quote:

Originally posted by IanF:

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Latham:
I'm not lazy so can wind up the glass on my own!

Steve, that's a valid consideration with a Defender - because anything other than a dwarf will be troubled to find a comfy driving position that does not involve having the window wound down and the elbow rested on the ledge!!

Rgds Ian

I can't be held responsible for the original design specs being drawn around a proper shaped anglo saxon!

Ah, yes - I do believe Piltdown man was indeed found in the Solihull area!



Rgds Ian

quote:

Originally posted by IanF:
Ah, yes - I do believe Piltdown man was indeed found in the Solihull area!



Rgds Ian

Piltdown man just got fed up wading through the techy stuff on photobucket!

Right lads there's no need of all this Land Rover slagging!

You are right of course - let's talk about parking!

Rgds Ian ( pimped Disco owner!)

308mate,

I fine looking machine, but I notice even in that pic, the drivers side door window is open!

Why Landrover have persisted with the idea of seating for 2 1/2 people in the front, I don't know..

They got the layout right with the Disco, and I'd have thought they'd have updated the Defender at some point...

Regards,

Pete

quote:

Originally posted by IanF:
Diesel Jeep Cherokee - give around 25 - 35mpg and they offer room in the back to get a snooze if required.

The engine is an Italian made diesel engine which is ok when maintained, also check the rear diff & gearboxes.

95 - 96 vintage should be around £500-1000 tops - plenty of room for any surgery you may wish to perform!

Yes, I know it is not 'small' - however, the extra few foot of length makes no real difference to the parking - but one hell of a benefit to the usability in the field.

Transporting a carcass or your fellow hunters, storing your stalking kit or allowing you to sleep on site and avoid a stupidly early start..... a standard sized 4x4 does it all.

Rgds Ian

I'd also put in a good word for the Jeep Grand Cherokee or smaller Cherokee but I'd look for a "straight six" 4 litre petrol version converted to LPG as this will give the equivalent of 45 mpg with all the performance of the big petrol engine. My son reliably informs me that it is faster accelerating than a Porsche in the mid-range.

I have driven one about 100k miles having had Discos and Rangies before and love it. It is good off road and excellent on the motorways, it can also be driven at speed on the open road as it is one of the best handling 4 x 4s that also has off road capability.

It will take any deer carcass that you are likely to get in the UK together with your kit.

One warning note is to ensure that the rear diff is not making any noise as this is a weak point on Jeeps. If you go for the model which ran to about 1999 you can pick a good LPG conversion up at auction for between £1k and £1.5k. The engine is bomb proof and many things that you would pay extra for on a Range Rover are standard.

Try looking at Brightwells Auctions website for one, they have a weekly 4 x 4 sale.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Latham:

quote:

Originally posted by IanF:

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Latham:
I'm not lazy so can wind up the glass on my own!

Steve, that's a valid consideration with a Defender - because anything other than a dwarf will be troubled to find a comfy driving position that does not involve having the window wound down and the elbow rested on the ledge!!

Rgds Ian

I can't be held responsible for the original design specs being drawn around a proper shaped anglo saxon!

Just because the original specs were drawn around a guy sitting on a 5 gallon drum, doesn't mean I should feel as though I am sitting on one in a 110...
My 110 looks much the same inside as my old 1955 Series 1. Handles much the same too.

At least I can lock the doors on the 110...

BTW, Amir, you could do worse than to look at getting a V8 Discovery and putting it on LPG.
That is what I will be doing next year, to get into some of the better deer country in relative comfort. I expect that an older one, in good nick, will be better than the new ones, and I won't cry when it gets scratched.
Like a certain someone who took his new RR Sport into the Wonangatta and came out with only half the paint he took in.

Been hunting in Estonia for the past couple of years, all the locals use either the Lada Niva (to a lesser and lesser extent), or the small Suzuki SJ/Samurai model.
Fitted with big tires it climbs up a frickin' tree if asked to.
Very light, good in mud; short wheelbase and high ground clearance, does not get stuck. Decent locks all round and dead cheap and 100% dependable. And these guys don't maintain the vehicles all too well....

