Frank Elson wrote:
"Now you can try to fool yourselves as much as you like but that split was not
over suspension systems although that provided a nice little excuse. It was
over the completely different attitudes between owners of 'new' vehicles and
owners of 'old' ones, between poseurs and enthusiasts, between cruisers and
off-roaders... but not about suspension systems.
=>A lot of people "walk between both worlds". We have our '97 D1 which is the
family wagon and wife's get to work vehicle, but it's also been set up for
off-roading and the dif-lock gets engaged regularly. The pin striping, bumps
and bruises, and drag marks along the undercarriage are not from the speed
bumps at the mall or lifting tires on curbs. And yes, it runs tall skinny
tires.
On the other hand, now that life has returned to a state that somewhat
resembles normalcy, we're reentering the world of leaf sprung trucks after a
brief hiatus. A '66 IIA SWB is about to enter the driveway. That will be
driven daily by myself and will be off-roaded at least as much as the Discovery
is now.
Which is "better"? Depends on your definition and what you're doing. There
are times when the a leaf sprung, open topped, bare bones truck is all I want
to be in. There are other times when the Discovery is the way I want to go. I
am excited about the prospects of off-roading and camping with my wife and our
new son. Until he's not in a car seat, the family off roader will be the
Discovery. When he's bigger, I hope he enjoys off-roading in a Series as
well. I hope he also shares my fondness for tinkering and turn wrenches.
A soft sprung, longer wheel base Discovery can do things on rocks and steps
that a 88 will balk at. There are also trails where the Discovery just won't
go and the 88 zips up without complaint. Poseurs versus enthusiasts? There
are both driving both types regularly. The late model folk will have their
threads about ABS repairs, ECU problems, etc. The leaf crowd gets to bitch
about fouled drum brakes, busting frame bushings out, frame cancer, and the
nightmare of correcting PO electrical work. Somethings will never cross over
between the two. What is sad is the rampant elitism. Some folks are just
plain bitter.
Jeff Bieler
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