Land Cruisers go for 5 to 10 grand around here... so sad. 
Car for Africa
- Thread starter MikeD
- Start date
Does the car have to be bought in America? You could probably pick up a decent vehicle in South Africa and have it shipped.
Here's an idea:
Buy the truck/car wherever you currently are, then drive it over to the east coast for that training thing. That way, any quirks are going to come up here, in a place where you know the language and parts are readily available. If the damn thing completely blows up, then hey, better for it to die here than all the way over there, especially after paying so much to ship it over. You'll get used to driving it on roads that make sense.
Assuming it's +/- 3000 miles to wherever your east coast training is, that's only about a third of what you might end up driving it over in the bush. The retail value of this vehicle is already shot, anyhow.
Also, consider a motorcycle. One of those touring BMW's might be really practical for getting around on. It seems all those long distance adventure guys (like McGregor and crew) are super pumped on those things.
Just some ideas...!
Buy the truck/car wherever you currently are, then drive it over to the east coast for that training thing. That way, any quirks are going to come up here, in a place where you know the language and parts are readily available. If the damn thing completely blows up, then hey, better for it to die here than all the way over there, especially after paying so much to ship it over. You'll get used to driving it on roads that make sense.
Assuming it's +/- 3000 miles to wherever your east coast training is, that's only about a third of what you might end up driving it over in the bush. The retail value of this vehicle is already shot, anyhow.
Also, consider a motorcycle. One of those touring BMW's might be really practical for getting around on. It seems all those long distance adventure guys (like McGregor and crew) are super pumped on those things.
Just some ideas...!
If you go the old 3 serries Landrover you should be fairly sweet for parts over there, Landy's are uber common. And the early ones are very simple affairs mechanically.
Parts to expect to break on one?
Halfshafts and diff's (especially if it has been repowered).
Parts to expect to break on one?
Halfshafts and diff's (especially if it has been repowered).
Yeah that's what I would have looked into.
old toyo's Nissan's and Landy's are pretty cheap down there from memory (been a few years).
I think work will have plenty of dark sedans...as much as they're going to be worth on the roads over there... but if I'm gonna drive a car, I might as well hang onto the Subie, complications getting it across the country aside.You could be the man in the dark sedan.
[/URL]
Whats the popularity of older Volkswagens in Africa? Those tend to be cheap and run forever, and if they're anywhere near as popular as they are in Mexico it'll be easy to find parts and mechanics.
But if not that, the cars I always see in movies about Africa are FJ60s and Land Rover Defenders.
But if not that, the cars I always see in movies about Africa are FJ60s and Land Rover Defenders.
Landcruiser 80 series, NA diesel, manual. Goes anywhere, simple reliable. Front diff isn't a hilux jobbie like 100 Series so you won't lunch it when you snap it out of a bog in reverse.
Nissan Patrols, diesel 4.2's are solid. Be careful of the Turbo 3.0's they usually don't have the as strong drive line in them.
Mitsubishi Pajero's are suspect not a ladder chassis so not as rugged, will usually only come as turbo diesels which have a definite lifespan or gas which is thirsty.
Personally I'm loving my new Landcruiser LC70 tray top V8 turbo diesel, soooo much torque.
Nissan Patrols, diesel 4.2's are solid. Be careful of the Turbo 3.0's they usually don't have the as strong drive line in them.
Mitsubishi Pajero's are suspect not a ladder chassis so not as rugged, will usually only come as turbo diesels which have a definite lifespan or gas which is thirsty.
Personally I'm loving my new Landcruiser LC70 tray top V8 turbo diesel, soooo much torque.
You need to make a trip to Eastern Europe, buy a Rover, then drive it down to Buj.
Just in case you missed the original post: He can NOT get DIESEL where he is going.
A dude down the road from me was trying to sell his Montero for years. It was a work vehicle for him and was very basic. I'll have to look and see if it is a manual.
Humvee from a surplus dealer? Plus what 3-4 more for spares?
Let's leave Konabumm and his giant phallus enhancer out of this.
