Samuel wrote:
> I was about to mention the same thing.
>
> the perentie JD refers to is an Aussie made 6x6 defender/110. it has a
> turbocharged 3.9 litre isuzu truck engine and is about a foot wider than a
> standard landy. However, strictly speaking this is not a conversion. the
> vehicle was designed from ground up as a 6x6 and is almost exclusively an
> army vehicle. they same base-vehilce i believe was sold in a civvie
> version but not for long due to extremely low numbers.
>
> But back to the point, there is very little chance you'll see one of these
> babies cruising the streets of the UK.
>
> Cheers.
>
> Sam.
The civilian version was very different from the army version - while it
shared the basic army mechanicals, it retained the standard chassis, body
and axle width, and unlike the army version I don't think the chassis was
galvanised.
Both civilian and military versions of the 6x6 use the Isuzu 4BD1T, which is
the turbocharged version of the 3.9l 4BD1 fitted to Australian Stage 1
Series 3 diesels and to 110s from their introduction to 1990. Both were
rated at a load capacity of two tonnes, for an all up weight of around
double that of the standard 110. To handle this weight the diff ratios were
4.7, with a consequent limit on maximum speed to around 100kph. This may
have been a significant reason for the poor sales on the civilian market,
and another one may have been that the introduction of the 127 probably
took a lot of it - nearly as much load, and a lot cheaper.
The civilian version was sold only as a cab/chassis. Through the years I
have seen very few civilian ones, but the army ones can be seen in most
army convoys - although rarer than the 110, they are apparently widely
used, both as the general purpose truck and the ambulance. On the other
hand, the long range patrol version is quite rare - I have never seen one
except at military displays (and on television in Iraq).
JD
