3ltr Surf v. 2.7ltr Jap spec Terrano?

[wibblywobbly]

First things first. I used to own a 2.4 Surf, amazing spec hand picked from Japan. I loved it, but the head went and I had to sell it.

I am now seeking another 4x4 with a large load capacity as I have a place in France and need to haul a lot of crap about, maybe tow a twin axle caravan on occasions etc.

I was going to look at a 3ltr Surf ( I can get one fairly cheap from Japan, or via local port auctions), but I have now seen the Nissan Terrano 2.7TD PR50's that are starting to come in. They are far more estate car like, and appear to be a much higher spec than a Surf, though as they are rare there is little or no info available on them, no spares, no forums etc.

Does anyone out there have any experience (maybe our Aussie friends?) and whether the Terrano is a decent buy. I do love Surf's for their rugged build quality and cavernous interior, but the mechanics seem less than flawless.

If anyone has has any advice, help or info, I would appreciate it before parting with my hard earned cash.

Cheers

Rob G

[Assasin-uk]

Get the 3.0td surf m8, no head worries there im loving mine

Also ive driven one of those nissan things, much more of a lump to haul around, noisey and no-where near the comfort of the surf..

Just a thought

[wibblywobbly]

Thanks but one question

Was the Terrano that you drove a UK or Jap one. The PR50 is nothing like the UK version (pics attached), and looks a classy piece of kit. I have to say that due to the rarity of the PR50 the residual values are likely to be cr*p and I reckon that spares/servicing will be a nightmare. Although I have been a passenger in a 3ltr Surf I haven't yet driven one so I don't know how it compares to the 2.4. I just wish that I had kept my old one as there isn't a chance in hell that I will ever find one like it again. I have even tried tracking down the guy that bought it through this forum but no luck. Ho hum!

Going out to look at 3.0 Surfs today, to see what I can get for my hard earned cash.

Cheers

Rob

[Donk_UK]

Looks very nice indeed, I'm going with a 3.0 ltr as I know they are sorted. Woulda got a Pajero coz the supposed to do 36mpg so I heard and have "desert seats" but are a little out of my price range.

[Guest]

Looks very nice indeed, I'm going with a 3.0 ltr as I know they are sorted. Woulda got a Pajero coz the supposed to do 36mpg so I heard and have "desert seats" but are a little out of my price range.

You will be lucky if you ever get 36mpg out of a Paj, even a short wheelbase, the most mpg you wil get is when it is on the back of a tow truck.

The Nissan Terrano PR50 was never sold here, it is often called the Terrano 1, also called the Pathfinder in the US. Good solid reliable motor but a bit ugly if you ask me. Is very popular in the US - almost as popular on the trails as the 4Runner. Mechanicals based on the B series pickup (the one before the Navara) so no doubt built like a tank - again just like the Surf.

Cheers

[marky]

ROB here are some pics of your old baby, Go for the 3.0 SURF mate you know it makes sense.

[wibblywobbly]

Hi Marky

It brings a tear to my eye just looking at it. I would love to have it back!! It is in Northampton somewhere. I also well remember the help and advice that you gave me when I was trying to sort out the power loss back in the Spring (little did I know what was to happen). I know that the guy that bought it was a car buff and did things like sticking V8 blocks in Anglia's, so I guess that he now has a new head on it and that it is running like a good 'un.

Of course, me being a tightwad, I am now trying to figure out how I can get hold of a blue or black 3.0 Surf with a tail spoiler and rear wheel carrier for sub £5k money. I may have to go back to buying direct from Japan again.

I see that you are a Dell man. I have the Inspiron 2650, just wish I had opted for a DVD RW when I bought it...damn things can't be upgraded and no TV out either which would have been nice!

Cheers

Rob G

[marky]

I would have taken your surf off you when you needed to get rid, but Wifey wanted other things. Its a nice truck shame you had all the problems at the wrong time mate. I hope things start improving for you as you have had it hard over the last year.

[wibblywobbly]

Hi Lucky

I wouldn't assume that the PR50 is built like a tank, I have seen a couple with serious corrosion on the rear bumper, one with a hole big enough to put my fist through. They look good as a car, but a bit flimsy as a utility vehicle. I don't think it would pass the Top Gear destruction test like the Hilux did. The load area isn't as big as a Surf either, though there is more legroom for the rear passengers.

Ho hum.

Cheers

Rob G

[marky]

I wouldn't assume that the PR50 is built like a tank, I have seen a couple with serious corrosion on the rear bumper, one with a hole big enough to put my fist through. They look good as a car, but a bit flimsy as a utility vehicle. I don't think it would pass the Top Gear destruction test like the Hilux did. The load area isn't as big as a Surf either, though there is more legroom for the rear passengers.

Ho hum.

Cheers

Rob G

There you go then a SURF it is !!

[wibblywobbly]

Hi Marky

Oh it got worse, a lot worse!!

Got made redundant in June and then just when I am starting a new job...

I am into bikes, me and a mate were travelling up Black Dog Hill near Warminster on 8 August in an empty centre lane. Safe as houses, not a care in the world. 60mph limit and we had priority.

A Frontera comes downhill the other way, way too fast, a car had stopped in the oncoming downhill lane to turn right. She had nowhere to go, hammers on the brakes, ploughs into the car writing it off, spins across the centre lane blocking it completely. My mate was about 50 yards off on his Ducati 999 and couldn't do anything, we were in a steel lined cul de sac. I was 30 yards behind him on my Fazer 1000.

