hamburglar wrote: I'm not sure quite what you guys are imagining. My understanding is that 60% of the roads I plan to travel are paved. If i take side roads, they are considered "bumpy" so I would need more ground clearance, but not necessarily in the off-road truck range. These may be gravel, mud, sand or anything in between. Most locals don't necessarily drive 4x4 trucks, although I'm sure most would like to. A jacked up road car would have plenty of clearance. I like that rally merc very much!

http://www.ford.com/about-ford/company-information/ford-international-websites
Checking this website it appears that the typical Ford Escape V6 and the typical Ford Explorer are sold all over Latin America.

Similar choices: Jeep Cherokee, Chevy Suburban.
Stay away from US and Canadian small pickups. All are different in Latin America. Full size domestic trucks are a good choice since they are the same down south.

If you like the mercedes diesel I'd look into getting an oil pan undershield so you don't pop a hole in the oil pan if you encounter a rock.

Just remember the mercedes 500slc was campaigned as a rally car and won a south american rally in 1978. It would likely kill the budget just in gas though.

Hilux Surf turbo diesel (taco/4runner)

Isuzu NPR truck or Mitsu Cab Over so that you have stout frame, diesel engine. With some customizing you could have sleeping quarters and ample storage.

Try the GRM version of this bad bamba jamba!
http://www.hackneys.com/mitsu/

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/index.php

Here is a whole world dedicate to trips of your style

In reply to jrw1621:

Great link, looks like I have much reading to do. I'm not fancying a truck to be honest. I like the idea of a Mercedes Diesel. On that forum (expedition portal) there's a guy who did most of Africa in a w123 300TD wagon.

Looks like there are plenty of those in my area, for not much money. I like! So what's better, w123 300td or w124? Calling mercedes experts...

For further reading spend some time in the ride report section of www.advrider.com. There you may be able to gleen some insight from people who have made the same or similar trip via motorcyle.

I've driven my Neon as far as the Yucatan and driven rentals in Honduras and Costa Rica. Unless you plan to sleep in it, a full size American P/U or SUV is way too big. The streets were built for oxcarts. South of Mexico Toyotas are everywhere if you're concerned about parts availability.

I was thinking old-school SUVs might be a good option, but the sound too big and perhaps overkill. So you need something spacious, rugged, and easy to keep running forever with duct-tape and bailing wire.

Darn, still too big.

Someone did this once with a Nissan 280Z, but I only remember that as a magazine article from forever ago, and he went alone. Not something I'd want to wedge 4 people into.

I'd suggest a Volvo 240 with taller springs, Rancho shocks (no idea what fits) and skid plates. Would also suggest a manual trans and you can get limited-slip diffs for the stock rear axle.

So, what's the final verdict on 4WD? Essential or not?

If not, my choice would probably be the diesel Benz W123.

Otherwise, how about a diesel Pajero/Montero.

Or if size were an issue, the SWB version in pinchvalve's post.

hamburglar wrote: Looks like there are plenty of those in my area, for not much money. I like! So what's better, w123 300td or w124? Calling mercedes experts...

I'm not a Mercedes egg spurt but I've had a few...

Both W124 and W123 are well engineered and rather robust. IMHO the W124 is more complicated, the W123 is a more basic car (less to go wrong and easier to repair) but especially the earlier ones can rust for Germany. Early W124s suffered from certain problems that were engineered out later on. I'd try to get one that's as late as possible.

The main advantage of a W123 diesel over a W124 is that it'll pretty much run on any sort of slop that you can pour into the tank, including veggie diesel. W124s are a bit more sensitive to fuel IIRC but the NA diesel should still be able to run on veggie diesel. Might be wrong on that one, though. The W124 diesel engines are completely different from the W123s (the W123 300D is a 5 cyl, the W124 a six) and have a bit more power. I'd avoid the turbo diesel on either, they're more powerful but especially the W123 has a reputation for not being as robust as a Mercedes Diesel is supposed to be.

The station wagons have self-levelling rear suspension and on W123s that's a known problem area. If it looks like you've got a stack of gold bars in the trunk when the engine is running, then the self-levelling system is bust. This can be a very expensive repair.

I like W124s - geez, I'm getting old, these considered were "old" people's transport , y'know, stuff your parents would drive - and I'd try to find one that's as late as possible. I wouldn't say no to a W123 but at least over here they're getting rare and good ones are getting expensive. In either case, buy the best one you can afford.

