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hey all. this is my first post.
i'm doing some research as i am looking for a good reliable car to road trip with and possible offroading. what are the l series like? and what is the difference with the MY series? Is it possible to convert the L series engines to ejs? cheers
(where can i get a cheap car but reliable enough around melbourne?) eith l series or my depending on which is best to suit me.

ps: planning on upgrading the car quite a bit ie: suspention engine etc:)

Good place to start , how much do you want to spend.

Mike.

Suba wrote:how much do you want to spend.

Mike.

you just summed it up in 1. What is the pricing on an ej conversion these days?

mine was about $1500ish...with premium parts...

alex

well right now i just want to get a good running reliable car looking at max $3000. as for all the modifitcation that will be for later, but i am looking at a lift kit (whatever is road legal)
ej engine
(stronger gearbox aswell)
and what ever else ppl think should be done.
but all that will be done in the future.
like i said all i want now is a good reliable WAGON car.

I loved my L series. Don't get me wrong, I do love them to death.

But I do think, for touring, with the L kitted up the way it was, the 3.7:1 gearing sucked. It was too tall for touring. I was constantly in and out of fifth and fourth gears, trying to maintain 100km/h...

I'd be looking at liberty. Simply because they have a better motor (2.2 vs 1.8L) and better gearing...

3000 will get you a Gen1 liberty wagon these days. definately a better tourer

anyone tried importing from NZ?

Love my L series. Just rebuilt the motor and it couldn't be better. The most common problems with these cars are (things to look for when buying):

- Rust under the windscreen
- Blown head gaskets (around 250,000 ->) - oil will look creamy if not changed, if it is very clean ask when it was changed and why. Will blow bubbles in coolant (if your a home mechanic, nothing really to be scared of, just time and patience to change the head gaskets) Also ask if it was ever over heated, serious overheating can kill an engine and you'll need to replace it in the most severe cases (not meaning to scare you here, i got my car for $500 and had to replace the engine, but i'm not complaining at that price)
- Under carrage damage, particularly the floorpan - dents and scrapes from 4wd'n on too rough terrain or its been thrashed while 4wd'n
- typically near 300,000km, but that's when they're in their prime
- Clicking CV joints
- If possible take it to a dirt road/paddock/open area with soft ground and test out hi/lo 4wd (tip: always do 3 point turns in low 4wd, otherwise you can break gears).
- Don't get the single range 4wd if you want some off-roading fun, will limit the car's ability in tricky/steep areas (has 4wd button on top of gear stick and no lever for hi-lo 4wd.)

I think thats about it. For $3000 you should beable to take the pick of the crop. Check out ebay too, but don't set your heart on the first one you see - shop around abit and get to know what to look for.

Other extras that come with the cars are:

- Sunraiser rims (white 8 spoke star shaped steelies)
- roo bar - wraps over plastic bumper bar
- replacement bullbar - replaces plastic bumper bar
- tow bar
- roof racks

Touring wagons have the raised roof in rear cargo area, and usually carpet throughout - other models have vinyl floor, easy to clean after a day in the mud (if we're ever going to get some rain in vic).

Different dashboards are available too - taco (rev counter) or not, whatever tickles your fancy here (personally i prefer the taco dash).

AC is an option, you can find L's without it, so if you want it best to buy a car with it rather than fiddling around with putting it in yourself.

I hope this is of some help. Good luck, there are some really nice L's out there still running around, i hope if you choose an L that your pick is a good one

Also, L's are roomier than the MY's in the cargo area inparticular.

I'd recommend a manual any day over the auto (D for drag... and i'm not talking about racing here...)

Cheers and welcome to the forum

Learner wrote:anyone tried importing from NZ?

If you want to spend over $8000 I reckon it might be an idea to look at importing. But for $3000 you'll be better off buying local.

I to would go for a manual D/R Liberty.

But for $3k, reliability is more like luck. So good luck mate.

depends on how far you want to stretch your budget. I have an l series and I had planned on doing all the upgrades .However now that Im starting to do the research Im finding that if you are prepared to do all the work yourself its still a viable option, but if like me and probably need a mechanic, a second hand liberty (series one) may now be the better option, price wise and the convenience of everything in place already (except lift kit)

well i'm more attracted to the l seres because i can find some real cheap ones but also because i am planning on converting engine, i don't think power will be such an issue. reason y i like the l too is because i grew up without haveing to know anything about mechanic. now that i'm in australia i feel like i missed out so L series i believe would be best because of it's potetianls in upgrades and los costs.

i currently have a beetle which i planned on to making a baja of it, but i got a family now and baja is just to uncovinient for now.... will have o keep that project for later in the future.

(i had planned to place a vq nissan engine or ej)

thank you all for the good help. been really helpful.