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Going off the road...


secretagentmole
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My wife was fed up with grounding out the Skoda parking on the permission, she wanted an off roader, cheap. So we started asking questions and our friends (some of who are mechanics) advised us that a decent cheap 4x4 would include Vitaras and Fourtraks. Well the wife had a look about an turned up a 1995 M plater, Fatboy Vitara with 16 valve engine. We went over and had a look, oh boy, a seriously knackered roof (repairs attempted with staples, expanding foam and all manner of rubbish. The interior otherwise was quite good. It was an automatic, but the engine fired clean and ran well! The tyres were seriously ****, down to just over minimum on the front and crazing on the back.

 

The asking price for this was £350 and she would not go down in price. OK, so we paid the money and got the Barbie Bus. It had to have been owned by a hairdresser...

 

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Right, first thing first, tyres, ebay, set of 4 virtually brand new Kuhmo's, cost £56. Fitting cost including balancing at local independant, £25, including disposal of the old tyres with alignment check as well! Roof, £50 from a local breaker, that was for a front roof and a back roof. Needed a stitching repair to the zips on the back, £20 at a local vehicle upholsterer. After much swearing and cursing I got the roof back together and fitted it... Insurance, Sure Term, quote of the web, as a second car, £202 third party. Cheapest by far, she goes to pay, gets upgraded to fully comp for free!!! So she has fully comp for the same cost as third party, Sure Term specialise in 4x4 insurance, worth remembering!

 

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We ran it down to the tyre place, it was pulling to the right a bit, new tyres on, balanced and alignment checked, like a new damned car! No pulling, easy to drive an enjoyable little bus! We were made aware there were mis-matching shocks on the rear. Something we knew, so picked up a set from the people who supplied the roof, £24! It will be going to a garage for service, fitting the tow bar (£26 from ebay), fitting the running boards and getting it all checked out and any rust spots underneath so it will last longer than it's MOT which ends in the middle of December.

 

She has already started pimping it though, got a couple of stickers for the door pillar, not your usual Suzuki ones though, a design more appropriate for us....

 

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That looks to be a nice little car I thought that I had found a good one a few weeks ago just like yours but a hard to and in red only one bit of rust under the drivers door fortunately I had looked up on the internet about where they rust so I raised the rear seats and lifted the carpet only to find two patches of rust by the seat belt mounts one poke with my finger and a hole appeared I got my friend who is fitter than me to have a look underneath he said that it had just been welded up to get through the mot but was still not that good the guy wanted £900 with no rust I would have had it but I just walked away there is no rush a good rust free one will turn up eventually.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Ours has rust round the seat mounts, luckily we have a friend who is a mechanic and a welder, so bottle of single malt sorts that! Had the beastie round the permission, now 9 bunnies down, praying for the partridge and pheasant seasons to open, he he he! This little 4x4 outs up with horrendous pot holes, branches, ploughed fields, cant beat it for the cash! If the winter forecasts aer to be believed we can get to the shops, trouble is the trucks can't!

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inner wings above the suspension turrets are one of its weak spots.

 

I'm waiting to get mine welded and MOT'd, it's in need of one inner wing welding and new wheel cylinders and pads on the back axle and new handbrake cables as it broke during MOT test :angry:

 

Edit to add : Yourrs isn't really the 'Fat Boy' as these had 10" wide wheels with much bigger wheel arch extensions and lower profile tyres (absolutely hopeless off road, or on road come to think of it)

Edited by TaxiDriver
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  • 1 month later...

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