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Topic: End of an era.

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queensmessenger

26/1/2016 at 5:44pm
Location: Scottish Borders
Outfit: Elddis Whirlwind GT

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Had an old series III LWB Safari for 20 years. Spent more time fixing than driving. Snapped timing chain twice but easily fixable. Did not wreck engine as modern vehicles prone to do when timing belt snaps. Rewelded much of chassis and when sold it went to Africa for new owner to use for "rough" work.
Brilliant but cold, noisy draughty and as wet on the inside as on the outside during rain.
Would not have missed the experience for the world but now aged 75 so seeking warmth and comfort for my bones with no more "get out and get under"

Doug

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Doug

ficklejade

26/1/2016 at 11:02pm
Location: Isle of Mull
Outfit: 2 x Outwells Kairos 400 Caranex

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Agree, not the height of comfort; required a bit of brute strength to drive but were simple and relatively cheap to maintain and they were and are just wonderful workhorses. Had a 90 in early 70s and loved her and for a 4 month long spell whilst LR dealer tried to sort my Freelander at the back end of the 90s, I had a 110 cab as a courtesy car. Not the ideal vehicle for driving in Leeds, but very useful shifting half of our house up to Mull. Wish I could have afforded her rather than Freelander - she'd have been converted to a campervan by now, seeing Mum and Dad passed on, and would suit me down to the ground!

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" When I die I don`t want my life to flash before me in an instant, I want it to be a 3 hour epic !"

brianconwy

27/1/2016 at 7:49am
Location: north wales
Outfit: Sprite Quattro FB

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Quote: Originally posted by Opensauce on 26/1/2016
Just about everything was better in the 60s/70s than now
apart from the rustbucket, poorly built & downright
dangerous cars.

I suppose you look at the old ERF & Atkinson trucks & say
"aaah wonderful old British trucks"?.. Except if you had
the misfortune to be a long distance driver in those days
driving the heaps of c**p. Once we started getting Scanias
& Volvos in the 70s truck driving got much better.

Even though they used british Perkins diesels?

Opensauce

27/1/2016 at 9:25am
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Scania used their own diesels & Volvo made a better job of developing Perkins diesels than Perkins, but the proof was in the driving. The Swedish makers took the trouble to match the gearboxes to the engines to make better use of the power. ERF & Atki used mostly Cummins engines with some users being prepared to pay the extra for Gardner but mostly the 180bhp not the much smoother 8 cylinder 240bhp & they were poorly matched to Eaton constant mesh boxes.

Volvo & Scania used the first turbocharged truck diesels which had more power, better gearing & synchromesh gearboxes & they actually had cabs that were comfortable with good heaters, no draughts & suspension seating. Uk makers made attempts to play catchup & failed.

Much like Landrover with their off road working vehicles, all their previous markets from farmers to utilities now use far eastern built 4x4s. It did not have to be that way, Landrover failed to keep up & now are just a luxury brand of 'Chelsea tractors' & no longer producers of 4x4s for commercial applications.

duffs54

27/1/2016 at 10:05am
Location: Cambs
Outfit: Ford Duetto Autosleeper

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Mine was stuck out in a field doing nothing, OH spotted it and asked how much the farmer wanted for it, he just used it on the farm, £400 bargain.

Dunsfold helped with lots of spares my mates dad got it MOT'd etc did the work for practically nothing as he loved them. tax exempt to.

You don't steer them you just point them everyone gives way to you.

The gear stick snapped off in third gear whilst out in the middle of nowhere but managed to keep it going until I came across a garage in a village, they just welded it back on for me no charge.

People just love the old ones

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Duffs54

VangoMan02

27/1/2016 at 3:20pm
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I suppose you could say the same about folks who own older caravans and do all they can to keep it in use.

It might not have all the luxuries like hot/cold water, cassette loo etc..etc.

Might also need some tweaking on a regular basis to keep it roadworthy/watertight but its what some folks want and enjoy doing all the work it can entail.

They don't need the latest model with all it luxuries etc.

Restoration and recycling is what its all about for those that want to.

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It is a wise man who has something to say.
It is a fool who has to say something.

brianconwy

27/1/2016 at 5:19pm
Location: north wales
Outfit: Sprite Quattro FB

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Quote:
Much like Landrover with their off road working vehicles, all their previous markets from farmers to utilities now use far eastern built 4x4s. It did not have to be that way, Landrover failed to keep up & now are just a luxury brand of 'Chelsea tractors' & no longer producers of 4x4s for commercial applications.

