Cheapy Offroader
Discussion
How much money are you looking to spend?
I've just got a Shogun which cost me a shade over £3k. It's a '99 S reg with leather, heated seats and lots of other gubbins. You can go a bit older than that and get something for way less than that. I've not really tested it off road yet, but I've been very pleased with what it has done so far!
As standard, it has switchable 2/4wd, high and low ratio gears and lockable centre and rear diffs. They are then very tweakable on top of that in terms of raising suspension & body and other bits and pieces.
I've just got a Shogun which cost me a shade over £3k. It's a '99 S reg with leather, heated seats and lots of other gubbins. You can go a bit older than that and get something for way less than that. I've not really tested it off road yet, but I've been very pleased with what it has done so far!
As standard, it has switchable 2/4wd, high and low ratio gears and lockable centre and rear diffs. They are then very tweakable on top of that in terms of raising suspension & body and other bits and pieces.
Depending on what sort of off-roading you intend to end up doing, I'd recommend getting something thats cheap and easy to fix/modify.
I have got a Jeep Cherokee 4.0 which was excellent at getting through a lot of stuff, impressed a lot of people with just how capable and comfortable it was, despite only having the tyres upgraded. However I damaged the transmission by grounding it out and the cost of the repairs means the car is virtually scrap. Lift kits etc also cost a lot as the only decent source is the US and then you get huge shipping and customs charges.
My current Vitara was cheap to buy (£1000), the modifications on it have all come in at under £100 each and I haven't found anything it can't go through yet, however it does break every time I take it properly off road - however parts are cheap and generally easy to fit so it's not much of a problem.
The Discovery is pretty good as far as I can tell, quite robust and a lot easier to drive than the Defender, more expensive to purchase and modify than the Vitara but a friends one has proven to be quite robust, having put up with a lot of abuse!
I have got a Jeep Cherokee 4.0 which was excellent at getting through a lot of stuff, impressed a lot of people with just how capable and comfortable it was, despite only having the tyres upgraded. However I damaged the transmission by grounding it out and the cost of the repairs means the car is virtually scrap. Lift kits etc also cost a lot as the only decent source is the US and then you get huge shipping and customs charges.
My current Vitara was cheap to buy (£1000), the modifications on it have all come in at under £100 each and I haven't found anything it can't go through yet, however it does break every time I take it properly off road - however parts are cheap and generally easy to fit so it's not much of a problem.
The Discovery is pretty good as far as I can tell, quite robust and a lot easier to drive than the Defender, more expensive to purchase and modify than the Vitara but a friends one has proven to be quite robust, having put up with a lot of abuse!
Another vote for the Disco here.
Get a solid one, and it should be fairly reliable, and parts (both replacement and modification) will be cheaper and more widely available than Jap stuff.
Most of the 4x4 movement in the UK is Land Rover based, and I have seen standard Discos get through stuff that standard fourtraks won't do.
That said, I do like Fourtraks, and I have been very surpised with the capabilities of both Vitaras and SJs off road...
Get a solid one, and it should be fairly reliable, and parts (both replacement and modification) will be cheaper and more widely available than Jap stuff.
Most of the 4x4 movement in the UK is Land Rover based, and I have seen standard Discos get through stuff that standard fourtraks won't do.
That said, I do like Fourtraks, and I have been very surpised with the capabilities of both Vitaras and SJs off road...
if you get a disco get the later 300series ones. the 200series have 10spline 2-pin diffs which DONT last with knobbly tyres if you push too hard.
the 300series have 24spline 4-pin diffs at the back & solve this.
btw - also applies to V8s. 200/300series is pre/post facelift at about L reg.
if you just want a toy for playing in mud you really cant beat a suzuki SJ/Samurai. set of knobbly tyres & they make LRs look crap.
the 300series have 24spline 4-pin diffs at the back & solve this.
btw - also applies to V8s. 200/300series is pre/post facelift at about L reg.
if you just want a toy for playing in mud you really cant beat a suzuki SJ/Samurai. set of knobbly tyres & they make LRs look crap.
Nice forum!
So the Fourtrak is capable; anyone know much about the smaller 1.6 Sportrak?
The ones up for sale all look less abused than Suzukis around the £1k mark.
I can see a high/low range gearshift in the pics so should be alright?
Had a Rangie Classic a while back, which was great fun, but I'd like to try something a bit lighter this time (in weight and on the wallet).
So the Fourtrak is capable; anyone know much about the smaller 1.6 Sportrak?
The ones up for sale all look less abused than Suzukis around the £1k mark.
I can see a high/low range gearshift in the pics so should be alright?
Had a Rangie Classic a while back, which was great fun, but I'd like to try something a bit lighter this time (in weight and on the wallet).
Hooli said:
if you get a disco get the later 300series ones. the 200series have 10spline 2-pin diffs which DONT last with knobbly tyres if you push too hard.
the 300series have 24spline 4-pin diffs at the back & solve this.
btw - also applies to V8s. 200/300series is pre/post facelift at about L reg.
if you just want a toy for playing in mud you really cant beat a suzuki SJ/Samurai. set of knobbly tyres & they make LRs look crap.
Have been running 10 splines in my series3 v8 hybrid for 2 years now and only managed to break both rear half shafts once (blamed heavy right foot and detroit locker for that)but they are very easy to replace and second hand ones about £10 ea. Land rover spares very easy to source and cheap to replace, whereas suzuki can take some searching/waiting for dealers.the 300series have 24spline 4-pin diffs at the back & solve this.
btw - also applies to V8s. 200/300series is pre/post facelift at about L reg.
if you just want a toy for playing in mud you really cant beat a suzuki SJ/Samurai. set of knobbly tyres & they make LRs look crap.
Suzukis are surprising little machines and even with just larger mud tyres on they get on very well off road. Buy a land rover and you'l learn about its mechanics very quickly! Much more manly than a suzuki as well..
i mentioned 10-spines as its easier to check the hub end of the shaft for thick or thin spines than strip the diff out. factory 4-pin diffs are all 24spline as im sure your aware.
i used to run a detroit & 10-splines in a heavy disco, i could & did get through 4 shafts in a weekend & that was being nice to it.
i used to run a detroit & 10-splines in a heavy disco, i could & did get through 4 shafts in a weekend & that was being nice to it.
Remember that 'Defenders' were available as 90's or 110's before the Defender name came out (1991) and before the Disco came out (1989), and these are cheaper than the real Defenders. Look at something ealier than this (pre 200TDi). I think the Series 3 was replaced by the 90/110 around 1985.
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