What's made you smile today?

[PuntoHowTo]

MK1 Freelander...to be fair they might do it to mk2s but they were the originals were both common and largely worthless so if the prop shaft bearings went most just removed the prop shaft.

Obviously as per 99.9% of 4wds the 4x4 was doing nothing most of the time anyway so if anything it at least improved fuel economy.

The biggest problem with the Freelander was the Viscous couple which would fail leaving you without 4wd, and you wouldn't know until you got stuck. as you say not to worry just remove it and run the car as a 2wd. Problem solved. A more serious issue was the Rover K series head bolts stretching and making the engine into a nice boat anchor so the 4wd system was the least of your worries. and the Freelander was definitely a rover group product conceived in the 80s well before the BMW take over. I remember the test mule being an austin maestro van.

Then the Freelander 2 was designed and released under Ford's ownership.. with ford Engines.

So no BMW freelanders

 

[Cheest]

The skates finally showed up today. It's quite different standing up on 110mm wheels than it is standing on 80mm wheels.. One downside is that I thought they were soft boots but they are hard boots and hit on the same place on my ankle as the Roces did. I'll try some moleskin on that spot next Thursday. I'd hate to have to return them after having to wait to get them.

 

[StevenRB45]

So no BMW freelanders

A Friend had a TD4 station wagon which was from the BMW era so had the longer nose and the BMW diesel but to be fair you couldn't say the engine was what made the car crap.

If anything it was the most solid part of the car, I'd entirely forgotten I'd driven this car which is odd given I did a few long distance trips in it when we were day tripping together.

I think a reasonable summary of the joy that was that car would be when I was following them down Sutton bank in Yorkshire. I sent them a text (back when it was allowed) "your brake lights aren't working" "I'm not braking" "You managed to get all the way down Sutton bank without touching the brakes?!?", "oh".

A festival of warning lights and electrical issues...oh and drove like all the controls were connected via a mattress. Functional 4wd was the least of its problems.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

A Friend had a TD4 station wagon which was from the BMW era so had the longer nose and the BMW diesel but to be fair you couldn't say the engine was what made the car crap.

If anything it was the most solid part of the car, I'd entirely forgotten I'd driven this car which is odd given I did a few long distance trips in it when we were day tripping together.

I think a reasonable summary of the joy that was that car would be when I was following them down Sutton bank in Yorkshire. I sent them a text (back when it was allowed) "your brake lights aren't working" "I'm not braking" "You managed to get all the way down Sutton bank without touching the brakes?!?", "oh".

A festival of warning lights and electrical issues...oh and drove like all the controls were connected via a mattress. Functional 4wd was the least of its problems.

Mrs J's sister had a Mk2 diesel automatic for many years, living, as she does, out in the wilds of Devon. It's greatest advantage was how it could "bully" it's way along the narrow lanes! I never drove it but as a passenger I'd describe it as a "barge". Her choice of cars was always "interesting". In addition to the Freelander she also had a V6 Rover 75 estate. I have driven that one and I was expecting it to be faster than it was - nice and comfy though if you just let it get on with things in it's own way. She sold both and bought a Vauxhall Agila automatic so she could do local shopping trips! Mrs J drove it last time we were down there and said "Never again"! I'm intending to have a go in it next time we're down there - after all, it's really a Suzuki so how bad can it be? I like torque converter automatics too. Oh, and she uses it so seldom the new jump pack may come in useful!?

Edit. The Landy sounded as if it had a slipping clutch pack when changing from 2nd into 3rd.

 

[StevenRB45]

I think the MK2 was meant to be a better thing and was based on a Ford Focus chassis. The MK1 with a BMW engine transplant was still very much a product of Austin Rover..

I should say I had a Suzuki Splash (agila equivalent) courtesy car many years ago, it was a manual but it seemed alright. Wasn't my Swift but not offensive unless the auto is literally terrible.

 

[SB1500]

BMW diesel but to be fair you couldn't say the engine was what made the car crap.

It wasn't an N47 then..... although, soft spot for Toyota aside, I suppose you couldn't solely blame that for making the Avensis sort of crap either... lol

Suzuki Splash (agila equivalent)

Test drove one of these around 2016 on a whim. What were these cars 'more of', Vauxhall (GM) or Suzuki? Did feel very 'tall' and Panda like, but extremely character-void in the most Japanese-car way possible

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Test drove one of these around 2016 on a whim. What were these cars 'more of', Vauxhall (GM) or Suzuki? Did feel very 'tall' and Panda like, but extremely character-void in the most Japanese-car way possible

From what I've seen of it so far it's pretty much all Suzuki but with some front panel and trim differences. Wonder if the Suzuki agents can connect to it?

