G
Guest
Guest
Hi Chaps/Chapesses (actually, do we have any chapesses on the list
yet?),
Since we are getting to know each other, here is a little 'Bio' stuff.
Sorry it's a bit long and full of drivel - you can always just delete
it.
Intro
I live in the Scottish Borders, with my wife Claire and our 6 week old
baby, Lauren (hence the shortage of posts recently) - which might make
me the most 'Northerly' lister. I've got 2 80 series cruisers - a '92
Diesel Import and an UK Spec '95 Petrol (recently purchased on eBay, and
test driven by Julian on my way home with it!). Anyway, more on these
later.
Deserts
My interest in Cruisers stems from my 'other' hobby - which is desert
travel. All the trips I've done to date have been by motorcycle (Libya,
Algeria, Morocco, Mauritaina, Senegal, Niger, Iceland (Ash Desert)), but
I'm getting to that age in life (30) where I fancy being able to take a
reading book and possibly a second pair of undies on my trips, so a 4X4
is the way forward. Also, I now have a family, see para above! Anyway,
nearly all of those 'Saharans' I know or have met in passing who use
cars wouldn't look past a Cruiser - and so I thought, if it's good
enough for them, it's good enough for me.
Crusiers
My first Cruiser was a '94 80 Diesel - and I learned what great cars
they are from it - even though it was totally standard and never went to
the desert. Then, one sad day on a winding country road, with the
Ramones playing too loud and the ditches looming a bit too close, we
parted company, and it went to the big sand dune in the sky. Once I got
the insurance money, I set about importing a replacement from Japan
(having wised up to corrosion/value factors offer by this course).
Eventually, I imported an '93 HZJ77HV which is basically the front of a
75 mated to the back of a LWB Prado. It was an immaculate car - no
rust, sweet (if lethargic) 1HZ engine, but spares were nigh on
impossible and, lets face it, it wasn't an 80. This was therefore
replaced earlier this year by a pig of a 92 Diesel - clocked, tarted up
and generally a bit nasty - I bought in 'on the rebound' but at least it
was cheap and not rusty. Just recently, this has also been followed by
the facelifted UK petrol one - as the diesel is in bits in the garage -
and my wife likes the power in the 1FZ-FE petrol donk - must be
something to do with her being South African.
Mods etc
OK, the petrol one is staying standard - we are emigrating to SA at the
end of the year, and we'll therefore be selling it before we go. The
diesel one is a different kettle of mild steel. This is scheduled for a
'Bye Bye Sahara' trip this autumn winter, before we set about the Namib
and Kalahari. Also, we are taking it with us, so it needs to stop being
the crock that it presently is.
Here's the mod/work list for it:
OME 851/860 suspension with nitrochargers and OME steering damper - half
fitted at present
Grand Erg 200 litre internal diesel tank - sitting in garage - to be
fitted soon - might be too heavy for the 860's when full - so I might
change 'em for the trip
Adjustable panhard rods - good when lifting/lowering suspension
60 litre water tank - no idea where this is going yet
Polybushes for all rear axle arms plus both sway bars
New short block - okay, so this isn't a mod, but it's a new part!
Rebuilt diesel injectors - check
Rebuilt diesel pump - pending
Modular steel wheels with stock size BFG ATs - check
GPS, Momo steering wheel, turbo timer and other electronic nonsense -
check
Trick rear load bay storage system/sleeping platform - still on the
drawing board
So there we have it. Farewell Sahara tour will start early Nov for
about 6 weeks - route will probably by Mauri/Mali/Niger - hopefully with
some interesting/little done pistes, as the Algeria situation still need
tiresome guides. If Julian can spare me some web space, I'll send some
updates on the prep and how the trip goes.
Anyway - that's all for now. Thanks to the UK Cruiser listers for all
the sage advice to date - especially Roman, who needs to write the book
on the subject, methinks.
