and LT230.

The Rangie diffs will be OK for a wile if you don't run larger than 31" tyres and drive sensibly when off road. A rangie on 31s will go over anything a Nisan can on 33s due to smaller diff centers.
If you go to 33s etc it will become to tall geared to tow. So Nisota diffs or4.11's cwps HT shafts etc.

Just my opinion Go for the patrol if you don't want it to break

Tony

[blue thunder]

I bought my D1 v8 lpg and petrol for the same reason and it does it with ease.I tow my drag car on a dual axle trailer with spares such as fuel and tyres and jacks and car weighing 1300kgs all up probably about a bit over 2 tonne, I also tow a 7x5 off road box trailer with 2 quads and camp gear with out a hassel and in comfort.

[PAT303]

I bought my D1 v8 lpg and petrol for the same reason and it does it with ease.I tow my drag car on a dual axle trailer with spares such as fuel and tyres and jacks and car weighing 1300kgs all up probably about a bit over 2 tonne, I also tow a 7x5 off road box trailer with 2 quads and camp gear with out a hassel and in comfort.

Thats the reason I bought mine too,good cruiser,easy and cheap to fix,they are alot of vehicle for the money and are very easy to drive eg shopping,school etc.On LPG they are very cheap motoring,I've never broken a rover diff but have come across plenty of failed nissan,toyota ones. Pat

[rovercare]

Go for the patrol if you don't want it to break

Tony

^^^^that

You buy a rover cause you want one, then modify it to suit

[dungarover]

Go the Rangie. Better looking, better balanced and although I do have a Disco they don't have the character that an old Rangie has

Breakage, well yes they do break so does any 20 plus year old 4WD after a life of abuse. The diffs/axles are weak inherently and will cause some pain but they're dirt cheap to replace if you dig around and many people on this forum have plenty of spare ones that they'll probably give to you for a carton of there favourite beveridge Upgrades to stronger gear is endless and whatever option suits your wallet or your fabrication skills will work out best.

On 2 door Rangies, bloody hard to get a hold of and good ones are far and few between unless you don't mind spending weekends nearly rebuilding the damn things but they'res a few good ones getting around for decent prices but they're still a 30 year old Rangie at the end of the day so use your common sense regards to price.

Good luck in finding one, you won't regret it even though at times they can be painful to own (wouldn't have it any other way )

Trav

[pop058]

Contemplating my choice of 4x4 and its narrowed down to 3.

The criteria was:
-Cheap under 6K
-Petrol V8 (guess thats the bogan in me..)
-Manual (auto not a fan...)
-3500kg towing (towing around race cars with ease)
-Capable offorad (not hardcore but able to go beach, up to the cape and play in the bush)

there nominees are:
Disco S1 V8 (3 or 5 dr)
RRC V8 (love a 2 dr but don't car)
GQ Patrol (302 windsor) similar to the Maverick in 4WD custom Action No.10.

Disco S1 and Rangie driven both of these (disco in diesel form...) and they fit the bill and look tough/capable. Leaning more towards Rangie due to the lower height, lower centre of gravity.
Eventually I would look at running Patrol diffs to make it unbreakable...if there is such a thing.

though I also like the idea of a patrol with a v8, parts (in remote areas)and after market stuff mainly as well as the above criteria.

I will be mainly using it for:
Towing cars (ranging from 1.2 - 1.8t)
Beach (9 mile, 5 rocks, 3 rivers mainly)
Some minor rock related fun.
Camping + getting into places to mt biking, Kayaking & Trail bike biking. &
Major trip in 2011 Questions about touring

The patrol engine conversion would cost about the same as the diff conversion (with lockers).

So its splitting hairs. all fit the bill and will do the job, but all have pros/cons. Looking for some unbias advice that might help me choose.

I will be posting same thread on some other forums so it will be interesting to see the results

cheers in advance

Good luck with that I cannot help you with the techo stuff but go the RRC. Heaps more character

paul

[Top End Rangie]

Having owned 2 Patrols,1 coil,1 leaf,and a host of other vehicles including multiple Toyota's,I can honestly say my '83 RRC is the most fun of any vehicle I've owned.
It's also very capable in a towing situation,it has the 14d prefix 9.35:1 compression 3.5V8,bog standard with 235/16 Trailmarks.
Pulls our campervan no worries at 100km/h with a full load onboard as well.Our camper weighs 980kg.Heavier loads and hilly country may be an issue,but the old girls handle 3rd gear work no worries.
Fuel economy is also surprisingly good if that's of concern to you.
We do a lot of beach driving,and the RRC is without equal,and sounds awesome in 2nd gear at 3500 rpm chuckin' sand.
LT95 gearbox tough as.

The closest competitor for pure offroad joy would be my old BJ40 with the Isuzu 3.9 transplant,just awesome,except for the leaf spring/short wheelbase combo.Backbreaking stuff.

If you are the sort of person who enjoys working on their own vehicles,you'll love the RRC,simple,smartly built,only minimal weaknesses,and tough as.Jap trucks are boring,knuckle busting and heavy,and are 9 times out of 10 dearer in parts as well.
I'm in engineering,and the Brits are very clever designers,(and a bit dumb too sometimes).
If you are not a 'hands on' owner,don't buy a V8 converted Nissan either,buy an injected 4500 80series Cruiser.Just need to save up a bit!

[Rangier Rover]

^^^^that

You buy a rover cause you want one, then modify it to suit

As we do Well I intend to