I take back the comment about 4x4s :)
But, the P38 hasn't reached the level of desirability of some others, like the Nissan Patrols and some Landcruisers.
Will it? Maybe. The favoured option seems to be the D2. I can't imagine why, but they're regarded as the connoisseur's choice amongst green oval fanatics - over the P38 at least. I don't know how it measures up against a D90 pickup, maybe it's just down to how many LED lighting bars you can fit on it :)
StrangeRover wrote:
In todays age you have tor really think what makes a classic..
This!
Sadly I don't know if the market is ready for lumbering old 4x4s to join the ranks of the exhalted :/
I bought my 1997 Jeep Cherokee 4.0 for £999 with a dodgy MOT and a barely working LPG system in 2013.
It's now worth about 6-7k. Bargain? kinda. I've probably spend £6k on it rectifying faults and upgrading here and there. It now runs beautifully (although it's about to get another HG). It's no Ferrari 250SWB California but I'll hang onto it.
I've certainly enjoyed owning it a lot more than sticking £200 a month into a finance plan to drive a generic hatch.
StrangeRover and Richard are both right, but my opinion is that it still remains to be seen if the P38 will really take off as a classic. It hasn't yet, and there are reasons which would make me hesitant to bet the farm - not least of which is what we're going to do with thirsty old V8s when the LPG dries up.
Yes, they are good cars. Their problem is that they are widely misunderstood so people don't immediately say "Ooh, look at that" when they see one go past in the same way that they do for an E30 M3, Lancia Integrale, Escort Mexico or Sierra Cosworth - all of which could be bought for £5k at some point in their history.
I don't think the P38's time has come yet. There are too many around, they have a bad reputation for reliability and they have long been regarded as the runt of the Land Rover litter by the Benny-Hat wearing One Lifers. This is excellent news for anyone wanting a luxury car for an absolute bargain, but not so great for collectors.
dhallworth, if I was in your position I'd hold if practical. Nice examples will get rarer and their prices will rise. Will the P38 be regarded as a classic? It's hard to tell, but my gut says it won't ever be The One to be seen in. The cars that do really well are the ones that kids lusted after in their teens/twenties and still want to buy when they have some disposable income in middle age. Did anyone have a picture of a Range Rover on their bedroom wall?
Personally, I love the EBC Greenstuff pads. They give great bite from cold and don't fade. I use them with the grooved/dimpled EBC disks as I don't like disks with holes all the way through.
There are many options!!
Mine are tinted, just on the acceptable side of scruffy now. The annoying part is the need for brighter reversing lights!
I'm suddenly motivated to get the Austin 7 on an exhaust tester before puttering round London :)
"Cheap" is right, but not in a good way.
Sweet, thanks for your experience!
karlos, the Jeep is only 1500kg wet so it should be OK.
StrangeRover - thanks :)
Folks, could someone tell me what the recommended nose weight (or range) is for the P38?
I might be towing my jeep to the West Riding next week (1500kg).
Thanks!
Whenever I'm looking for a big old petrol I generally find that the low mileage examples are on straight petrol and the leggy ones have LPG. I bought the Jeep converted, but ended up having it all replaced bar some pipework so I bought the Range Rover without LPG and had Simon do a conversion from scratch.
I'm far happier with the conversion that was done properly in the first place.
Yeah, that's probably it. I just want to confirm what's going on before I get into dropping the tank or cutting a hole.
Of course, I went to it yesterday and it started from cold on the first hit. You gotta love 'em ;)
Benefit in kind for company car drivers.
BIK works on a sliding scale. EVs attract 0%. 3% for new PHEV, up through the various decreasingly "green" options to 21% for anything that produces 100g of CO2/mile or more.
So, if the company "gives" you an M3 you'll pay 21% of the purchase price in tax. If they give you a Tesla you'll have nothing more to pay.
Lpgc wrote:
You could use a schraeder valve tool to remove the valve temporarily while you have the pressure gauge connected. Some such tools look a bit like a radiator key but with a forked end.
That's a good idea! Certainly worth a shot before splashing out again. I'll just make sure to do it from cold ;)
And yes, I'm having some weird starting issues from cold. Warm restarts are 100%, cold starts take a lot of faffing about. It seems to start much more readily if I run the fuel pump between start attempts so I thought I'd better measure the fuel pressure and see what's going on at the rail.
From cold it cranks, stumbles, stops and after I run the pump I've got about a 50% chance on each subsequent crank of it stumbling again, or starting as if nothing had happened.
I've had some misfire issues last year so I replaced the coil packs, plugs, and wires which seemed to sort it out. Then the issues came back with cold weather and gradually spread to all the time. I have the odd misfire code (unsurprising) and the occasional serial link error for the antitheft but they occur far less regularly than the starting issue so I'm not sure if they're related or it's a multi-factor problem. The fun continues :)
I tried hooking up my fuel pressure gauge to the schraeder test port at the back of the engine the other day, but I couldn't get the pipe to hook up. It seems like the centre of the valve sticks out too far for the pipe on my gauge to get a grip on the threads.
Could you recommend me a gauge that will hook up to a P38 Thor?
Cheers
Morat
The brakes are now on. It stops straight, no wibbling. Hurrah!
I'll do the break-in in 200 miles time (EBC specify a very pedantic routine).
I probably missed the click on the torque wrench when I snapped the bolts, but this time I just tightened them down and gave them a tweak.
F1 is more of an arms race than a sporting event. I love it, but I do admit that the drivers are only going to make x% difference to the overall results.
Rugby is my sport, I've never "got" football/soccer at all.