GQ Purchase Advice

[Golioth]

Hey guys. So after rolling my GU and writing it off, I have decided to get a more off-road capable GQ. But not being a real big rev head, I'm not quite sure what to look for.

I have a budget of roughly $10k to get a capable GQ on the road.

So what do I need to know?
Deisel vs Petrol?
Engine size?
Any well known issues like the grenading issue in the gu that I should be aware of?

Any and all advice would be appreciated.
Cheers

[GQ TANK]

I have a lwb 91 GQ tb42S - great vehilce on / off road - but heavy on fuel. The tb42 efi gives a bit more power and should be a bit better on fuel.

The TB42's do heads - espcially if running LPG - cost around $1100 - $1500

If I was looking at buying another GQ - I would be looking for a 4.2TD (OR A 4.2TD gu)

For 10k you should be able to pick up a smiko gq with all the goodies

[Winnie]

With that budget you will get a very nice TD42 GQ, it's the pick of the bunch.

[mudnut]

Have you considered an RB30 if you are not looking for a tow vehicle? Pros : Cheaper to buy, cheaper to run and repair. Easily converted to EFI turbo. Has a larger usable rev range which is great on the sand. It will get you anywhere a TB42 will. The care factor is a lot less
.
Cons: It uses a timing belt which needs to be changed out every 100000 kms. The gearbox is not as strong as the TB42. It will get you anywhere a tb42 will but slower.

[the evil twin]

Best GQ I owned was a TB42EFI Auto with a front diff lock and manual torque converter lock up switch.
It was on LPG but had upper cyl lube and must have over 600 K on it now (haven't seen the owner in a fair while).
Touring range with that config was the main issue over here in WA.

Another GQ was a turboed TD42 manual that was too heavily mod'd to be a "pleasant" drive but it sure went.

Not sure what you mean by "more off-road capable" as that could infer different things to different people
In the factory engines Petrol is the best way to get more zing, Diesel is the best way to get a nicer drive for crawling or turn 35's (depending how much you want to spend/modify)

My pick of the GQ's would be a TD42 Auto with a Turbo but they are a tad rare as they only brought in 500 or so.
There are also lot of trucks out there with engine conversions as well.

Main issues to look for with GQ's is body rust, you can only kill the engines/gearboxes with poor maintenance pretty much.

Only one I would rule out is a series 1 TB42 (Carby)