Sounds cool Red :thumbup: - at least LPG in Aussie is priced right, unlike here. Was tempted to do a V8 conversion on my Cruiser a while back, but sanity/poverty preveilled, I so put in a factory turbo diesel motor instead. Fuel costs woulda been too high the other way, plus diesel is better when doing boat impersonations.......... :thumbup:

today I pay 50c a litre for LPG while Unleaded fuel is about $1.15 & premuim (for the Paso naturally) is around $1.25 a litre. Teh Gov't here has yet to start taxing LPG but it will come & then it will be just as stupid.

Afew months ago LPG went up 5c a litre overnight @ my local service Station & when I asked the owner why as gas has not been effected the way oil has & he said it was because the truck delivering the LPG was a Deisel. :umm: I laughed at him & questioned whether that translated to an extra 5c/L @ then found a new place to buy it. It cost the same but at least I was not being spun a yarn by some guy trying to make a quick buck from me.

How much are you paying in NZ?

True, the newer Land Cruisers are a far cry from off-road ready. Not without a serious influx of cash to undo the lushness. I do see folks who've uprated their FJ80s and FJ100's to tackle some serious obstacles - and they've spent almost as much as a new FJ100 to do so.

I'm not sure what they're running underneath - stock - anymore; I'd guess fully independent. My '72 has leaf springs in every corner, and drum brakes all around, with two cylinders per. What a nuisance that was to replace.

As for anything new ... they're more "MALL terrain vehicle" than "ALL terrain vehicle" now. What makes me crazy are the fools who buy these things thinking AWD/4WD is going to make them better drivers and/or safer; couple that with the fact that these 4500lbs trucks ride and handle like cars - you get idiots who have no idea how to drive what they're in and it just spells disaster. I do better with my old Exploder in rear wheel drive than most of the fools w/ AWD.

I do have to tell you - I wish I had a camera, I just about peed myself - there was a character up the street last winter in a nice big Ford Expedition with 22" dubs and low profile performance tires, spinnin' the hell out of all four of 'em trying to get up the slightest grade ... while I just eased by with power at the rear tires. It has to be something miserable to coax me into 4wd, unless I'm pulling somebody out of a ditch or snowbank.

do you mean to say that 4wd /Awd does not make you invincible How come they never say that in the ads on the telly, I figured they all bough tthem because it made them untouchable I remember one of the current affair TV shows here did a survey & discovered that 94% of 4wd owners purchased them & fitted bull bars simply to intimidate other drivers with their size & road presence. No intention of ever going off road. :screwy:
some bought to tow horses & vans but only a few ever made it past a well worn dirt track.

What a waste of good engineering

I must admit that i am a bit of a fan of the old cruiser troop carrier types, they are serious vehicles :thumbup:

Gotta admit Red, that all 3 of my 4WDs have bullbars, mostly fitted because they save damage off-road, & make good places for using a Hi-lift jack when stuck........ :thumbup: :thumbup:
Mind you - they are handy around town too - I don't have any issues regarding car drivers feeling intimidated, at all. Amazingly, they sorta give way when they should when a Bullbar is on the front of the other vehicle, yet - ya just sit there behind the wheel, knowing that if you'd been on the bike, ya woulda been cleaned up by them......... :thumbdown:
Welcome to the real world, where size does matter, apparently!!!!

Red - will come back to ya on LPG price. Weasel pi$$ 91 octane is about $1.25 litre - 96 is $ 1.32 - Diesel is 86c/litre locally, but I live in the middle of nowhere - slightly cheaper in proper towns.

Faster - older Cruisers were really good - but to me - the 80 series is certainly the best of the station wagons. Most sold here & Oz, were diesel, or turbo diesel - coil springs - beam axles - solid & comfortable. Great trucks!!! :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Yeah, I get a kick out of seeing chrome bull bars and tail lens grilles. When I was wheeling my Exploder, I skipped the bullbars altogether and just Rhino-Linered my bumpers. You can bounce a rocket off that stuff. I was going to Rhino-Liner all the way around, from the trim piece down (rocker panels, wheel wells) but never got to it. That's some pretty awful stuff, that's for sure.

That's how a lot of the Jeep Wranglers look around here - lots of doo-dads that look the part to an untrained eye, but to someone who's been on a rock crawl - all I see is a bunch of pretty, busted, expensive pieces parts ...

Faster - no chrome on my 4WDs - belongs on 'bitumin bunny' vehicles!!! :thumbdown: :thumbdown: 'Real Steel' Bullbars are black........... :thumbup: & made in Aussie by ARB!!

(At least ya have'nt depressed all us 'upside-downers' by telling us how cheap fuel is in The States........& no - I don't wanna know!!)

Red - did the 'unthinkable' today mate - was a bit sad really - sold my beloved Landcruiser..............
Had to watch someone else who paid lots of money for my darling, drive her away. Jeez - had that truck longer than what the marriage lasted..........
But................sometimes ya gotta move on a bit.........been for a coupla test drives in a SWB diesel Patrol like yours, but I don't think I can do it.............what with being made by Nissan & all that sorta stuff, like.....
So are going down to Skin's city for a look around a few vehicles on Saturday.............
Even had to blow the dust off the bike today - (the 200km trip was my 'therapy session'.............) Took 'The Cook' with me on the back, & the Paso had even created a few grins by the time it found the driveway again...........
Had to spend a bit of time going :neener: :neener: :neener: at Highway Patrol cars - (they are'nt fun..........)

Duck - I've got a '72 FJ40 for sale ...

Sorry to hear about your loss all the same ... that sucks. Let us know what you replace her with!