Dave_S Posted 11April, 2019 Report Share Posted 11April, 2019 I'm looking for a project car to turn into a reasonably serious 4x4. Hopefully well priced. Every man and his dog has a Hilux or similar, I'd like to do something different. I have narrowed down my search to the 957 Turbo or Turbo S. Until I realise it might be too hard to find, I'm only looking for one's with the PDCC or rarer still with the Advanced Off road Package PB1 with the selector as shown below. I don't believe they were bought in to Australia, but maybe ? 4 issues I want to address to make it a more serious offroader. 1. Ground clearance 2. Wheel travel 3. Tyre size 4. Front locking or mechanical clutching diff Looking on the internet I don't expect ground clearance and wheel size will be a problem. Wheel travel is clearly something that might be the biggest issue, however there is a guy in the states working on this now who I think will come up with a reasonable result. He hopes to get 10.5" front and 12" rear travel. Not too shabby. I haven't looked far into the front diff yet, but a selectable locker or a good clutching diff would be nice. I'm not sure if this will bring up errors, so it might be nicer to just have the selectable locking. I would be interested in any advice on this. The slowest part might be finding the right car, PM me if you know of one available that might suit. Thanks Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Posted 11April, 2019 Report Share Posted 11April, 2019 I've been looking for a solid 18 months with no luck and thats in 955 or any form. This just dont seem to ever come up and when I've found seller saying "It has the offroad package" its just the normal car with some optional cosmetic side steps etc. I currently have a 955 I use to tow my hunting rig with. Its a simple set up with some 19" A/T's. Another mate has a Q7 with 18" running 31" AT's. As an off road thing they are pretty good with the car working very well to control wheel spin. Putting it in low range and doing a sharp turn with result in it wanting to turn the inside wheel exactly the same as it would with a locker. So unless you are full on rock crawling you won't really need a locker. Because I've pretty much given up on finding one with the offroad pack my plans are to build a front and rear bar then look for a little more height. I'm also on the hunt for some cheap 18" wheels so I can move to a 31" tyre to give it a little mor sidewall. I spent 2 months trying to find some steel wheels and gave up. Even getting blanks to redrill was too hard for most places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redracn Posted 11April, 2019 Report Share Posted 11April, 2019 I get far far more looks and questions when out in my G Wagen Pro Cab Chassis W461 than I ever have in any Porsche. Here in Aus we are lucky to have access to the W461 which is the military variant and the Aus army have a couple thousand of them. No matter what is done to a Cayenne the Merc will always be a better off-road vehicle but you pay for this with a basic hose out interior and poor on road dynamics. https://www.mercedes-benz.com.au/passengercars/mercedes-benz-cars/models/g-class/g-class-professional/explore/downloads/_jcr_content/swipeableteaserbox/par/swipeableteaser/interactions.attachments.0.g-class-professional-brochure.pdf There is also the issue of bushability i.e. how likely is it a rock/stick can get flicked up under the car and damage some part or get jammed in a spot and do damage. The Cayenne along with most independent suspension monocoque cars rate very low in this area. Also keep an eye on the GVM as a couple of blokes plus water and camping gear could see it well over its weight limit. Good luck with the searches as I sold my 955 with PDCC many years ago and have not seen one anywhere since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Posted 11April, 2019 Report Share Posted 11April, 2019 The issue I see with the G Wagen whilst I'd love one is mostly with me. $$ V Value. How much money am I willing to tip in the bin on an actual 4WD that will get used. 100K isn't a small amount of money to me and as soon as I start to use it in the scrub I'm going to wipe off quite a bit of that "investment" becuase when it comes to resale time people want a 4WD thats never been used as a 4WD.. Bang for buck. Whilst a G Wagon will last a very long time as above, 100k is a lot of money for what you actually get. My Cayenne is worth what $15k? At 15K I'm not very fussed on it gettin a scratch or ding. If I spent 50k on a newer one I would put some wrap in it and still use it as a 4WD I'd just treat it with a little more care. I don't know if I could do the same with a 100k car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave_S Posted 12April, 2019 Author Report Share Posted 12April, 2019 12 hours ago, Uncle said: I've been looking for a solid 18 months with no luck and thats in 955 or any form. This just dont seem to ever come up and when I've found seller saying "It has the offroad package" its just the normal car with some optional cosmetic side steps etc. I currently have a 955 I use to tow my hunting rig with. Its a simple set up with some 19" A/T's. Another mate has a Q7 with 18" running 31" AT's. As an off road thing they are pretty good with the car working very well to control wheel spin. Putting it in low range and doing a sharp turn with result in it wanting to turn the inside wheel exactly the same as it would with a locker. So unless you are full on rock crawling you won't really need a locker. Because I've pretty much given up on finding one with the offroad pack my plans are to build a front and rear bar then look for a little more height. I'm also on the hunt for some cheap 18" wheels so I can move to a 31" tyre to give it a little mor sidewall. I spent 2 months trying to find some steel wheels and gave up. Even getting blanks to redrill was too hard for most places. Disappointing to hear about the wheels, I hoped to get some cheapo steel wheels for it. I hope to fit 33" mud tyres on. I like your setup. The Advanced Off road came in PB1, 2, and 3. 1 & 2 were mostly cosmetic, but 1 had rock sliders, heavy duty bash plates, serious tow points and the sway bar disconnect. It would nice to find one but it's not going to happen. I should be able to find one with PDCC, there are two in Melbourne and one sold recently, but all are expensive for what I want. I was planning bars front and rear, something along the looks of the XROX bars. Something to mount a winch. Still like the idea of the front locker or LSD. 12 hours ago, Redracn said: I get far far more looks and questions when out in my G Wagen Pro Cab Chassis W461 than I ever have in any Porsche. Here in Aus we are lucky to have access to the W461 which is the military variant and the Aus army have a couple thousand of them. No matter what is done to a Cayenne the Merc will always be a better off-road vehicle but you pay for this with a basic hose out interior and poor on road dynamics. https://www.mercedes-benz.com.au/passengercars/mercedes-benz-cars/models/g-class/g-class-professional/explore/downloads/_jcr_content/swipeableteaserbox/par/swipeableteaser/interactions.attachments.0.g-class-professional-brochure.pdf There is also the issue of bushability i.e. how likely is it a rock/stick can get flicked up under the car and damage some part or get jammed in a spot and do damage. The Cayenne along with most independent suspension monocoque cars rate very low in this area. Also keep an eye on the GVM as a couple of blokes plus water and camping gear could see it well over its weight limit. Good luck with the searches as I sold my 955 with PDCC many years ago and have not seen one anywhere since. I'd definitely be happy with the G Wagon, but the price is a bit painful. I'd be happier with the hose out interior, I'm going to feel a bit guilty jumping in soaking in salt water or covered in mud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redracn Posted 12April, 2019 Report Share Posted 12April, 2019 10 minutes ago, Dave_S said: I'd definitely be happy with the G Wagon, but the price is a bit painful. I'd be happier with the hose out interior, I'm going to feel a bit guilty jumping in soaking in salt water or covered in mud. The drain plug on a chain in the floor makes it easy to hose out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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