National 4x4 Show Melbourne

• 19 - 22 October 2000
• Melbourne Exhibition Centre, Southbank

Tom Kruse's old Birdsville mail truck (one of them) - a highly modified Leyland Badger. The truck was recently restored and took part in a reenactment of a mail run along the Birdsville track in 2000; it now normally resides in an Adelaide museum.

The 6x4 truck has Thornycroft rear axles and suspension which give good articulation, but this did not prevent it from becoming bogged many times during its working life.

Ford: This mega Ford Excursion is not an official Ford (au) import, rather it will pass through the local conversion industry.

Left: This Ford F150 Lariat 4x4 is another unofficial import with a local conversion, this one on the Jefferson Ford stand. Also on the stand - an F150 ute and an F250 XLT Supercab.

Hyundai took the opportunity to show its new SantaFe --> Santa Fe four wheel drive. This will be available with either a 2.7 litre V6 from $30 something in December, or a 2.4 litre 4-cylinder engine for under $30K in early 2001.

Stewart Webster Land Rover's brought the Freelander, Discovery, and Range Rover. The 2.5 litre V6 Freelander is due in Australia ~November and the `ES', with the lot, including 5-speed Tiptronic gearbox, will cost about au$45K, nudging the cheaper Discoveries.

Subaru unveiled the Outback H6, powered by a new three litre flat six engine.

The new Impreza is for the Sydney Motor Show in November.
- 4wd.sofcom.com

Toyota staged the return of the 4.2 litre turbo-diesel to the Toyota LandCruiser 100-series (right). When the 100-series came out two years ago it was with the straight-6 & V8 petrol engines, and the non-turbo diesel engine only. Whether this had anything to do with reports of reliability problems on 80-series turbo-diesels is "anybody's guess", but the blower is back, and with more power.

The recently updated RAV4.

TireLoc - an interesting must have gadget being imported by well known Rangie identity, Roger Smith. The device consists of a kevlar bag (red/ pink) which contains an inner tube, which is inflated through a second valve. Pressure in the tube forces the bag against the tyre bead, thus locking it to the wheel rim. The tyre tire --> itself is inflated through the normal valve. There is no effect on the road at normal tyre pressures, but off-road the tyre can be run at just a few psi without it coming off the rim. It is even possible to run a tyre (for a few metres) at zero pressure, e.g. to get out of deep sand. (Tyres should still not be run at low pressure for long distances or heat will build up and cause damage.) Apart from the extra hole in your rim, the hole in your pocket is about $270 per wheel.

Kaymar: And now in stereo, a rear wheel carrier for two spare wheels (not to mention an optional fold-out carrier for bicycles). It is a good idea to carry two spares when travelling in remote country, at least one often ending up on the roof rack. This carrier solves the problem.

This Nissan Patrol set a record for crossing Australia.

In the background is an ADI Fire King, an armoured fire tender based on the Bushranger armoured personnel carrier (APC), up to 4 crew, loa 6500mm, width 2500mm, h 2900mm, Cat' 3126B 6-cyl 250- 330hp at 2600rpm, Allison MD3066 6-speed auto', 395/85R20 tyres. It has many nice touches - like a water spray for each tyre.

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