am i mad?

[andyb]

hi all - i'm new to the forum. i'm about to sell my italian sports car and get a 1991 hilux surf 2.4. it's the older style one with the rectangular shaped headlights and orange sidelights if u know what i mean. a few questions for you chaps:

1. am i mad? (only joking!)
2. what should i watch out for in particular when i inspect the car
3. are there any hilux spare parts places in the london/southeast area that u know of?
3. is there anywhere i can get the chrome bumper kit (front and rear) as this car doesn't have chrome bumpers at the mo.

i've always toyed with the idea of the hilux (for about 2 years now) and finally i'm gonna do it. i hope i'm making a good move here :-)

[silvtr1000]

Whether it's a good move depends on what your Italian sports car is. If it's a 360 Modena I'd keep it and forget the Surf. If it's a Ritmo with a stripe, go for the Surf.

Surf's are great.

Good Luck

[Morr]

......... If it's a Ritmo with a stripe.........

Think that was called a Strada in the UK, are there actually any left ??!!

[da SLUG man]

my mate had a sambaghini... but that was french... and crap!

[andyb]

nah it's just an alfa 156 2.5V6 24v with some major mods.

i want to get the surf because the nowadays the following are gonna be important to me:

1. reliability
2. lower fuel consumption
3. reliability
4. the option of being able to transport stuff
5. cheaper car insurance
6. ability to do road trips in rural areas of europe without worrying about potholes
7. reliability
8. cheap to maintain
9. road presence (grrrr :-)
10. reliability

so any tips then on what i should look out for when buying my hilux surf? are there anything the hilux surf's are renound for, e.g. overheating? etc.

help before i buy the think would be greatly appreciated! i'll post some pics here once i get my hilux surf.

[Koi]

nah it's just an alfa 156 2.5V6 24v with some major mods.

i want to get the surf because the nowadays the following are gonna be important to me:

1. reliability
2. lower fuel consumption
3. reliability
4. the option of being able to transport stuff
5. cheaper car insurance
6. ability to do road trips in rural areas of europe without worrying about potholes
7. reliability
8. cheap to maintain
9. road presence (grrrr :-)
10. reliability

so any tips then on what i should look out for when buying my hilux surf? are there anything the hilux surf's are renound for, e.g. overheating? etc.

help before i buy the think would be greatly appreciated! i'll post some pics here once i get my hilux surf.

Some 2.4's have had problems with cracked heads, search on here theres loads of info on here about that.
So if you can pick up one with a new head then reliability should be good, fuel mpg should be around 25ish depending on driving style, heavy foot will see you around low 20 alighter foot see some around the 30mpg.
Cheap to maintain, oil & filter change every 3000 miles grease the joints once in a while. Road presence, yes loads of admiring looks. They drive more like a car than a large 4x4, very comfortable. Potholes are a mere drop in the ocean check out the off roading videos on the website and then see if you think it will cope with a pot holes.
At the risk of being a sales man see my advert in the for sales section of the forum for my 2.4

[andyb]

thanks for that.

hey i like your surf enough to buy it, but ... won't be able to buy anything until i sell my alfa!

fingers crossed!

[Koi]

thanks for that.

hey i like your surf enough to buy it, but ... won't be able to buy anything until i sell my alfa!

fingers crossed!

Its not advertised anywhere else so might still be available when your ready, just give me a shout.

[andyb]

Its not advertised anywhere else so might still be available when your ready, just give me a shout.

will do ... my alfa's in the garage at the moment (a new top block from the italians costs £1500 !!!!!! and there's two cos it's a V6)

i would guess that hilux parts are cheaper and the cars are easier to service???

[dirtydog]

will do ... my alfa's in the garage at the moment (a new top block from the italians costs £1500 !!!!!! and there's two cos it's a V6)

i would guess that hilux parts are cheaper and the cars are easier to service???

OUCH!!! You could have bought Koi's car by now with that sort of cash. I hope no one buys Koi's car for ages (joke) then I can have it when I sell mine

Tim

[Koi]

OUCH!!! You could have bought Koi's car by now with that sort of cash. I hope no one buys Koi's car for ages (joke) then I can have it when I sell mine

Tim

I am quite willing to hold it for who ever wishes to put a deposit on it if your really interested.

[Trooper]

You could look for a 3.0TD and forget about heads and overheating and get the chrome bumpers for nowt.