In reply to Luke:

4WD is not essential, but could be a bonus. High ground clearance is required, especially for central America. This could be something kludged together once I pick a car. I will buy the car earlier to test it out for a few months to iron out any kinks.

The more I look into this, the more I like a diesel benz. Here's one I'm considering:

http://kitchener.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-cars-Mercedes-DIESEL-300TD-1987-Certified-2500-W0QQAdIdZ140525025

I'm concerned about w124 wagons only coming as turbo versions. Is this really a big issue? The seller says the Self levelling rear suspension still works, but as you said it may crap out on me in a bad place. W123 wagons are also fairly easy to find in the same price range, with much much lower mileage. I thought power might be a concern though, 77hp for a 240D W123 wagon that will weigh nearly two tons loaded.

Ah, I think you fell in the usual MB trap - the 'TD' doesn't stand for Turbodiesel. 'T' is the MB designation for the station wagon. The turbo diesels usually say that somewhere else on the car.

IIRC it's the W123 self levelling suspension that tends to give problems; I can't say if the sls is working better/longer lived on the W124 but both the one I had a while back and my current one still have working sls. I think you might have to budget for pressure accumulators on the W124 but unless I'm sorely mistake the problems on the W123 can include cheap items like the pump and other items that are a little on the eek side.

BTW, once you got an MB diesel up to speed, it tends to keep going. It'll just take you a long time to get there, but there is a reason that pretty much every taxi in Germany was a W124 diesel back then. Just be grateful if you don't end up with a 200D.

GRM board rules:

1. If there is a well-paved road, the answer is Miata

2. If not, Subaru

In this case, I'm thinking of a '78 BRAT with a cap/camper/shell/canopy and the bed seats intact.

In reply to EvanR:

In my many years of liking subarus, I have never, ever seen a brat. Something about them falling in love with iron oxyde...

You can ditch the SLS rear suspension for shocks if you so choose also. The w123's rack up obscene amounts of miles.

The issue I'd be afraid of with the w124 are the electronics. I think they have weak wiring, but I'm no expert.

benzbaron wrote: You can ditch the SLS rear suspension for shocks if you so choose also. The w123's rack up obscene amounts of miles. The issue I'd be afraid of with the w124 are the electronics. I think they have weak wiring, but I'm no expert.

yeah, i'd have a traditional spring/shock conversion on there before venturing out. on cars with unreliable SLS -- Mark VIII comes quickly to mind -- aftermarket has come to our rescue with retrofit kits to install conventional spring/shock. IDK if this is available for the Mercedes, but I bet some time in a junkyard and some time with a welder could make standard parts fit.

This is what you need.

/thread

Make sure you have a plan for this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dari%C3%A9n_Gap

you will have to get a ferry from Panama to Columbia.

Oh and I vote for a turbo Diesel. Fuel econimy and turbo to take care of the thin air in the mountains. Find a AWD or 4x4 Turbo Diesel.

go to expeditionportal.com and look around.

When traveling abroad you need to think about service and parts. Think about going to argentina and blowing up your alternator in your jeep cherokee and not being able to get parts for weeks.

The most popular vehicles for expedition use are

1. Toyotas
2. land rovers
3. Mercedes

Others can be used, but those are the easiest to service worldwide. Period! Even the taliban uses Toyota trucks, seriously, what more endorsement do you need.

Come on, air cooled VWs were manufactured all the way up to the 90s down there(the bug at least). Parts are a dime a dozen, and you can fix most of what you need with a blunt rock....

Plus you would blend in with the locals, have plenty of room, get decent gas mileage...

A hippy van is the perfect car for the trip

Capt Slow wrote: Come on, air cooled VWs were manufactured all the way up to the 90s down there(the bug at least). Parts are a dime a dozen, and you can fix most of what you need with a blunt rock.... Plus you would blend in with the locals, have plenty of room, get decent gas mileage... A hippy van is the perfect car for the trip

+1, at least on the fixing with a blunt rock. And as we proved on BABE you can abuse the crap out of a VW on a road trip and it will put up with darn near anything.

ACVW

Another vote for the Benz grease-burner.

I read a good book you might find interesting. By this guy's account, you might make some money selling the Merc there and flying home, like you mentioned.

http://www.amazon.ca/Mercedes-Not-Sale-Ouagadougou-Auto-Misadventure/dp/0767928695