Hi
I thought i had been rehabilitated from my obsession of owning a London taxi, but I'm back looking at taxi classifieds and reading blogs!
Does anyone own one, or driven one?
I want a car i can hose out after being out with the dogs, and also use for a 60mile a day commute. I don't expect fuel economy to be great so would have to twin tank it for veg oil, (if i bulk buy it works out at 60p a litre)
Just wondering how feasible this would be, Id only be interested in the Fairway with Nissan engine for durability, spares availability etc but just how reliable should i expect it to be, especially considering it will have half a million k on the clock?
Any info would be appreciated,
cheers
Anyone own a london taxi (Fairway)
Re: Anyone own a london taxi (Fairway)
My dad used to be a cabbie, his first fairway "from new" was a G plate with the nissan unit.
He managed to cover 1.5 million miles before upgrading to another new one.(and it was still being run by the next owner several years later.)
Reliability was excellent, and fuel economy much better than expected from what he used to tell me.
Boot is small due to over sized passenger area, but seeing as you can fit a pair of disability access ramps in there, I would think an aux veg oil tank would fit in nicely.
Mal.
He managed to cover 1.5 million miles before upgrading to another new one.(and it was still being run by the next owner several years later.)
Reliability was excellent, and fuel economy much better than expected from what he used to tell me.
Boot is small due to over sized passenger area, but seeing as you can fit a pair of disability access ramps in there, I would think an aux veg oil tank would fit in nicely.
Mal.
Re: Anyone own a london taxi (Fairway)
Easier still, just put the veggie in the fuel tank and add a little turps substitute for winter if it needs it. As long as there's no used oil, so no possibility of animal fats building up in the fuel delivery pipework then seriously, that would do the job. My diminutive modern common rail daily is fine that way and with the blessing of the dealer.
I have a Reliant Metrocab in my possession - taken in a recent exchange deal involving another, far less interesting vehicle - but that's practically no more than a plastic Transit with an automatic transmission and taxi-specific steering parts so I can't compare it directly with one of those amazing IL6 Datsun Diesels in the older FX4 derived cabs. I do see the charm of them though and wouldn't discount the possibility of my trying one some day. My neighbour is a Hackney driver and his workplace is one of the much later models which seems to spend half its life in Edinburgh at the dealer's workshop, he misses his Fairway.
There's a place locally that specialises in selling them on to private owners and breaking the rustier examples for parts but by the time a steel-bodied taxi has ended its service life around by here, there'd be holes, even in a good example as they're allowed to work with no upper mileage or age limits.
If they're good enough for Bez and Stephen Fry, they're surely good enough for the rest of us?
I have a Reliant Metrocab in my possession - taken in a recent exchange deal involving another, far less interesting vehicle - but that's practically no more than a plastic Transit with an automatic transmission and taxi-specific steering parts so I can't compare it directly with one of those amazing IL6 Datsun Diesels in the older FX4 derived cabs. I do see the charm of them though and wouldn't discount the possibility of my trying one some day. My neighbour is a Hackney driver and his workplace is one of the much later models which seems to spend half its life in Edinburgh at the dealer's workshop, he misses his Fairway.
There's a place locally that specialises in selling them on to private owners and breaking the rustier examples for parts but by the time a steel-bodied taxi has ended its service life around by here, there'd be holes, even in a good example as they're allowed to work with no upper mileage or age limits.
If they're good enough for Bez and Stephen Fry, they're surely good enough for the rest of us?
J
"Home is where you park it", so the saying goes. That may yet come true..
"Home is where you park it", so the saying goes. That may yet come true..
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mr rusty
- Posts: 469
- Joined: Tue Feb 22, 2011 10:17 am
- Location: Harlow, the birthplace of fibreoptic communication, as the town sign says.
Re: Anyone own a london taxi (Fairway)
Beware any old taxi! I have a couple of friends who're cabbies: they tend to absolutely flog them into the ground now before they get rid of them- since anything over 15 years old now automatically becomes unlicensed they seriously skimp on servicing when they're coming up to the 15 year mark as they know they're going to have difficulty selling them on as they can't be used as a licensed London cab. Essentially the market in good used older cabs for people new to the game vanished overnight, in London at least. These are commercial vehicles and consequently worked to death!
