Thursday, September 06, 2007

New Toy...



You may well ask, why do I need a 1985 Suzuki SJ413, well, there's always a method in the madness, you know...

In my previous job, I had the options of bus, bike or car. Also the distance to work was sufficiently low that the days when I chose car the Landrover was an acceptable alternative. Now, sadly, the only alternative is Car, and the distance (about 35Km each way) is a little over that which one desires to drive a 1963 Landrover everyday. Also the fuel economy of the Landrover would make travelling to work an expensive business.

Many of you will know that we live at the top of a 2Km forest track and whilst the neighbour does a good job of ploughing there is likely to be the odd occasion that a normal car can't get out at 6a.m. when Mrs VL needs to drive down to the bus in the winter.

So, I needed something with 4wd, Ground clearance, Good Economy, acceptable for a 70Km daily winter commute, cheap (obviously, you know me) and fairly simple. These Suzuki's were the perfect candidate, it's taken a few months to get my hands on one that's half way decent and not 75% rust. It's not all plain sailing though but hopefully after I've spent this weekend underneath it it should be ready for daily use.

Some more pictures on More-power and a quick desciption in "The Fleet" section. If I get a chance on top of everything else, I may even do a little update on more-power for this weekends planned repair and servicing work.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

It photographs well. Hope it proves a reliable transport resource over the winter. Is the Red Opel to be retired?

A question (more of concern to visitors). How many seats are there? I see it is a two door and it is not clear what is in the back. Room for Peggie, but would I fit??

Viking Longship said...

It's getting a little TLC, a few bushes, rebuilt calipers and a service. Otherwise it all seems positive so far, think it should do the job OK.. If not there's always the Landy!!!

The Opel is to be retired in due course, but the Suzuki is in addition and not instead of. We are working on a replacement for the Opel, that will be plenty big enough for visitors...

It's very much a two seater, so there's plenty of room for peggy.......

Anonymous said...

So the fleet gets bigger. (Does it just expand to fill the garage space available, another example of 'Parkinson's Law'??)

I noticed the words 'potato picking' on one of the slides in 'More Power'. Will there be a post on this years agricultural crop? I would be interested to know how successful you've been, although I guess the real test is when you finally have to buy produce - which hopefully is many months away.

Viking Longship said...

TSS,

The rule is that I am only allowed one vehicle in bits at any one time, sadly this includes tractors. Although, I think that Mrs VL's tolerance might run out if I manage to fill the available space...

Hard to estimate spuds at the mo, we've used 2 of the shorter rows in 1 1/2 months and we've got 6 1/2 long rows to go, you do the math!!!! I will keep you posted.

Anonymous said...

Good luck with your new baby, and I hope you have many happy years out of her.

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