The reason they are finishing production of the defenders is that the current versions will not meet EU fuel emission laws.

Opensauce

27/1/2016 at 5:47pm
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Yes quite & also because there was no market for them. Anybody with the price of a current Defender to spend on an off road vehicle can buy much better for that price.

& yes, you are right Vango. The old caravan towed behind modern car is a cost effective concept that works well for me & others. To relate that directly back to Landys, any alternative similar vehicle can do the same job more cost effectively which is why the Landy is really now just a Hobbyist vehicle for enthusiasts & no longer a viable business proposition for the revenue earning work it was originally conceived for.

freeatlast

27/1/2016 at 6:03pm
Location: Teesside
Outfit: Mitsubishi ASX4

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Quote: Originally posted by peter1474 on 26/1/2016The Air Portable one? was a nice bit of kit.

Drove these for years in the army. Managed to backload quite a few over the years, often with broken drive shafts. Badly underpowered even in those days. Sorry, but no fond memories of them.

brianconwy

27/1/2016 at 6:12pm
Location: north wales
Outfit: Sprite Quattro FB

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I know someone who was towing a horse trailer up a hill and had to stop because of a car coming down the hill. The nissan xtrail she was driving wouldn't get going again up the hill. This wouldn't be a problem with any car with a low ratio box. And this wasn't even off-road and had the horse taken out of the trailer.

Opensauce

27/1/2016 at 8:17pm
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She should have bought a Range Rover.

bigtoe

27/1/2016 at 11:05pm
Location: Chateau du Wirral
Outfit: VW T4 and quechua base second

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There are thousands of classic cars used regularly and some still as a daily drive. There's always a couple of classics on the M56 on the way to work in the morning and it's good to see people making use every day.
In many cases the old technology can take some getting used to but there are lots of great old cars around. I used a 71 Citroen DS as my everyday drive for seven years. It had a reliable but limited engine but was far and away the most comfortable car I've even driven

Kudos to those still keeping the faith!

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John

May/June.....France
Aug.......somewhere else in France

daveyjp

28/1/2016 at 8:41am
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Quote: Originally posted by brianconwy on 27/1/2016

Quote: Much like Landrover with their off road working vehicles, all their previous markets from farmers to utilities now use far eastern built 4x4s. It did not have to be that way, Landrover failed to keep up & now are just a luxury brand of 'Chelsea tractors' & no longer producers of 4x4s for commercial applications.

The reason they are finishing production of the defenders is that the current versions will not meet EU fuel emission laws.

LRs now use modern Ford 2.2 diesel units as found in thousands of Transit vans and they aren't being discontinued.

The design and construction method means you can't add the extra pieces of kit required to meet all sorts of new regulations on emissions and safety. Modern diesels increasingly use exhaust filters, extra tanks for Adblue etc and this will only increase. Finding space for these isn't easy if you are constrained by an old design.

Crash test results are also appalling for both passengers and pedestrians and modern safety features such as side impact bars, a dozen or so airbags etc cannot be incorporated into a 60 year old car.

They will continue to be seen for years as there are plenty of enthusiasts and there are rumours they are being bought to be mothballed, but unfortunately its a 60 year old design with limited appeal.

brianconwy

28/1/2016 at 1:26pm
Location: north wales
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I am sure the design is adaptable as they are used for all sorts including missile launchers, but it is the fact that a lot of manual labour is involved in the assembly. Tata might start production in India where labour costs are less.

Meanwhile these are still being built in Iran, albeit with Hyundai engines.

664DaveS

28/1/2016 at 4:46pm
Location: Shropshire
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Drove loads when I was in the RAF from S2 and 3s up to 90 and 110 Defenders. Have also driven a 101 FC what a beast!
I owned a S3 for several years, great off road not so good on !.

That was replaced with a classic Range Rover V8, that was nice but thirsty!

I would love a new Rangie TDV8 but too expensive, although you can pick up the previous models for a reasonable price, but I would be wary of complexity.
I lked the Defender TD5, nice truck!
The Australian forces use 110s with 2.9 Isuzu diesels, some have been brought to the UK.

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DS-There's more to life than football!!!

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