The nissan engined ones are extraordinarily reliable, but I wouldn't want to do a 60 mile motorway commute in one- you see them on the uphill stretch of the M11 after the M25 on their way to Stansted or wherever and they're down to less than 50mph........and low 20's mpg in town at least, not brilliant on the motorway either. I'd imagine it would be like using a more comfortable 2 Land Rover as a daily use car.
The nissan engined ones are extraordinarily reliable, but I wouldn't want to do a 60 mile motorway commute in one- you see them on the uphill stretch of the M11 after the M25 on their way to Stansted or wherever and they're down to less than 50mph........and low 20's mpg in town at least, not brilliant on the motorway either. I'd imagine it would be like using a more comfortable 2 Land Rover as a daily use car.
1968 Triumph Vitesse Mk1 2 litre convertible, Junior Miss rusty has a 1989 998cc Mk2 Metro, Mrs Rusty has a modern common rail diesel thing.
Re: Anyone own a london taxi (Fairway)
Thanks for the replys!
Some interesting stuff! Im impressed with 1.5 million mile cab (was this actualy 1.5 million miles, or a triggers broom type 1.5 million miles, i.e 5 engines, 3 gearboxs and a few chasis swaps,lol
This web site hasnt helped my obbsession, and here i am thinking i needed a 4x4 to get to a few shoots: They drover around the world in a 20 year old cab!! http://www.itsonthemeter.com/
Out of interest JPB, what common rail are you running veg on? I recently hired a Hyundai i30 common rail and it was a lovely drive (if a little normal looking) but have been avoiding them due to veg unsuitability.
Thanks for comments so far!
j
Some interesting stuff! Im impressed with 1.5 million mile cab (was this actualy 1.5 million miles, or a triggers broom type 1.5 million miles, i.e 5 engines, 3 gearboxs and a few chasis swaps,lol
This web site hasnt helped my obbsession, and here i am thinking i needed a 4x4 to get to a few shoots: They drover around the world in a 20 year old cab!! http://www.itsonthemeter.com/
Out of interest JPB, what common rail are you running veg on? I recently hired a Hyundai i30 common rail and it was a lovely drive (if a little normal looking) but have been avoiding them due to veg unsuitability.
Thanks for comments so far!
j
Re: Anyone own a london taxi (Fairway)
Mercedes OM660 in a Smart 0.8CDi. The "official" line is that you must dilute by up to 40% with turps substitute all year round but one of the dealership mechanics runs an early, 40bhp version that he's owned from new and has now covered some 400k in the car back and forth to Morocco twice a year to see his family as well as his 90 mile daily commute to the work.
His findings are that as long as new veggie oil is used, which brings with it no danger of solids leeching out and causing a restriction of the fuel rail, then it's fine. He's only had the reduced pressure warning - and the associated restriction to 1800rpm, so 45mph in high ratio third - twice in all these miles and on both occasions, the ambient temperatures were below 15 Fahrenheit for a period of more than three days. His solution was to let it idle and pour turps substitute into the tank until the restriction was lifted and all was normal again, I've only seen temperatures down to about 18F in all the time I've been running the car (a shade under two years and still only around 45,000 Kms on the odometer). In these conditions, I used the turps at (very) roughly 30% and pressure was fine. The particulate filter likes the mix as it goes into a purge cycle far less frequently than it did on the few occasions I've run for a few days on forecourt fuel - holidays and such when I don't know where the nearest Costco is so can't get my drums of veggie at 51p on the litre.
From what I've learned since running on veggie, it's the "biodiesel" that the likes of Morrison sell on their forecourts that common rail owners need to beware of since it's reclaimed and there have been cases of animal fats coming out of suspension in the fuel rail on cold days and some pump problems as the solvents used in the commercial bio apparently don't lubricate as well as the odd spot of turps substitute, so I tend to avoid that especially as it's only around 11p per litre cheaper than regular forecourt fuel.
Once the Metro is back on the road - I'll be running that for at least a month to make sure it's reliable before selling it on - I plan to use veggie in its Transit-derived engine though the taxi folk reckon that a small quantity of either UCL or 2-stroke oil is better in those than turps.
If my journey home after dropping the other car off and picking up the Metro was anything to go by, you'll find that lots of people will wave at you when you're driving a taxi. Some will even whistle and shout greetings as you pass them, especially if the a**epiece who took the meter out has left the wiring so that the roof lamp is always lit up with the engine running.
