Faults:

Nothing so far, as I have only driven it on sunny days. Plus I am now living in England so the car is up on stands in a shed in Australia for the moment.

General Comments:

I have had a few cars in recent years, including a modified Subaru WRX, SAAB turbo, Mercedes 190E 2.6 and 1967 Fiat 124. But out of all of these cars the Moke is the most enjoyable to drive. Not as fast as the subaru or comfortable as the Merc, but what else can you simply just jump into (has no roof - instead has a custom designed & powder coated roll bar) and drive? Better yet, what car runs for a week on $5 petrol?

I bought the car for $750, then sanded the whole thing back to bare metal and had it resprayed in blue with a white roll bar. I think it is californian because of the white sunrasia wheels and gills at the front, but could be mistaken. I have ditched the old carburettors for twin SU's which are bigger than the engine itself to make it go better, it actually suprises quite a few cars off at the lights.

My wife hates the car as it is too unsafe. I must admit I won't be hitting too many freeways with it, but it is perfect for loading up some mountain bikes and heading up a big dirt hill in. A friend of mine was almost killed in one when he was side-swiped by a car, hence safety is a zero. You are the crumple zone!

To summarise, a friend has offered a considerable amount of money for the car, but I refuse to sell it, as I can see myself taking this out on sunny weekends for many years to come.

Faults:

Clutch slave cylinder @10,000km replaced under warranty

Front suspension trumpet collapsed @ 15,000km Repaired under warranty

Wheel bearing failure at 20,000 km

Rear brake cylinders leaked at 50,000km

Air filter poorly sealed and was obviously leaking through the life of the motor.

Paint easily chips and scratches.

HUGE turning circle for a small car.

Speedo inaccurate- drive at 60 indicated and every car goes past-sit on 70 indicated to just keep up with the traffic.

Canopy fairly well shredded after 20 years.

General Comments:

This is motoring at its most basic, but being based on the Mini, the Moke has inherited the sharp handling that the Mini was well known for.

The 998 motor was enough to propel the moke to 100kph, a little faster with a tail wind, however being a mini engine, numerous, cheap bolt-ons are available to get a lot more out of it.

I used it a lot on the dirt (great fun, but you get absolutely plastered in dust as the canopy acts as a vacuum cleaner) and problems with the sealing of the air filter box meant that by 100,000km the motor was pretty much cactus, so a "big"1275 motor with all of the hot-up options and much more enjoyment.

Moke Owners always smile and wave to other Moke Owners- how many Commodore (or any other make) owners wave to other Commodore owners just for having a Commodore??

Faults:

Blown head gasket at 54,000 Klm.

Broken diff at 60,000 Klm.

Vinyl hood fell apart costing $1,200 to be replaced.

General Comments:

This is the best car I have ever owned!

It is fun, reliable, cheap to run and gets looks where ever I go.

The body is galvanized so it should not rust.

All the running gear is straight off the Mini so parts are easy to come by.

It is great off road, but with only 6" ground clearance you are limited to where you can go. Sand is big enemy as the Moke bogs down straight away. The up side is with the weight being only 535 kg, with a few friends you can just lift it out of trouble.

A heater does come with most models, but rug up in winter because it's pretty ineffective when the winds come through the vinyl hood. In summer with the hood down, sunburn is an issue to consider as well.

A very sociable car, for no matter where you go, someone has got a story about a Moke.