 

[StevenRB45]

It wasn't an N47 then..... although, soft spot for Toyota aside, I suppose you couldn't solely blame that for making the Avensis sort of crap either... lol

It was an M47 so the predecessor of that. It was alright as diesels go...lots of torque down low nothing anywhere else except noise, the standard. Managed a whole 38 mpg or so.

But in this car the rest of the car shed parts like a Space-X mission so the engine could have lasted 3 years and been better than the rest of the car.

That and the other options were K series before the head gasket fix...which was neither powerful economical or reliable or KV6 which was the same but low 20s mpg was a reasonable expectation.

 

[PuntoHowTo]

It was an M47 so the predecessor of that. It was alright as diesels go...lots of torque down low nothing anywhere else except noise, the standard. Managed a whole 38 mpg or so.

But in this car the rest of the car shed parts like a Space-X mission so the engine could have lasted 3 years and been better than the rest of the car.

That and the other options were K series before the head gasket fix...which was neither powerful economical or reliable or KV6 which was the same but low 20s mpg was a reasonable expectation.

The diesel was the one I would have bought but ironically never drove.

I had driven several of the K series. The best ones were actually the earliest models in the 90s as subsequent models looked to keep taking things away while putting the price up, they did a bit of a light facelift in the mid 2000s which brought it more inline with BMW interior and made it a bit more like the Range Rover and disco 3 inside, but I think bmw were struggling with a product they didn’t design in the first place.

My inlaws still have a 03 freelander they’ve owned since new, it has a terrible spec and the quality is probably about the same as mk2 punto, no aircon lovely 90s fabrics and light coloured plastics

 

[StevenRB45]

I probably wasn't the target market while I was hooning around in it given I was about 20-22ish but I never saw the point of it. This is probably a surprise given how much I love SUVeees and Cross overs in general.

It was slow, noisy, not particularly roomy, handled badly and was usually broken. I'd say bullet dodged successfully..

I know they were incredibly popular but other than the Land Rover badge it was incredibly difficult to figure out why.

 

[PuntoHowTo]

I know they were incredibly popular but other than the Land Rover badge it was incredibly difficult to figure out why.

Small 4x4s were all the rage in the last 90s the rav4, Suzuki X-90, Vitara, VX frontera etc.

Really the SUV concept is not a new one it’s been around for 30+ years

 

[irc]

Just been to resurrect a petrol Series 2a Land Rover from storage in a barn. I wasn't involved in the putting
-into-storage part, so I was expecting hassle.
Battery hadn't been disconnected, fuel hadn't been drained, so took spare battery, fuel and empty can for draining old fuel.
It's been sat over 12 months.
Checked oil and water.
Checked tyres, all within a couple of PSI of correct pressure.
Got in, put key in and turned it, expecting nothing.
Fuel gauge showed 1/4 tank, oil and ignition lights came on as normal.
Thought "I'm on a roll, but it can't last".
Pulled choke out and turned key again.
Four or five turns and it started, and sat at perfect fast idle. Ignition light off, oil light off.
Put choke in, idled like a quality sewing machine.
Let Handbrake off, put in gear and...
It moved off with no problems.
No warning lights (well, there's only 2).

Parked it back where it was and went for a cup of tea.

Big smile!

They might be crude, noisy, slow, ergonomically challenged and uncomfortable, but its easy to see why they were the choice of explorers in backwards places back in the day when they behave like this.
Of course, nowadays with all of the electronics, the doors wouldn't unlock, the Immobiliser would stay on, and it probably wouldn't recognise the key (unless it is being stolen).
My Discovery couldn't last 2 weeks without the battery going flat, and my last Range Rover had an electronics meltdown every time the battery got low.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

The wee country garage I worked in for a number of years saw a lot of series 2 and 3 Land Rovers. All owned by farmers so really "clarty". I went down with a spectacular rash for a few days which the doctor said was an allergy to something agricultural - luckily the rash went away before he really got to grips with it. The other men absolutely hated them due to the dirt, but I found them fascinating and loved working on them which resulted in me being the "go to idiot" whenever one came in for any more than a simple oil change. I've always had a sneaking longing for one with the headlights in the grill but they fetch very good money now.

