THE PORTAL HUB - Pinzgauers, Haflingers, Volvo 303s and more!

Hi! My name is Paco and I'm a good 'ol boy from San Diego, now living in Denver, CO. I'm of more humble means, I'm in the wrong place for that I know. I started lusting after the desert trucks I grew up with, but found out soon that that was solely a rich mans sport being one of the most expensive of the motor sports. When I moved to CO, I had an 86 4Runner and a head full of dreams. After being exposed to crawling, I wanted something that could do both. Wanting to follow my dreams I gave up my gilded dreams of a glorious desert truck that could crawl. I worked for a nationally renowned off road shop where we specialized in one of my favorite makers, Toyota. I worked sales and customer service but can turn wrenches too. I have taken a hiatus from vehicles due to income, but really fell in love with the practicality and capability of the Volvo. Previously I have been enamored with the Mog's but their heavy price tag, lack of versatility, and specialized parts also $$$, I back burnered that as well. I stumbled on a youtube video featuring the c303 Volvo that made me think twice about Dennis' recommendation of them as the most versatile vehicle for my specs I gave him. Dennis is a awesome bloke, who as everyone knows, knows his stuff. Another reason I got into these vehicles is the crowd. People are nice, patient, and just seem like fun to wheel with. That cannot be echoed in the ford and Toyota boards. This is pretty much a constant for almost every MV out there. Kudos big time on that. In my research I have came to a few questions (most of which Dennis answered).

- are the t-cases on these Volvo similar to the ones on Toyota pickups (for reason of creating a Marlin Crawler-like crawl box for super slow crawl ratios) and is this even practical?
- are there any loans/financing available to help purchase a Volvo?
- has anyone researched (since we are in the US and have different engine availability) dabbling with Toyota 22r engines, 7M engines, or 1UZ V-8's? In theory it seems like a good alternative with a huge parts market and availability. If not, what is the point of the MB diesel conversion? According to the specs there is a lot more potential in the B30 along with more affordable / available parts. So, why the OM617A/ 603A? conversions?

Sorry for the novel, and thanks for such a great group you are you provide. You all rock!

- Paco

p0x1c wrote:Hi! My name is Paco and I'm a good 'ol boy from San Diego, now living in Denver, CO. I'm of more humble means, I'm in the wrong place for that I know. I started lusting after the desert trucks I grew up with, but found out soon that that was solely a rich mans sport being one of the most expensive of the motor sports. When I moved to CO, I had an 86 4Runner and a head full of dreams. After being exposed to crawling, I wanted something that could do both. Wanting to follow my dreams I gave up my gilded dreams of a glorious desert truck that could crawl. I worked for a nationally renowned off road shop where we specialized in one of my favorite makers, Toyota. I worked sales and customer service but can turn wrenches too. I have taken a hiatus from vehicles due to income, but really fell in love with the practicality and capability of the Volvo. Previously I have been enamored with the Mog's but their heavy price tag, lack of versatility, and specialized parts also $$$, I back burnered that as well. I stumbled on a youtube video featuring the c303 Volvo that made me think twice about Dennis' recommendation of them as the most versatile vehicle for my specs I gave him. Dennis is a awesome bloke, who as everyone knows, knows his stuff. Another reason I got into these vehicles is the crowd. People are nice, patient, and just seem like fun to wheel with. That cannot be echoed in the ford and Toyota boards. This is pretty much a constant for almost every MV out there. Kudos big time on that. In my research I have came to a few questions (most of which Dennis answered).

- are the t-cases on these Volvo similar to the ones on Toyota pickups (for reason of creating a Marlin Crawler-like crawl box for super slow crawl ratios) and is this even practical?
- are there any loans/financing available to help purchase a Volvo?
- has anyone researched (since we are in the US and have different engine availability) dabbling with Toyota 22r engines, 7M engines, or 1UZ V-8's? In theory it seems like a good alternative with a huge parts market and availability. If not, what is the point of the MB diesel conversion? According to the specs there is a lot more potential in the B30 along with more affordable / available parts. So, why the OM617A/ 603A? conversions?

Sorry for the novel, and thanks for such a great group you are you provide. You all rock!

- Paco

My first post as a member before I have done and intro.

Firstly 22R engine is not suited to a Volvo its underpowered for a 2,500kg vehicle its underpowered for the LC II it is delivered in which weighs in at 1900kg factory. I should know I own 2. One with a 13B-T and one with a 1KZ.

Second a 7M engine is a considered a HOON engine (in Malaysia) it came out of the SUPRA and has inherent water issues. Guys who have 7M's usually have pirated Vovlo C303 AXLES to their JEEPS or BJ40's and destrioy the jungle tracks running at 5,000+REV with SImex XT tires . What is the point of a vehicle which has to be driven over 3000 revs to push the Volvo unless you get a special set of cams made to produce low end torque its no good.

The 1UZ I will not comment on I have only seen conversions to BJ47's etc BUt I imagine its not an easy fit.