Which 4x4

[(pete)]

Any Japanese 4wd will be a good base if you like the pajero but want more of a camper you could go with a delicia the running gear is the same as a pajero but the body is a large people carrier the rear seats fold into beds the suspension and engines can be modded the same. Google delicia off-road and take a look at the images... Very cool car and the only thing I would sell my pajero to get

Toyota surfs are great in any trim but my buddy's didn't like the veg oil for some reason it it got half the mpg, you can fit a double air bed in the back with a squeeze big plus with the yota is aftermarket mods are all over the web big down side is thanks to topgear the parts are not cheap

[madmedic]

I'm a real Land rover nut... but i wouldnt buy one of the newer ones there are reliability issues. if you get an older defender (200 or 300 tdi) you will have a capable vehicle that will run forever and the skill needed to keep it on the road can be learnt from a haynes manual,

as for mod..

lights and lots of it cant go wrong that way.
a winch is handy but only if you can attach it to something and know how to use it
a snorkel is great for playing but in a situation where you need to be mobile going through water deeper than the sils or hubs ends in disaster. just look at the recent flooding and the guy washed down the river.
other than that a good drop hitch

my opinion would be to look at where you need to get to and what you will do there. if you arent going to leave the road a 4x4 can be expensive to run. and my VW Polo can get to 95% of what my landrover can and is less likely to be eyed up when TSHTF

[Darktide]

I've got an old 1984 landrover 90 that's been fairly heavily modified for off-road and I love it. In the recent floods the police shut off a road I was driving down and were waving each car down a side road, when I got to the front of the queue the copper just waved me on and told me to take it easy.

The bow wave was just up to the top of the bonnet but it was perfectly dry inside. The road was flooded for about 400 yards and when I got to the other side there was about a dozen cars that had broken down trying to get through. Everyone just stopped and gawped at me as I drove out of the water and sped off down the road, awesome!

[Technik]

I wouldn't be using the car for much off-roading - mainly caravaning and driving up north to see family / camping so maybe a Defender would be an overkill. Maybe even a Honda CR-V could do that? Only downside not being able to drive it on oil.

[madmedic]

I wouldn't be using the car for much off-roading - mainly caravaning and driving up north to see family / camping so maybe a Defender would be an overkill. Maybe even a Honda CR-V could do that? Only downside not being able to drive it on oil.

Haha thats what you think

you can get fairly good road wheels for the defender that make it not as bad.. otherwise an old discovery. a bit comfier but still capable vehicle and family will prob like it more

[dragonflyer]

Having owned an old disco 300tdi for 5+ years I'm a convert. Yes stuff does go wrong, but thet tend to keep running nevertheless. Their towing capacity is also very useful and they will go almost anywhere. I have found it great in recent snow and flood situations. If you do need it repaired and are not very good with the spanners you do need to know someone who is.
Not as difficult as you may think as Landy owners are good at networking and will readily put you in touch with the right person.

P.S. I bought mine off ebay sight unseen. Maybe I was lucky

[borderlands]

You'll find pitfalls in anything. The best move is to budget your cost then hit e-Bay. If nothing else it will give you a good look at whats available for your cash.

We have had Land Rovers, Mitsubishi, Isuzu, Nissan & Daihatsu. We buy fairly cheap vehicles as they get a rough life. Everything we have had has rotted out (wet forests arent friendly places for vehicles) We look after most of it ourselves as far as services etc.

When you figure out what you want, join the relative forum (your already good at forums, your here right?) This will give you a wealth of knowledge and their FAQ will highlight common problems and offer home build solutions.

If all else fails and you dont want to get your hands too dirty, just buy something that has a solid body. Engines are usually fixable by a range of local garages. Body work is a different story. Have ended up with many rot boxes and had to put new floors in. If it has MOT & Tax then generally it isnt going to blow up within one week, (dont quote me on that though..)

If you can find one, get a Subaru Pick-Up old, but great bit of kit. Have regularily seen them out climb a range of new 4x4's

[survivor_steve]

been thinking about the same thing, i used to have a swb pajero 2.5 diesal but extra kid on the way meant more space, bought a 2.8 delica, yup same chassis as a lwb pajero with the 4m40 engine, timing chain and as already said only problem is fuel pump, short term easy fix is buy an electric pump so when engine turns it has power and of you go, didnt like driving delica so then bought a lwb pajero 2.8 diesal...... brand new set of all terrains.
people say there hard to work on and expensive but for 40 quid you can get a service kit from milners.com i paid that for air and fuel filter on my old honda accord pajeros are good solid workhorses although need a thrash to clear out the egr valve or you could blank of with a plate for a fiver, 3 bolts and 10 minute job.
theres loads of parts for them and if a fresh or recent import, not been abused off road, dont have mud tyres, dents in sump guard and nice history you could well be onto a winner, i did say could as with any car there is faults.
If i had the money spare and a garage i would buy one, fill tank 50/50 with veggie oil and diesal, buy a new fuel filter as veggie oil acts like a cleaner and removes the crud from fual tank,i would then buy a pop tent that lives on the roof, sump guards, extra lights, 2 inch body and suspension lift, all terrain tyres, these usually have twin batterys so for a couple of quid would have a one way diode put on so that one battery is purely for truck and engine starting and the other would run anything else 12v that i wanted albeit a camping fridge,lights,cb, whatever you want..... also rear seats recline and make a king size double bed so with kids they could be locked up in car downstairs while i would be asleep upstairs with my semi auto shotgun and silenced one

im sure i could add a few more onto the list mind you

[Technik]

I like your idea regards kitting out the pajero, survivor steve. I've decided to get one, a really good example so won't be buying in a rush. All the things that you have mentioned before make it a great car. The only thing that worries me is that they are quite old, the newest one that you can get is 99 reg, after that it's the new model, which isn't that great. The only solution is to look for a low mileage, very well looked after one. By the way - does the last row of seats (the last two seats to be exact) come out? I won't be needing them but do need more space there.

My plan is to fit that pajero/shogun with a two tank system (extra 25 ltr tank in boot), one for diesel for start ups and veg oil would go in the main tank. Do service at shorter intervals to keep it running smooth. Then fit it out with all the 4x4 gear as mentioned before plus more.

I have to say I'm really fed up with unreliable cars - I only had my fiesta for about 4 months and it already went to the garage for a new egr valve, faulty injectors and today I couldn't start it due to air in fuel so now will need to check all the lines and replace the faulty one.... and that's just after I've spent over £700 on the van to get it through mot. Bring back the horses!

[unsure]

i`m going to go out on a limb here . i`m guessing your fiesta is diesel .
look at the pipes under the air box that run across the top of the engine from the primer pump to the filter . they rub there and will have tiny little cracks that let air in but not fuel out .