TrabbieRonnie

Quick exterior wash and scrub of the interior, nice sunny day but basically arctic wind conditions so waxing will have to wait. There are wee bits of corrosion around it, the boot lid handle and rear window corner panels, but nothing serious I can see as yet. Took it to work and back this morning, was a very agreeable waft. The stereo is out of this world, and bumbling along at 60 has resulted in an indicated average of 30 mpgees and slowly rising. Overtook a lorry without even thinking about it, the power is noice. Bonus Trabant action here... The 'power sausages', so christened by my two young petrolheads: The headlamps need sorting, pretty clouded... I did try my polishing kit on them today, but it was bloody baltic and I couldn't stand it any more. Job for the summer... All in all, so far so good. Can't quite shake the feeling of impending doom, but at this money I'm just going to enjoy it while it lasts!

Thanks vaughant! Does seem that way tbh… couldn't resist. The seller had had a bit of time selling it, and just wanted it gone without any more hassle. They're not exactly the car I thought they were, I wasn't expecting such a sporty drive. The engine is sublime, free revving like the 2.6 in the old coupe (but with a wee bit more grunt!). Very weird looking under a car of this age in Scotland and not seeing any orange crusty bits!

Hello all, Just home from our highland capital with the new beast... definitely a potential heart/bank account breaker, but all seems well thus far (the drive home was an hour-long mix of sedate wafting and absolute hooliganism!) I've always liked these, the older model appealed more to be honest, but this one just came along at the right price/location. Regretted not buying Sim's one, but can scratch my German V8 itch now... 3.7l Quattro, £1500 on the nose, pics: 130,000 miles, huge history file, feels genuine and looks good. New airbags a while ago, cambelt up to date... WCPGW!!! Will update after mega washing/getting to know you session with it tomorrow, as ever any and all experiences/advice welcomed! Cheers all.

Nice motah! Is that the A9? Nice drive home, even in this weather!

Good god man, thought I was bad... I'm only up to seven... 2005 Outback... family daily. 1992 Surf... my daily (winter). 1992 Mazda 323... eldest son's learn-to-drive/project (doesn't need anything though) car. 1989 Trabant... my daily (summer). 1994 Audi Coupe... other daily (summer). 2006 Iveco recovery truck... u/s, needing brakes. 1993 HiAce Camper... holidaily. It's fairly ridiculous, fairly well packed in now and I'm not even counting the other Trabbi (garaged for a few years now), and the Qek Junior caravan... This year I plan to sell the Audi, the truck and maybe swap the Outback for something else, as I'm not emotionally attached to them like the others. This foolproof* plan will probably, subject to such man maths, result in a ten-car fleet by 2021!

As far as I know, Japanese imports are (or were) usually around the ten-year-old mark. I think their mot system gets very harsh after that, meaning it's expensive to keep them on the road over there. Anyway, at that age, they needed a bit of tlc after a few years running around our fair isles, and I don't think they always got it, as Toyota bits aren't/weren't exactly cheap (pre-Roughtrax I suppose!). Also, I seem to remember that Toyota used their very own 'red' coolant, that when mixed with anything else, turned into some kind of gloop... not conducive to cooling. My point is that Toyota are not exactly famous for making unreliable rubbish, and the Mk1 and Mk2 Surf are basically rebodied and turbo'd Hilux pick-ups, good things. Looked after, they are pretty much unbeatable for the money, and the task at hand. I've seen some Cherokees up close round here, and I think if you even look at them too hard they start to dissolve! Shame, as they are nice things. Defenders are a classic, obvs, and amazing in the rough stuff, but daily? Why would you do it to yourself?!!! Would love to try a Fourtrak, but the metal mouse is really decimating them now I see. I also like the Pajero/Shogun, and the old 2.8 lump seems a good'un, but they definitely rust worse than Toyotas of similar vintage.

T'was but an option nobody ticked for mine... still nice though!

If they overheat, the head warps against the block, cracking the head between the valves... however, if you don't mind changing the radiator and waterpump once every 20 years they're ok! I hear this a lot, and it is a reputation they really don't deserve. Mine is 28 years old, on 220,000 kms and is well maintained. It has never, EVER even thought about letting me down... (Obviously, some vital part has just clanged onto the driveway as I typed that), but seriously... a 28 year old Land Rover would have driven me round the bend seventy-billion times by now!

We've got sse in at work just now, with a fleet of hiluxes and the odd defender. My vote is for the surf, amazing reliability (twin batteries, starting is not an issue, been down to -21 here!), easy maintenance (frequent oil changes, but very easy, no jacking up!), no computer bullshit, comfy, and the autobags seem to be bombproof too. Had mine for six years now, yes they're all going to have rust, but the separate chassis build means it's easily contained/repaired. Very, very capable off-road too, obvs.

Behold!

My 93 Audi coupe is still looking for a good home? More a cruiser than an out and out blaster, but decent power from the 2.6... For sale thread's on here somewhere, L271 TST for mot check.

Can't remember the last time I saw a non-camper 'forward-control' HiAce... here's ours. Had a respray a couple of years ago, wasn't too bad before... However, wanted to catch it before she got too bad as we've had her longer than the kids (16 years), and she's very precious!!! Quite liked the matt black primer...

Our V70 was never done rattling and clunking, drove me mad but never found anything wrong underneath... I do remember the horrendous steering lock (or lack of) too. However, great engine and interior, looked good too I thought.

^^^Also this... well done Cap'n.

https://www.lada.de/cars/4x4/3dv/gallery.html Drool...