My Marshal DI 4x4: The step-in & go-anywhere type of vehicle

I have a turbo-model exhaust manifold and a K03 turbo unit taken from a Scorpio CRDe ready to be fitted if I can find the time

BHPian ringoism recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

The car is running great, and doing frequent local duty. Still love this car. It needs the wipers fixed (the linkage broke recently), and a couple of interior door handles, otherwise really is just a get-in-and-go-anywhere-anytime type vehicle. With the self-starter rebuild 1.5 years ago, it fires up so easily on cold Himalayan mornings. In general, the ancient N/A DI with its heavy flywheel idles smoother than the CRDe. Just a great car.

Have lately considered selling it mainly due to some obvious redundancy, and also due to some uncertainty surrounding future registrations (RC is good till 4/26, and I told you that in MZ there are no age limits as we are supposedly facing elsewhere), and the ~₹9k insurance cost per year when it's not in daily use... But then I drive it (out to lunch with friends today, for example) and the temptation to keep it begins all over again.

I have a turbo-model exhaust manifold and a K03 turbo unit taken from a Scorpio CRDe ready to be fitted if I can find the time... Had got the big Nankang tyres (265-70-16) remoulded in the same Apterra A/T pattern as the Getaway wears, only it's deeper - the much more compliant casings than the cross-ply or LT truck tyres it has worn till now make it ride amazingly plush - and it was the poor ride quality that had been my main complaint all these years!!!

I went ahead and put these on the Safari rims it's had all this time... wider wheels ended up back on the Getaway, and the wide NGCS axle would probably have not allowed us to cross bridges like the one depicted in the first photo.

Anyway, the increased height width and grip these treads afford should make it capable of going places that a lot of more modern stock 4x4s would only dream of. I have something like 315mm ground clearance at the GB cross-member, which apart from the differentials is the lowest-hanging thing on the underside - just crazy, really don't have to think about anything you'd normally encounter short of hardcore off-road.

There's a newly-cut link road just around the corner from us here that has slick mud on an incline, a proper water crossing, some very steep gradients and hairpin bends. It handles it all with aplomb - very confidence-inspiring. And much more effortlessly than the Getaway manages it, mainly thanks to the superior low-end grunt and much tighter turning radius.

Off-expressway, really can't ask for more (well, maybe power-steering - and A/C if we weren't in the hills).

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