His bike simply vapourised, and he died instantly right in front of me. It was only because he spun the Frontera round that I took a life or death decision, let go of the brakes, and headed for an offset 2ft wide gap. I almost made it, ran over his body on the other side though. £4000 of damage to my bike, 3 months off work. First time I have come off in 30 years.

The police were brilliant, and still are. They couldn't believe that I made the manoeuvre at that speed (and neither do I come to think of it). At least I am still here to tell the tale, another 1/10 of a second and it would have been over for me too.

I figure that I should now sell my bikes, and concentrate on my money pit in France. I loved biking, been into it all my life, but this has changed things completely, it just isn't fun any more. Big shame, but there we go.

Back to healhy status now, a couple of jobs in the pipeline, and a Surf on the horizon. It's not all bad news!

Cheers

Rob G

[Guest]

Oh it got worse, a lot worse!!

Got made redundant in June and then just when I am starting a new job...

I am into bikes, me and a mate were travelling up Black Dog Hill near Warminster on 8 August in an empty centre lane. Safe as houses, not a care in the world. 60mph limit and we had priority.

A Frontera comes downhill the other way, way too fast, a car had stopped in the oncoming downhill lane to turn right. She had nowhere to go, hammers on the brakes, ploughs into the car writing it off, spins across the centre lane blocking it completely. My mate was about 50 yards off on his Ducati 999 and couldn't do anything, we were in a steel lined cul de sac. I was 30 yards behind him on my Fazer 1000.

His bike simply vapourised, and he died instantly right in front of me. It was only because he spun the Frontera round that I took a life or death decision, let go of the brakes, and headed for an offset 2ft wide gap. I almost made it, ran over his body on the other side though. £4000 of damage to my bike, 3 months off work. First time I have come off in 30 years.

The police were brilliant, and still are. They couldn't believe that I made the manoeuvre at that speed (and neither do I come to think of it). At least I am still here to tell the tale, another 1/10 of a second and it would have been over for me too.

I figure that I should now sell my bikes, and concentrate on my money pit in France. I loved biking, been into it all my life, but this has changed things completely, it just isn't fun any more. Big shame, but there we go.

Back to healhy status now, a couple of jobs in the pipeline, and a Surf on the horizon. It's not all bad news!

Cheers

Rob G

Rob.

I can't even start to imagine how that must have been, to see your mate die in front of you and nearly buy the one way ticket yourself.

All I can say is I'm glad you made it. Yep Biking is dangerous, not the bikes themselves generally but the other people on the road, you don't get much of a second chance on a bike, nothing to protect you.

Good luck with the jobs and the hunt for a Surf - my 2.4 will be up for sale eventually when I get a new job as my current one is ending friday and the replacement job fell through.

Good luck with it all and hopefully that's your lifetimes worth of bad luck all over in one go.

Cheers

[Guest]

I wouldn't assume that the PR50 is built like a tank, I have seen a couple with serious corrosion on the rear bumper, one with a hole big enough to put my fist through. They look good as a car, but a bit flimsy as a utility vehicle. I don't think it would pass the Top Gear destruction test like the Hilux did. The load area isn't as big as a Surf either, though there is more legroom for the rear passengers.

Ho hum.

Cheers

Rob G

Yep one of the problems with older nissans is that they need to be babied for corrosion resistance as in the old saying of what to do when the 4 minute warning comes - buy a nissan and watch it rust.

I am pretty sure that the drive train is solid, just the body work doesn't have much corrosion resistance and it's a bit thin. Chassis is mad out of old girders like the Surf though.

Still prefer a Surf though anyhow, the Nissan looks like it was designed by a blind man especially the front of the bonnet.

Cheers

[firefly]

HI
ive got the 3.0L surf.. i test drove a terrano jap import Mistral they are called. total crap mate thats why i have the surf. the ride was lumpy and it has a narrower wheel base and taller so there is more sway in corners, engine wise the 3.0L is awsome love mine to bits and the wife drives it more than me

[ship]

Oh it got worse, a lot worse!!

Got made redundant in June and then just when I am starting a new job...

I am into bikes, me and a mate were travelling up Black Dog Hill near Warminster on 8 August in an empty centre lane. Safe as houses, not a care in the world. 60mph limit and we had priority.

A Frontera comes downhill the other way, way too fast, a car had stopped in the oncoming downhill lane to turn right. She had nowhere to go, hammers on the brakes, ploughs into the car writing it off, spins across the centre lane blocking it completely. My mate was about 50 yards off on his Ducati 999 and couldn't do anything, we were in a steel lined cul de sac. I was 30 yards behind him on my Fazer 1000.

His bike simply vapourised, and he died instantly right in front of me. It was only because he spun the Frontera round that I took a life or death decision, let go of the brakes, and headed for an offset 2ft wide gap. I almost made it, ran over his body on the other side though. £4000 of damage to my bike, 3 months off work. First time I have come off in 30 years.

The police were brilliant, and still are. They couldn't believe that I made the manoeuvre at that speed (and neither do I come to think of it). At least I am still here to tell the tale, another 1/10 of a second and it would have been over for me too.

I figure that I should now sell my bikes, and concentrate on my money pit in France. I loved biking, been into it all my life, but this has changed things completely, it just isn't fun any more. Big shame, but there we go.

Back to healhy status now, a couple of jobs in the pipeline, and a Surf on the horizon. It's not all bad news!

Cheers

Rob G

sh*t Rob, hard times, your physical wounds may have healed but it,s something that unfortunately you,ll never forget, lost a few m8,s in bike accidents meself and your,e story brought back lots of sad memories(and lots of good ones), personally i wouldn,t have another road bike, far more cars on the road therefore far more idiots in them