After getting stuck in not-too-bad-a-place with a damned Nissan Pathfider, one of the locals had no problemo getting the much bigger vehicle off with his small Suzuki with a 1,3 litre engine.

If you can find one, the Subary Justy would just about the size of your Polo and goes pretty well.
In Finland, it's a highly popular vehicle in car orienteering.

Apparently, the aforementioned Lada is impossible to get stuck. When doing my military service I was also assured of this and we had a gazillion of the Nivas. And the UAZ which is a horrible piece of communist humor; but it gets stuck even less. In snow, it was simply incredible, only outbeaten by the band-wagons with caterpillar feet.

quote:

Originally posted by Pete E:
308mate,

I fine looking machine, but I notice even in that pic, the drivers side door window is open!

Why Landrover have persisted with the idea of seating for 2 1/2 people in the front, I don't know..

They got the layout right with the Disco, and I'd have thought they'd have updated the Defender at some point...

Regards,

Pete

shit pete, they got it right with the Range rover classic

amir get one of those, as far as i remember you can get them fairly cheap both in the V8 class or a td(stay away from the WM 2,4)

best regards

peter

I'll be sat on my five gallon drum in the car park at ardrossan ferry terminal come this sunday, yippeeee!!

I humbly wish to report on the shortcomings of my Defender,after a very sobering incident on Arran during our recent stalking week,I do believe that an extra twenty four inches ground clearance would not have saved us from overnight parking, & a walk out of some 4 kilometers, to arrange a pick-up from the bus shelter just below the craft centre at Laigh Kilmorey, Later taking stock of this adventure, I resolved to equip the vehicle with a lightweight Tirfor winch & fitments,& also order a 5 foot high lift jack, A little more thought about this incident brought about some fright inducing scenes, we had previously passed this place at least ten times without mishap, & also other places that had drops of at least 40 or more feet, had we gone over one of these, shiny side up would not have resulted!

Sounds a bit white knuckle!
Any more details or pictures?

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Latham:
I humbly wish to report on the shortcomings of my Defender,after a very sobering incident on Arran during our recent stalking week,I do believe that an extra twenty four inches ground clearance would not have saved us from overnight parking, & a walk out of some 4 kilometers, to arrange a pick-up from the bus shelter just below the craft centre at Laigh Kilmorey, Later taking stock of this adventure, I resolved to equip the vehicle with a lightweight Tirfor winch & fitments,& also order a 5 foot high lift jack, A little more thought about this incident brought about some fright inducing scenes, we had previously passed this place at least ten times without mishap, & also other places that had drops of at least 40 or more feet, had we gone over one of these, shiny side up would not have resulted!

Please tell us what happened, it sounds exciting!

Regards,

Amir

I am just waiting for flyboy270 to find his camera, guys, I know he has some stunning panoramic shots of the southern beats, & at least two very embarrassing ones of french parking!Steve

Still mucking about with this photobucket stuff!

Steve,

That link should be fixed now...

BTW, it looks a tad chilly up there!

Regards,

Peter

Grateful for your assistance, Steve.

No winch on the stuck one?

Edit: I see you are getting a Tirfor. Good choice. Only needed mine once, but it saved the day.

quote:

Originally posted by Sambar 9.3:
No winch on the stuck one?

Edit: I see you are getting a Tirfor. Good choice. Only needed mine once, but it saved the day.

Yup!, I'ts a real tidy super portable unit, everything , cable shackles, two folding shovels, Gransfors Axe, goes behind the passenger seat against the bulkhead!, plus a 5 foot hi-lift jack in the garage for the real sticky outings

Get the brackets to fit the hi-lift jack to the bumper. It won't do you any good if it's in the garage...

I should be able to find the time to do so now, As I have just" cleared my desk "

Dyed in the wool Landrover enthusiast see's the light!, Just returned from a very enjoyable trip up to S.W. Scotland as a passenger in a Jimny, what can I say, well impressed, bullet proof engine performance, Tardis like transit time!,took all my rubbish including a surfboard like air transit rifle case (double),As to off road, Fairly well worn but legal road tyres, & it reversed up a steep incline on wet turf without leaving broken surfaces!, only drawback in my view is the very short wheelbase magnifies the effects of potholed farm tracks, would I have one? no problem. sorry if this should be in another forum.