 

[Cheest]

Just been to resurrect a petrol Series 2a Land Rover from storage in a barn. I wasn't involved in the putting
-into-storage part, so I was expecting hassle.
Battery hadn't been disconnected, fuel hadn't been drained, so took spare battery, fuel and empty can for draining old fuel.
It's been sat over 12 months.
Checked oil and water.
Checked tyres, all within a couple of PSI of correct pressure.
Got in, put key in and turned it, expecting nothing.
Fuel gauge showed 1/4 tank, oil and ignition lights came on as normal.
Thought "I'm on a roll, but it can't last".
Pulled choke out and turned key again.
Four or five turns and it started, and sat at perfect fast idle. Ignition light off, oil light off.
Put choke in, idled like a quality sewing machine.
Let Handbrake off, put in gear and...
It moved off with no problems.
No warning lights (well, there's only 2).

Parked it back where it was and went for a cup of tea.

Big smile!

They might be crude, noisy, slow, ergonomically challenged and uncomfortable, but its easy to see why they were the choice of explorers in backwards places back in the day when they behave like this.
Of course, nowadays with all of the electronics, the doors wouldn't unlock, the Immobiliser would stay on, and it probably wouldn't recognise the key (unless it is being stolen).
My Discovery couldn't last 2 weeks without the battery going flat, and my last Range Rover had an electronics meltdown every time the battery got low.

This is the allure of older Jeeps on this side of the pond, though there is, or was, an outfit near my kids place in Maine that rebuilt, restored, and sold Series 2 and 3 Landys.
I currently have a Jeep LJ, which is a TJ with an extra ten inches between the wheels. It's the last series before the introduction of the 'Mall Jeep' aka the 4 door. I'd like to get my grubbies on a CJ2 or CJ3.

 

[StevenRB45]

Small 4x4s were all the rage in the last 90s the rav4, Suzuki X-90, Vitara, VX frontera etc.

Really the SUV concept is not a new one it’s been around for 30+ years

I'm sure all of them would have been equally terrible...seem to recall the original Frontera had a ladder chassis and a steering box.

Both of which were absolutely at home on the school run.

Of course we've nearly reached the end of the SUV plot arc now where they are largely indistinguishable from the hatchback/estate/or mpv they apparently replaced but with some plastic cladding and extra inch of ride height.

Does at least stop them driving like all the controls are connected with old elastic bands though.

 

[PuntoHowTo]

I'm sure all of them would have been equally terrible...seem to recall the original Frontera had a ladder chassis and a steering box.

Yep, they actually had a proper transfer box and I think a centre diff lock with high and low gears, so actually they were not far off a land rover in terms of function and were very capable off road with the right tires, which made them perfect for; bumping up the occasional kerb outside a school. clipping a roundabout or even going over a speed hump.

If you needed something bigger there was the Vauxhall Monterey? basically a rebadge Izuzu trooper. Huge but a very good off-roader.

 

[StevenRB45]

I remember the Monterey...the Frontera was an Isuzu Rodeo if I remember correctly.

The Monterey was Available with a 3.2 petrol V6...for when your fuel bill needs to match your mortgage payment.

Shogun/Pajero was another that was very popular but has disappeared from the roads.

 

[irc]

Shogun/Pajero was another that was very popular but has disappeared from the roads.

Sadly, most have dissolved like soluble aspirin. But if you find a solid one, they're surprisingly good. Had one for a while, would have kept it if it had just been a "one careful owner" car. Sadly the subsequent 12 or so were not so careful.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Sadly, most have dissolved like soluble aspirin. But if you find a solid one, they're surprisingly good. Had one for a while, would have kept it if it had just been a "one careful owner" car. Sadly the subsequent 12 or so were not so careful.

I always liked the looks of the original Toyota Land Cruiser - truly looked like a shed on wheels but there was something very attractive about them.

 

[bugsymike]

Sadly, most have dissolved like soluble aspirin. But if you find a solid one, they're surprisingly good. Had one for a while, would have kept it if it had just been a "one careful owner" car. Sadly the subsequent 12 or so were not so careful.

The Pajero was the grey import version I believe, I had a customer who managed to import one from Kuwait where he was working just before the first Iraq war.
Price was right , but unfortunately all the mechanical bits had fine grinding dust/desert sand so although rust free it was short lived.
Around that time my friend had just bought a brand new Shogun with all the extras (Diamond Pack etc) at a cost of £17,700 from memory, I had just bought an old petrol series 2a Land Rover SWB for £150 and whilst checking it over I found a front halfshaft broken on a Saturday afternoon, rang a LR specialist 15 miles away, he had a s/h shaft in stock for £4!
When I saw my friend I mentioned to him about it and said my LR does everything your £17k Shogun does except pose and I am sure you wouldn't get a s/h front drive shaft for £4 on a Saturday afternoon.