Old Rovers Too Feeble?

1911

Expedition Leader
I like the way they make you slow your pace down to adapt to the vehicle - you tend to enjoy the journey a little more and pay more attention to the world going by your windows. They encourage you to take the back roads and relax and enjoy the trip. Once you venture back into the country lanes you never really notice the lack of power and especially once you leave the smooth pavement for a dirt road. The sheer simplicity of the trucks has a very real appeal and you appreciate the fact that there is a whole lot less that can go wong on an old Series Land Rover than most modern vehicles.

Us FJ40 drivers say EXACTLY the same thing! Some people will just never understand the appeal and charm of an older, simpler vehicle in the big scheme of things - but that's OK too.
 

toylandcruiser

Expedition Leader
Wow this escalated quickly lol guys I thought we were all here to help each other and provide helpful knowledge to others. Instead we just argue and kick each other. I hate to say it, but what's the point lol. So what if Matt bounces from one car to the next and calls one feeble? He can do whatever in the h*ll he wants. To tell you the truth I would probably do the same thing if i could. Now here I am complaining about you guys complaining. Thanks a lot lol.

Sorry I wasn't trying to start an argument. I love rover and I would really enjoy owning one.


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LR Max

Local Oaf
The man admits its ADD but tries to cover it up with another reason.

Ah yes, because I never do that...ever...not once.
 

Howski

Well-known member
Its just not fair to punt one vehicle mfg to another of the same era- I've seen plenty of rusted out EVERYTHING.

I looked at both FJ40's and Defenders last year when I was looking to move on from my Disco. I don't disagree with you that these era trucks rust but the FJ's I looked at seemed to have considerably more rust than the Defenders in the same price point. The aluminum body eliminate many areas of potential rust on the Rover. I think it's a little silly to expect any vehicle priced at $750 to not have some major issues so your point about the Range Rover doesn't carry much weight.

I find of the comments interesting. I can understand the cruising at a decent speed on the highway portion. I have a turbo diesel and don't think I could live with a n/a diesel or small gasser like in a Series. That being said, you knew what you were getting into with the Series. From my research on FJ's, they don't exactly fly on the highway with the original F engines either. The 10 spine shafts are certainly not a strong point but I don't see it as an issue with the kind of wheeling you do. I love old FJ's, Bronco's, Scouts, etc but my gripe is the article paints these minor issues, many common of this era of vehicles, as major deficiencies only with the Rover
 

proper4wd

Expedition Leader
This thread is getting silly.
The focus should be on how ridiculous "modern exploring" really is, not on which 40 year old vehicle is better in stock form (because they are all pretty much the same with a few differences).
 

fishEH

Explorer
I looked at both FJ40's and Defenders last year when I was looking to move on from my Disco. I don't disagree with you that these era trucks rust but the FJ's I looked at seemed to have considerably more rust than the Defenders in the same price point. The aluminum body eliminate many areas of potential rust on the Rover. I think it's a little silly to expect any vehicle priced at $750 to not have some major issues so your point about the Range Rover doesn't carry much weight.

I find of the comments interesting. I can understand the cruising at a decent speed on the highway portion. I have a turbo diesel and don't think I could live with a n/a diesel or small gasser like in a Series. That being said, you knew what you were getting into with the Series. From my research on FJ's, they don't exactly fly on the highway with the original F engines either. The 10 spine shafts are certainly not a strong point but I don't see it as an issue with the kind of wheeling you do. I love old FJ's, Bronco's, Scouts, etc but my gripe is the article paints these minor issues, many common of this era of vehicles, as major deficiencies only with the Rover
I have a very good friend that is in our Land Rover Club and in a Land Cruiser club. Why?? Because he started off in the Land Cruiser club. He got tired of all the constant body rust issues with Cruisers. So he bought an old Series body. He's got a Series body on his Cruiser frame and axles and a Chevy 305 engine. Sounds like an abortion right? Hardly. It's a damn clean build and a beast of a truck.
P1390298_zpsc7518878.jpg


Enough bullsh*t, just go hit the trail.
 

LR Max

Local Oaf
I have a very good friend that is in our Land Rover Club and in a Land Cruiser club. Why?? Because he started off in the Land Cruiser club. He got tired of all the constant body rust issues with Cruisers. So he bought an old Series body. He's got a Series body on his Cruiser frame and axles and a Chevy 305 engine. Sounds like an abortion right? Hardly. It's a damn clean build and a beast of a truck.
P1390298_zpsc7518878.jpg


Enough bullsh*t, just go hit the trail.