LOL. Approved.
http://nh.craigslist.org/car/499150747.html
Too bad its a automatic. For that price you could throw a new motor in it and still be ahead.
Too bad its a automatic. For that price you could throw a new motor in it and still be ahead.
What about finding a landy defender in Africa? I know those are pretty common over there, and the cost would probably be 30k less, simply because it's not here. I believe you could legally import one back into the US, however. Parts should be available, and you can get an interior that's nice or ugly.
What's your price range? Are we talking super cheap 10k or up to 30k?
What's your price range? Are we talking super cheap 10k or up to 30k?
If they are worldwide, that would be a good choice.
I had a '91 4-runner that was a manual that I drove in the ground.
Pretty sure an average Kenyan could out run it though.
Bugs would hit my windshield and then fly away.
Did it have that power-starved worthless V6? Or was it a 4?
It was a V6, but when I popped the hood, I think I heard hamsters scrambling.Did it have that power-starved worthless V6? Or was it a 4?
i might have missed this, but what about a Jeep?
Toyotas offered in Burundi are all offered as diesel...you sure you dont have access to diesel??
http://toyota-africa.com/countrytop/burundi/
http://toyota-africa.com/countrytop/burundi/
That's a decent idea, but it's a massive truck and only in diesel as well. Surplus they're not terribly much, 10-20k.
Our friends have one of those... in a '93 vintage, I think. It's a good thing that car has a 4-low.
I believe so. Probably shares a lot of parts with the Hi-Lux too, then you won't have to worry.
Consider buying a car in Germany, they're cheap and they've got loads; LC 70's, Mercedes Gelände Wagen, Nissan Patrol..
www.auto.de
www.ebay.de
Your missing the point rocky. He has free shipping from the states, if he gets one from Europe he will have to pay. 
Oops skim read it. Unleaded makes it hard. Cause you certainly don't want any of the previous in unleaded. Big thirsty motors with too much weight to push around.
Land cruiser straight sixes on unleaded usually last to about 200k then go a bit seedy but they are underpowered, make sure if you do buy one that it comes with the dual tanks casue you'll need them.
It does surprise me that diesel is hard to get though... maybe make your own bio-diesel?
The first gen 4runners are a lot lighter, more stable and tougher than the second gens. Leaf springs, etc. I've owned two 88's thus far. My first was a 6 and my current one is a 4. I cracked the block in my 6 after 3 years of (really)really hard driving (and it had 270k miles w/o an engine rebuild), as well as bombholing the tranny. Needless to say, I was about 25 miles from any civilization and about 200 miles from home....but it kept soldiering on; not only out of the woods, but all the way home. Before that I was driving excessively fast in a ski area parking lot, full drift, tagged a pothole, went over...and over. Truck never stopped running, drove an hour home, axle was hardly bent, frame was straight. Did some cutting and welding, and it was all ready to go again! They're virtually unstoppable, and real easy to get running again when something does **** up.
Nice part is: The suspension, chassis, powertrain, etc are all int'l spec
(supposedly - might wanna check), and you can still find decent ones for not that much cash.
My ex girl was native to seikh India, her father was a government official in a fairly remote corner of their province, as well as working in the Kashmir, and was often put in dire situations with unhappy groups of people. He's got countless stories of driving the same 4runner around from 85 on and it never letting him down, even through riots and rollovers. Granted, India isn't as remote as where you're going, but I'm sure there's some shadow of similarity.
Nice part is: The suspension, chassis, powertrain, etc are all int'l spec
(supposedly - might wanna check), and you can still find decent ones for not that much cash.
My ex girl was native to seikh India, her father was a government official in a fairly remote corner of their province, as well as working in the Kashmir, and was often put in dire situations with unhappy groups of people. He's got countless stories of driving the same 4runner around from 85 on and it never letting him down, even through riots and rollovers. Granted, India isn't as remote as where you're going, but I'm sure there's some shadow of similarity.
Jeep Wrangler????
So I missed it....
Throw caution to the wind and get a dirtbike..BBRRRAAAAAPPPPP
Throw caution to the wind and get a dirtbike..BBRRRAAAAAPPPPP