I have to agree with the statements about crappy engineering and as an Englishman it makes me sad to say that. I am of an age that I grew up in the 80s riding Japanese bikes. My Dad always rode Brit bikes and when I started to mess around with Nortons and Triumphs I was just baffled by how hideous the engineering was. Definitely not Designed For Manufacture and overly complex and just plane poorly built. But they got soul.

I restored a Jaguar XKE over the course of a few years and again it was just badly put together. Some great conceptual engineering but always built to a cost. In contrast the W111 Mercedes I owned and the various Porsches (and VWs) I have owned have always been better engineered and better built.

I went through a four year old school engineering apprentice scheme in the UK and as a Fitter / Machinist we were always a cut above the other guys in the factory as we were skilled enough to be able to make parts fit and work. I never thought about it at the time but we were necessary because the parts were so badly made. Why was that? Because management never invested in the latest manufacturing equipment. Our lathes and milling machines were old and worn out. This mentality plagued the British auto and motorcycle industry and that combined with a militant left wing workforce killed the industries.

Contrast that with the Germans who simply did not accept that parts needed to be worked on by a craftsmen to fit. They just made sure that they were made right and fitted without further work. OK, a four cam 356 motor needs a week of shimming but there are always exceptions.

I think the Germans learnt their lessons from WW2 where their tanks and planes were initially very complex, unreliable and expensive to make (contrast a Tiger Tank with a Sherman Tank) then once the war was over they had to reset and start all over again. Japan had a similar reset but they at least had Edward Demming teaching them the ropes.

But to cap off the ramble, its tough to engineer soul and inspite of all their failings people still lust after unreliable goats like XKs, Astons, Commandos and early Range Rovers. Makes no sense thank goodness.

This turned into an interesting thread. I really like the idea of one of these. On the surface it sounds like new brakes and some tinkering and down the road. Then there are the stories....

I've been half looking for a landcruiser for a while now, maybe one of these will scratch the itch.

Toyota Land Cruisers are just a completely different beast. Not as luxurious as a Range Rover but built and engineered better than just about anything ever. Land Cruisers are absolutely bomb proof and while they have their particular issues, (every machine does), they are not finicky at all. :)

In a past life I worked as an auditor at a CPA firm. We had a client that was a new car dealership selling Benz, BMW, Honda, and Land Rover Brands. I couldn't help but notice the warranty claims for LR were the highest relative to sales...cannot unsee that info.

Had a friend with one of the SWBs of that vintage. We took a road trip from VT and it was bitter cold...heater wasn't warming the cabin. We stuck a piece of cardboard in front of the radiator and that got the coolant temps up enough to keep us from freezing inside.

yeah, and I'm one of those stubborn guys that never learns. It'll be different with me! I wonder if you just ignore everything but the basics... see how I get in trouble?