What Car?

Thinking of getting a beater car to save wear and tear on the Patrol.

I'd like to get something around $5K. Son has a 2005 Commy wagon, it's not a bad rig. After something that will be reliable and cheap to fix, so thinking Ford or Holden. Don't want a granny car, looking for a bloke car. I really don't have much clue.

Doesn't need to be beautiful looking but like a heap of shite either.

Another thing, it must be able to easily swap out the radio if the radio is crap. I've looked this up on VE commodores and apparently it's a massive PITA.

Any suggestions??

VZ Calais. If you can find a nice one that has not been flogged. I reckon they look great with a nice set of wheels and lowered an inch.

Skyline R31. Little car with a big engine.

If you want reliability, get a Toyota. You can get Camry or Corolla models made around 2005 for about $5000.
A mate of mine did the same and got a 2003 Corolla for $1500 on road!

depends on what your after , but if reliability is what your after for a basic run around car i second Cremulator . toyota , we have had a few in our family . not what you would call top performers , but very reliable and cheap to run and generally easy to work on .

Thanks everyone for the help.

Are subaru's any good???

A very straight and somewhat clean old D21 dual cab tub Navara we bought for $5k exactly with 70,000 clicks on its dial...ex-orchards Shepparton way.
Has been amazing, our go to backup little ute still to this day, has taken some wicked punishment albeit the dual fuel petty situation needs consideration as backfiring in hotter weather scares the shite out of me diesel loving brain :-)


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The older auto Subies had a problem with an 'O' ring going brittle or hard. This caused the unit to not engage any gears straight away or at all. Apart from having two heads and two of everything associated with the valves, run by a super-long timing belt they are reliable.
https://www.google.com/search?q=chan...-e4-EP_d2wwAY2

And head gasket delamination is also a common issue.

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Originally Posted by mudnut

The older auto Subies had a problem with an 'O' ring going brittle or hard. This caused the unit to not engage any gears straight away or at all. Apart from having two heads and two of everything associated with the valves, run by a super-long timing belt they are reliable.
https://www.google.com/search?q=chan...-e4-EP_d2wwAY2

And head gasket delamination is also a common issue.

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Thanks Craig, much appreciated.

Reckon I might be looking at a ute. Can put firewood in it etc etc.

It'll be an auto on petrol probably a ford or holden coz anyone can fix 'em and parts are everywhere.

Not a V6. They are a nightmare to even change a timing belt or stretched timing chain. A straight six or four is the go. We have an old Ford Courier as a paddock bomb and it was used by a lawn mower service for many years before we got it.

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Originally Posted by mudnut

Not a V6. They are a nightmare to even change a timing belt or stretched timing chain. A straight six or four is the go. We have an old Ford Courier as a paddock bomb and it was used by a lawn mower service for many years before we got it.

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Oh, OK, I'm more of a Ford guy anyway. Looking at a neat looking AU ute, ATM, I got a soft spot for AUs, had 2 of 'em. Biggest problem is it's in Bayswater.

I test drove a 2002-3 Ford wagon from Mark Smith (Bolwarra) a couple of weeks ago. It was only a couple of grand and was a bit shabby, but it nearly snapped my neck when I floored it. By hell, those big sixes have some grunt.

He will obtain a vehicle to your specs too.

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Originally Posted by mudnut

I test drove a 2002-3 Ford wagon from Mark Smith (Bolwarra) a couple of weeks ago. It was only a couple of grand and was a bit shabby, but it nearly snapped my neck when I floored it. By hell, those big sixes have some grunt.

He will obtain a vehicle to your specs too.

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Hey, good to know. Is he still in Portland? I saw he's not near that Shell servo anymore.

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Originally Posted by 10G

Oh, OK, I'm more of a Ford guy anyway. Looking at a neat looking AU ute, ATM, I got a soft spot for AUs, had 2 of 'em. Biggest problem is it's in Bayswater.

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It will have been flogged if its from Bayswater. Lol. Yobbo central. ;)

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Originally Posted by mudski

It will have been flogged if its from Bayswater. Lol. Yobbo central. ;)

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Hahaha, yeah there's that as well. I was more thinking that it's at best a 5 hour drive away.

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Originally Posted by 10G

Hey, good to know. Is he still in Portland? I saw he's not near that Shell servo anymore.

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He works from home, so just google Mark Smith Motor Traders Portland and give him a bell.

Job's done. Got myself a 2001 AU ute with a tub. 280,000kms which is about 14,000 per year which is pretty good. On petrol, not gas.

Needs a bit of cosmetic work done. Headlining is shot, driver seat is stuffed, mechanically it's not too bad I think, diff moans, but they all do. Hope to get at least another 200,000 out of her.

@MB backfiring is from a couple of easy checks,
First is air leaks on the intake side, a decent backfire could blow the air box out.
The second is tooo lean, find the main gas in hose and unscrew 1/4 turn or find the
screw with the spring on the condenser and and turn clockwise one flat on the hex

On our EB, I took the whole head liner out and bought a couple of tubes of grey silicone. After scraping that shitty foam underlay off, I coated the board with silicone, laid the headliner back over it and used scraper to smooth it all out. If you bother looking up, you can see where the silicone oozed through the cloth. Meh, it passed road worthy and will never peel off and fall down again.

It will also make a great base to stick the velour headlining I intend to put in.

Well after 2 days of interior cleaning the AU has come up looking very good. Surprised at it's condition, bugger all in the way of scratches, door linings, kickboards, all good really good for their age.

Seats are shagged but still operational, need re doing they're pretty much flat. Body is pretty good, looks bloody presentable.

Attachment 81386

Attachment 81387

Attachment 81388

Factory radio still in it, which is pretty useless unless you want to play CDs and listen to the radio, that'll be going.

I found a great way to clean dirty car carpet, use an old wire brush. I had some bad sections on the carpet, had a wire brush in hand and thought why not. It was brilliant, didn't trouble the carpet at all and all the crap gets flicked up into the air, so you just vacuum it straight out. Brought back the 20 year old factory carpet to a very presentable standard.

Attachment 81389

Diff's a bit of a howler, but luckily at 100kmh it goes quiet.

We used an additive to quieten the diff.

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Originally Posted by mudnut

We used an additive to quieten the diff.

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Banana peel! Haha cant remember which movie I saw that in. :D

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Originally Posted by Plasnart

Banana peel! Haha cant remember which movie I saw that in. :D

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Sawdust or Number 2 grade Crater grease from a locomotive traction motor gear case is a lot better than banana skins:1087:

Our mechanic said that the diff oil was very thick brown goo when he changed it. On the way home from the service, the diff rumbled very badly. 1 tube of Repco additive and a 100 or so ks and the diff is quiet as.