Paul, welcome.
You are certainly going the right way. You already have some good
advice and the 80/Amazon/100 is the one to go for, and I guess it
goes without saying that you should choose a diesel version - a
4.2litre 6 cylinder in several variants. You will find that the fuel
consumption is the same as the smaller engined Disco, and the oil
consumption far less ! (That's both the oil that is burned and the
oil that drips onto your drive!)
But where do you get one? Surprisingly I would not advise a Toy
dealer, they have sold very few of the 6 cylinder models and so they
spend very little on service training for their staff. Generally the
6 cylinder model owners tend to be enthusiasts and often know more
about the functions of their Toy than the dealers. People here like
Julian, Clive, Gareth, Craig and Roman have more knowledge between
them, and more importantly - experience - than most Toy dealers. So
this forum is your best resource. The best mechanics for them tend to
be small individual garages that 'know' Jap 4WD's, not the LR only
garages who at times have problems understanding the Japanese way of
building them. Some plant fitters and agricultural engineers are also
very good with spannering Toys too.
I would advise that buying a Jap import is the better route than a UK
supplied one, and they trade at a lower prices as their price is not
calculated as per the usual Glass's residual path. But there is
definitely no problem with an 'import' as many in the trade would
have you believe. This is a vehicle that even LR management admire
and allegedly based some design criteria on the last RR model to meet
the Toy 6 cylinder models.
To start your quest, have a day out and go to one trader that has the
best knowledge of the marque and always has a good stock of S/H 6
cylinder Toys. They used to be a Toy dealer and despite their
suburban location found an affinity with the 4WD models. They now
have another 4WD franchise but still major in the Toy, and their
salesmen and fitters probably have more knowledge than any official
Toy dealer in the UK.
You will see them advertise in the 4WD mags. Grosvenor Garage Ltd are
just off junction 11 on the M25. I think the web address is
www.GGG.co.uk or at least something similar. Don't be put off by
their adverts and website having trucks outside your price range.
Talk to them first, and when they know what you want and have some
indication of your intent, they have a reputation of magically
knowing where to find what you need. Though at your price level they
may not put a warranty on it understandably, or even just pass you on
to a trade contact.
Toy dealers are also largely useless for parts, that is in terms of
knowing and identifying (and stocking) what you want, because they
sell very few for the 6 cylinder models. Toy delivery to their
dealers ex Rotterdam though, is usually 2 days. But some OEM parts
are essential, especially specific bearings, and oil seals in engine
and transmission. This is where Toy quality shows in their attention
to design of components that take the extraordinary wear and tear of
4WD'ing. (Remember my remark about oil drips - or none in the case
of the Toy). Otherwise good quality 'will fit' spares are available
from several suppliers like Milner and Brum Motor Spares etc. at
discount prices. For well priced major spares purchases such as for
an engine rebuild, some of our friends here use a legendary Toy
specialist in Holland - Maarten Verschure at All American Imports
(no, don't ask, he's a Toy man through to his underpants).
I know of some people who have bought bargain imports at dockside
auctions, but they tend to be those who know exactly what they are
looking for and the foibles of the model they seek. Maybe not the
route for you just yet. (My brother-in-law has bought 7 4WD's for his
corporate team building cum 4WD training course from them).
When you come across a possible purchase just let us know and the
'committee' will give you an opinion. HTH.
Cheers
Jon
Tring,Herts
'92 HZJ80 ex UN Bosnia surplus