buying a geep

[tonkaland]

Hi Guys

Please be gentle with me it's my first visit here....

I am about to venture into the world of the Jago owner and wondered if there are any specific problem areas I should look out for with a potential purchase beyond the obvious mechanical checks?

I see the SVA problem is creeping into your discussions . What should I be looking for on a V5 description wise ? One of the vehicles I enquired about recently on Ebay was " oh the log book , havent had it back from Swansea yet" which rang alarm bells!

Before narrowing down my choice to the Geep I drove a couple of other kits (SORRY) one felt 110% together like a factory produced vehicle the other drove far worse than anything I have ever scrapped in 25 years , so I know it can be a minefield out there.

Finally without starting a mass riot amongst the members - X-Flow or Pinto ?

Thanks in advance , Mark

[IanA]

Hi & Welcome
If you're not in a hurry, visit Stoneleigh next May. At any time there will be about 10 to look at and I'm sure a few of the owners would be glad to take you for a spin.

If not- where are you located???

Don't expect a saloon car ride, especially with M&S tyres fitted.

I've owned three, all with "God's own engine" fitted. I've nothing against OHC but crossflows are easier to keep in tune eg I've never been able to manually improve the timing on a Pinto whereas it's a breeze on a crossflow.
Cheers
Ian

[Logibear]

Hi Mark
As Ian A said " Where are you ? " I am in the North East so if you are near me I will meet up and let you have a spin in mine.
LOGI

[techsec]

One good starting point regards information is the FAQ page on http://wwww.joctechnical.org.uk

Yes the V5 does cause quite a few problems so do make sure it is correct and you have looked at it in person rather than taking the owners word for it.

Otherwise get one that suits you and have fun with back to basics real motoring.

[tonkaland]

Hi

Many thanks for all your help and encouragement , I was thinking 1.6 x-flow to start with , but as am looking to go down the auto box route at a later date an already OHC engined geep might make more sense long term.

I live in Doncaster which seems to position me about 200-250 miles too far north from all the bargain geeps I find on Ebay.

But first of all I need to make space on the driveway so my '81 XR3 which I said I would never sell has to go.....though I must be hooked already , made a quick trip to our town library this afternoon and I now have a couple of Kit-car and Jeep books for inspiration!

Mark

[drseg]

i have an auto geep and its 1.6 ohc works great devon twice and john o'groates plus all the shows through summer cost 300 quid but i had to fix dodgy prop and bust windscreen oh and i broke the dif otherwise its been great [being used every day as daily driver has had a master cyl failure] only thing to do as far as i know is replace a small piece of the wooden floor that has rotted theres a few pix of it on yahoo jago page its green with green wheels - if youre ever near birmingham you can have a go in it.
dave

[tonkaland]

How high is the average Geep, say one fitted with 14" wheels high profile tyres and a hardtop?

I am currently clearing out my garage ready to start re-panelling/extending it and need to know roughly what door clearance I need to build in.

Thanks

Mark

[drseg]

205 70 14" wheels and a soft top and its under 6 ' tall [well mine is] but it does have soft rear springs i wouldnt have thought with 14's a geep would get over 6' unless anyone knows different??

[techsec]

The average height of a Geep / Sandero with the hard top is 1805mm
Naturally it depnds on the state of the suspension, tyres etc but is the average.

If fitted with a soft top then the average is 1650mm.

[trextr7monkey]

Hi Mark,
Nipped out and measured "The Beast" as featured in the Yahoo forum pics section as it not only has the tasteful hard top but in addition has the stylish roof rack, which adds a bit more height. This makes it dangerously close to the 6' garage door height!!

Vital statistics as follows:

Height at back of vehicle [highest point] 65"
Height including roof rack 71"

The width is about 65" at back but protruding "Ben Hur"[who him?] side steps make it 68"
Depending on the skill of the Tonka truck driver I would guess that the width may be more of an issue than the height!
Mike

[tonkaland]

Thanks for all your help guys , "tape measure time outside in the morning" , doors are currently 8' wide so I dont think that is too much of an issue when "The Tonka Man" is driving , not so sure about our lass ..... she passed her theory test first time on Thursday so now she thinks she knows everything there is to know about driving too!

I have to admit that when I finally get my hands on a Geep it will have to fight with my Morris Minor for squatters rights in the garage as even the planned extension wont be long enough for both unless I move next door's shed too!

[tonkaland]

Well Tonka has gone and got himself a new toy.

As of yesterday morning I am now the proud owner of a Geep and I am loving it!

I will post a pic on the Yahoo site in a day or so once my daughter fetches my camera back she borrowed today.

And where did this wonderful machine come from , 3 miles down the road from where I live and I have done hundreds of miles these last couple of months to view what I thought I wanted !!!!!

From what I can gather it used to go to Newark a lot with the original owner/builder who apparently based it on an Escort Harrier so someone may remember it , the second owner I bought it from has done less than 1000 miles in nearly 3 years.

One quick question what are the 2 long lengths of vinyl with 3 straps for ? the seller didnt have a clue , are they for tying back the hood ? or was it part of someones nocturnal activity set!!!!!

Mark

[IanA]

Nice to hear of another going to a new home.

The straps may be something to do with the rear window and the ability to unzip and roll it up with the hood in situ. Long ago and far away, if I had to use the hood, that was my favoured configuration.

Cheers
Ian

[tonkaland]

Hello its me the pain again.......might seem like a daft question this but I am going to make a small centre console to house a pop-off front radio but where should I fit the aeriel or is it a no-no ?

[IanA]

The rear bumper is a popular choice. Probably because it's easy to get a good earth and the aerial cable runs nowhere near any ignition components on the engine.

[dave36]

mine is inside the padding of the roll bar to windscreen brace and earthed to the roll bar. Out of site and just about impossible to damage if you go off road