AU or BA Wagon for backpacking around Oz?

[Ben73]

Originally Posted by BENT_8

I'd be looking for a Magna wagon personally and if the budget can stretch a little but further, look for a TL VR with the 3.5l/5sp Auto, should be able to get one for under the $3k mark now.

https://www.carsales.com.au/private/...-5664308/?Cr=0

Magna’s are great, when they’re not leaking oil.
I much prefer the front end before the facelift of the one you posted. I had one about 10 years ago that I treated pretty badly and never had issues apart from the standard oil leak.

[Sprintey]

A question close to my heart.

The AU intech SOHC is a bit more torquey feeling low down, I think the Barra gets to peak torque a little higher? Otherwise both robust. I'd say AU (or early AU2?) for that extra ground clearance the early models got - they were apparently great dirt road tourers back in the day. Live axle rear which got panned in the press is actually a bonus 10 years+ on. Front ball joints seem to be the thing I most did and redid in my old Falcons...

As for the Commodores OP lists, Ecotec is reliable & in all of them except the VZ which got this alloy thing that ate timing chains - beware! Touch not the alloytec! As for the ecotec, it can short out an electrical lead connection on the alternator, there's an aftermarket part that is more sensibly designed. Can leak at rocker covers. Dad's VY does go through power steering fluid pretty quick. And early ones (VR-VS) would forget to send timing information from sender unit near harmonic balancer on hot days and shut down all power while on the move. Intermittently. Fun. Commodore wagon also has IRS which tended to eat inside rear tyres until VX2. They are pretty cavernous inside, being designed to Telstra's brief! I'd reckon they are a bigger/taller load area than the Falcon wagons of same era - does anyone have any dimensions to compare?

Overall, AU is the winner but it's getting old now, so latest BF you can find at a nice price?

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by Ben73

Magna’s are great, when they’re not leaking oil.
I much prefer the front end before the facelift of the one you posted. I had one about 10 years ago that I treated pretty badly and never had issues apart from the standard oil leak.

Agreed, the only issue i had with my VRX was a leaking rear rocker cover gasket which is a common thing and costs about $20 to replace both once every 100k if you can swing a spanner.
These can be an ongoing issue if owned by a tight **** who tries to tighten the bolts instead of replacing the gaskets and crushes the covers.
The timing belt/waterpump and housing is an easy swap too and again, only due every 100k's.

BA/F and VT/Y have common faults too which will cost just as much over the life of a high milage car.
I wouldn't head off around the country without doing a heat exchanger or bypass cooler for piece of mind in a high milage example.

The good thing about the TL Magna VR is the VRX output which sits between the AU and B series and will outrun both, IRS rear suspension and 5sp auto which is a good unit.
The BA/F will have a 4sp, live axle and leaf springs which unless you're towing is overkill for the task described.

[malazn mafia]

AU-BF have a habit of losing the front wheels like a Territory though ...pretty embarrassing problem

[janddbone]

AU 1 WAGON all day.

[Bushbasher]

A well maintained AUII-III will be virtually bulletproof if treated with even a modicum of respect. Easy and cheap to fix and maintain and don't be afraid of the factory dual fuel models. In fact, if you find a good one, that'd be the one to get IMO, 1100+ km range with both 68L petrol and gas tanks. I had one that we drove 400k across this country and back in and it never let us down. It's now a shearers bus bombing around out near Kimba last I heard.



AUII-III all the way for me.

[BENT_8]

@ 90cpl is gas really economical anymore, especially a dual fuel system which is a compomise, i found my BF Egas to be no longer viable once it hit the high 80's.
Then you have to factor in the loss of space in the back for the spare, especially if you plan to sleep in it.

[danzvtil]

Originally Posted by Ben73

Magna’s are great, when they’re not leaking oil.
I much prefer the front end before the facelift of the one you posted. I had one about 10 years ago that I treated pretty badly and never had issues apart from the standard oil leak.

When I bought my TJ Wagon 5 years ago, it had oil pouring out like a waterfall, the dealer fixed the rocker cover gasket pretty easily. Back then I bought the Magna because a commodore wagon of the same age came with bogan tax, they were almost double the price for the same kays. Almost no Magna wagons left now, theyre worthless.

[hayseed]

Originally Posted by BluesClues

Hi

My in-laws want to buy a vehicle for driving around the coast including dirt roads.

What would you suggest?

I realise this is out of the Price range you're talking about, However if I was to do what your Inlaws are Planning on a Budget.

I look at something like This..
https://www.carsales.com.au/dealer/d...16506610/?Cr=4

Big enough to stand up in,Far more comfortable when caught in Wet weather..