I'd wheel it. Heck if I had a reasonable commute, I might DD it.

In all honesty, my 109 is due for an entirely new drivetrain in about 5 years or so. I'm going to bite the bullet and put fairly new stuff in there rather than continuing to screw around with the old stuff. Modern drive train with classic looks. Win. There is a guy on D90 web right now duming a LQ9 and a 6L90E in a defender. I really don't want more than 300hp and 300TQ (personal preference to keep me out of trouble) but that 6 speed auto trans would be SUPER sweet.

X2 on "modern overlanding".

BTW, driving many highway miles then doing 20 miles off road, I call that a trail ride. Possibly an overnighter to go "wheeling". That said, that is pretty common here on the east coast. You really can't go anywhere on dirt roads. In comparison, hoping on the interstate and managing 60 mph is extremely attractive. Time is short for me these days so keeping a pretty average 60 mph pace for a couple hours allows me to cover a ton of ground.
 

EricTyrrell

Expo God
I'm not discrediting the heritage of the vehicle, 70-80 hp and 10 splines just gets old in a world where you need to cruise down the highway at 65 for a few hours then roll down the trail.

I do my modern exploring at 55 while relaxing. I doubt any stock classic SUV is very comfortable at 65.

As for the 10 spline axles, just take it easy. They served many people and got work done for many years. Otherwise, upgrade. We're lucky to live in an era now where upgrades are available for nearly anything.

In the future, I'd just stick to talking about how great your new vehicle is, and the FJ40 certainly is great.
 
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I Leak Oil

Expedition Leader
"What was a simple vehicle that could be modified to keep up with a modern lifestyle? Unfortunately, being a self-proclaimed Land Rover nut, the solution to my problem came from my arch-nemisis...Toyota in the shape of the 40 series Land Cruiser. " - Matt Scott


This proves my point about throwing the baby out with the bath water when it comes to Rovers here on toyexpo. You can modify the weakness out of other vehicles but when it comes to a Rover a single weakness is enough to disregard the vehicle all together.
 

madmax718

Explorer
I looked at both FJ40's and Defenders last year when I was looking to move on from my Disco. I don't disagree with you that these era trucks rust but the FJ's I looked at seemed to have considerably more rust than the Defenders in the same price point. The aluminum body eliminate many areas of potential rust on the Rover. I think it's a little silly to expect any vehicle priced at $750 to not have some major issues so your point about the Range Rover doesn't carry much weight.
For clarification, it was a Range rover, not a defender. Even a rusted out bucket of a defender will fetch much more than 750, but you knew that. This was like a 10 year old Range rover. Surely a vehicle make in the 90's should be able to resist harsh new england conditions for more than 10 years.. but rusted through floor board were common in pre 1990 vehicles- not so common after. That was my point.
 

madmax718

Explorer
I love LR's. I just don't like the inaccessibility of parts in america. Everything is special order or shipped. Its not even the price of parts (most are in line with other OEM parts) but its the accessibility. And this applies to even the Montero's, the Isuzu's- trying to find a replacement tie rod in some town close to a trail- your more likely to find it fitting a chevy/ford/jeep/toyota than you are in a LR/Mitsu/Isuzu. but the FJ40 is no different- while some parts are shared, most of it.. is not at autozone or oriellys. (unless you have a franken 40, with some other persons axle, gear box, transmission, engine).
 

1911

Expedition Leader
but the FJ40 is no different- while some parts are shared, most of it.. is not at autozone or oriellys.

I've been flat amazed at how many OEM parts are still available at the dealer for 40-series Cruisers. My local dealer does not stock many, but he can get them the very next day from Houston or in 2-3 days from San Diego. Local dealer gives me wholesale pricing too. Several aftermarket companies sell parts from OEM manufacturers like Denso, Aisin, etc.

If you think Rover parts are hard/expensive to get, try getting parts for defunct British brands like Sunbeam and BSA!
 

toylandcruiser

Expedition Leader
I've been flat amazed at how many OEM parts are still available at the dealer for 40-series Cruisers. My local dealer does not stock many, but he can get them the very next day from Houston or in 2-3 days from San Diego. Local dealer gives me wholesale pricing too. Several aftermarket companies sell parts from OEM manufacturers like Denso, Aisin, etc.

If you think Rover parts are hard/expensive to get, try getting parts for defunct British brands like Sunbeam and BSA!

X2. I can get a lot of parts at the local dealer. Toyota is one of the few companies that still support old vehicles. I believe I should be able to go to mercedes and get parts for my 404 as well.


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