Mr_Red
Active Member
- Joined
- Sep 26, 2017
- Messages
- 62
- Country Flag
I have always wanted to get out and see the world, but my interest in overlanding using my own vehicle was really sparked by joining my brother for the last leg of his road-trip from Wales to Kyrgyzstan back in summer 2017. Granted I only joined for 2 weeks, I have never felt so free as we explored the wilds of Kyrgyzstan in a highly inappropriate 0.9 litre Nissan Micra.
I have always been really impressed by how well Japanese cars perform. I have seen Corollas and Hiaces in Gabon being thrashed to the end of their useful lives around partly washed away dirt roads and the like. I was similarly impressed with the performance of the Micra.
I started researching into options for an overlanding vehicle in Autumn 2017 and joined this forum a short while later. It's safe to admit I knew very little about cars at the time, my only experience being the pleasure of driving my mum's old Nissan Micra to work for a few months. I knew I wanted a 4x4, as there were so many parts of Kyrgyzstan we couldn't explore in the Micra and I knew I wanted a scaled down camper-van setup.
I quickly came to the conclusion that a 105 series would be a perfect vehicle, but settled on an 80 series as I couldn't find any 105s in the UK or Europe. The forum thread below shows what happens when you buy an 80 without knowing anything about cars.
https://www.landcruiserclub.net/com...-1-of-whats-wrong-with-my-landcruiser.149931/
I had a world trip in mind for this car, wanting to drive it around Asia and the Americas. A few months later, I discovered to my horror that I wouldn't be able to drive the RHD 80 through Central America. I was also starting to realise that I had purchased what was possibly the worst 80 series in the country. I decided to go back to the drawing board and set to pursuing the 105, which is the vehicle I had always wanted.
After exhausting various online vendors and search engines across Europe, I knew I had to cast the net out a bit further and flew out to the UAE in April 2018 in the deranged and epic quest for a 105.
Day 1 - Dubai
First stop - Dubai. So many Toyota's!
A lovely new 76 series and an absolute steal at just £40,000!
and an equally nice 79
but absolutely no 105s...
Day 2 - Al Ain and Fujairah
First stop Al Ain, one of the hottest parts of Arabia. 41c in April! After wondering around the town looking for Cruisers, I stepped back into my humble rental Kia Picanto and put on my sunglasses, which I had mistakenly left on the dashboard. I then quickly threw them off in a panic because they started burning my face. But anyway, back to the cars.
No shortage of Cruisers for sale! Even the odd Nissan Patrol
A very charming 40 series from 1975
An equally nice FZJ80
and just in case you were wondering where your parts are shipped from...
No joy in Fujairah..
Day 3 - Sharjah, Ajman and Umm Al Quwain
Stop 1. The renowned Souq al haraj - Sharjah. I was starting to panic by this point as I had flown all the way out to the UAE in a crazy search for a 105 and hadn't been able to find any. My luck changed once I hit Sharjah. I found 5 105s.
Here's 2 of them (I ended up buying the one on the left several days later)
Stop 2 - Ajman. Featuring the well hidden 105
So that was it. I had explored all major second hand car dealership areas in the country and found 6 105s. I purchased the least knackered 105 I could find in April 2018...
and by September I found it looking very sorry for itself in a warehouse not to far from its port of arrival in Felixtowe
Being completely unroadworthy and unregistered, it was onto the back of a flatbed...
and off to Scott's!
@Scott is a great guy and he took me under his wing back in 2017 when I got the 80 (which has since been flogged). He has also been invaluable in supporting my somewhat crazy 105 pursuit.
Next, he got rid of the highly illegal sand tyres. Cheers Scott!
After a lot of hard work and utter reliance on the help of others for which I am truly grateful, I now have a fully registered and MOT'd 105.
Of course the 105 is in need of a bit of TLC following its former life, which involved taking tourists out dune bashing in the vast deserts of Oman. To start I ordered £1800 worth of parts from @chapel gate. Cheers @chapel gate!
I have always been really impressed by how well Japanese cars perform. I have seen Corollas and Hiaces in Gabon being thrashed to the end of their useful lives around partly washed away dirt roads and the like. I was similarly impressed with the performance of the Micra.
I started researching into options for an overlanding vehicle in Autumn 2017 and joined this forum a short while later. It's safe to admit I knew very little about cars at the time, my only experience being the pleasure of driving my mum's old Nissan Micra to work for a few months. I knew I wanted a 4x4, as there were so many parts of Kyrgyzstan we couldn't explore in the Micra and I knew I wanted a scaled down camper-van setup.
I quickly came to the conclusion that a 105 series would be a perfect vehicle, but settled on an 80 series as I couldn't find any 105s in the UK or Europe. The forum thread below shows what happens when you buy an 80 without knowing anything about cars.
https://www.landcruiserclub.net/com...-1-of-whats-wrong-with-my-landcruiser.149931/
I had a world trip in mind for this car, wanting to drive it around Asia and the Americas. A few months later, I discovered to my horror that I wouldn't be able to drive the RHD 80 through Central America. I was also starting to realise that I had purchased what was possibly the worst 80 series in the country. I decided to go back to the drawing board and set to pursuing the 105, which is the vehicle I had always wanted.
After exhausting various online vendors and search engines across Europe, I knew I had to cast the net out a bit further and flew out to the UAE in April 2018 in the deranged and epic quest for a 105.
Day 1 - Dubai
First stop - Dubai. So many Toyota's!
A lovely new 76 series and an absolute steal at just £40,000!
and an equally nice 79
but absolutely no 105s...
Day 2 - Al Ain and Fujairah
First stop Al Ain, one of the hottest parts of Arabia. 41c in April! After wondering around the town looking for Cruisers, I stepped back into my humble rental Kia Picanto and put on my sunglasses, which I had mistakenly left on the dashboard. I then quickly threw them off in a panic because they started burning my face. But anyway, back to the cars.
No shortage of Cruisers for sale! Even the odd Nissan Patrol
A very charming 40 series from 1975
An equally nice FZJ80
and just in case you were wondering where your parts are shipped from...
No joy in Fujairah..
Day 3 - Sharjah, Ajman and Umm Al Quwain
Stop 1. The renowned Souq al haraj - Sharjah. I was starting to panic by this point as I had flown all the way out to the UAE in a crazy search for a 105 and hadn't been able to find any. My luck changed once I hit Sharjah. I found 5 105s.
Here's 2 of them (I ended up buying the one on the left several days later)
Stop 2 - Ajman. Featuring the well hidden 105
So that was it. I had explored all major second hand car dealership areas in the country and found 6 105s. I purchased the least knackered 105 I could find in April 2018...
and by September I found it looking very sorry for itself in a warehouse not to far from its port of arrival in Felixtowe
Being completely unroadworthy and unregistered, it was onto the back of a flatbed...
and off to Scott's!
@Scott is a great guy and he took me under his wing back in 2017 when I got the 80 (which has since been flogged). He has also been invaluable in supporting my somewhat crazy 105 pursuit.
Next, he got rid of the highly illegal sand tyres. Cheers Scott!
After a lot of hard work and utter reliance on the help of others for which I am truly grateful, I now have a fully registered and MOT'd 105.
Of course the 105 is in need of a bit of TLC following its former life, which involved taking tourists out dune bashing in the vast deserts of Oman. To start I ordered £1800 worth of parts from @chapel gate. Cheers @chapel gate!