Pickles Auctions often have Ex Aussie post one coming through..

Just My 2 cents..

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by Fiji

Camry V6 wagon. If you can do with the slightly smaller dimensions.

V6 is a gem sourced from Lexus.. chalk and cheese in smoothness, refinement, fuel economy and acceleration to both the commodore and falcon.

Toyota proven reliability, engineered very well. Look about and see how many older camrys are still on the road. They never die. The fit n finish is just a step up from falcon and two steps up from commodore.

Only issue is they are slightly smaller, if you need the extra space they are out

Problem with the widebody Camry is that whilst theres still a few sedans about, the wagons are gitting thin and finding a 3.0l example is harder again.

[ford71V8]

AU would be my choice.


Ours is knocking on the door of 400,000 and still going well, neglect and all.
Last road trip we did in it was lower east coast 2 Xmas's ago.
We drove for 2 weeks and the only thing to die on us was the cigarette lighter (which did suck and needed fixing so we could use our GPS).
A few people questioned us why we were taking the wagon when we have newer cars to use...the wagon is confortable to drive and damn reliable, she'll be right.
One thing that stood out to me on that trip was the clear majority of vehicles we saw on those roads were SUV/4WDs or AU wagons.
Took a pic of ours in front of Geelong plant on that trip.

[Vesper Martini]

Travelling around australia in a 2 grand old aussie wagon... the outback workshops will be waiting.

[ebv8]

i'd go AU, BA to me just are not aging as well
i wouldn't discount an VX/VY wagon, 3.8 ecotech's take a beating

[Sprintey]

Originally Posted by Bevsta007

Travelling around australia in a 2 grand old aussie wagon... the outback workshops will be waiting.

And able to do the repairs which will mostly be simple.

[Sprintey]

Originally Posted by ebv8

i'd go AU, BA to me just are not aging as well
i wouldn't discount an VX/VY wagon, 3.8 ecotech's take a beating

Yep VX2/VY/VY2 is the pinnacle of Holden V6's (after the 186 of earlier inline epoch. We won't mention the Nissan...)

[Au futura]

I bought an AU Futura sedan 1998 model in 2001 with 44,000 Kms on it, and retired it with 714,000 kms on it 14 years later with original engine, transmission, diff all still in good working order. Still miss it. Have had a BF 3 wagon for a couple of years now and has 265,000 kms now, is a good vehicle but still prefer the AU for reliability.

[xeeclipse]

Originally Posted by Au futura

I bought an AU Futura sedan 1998 model in 2001 with 44,000 Kms on it, and retired it with 714,000 kms on it 14 years later with original engine, transmission, diff all still in good working order. Still miss it. Have had a BF 3 wagon for a couple of years now and has 265,000 kms now, is a good vehicle but still prefer the AU for reliability.

[ATTACH][ATTACH]Attachment 100574[/ATTACH][/ATTACH]

Metaphorically... the AU is in some illustrious company.

[janddbone]

Petrol was 1.58 the other week, 0.80 gas was alright then i can tell you.

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by janddbone

Petrol was 1.58 the other week, 0.80 gas was alright then i can tell you.

$1.14 in Adelaide right now for petrol, .87c for gas.

Petrol varies much more than gas so taking a snapshot at the top of its cycle is pointless.
If we look at the average of about $1.35 and consider my egas used around 12l per 100 on the open road you're up for $10.80, the same on petrol at 9l per 100 which is what the father inlaws BA wagon shows its around $12.50, not worth the loss of space to save $1.70 per 100km.

[janddbone]

Using an average is fair enough, however here in rural Vic 1.35 would be the current low not the average, petrol has not gone below 1.45 in months and is currently 1.50. Gas is fixed as you have said .80 after its recent random .10 jump. Even using your figures for some the 15% price difference would work out to free rego at a minimum! So for some it would be worth the compromised spare storage.

Now for the travelling AU in this thread fair enough it may not make a big difference. The joy of dual fuel as opposed to straight gas is they can choose what works best. Tickford made a great system too!

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by janddbone

Using an average is fair enough, however here in rural Vic 1.35 would be the current low not the average, petrol has not gone below 1.45 in months and is currently 1.50. Gas is fixed as you have said .80 after its recent random .10 jump. Even using your figures for some the 15% price difference would work out to free rego at a minimum! So for some it would be worth the compromised spare storage.

Now for the travelling AU in this thread fair enough it may not make a big difference. The joy of dual fuel as opposed to straight gas is they can choose what works best. Tickford made a great system too!