Cheers - Andy
'92 VX Ltd 1HD-T
'95 VX 1FZ-FE
yet?),
Since we are getting to know each other, here is a little 'Bio' stuff.
Sorry it's a bit long and full of drivel - you can always just delete
it.
Intro
I live in the Scottish Borders, with my wife Claire and our 6 week old
baby, Lauren (hence the shortage of posts recently) - which might make
me the most 'Northerly' lister. I've got 2 80 series cruisers - a '92
Diesel Import and an UK Spec '95 Petrol (recently purchased on eBay, and
test driven by Julian on my way home with it!). Anyway, more on these
later.
Deserts
My interest in Cruisers stems from my 'other' hobby - which is desert
travel. All the trips I've done to date have been by motorcycle (Libya,
Algeria, Morocco, Mauritaina, Senegal, Niger, Iceland (Ash Desert)), but
I'm getting to that age in life (30) where I fancy being able to take a
reading book and possibly a second pair of undies on my trips, so a 4X4
is the way forward. Also, I now have a family, see para above! Anyway,
nearly all of those 'Saharans' I know or have met in passing who use
cars wouldn't look past a Cruiser - and so I thought, if it's good
enough for them, it's good enough for me.
Crusiers
My first Cruiser was a '94 80 Diesel - and I learned what great cars
they are from it - even though it was totally standard and never went to
the desert. Then, one sad day on a winding country road, with the
Ramones playing too loud and the ditches looming a bit too close, we
parted company, and it went to the big sand dune in the sky. Once I got
the insurance money, I set about importing a replacement from Japan
(having wised up to corrosion/value factors offer by this course).
Eventually, I imported an '93 HZJ77HV which is basically the front of a
75 mated to the back of a LWB Prado. It was an immaculate car - no
rust, sweet (if lethargic) 1HZ engine, but spares were nigh on
impossible and, lets face it, it wasn't an 80. This was therefore
replaced earlier this year by a pig of a 92 Diesel - clocked, tarted up
and generally a bit nasty - I bought in 'on the rebound' but at least it
was cheap and not rusty. Just recently, this has also been followed by
the facelifted UK petrol one - as the diesel is in bits in the garage -
and my wife likes the power in the 1FZ-FE petrol donk - must be
something to do with her being South African.
Mods etc
OK, the petrol one is staying standard - we are emigrating to SA at the
end of the year, and we'll therefore be selling it before we go. The
diesel one is a different kettle of mild steel. This is scheduled for a
'Bye Bye Sahara' trip this autumn winter, before we set about the Namib
and Kalahari. Also, we are taking it with us, so it needs to stop being
the crock that it presently is.
Here's the mod/work list for it:
OME 851/860 suspension with nitrochargers and OME steering damper - half
fitted at present
Grand Erg 200 litre internal diesel tank - sitting in garage - to be
fitted soon - might be too heavy for the 860's when full - so I might
change 'em for the trip
Adjustable panhard rods - good when lifting/lowering suspension
60 litre water tank - no idea where this is going yet
Polybushes for all rear axle arms plus both sway bars
New short block - okay, so this isn't a mod, but it's a new part!
Rebuilt diesel injectors - check
Rebuilt diesel pump - pending
Modular steel wheels with stock size BFG ATs - check
GPS, Momo steering wheel, turbo timer and other electronic nonsense -
check
Trick rear load bay storage system/sleeping platform - still on the
drawing board
So there we have it. Farewell Sahara tour will start early Nov for
about 6 weeks - route will probably by Mauri/Mali/Niger - hopefully with
some interesting/little done pistes, as the Algeria situation still need
tiresome guides. If Julian can spare me some web space, I'll send some
updates on the prep and how the trip goes.
Anyway - that's all for now. Thanks to the UK Cruiser listers for all
the sage advice to date - especially Roman, who needs to write the book
on the subject, methinks.
Cheers - Andy
'92 VX Ltd 1HD-T
'95 VX 1FZ-FE