Enjoy.
His findings are that as long as new veggie oil is used, which brings with it no danger of solids leeching out and causing a restriction of the fuel rail, then it's fine. He's only had the reduced pressure warning - and the associated restriction to 1800rpm, so 45mph in high ratio third - twice in all these miles and on both occasions, the ambient temperatures were below 15 Fahrenheit for a period of more than three days. His solution was to let it idle and pour turps substitute into the tank until the restriction was lifted and all was normal again, I've only seen temperatures down to about 18F in all the time I've been running the car (a shade under two years and still only around 45,000 Kms on the odometer). In these conditions, I used the turps at (very) roughly 30% and pressure was fine. The particulate filter likes the mix as it goes into a purge cycle far less frequently than it did on the few occasions I've run for a few days on forecourt fuel - holidays and such when I don't know where the nearest Costco is so can't get my drums of veggie at 51p on the litre.
From what I've learned since running on veggie, it's the "biodiesel" that the likes of Morrison sell on their forecourts that common rail owners need to beware of since it's reclaimed and there have been cases of animal fats coming out of suspension in the fuel rail on cold days and some pump problems as the solvents used in the commercial bio apparently don't lubricate as well as the odd spot of turps substitute, so I tend to avoid that especially as it's only around 11p per litre cheaper than regular forecourt fuel.
Once the Metro is back on the road - I'll be running that for at least a month to make sure it's reliable before selling it on - I plan to use veggie in its Transit-derived engine though the taxi folk reckon that a small quantity of either UCL or 2-stroke oil is better in those than turps.
If my journey home after dropping the other car off and picking up the Metro was anything to go by, you'll find that lots of people will wave at you when you're driving a taxi. Some will even whistle and shout greetings as you pass them, especially if the a**epiece who took the meter out has left the wiring so that the roof lamp is always lit up with the engine running.
Enjoy.
J
"Home is where you park it", so the saying goes. That may yet come true..
"Home is where you park it", so the saying goes. That may yet come true..
Re: Anyone own a london taxi (Fairway)
Cheers for that, Interesting stuff. And heres me thinking of a £800 conversion to run veg oil.
If a common rail can cope then im sure an old indirect injection can!!
Thanks
J
If a common rail can cope then im sure an old indirect injection can!!
Thanks
J
Re: Anyone own a london taxi (Fairway)
Absolutely. Then the only thing you need to consider is whether you need to add anything to lubricate the pump and the turps is still relevant since older Diesels without the high pressure at the business end are harder to start from cold, hence their glow plugs.
J
"Home is where you park it", so the saying goes. That may yet come true..
"Home is where you park it", so the saying goes. That may yet come true..
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baconsdozen
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Fri Jul 08, 2011 8:14 am
Re: Anyone own a london taxi (Fairway)
I've run an old london taxi cab (fairway) for some years as a run around.
Its been reliable and proved a good work horse.
A few tears back I started adding low ash two stroke oil to the diesel and it makes the engine quieter (especially when cold) it makes little difference to performance or fuel consumption.
If you buy a fairway make sure its not the 'fleets hack' which will have had hundreds of drivers over the years. I dont put much store in the much trumpeted 'strict' MOTs these vehicle are supposed to have nor the state of the bodywork on many uner loads of paint and filler.
I've carried out a lot of work on mine over the years and it has proved to be worthwhile.Search baconsdozen london taxi on google
Its been reliable and proved a good work horse.
A few tears back I started adding low ash two stroke oil to the diesel and it makes the engine quieter (especially when cold) it makes little difference to performance or fuel consumption.
If you buy a fairway make sure its not the 'fleets hack' which will have had hundreds of drivers over the years. I dont put much store in the much trumpeted 'strict' MOTs these vehicle are supposed to have nor the state of the bodywork on many uner loads of paint and filler.
I've carried out a lot of work on mine over the years and it has proved to be worthwhile.Search baconsdozen london taxi on google
Re: Anyone own a london taxi (Fairway)
I own one an N reg Fairway Driver, never want to drive anything else now. Just joined a forum purely for Private owners of these cabs. try [url]htp://fairwayownersclub.com[/url]