It still only seems like yesterday since I bought my first 4wd, a Series2 ex army Landrover. It had a Holden engine and would do 100km/h only downhill with a tailwind.
Economy wasn't a word you'd use with that vehicle.
I made a lot of mistakes that I survived, including different sized tyres on the front and back (the back two were new).
Bush trips were few and far, but I was a weekend warrier between the long slow journies to the tar's end.
The Landy was replaced with a petrol LWB Landcruiser. Now this beast went bush. Its first trip was to
Birdsville where I had to exit a ton of dust before sleeping in the back (how was I to know about the rust hole above the rear wheel? I thought that amount of dust was normal!)
When my wife's hair turned red on the Oodndatta track, I found it interesting....she didn't.
This was followed by my trusty (and later, rusty) FJ55V which went everywhere including a crossing of the Simpson when even the locals thought I was mad for going there.
It was on a trip across the Plenty that I found that petrol could be scarce in
places, so I paid the outrageous price of $16500 for a diesel HJ60. Diesel was around 3 cents a litre cheaper than petrol at the time.
The 60 went around Oz several times,
Cape York,
Birdsville etc etc as
well as being by daily driver. I just about lived in it, and when the rust finally got too bad to ignore I sold it with 400K on the clock.
A 91 Mitsi Padj proved a great vehicle around town, but it just wasn't up to serious 4wding.
The current series 80 diesel has been the best thing since sliced cheese, but I'm finding it won't keep up with current technology on the road. Off the tar and ...
well what can one say? Simply the best vehicle for my style of touring.
When I think back to the kid who bought the Series 2, I wonder what became of him? One day you're the nervous youth then you look in the mirror and you've been transported to the land of tossil fossils. And it's true what they say, inside every fossil is an 18yo trying to get out :)
So...get down and get Jiggy folks, cause I'm a kewl dude who's not fading away just yet....I hope.
200 series landcruiser ? Bring it on!