Agreed, it depends on where you are, gas in the bush would be harder to come by and dearer, i saw it at $1pl on my recent trek to Bathurst.

The problem is we're not talking compromised storgae space, the OP is talking about 2 people sleeping in the vehicle which means the spare wheel carrier and wheel becomes an issue if you have egas or a dual fuel system with a donut tank up underneath.
My best mate has a BA egas which he sleeps in when we go camping and it really only leaves space for a single mattress.
My Fatherinlaw has a BA on petrol and he and the Mother inlaw have slept in it when camping and it's a squeeze but managable.

Those Tickford/Parnell systems are ok, i had one in an EF many moons ago, however, they are still a compromise as they rely on an inline mixer as opposed to the dedicated TB on an egas car.
You wont get 12l/100 with a Tickford system in a loaded up wagon so the savings drops below 15%.

Trust me, i was a big fan of gas and loved my Egas BF3 and kept a regular eye on how it compared on apples for apples camping trips between my BF, my mates BA and the FIL's BA petrol but once gas hit 80cpl it was no longer an advantage all things considered and so i moved it and the Wifes Car on and bought her a diesel Terri which is on par to run with her Camry on average.

[Vesper Martini]

Originally Posted by Sprintey

And able to do the repairs which will mostly be simple.

You'd hope so, but there no doubt it will break down and its where that will be the problem.

Id be looking at increasing the budget and getting a Hilux with a canopy

[Sprintey]

I'll take the other side of that trade:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaW1XFxgrOM

The AU wagon won't be doing those horrid regens. Off topic a bit, have any of you heard about the LC200 diesels dusting, the turbos being destroyed, etc? 20K replacement motors?

And I also remember travelling around Oz in youth both in old 202 Kingswoods and then 14yo HJ60 series Cruiser, they just kept keeping on. Of course, I prepped them beforehand, but worst was an alternator needing replacement. That and a lot of tyre changes.

Besides, nothing worse than having your boards nicked while wandering around a town, so dual cabs are right out - there is no open loadspace to securely stow surfboards over about 6ft. Wagons rule.

[Sprintey]

A less confrontational source on that issue:

https://www.drive.com.au/motor-news/...x-fault-118750

Hang on, that's another issue, in addition to the DPF regen burn?!

Here we go:

https://www.caradvice.com.au/671488/...ration-switch/

Edit: comments on that article are a shocker, way more unreliable than the AU drivetrain!

[xeeclipse]

Originally Posted by BENT_8

$1.14 in Adelaide right now for petrol, .87c for gas.

Petrol varies much more than gas so taking a snapshot at the top of its cycle is pointless.
If we look at the average of about $1.35 and consider my egas used around 12l per 100 on the open road you're up for $10.80, the same on petrol at 9l per 100 which is what the father inlaws BA wagon shows its around $12.50, not worth the loss of space to save $1.70 per 100km.

The way fuel prices are in melbourne the LPG saving on an E-gas wagon is roughly ~$3 per 100klm.

The 302w fairmont is quite surprising at 9.5L/100km and 14L/100 in the city, loves LSD tail wags off the lights even with the 245/45/18's... :P

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by xeeclipse

The way fuel prices are in melbourne the LPG saving on an E-gas wagon is roughly ~$3 per 100klm.

Fair enough, when i was in Melbourne last gas was considerably cheaper than here in Adelaide, however, the OP isnt touring around Victoria or SA so the whole picture needs to be looked at including regional and remote area's.

[Tassie f100]

I guess the ongoing problem with LPG is availability. As servo bulk tanks come up for retest and possible replacement,most servo,s won,t buy new tanks, so another supplier will disappear.LPG in cities will be around for quite a time yet, but I doubt that will apply to country areas.Lower volumes vs new bulk tank cost means no tank,no supply.

[roddy1960]

Originally Posted by xeeclipse

[ATTACH][ATTACH]Attachment 100574[/ATTACH][/ATTACH]

Metaphorically... the AU is in some illustrious company.

Sure is ...

[IanC]

At the age these vehicles are now you buy on condition. You go for a good one of whatever you can get at the right price. As for camping - tents are cheap especially secondhand. Lots of space and you can sling them into the boot of whatever you are driving. Free camp out in the bush for a couple of nights then get an on site van or chalet at a caravan park for a night to use the showers and the washing machine.

[xeeclipse]

Originally Posted by Bevsta007

You'd hope so, but there no doubt it will break down and its where that will be the problem.

Id be looking at increasing the budget and getting a Hilux with a canopy

Just another average day in AU heartland.....