I just looked at your Perentie Jeep pic at
http://www.scsn.bee.qut.edu.au/~rwalker/cj2a/interesting_jeeps/army_j10/AM_j
10.htm
and I would like to correct you a little.
The three contenders for the light vehicles were the Jeeep, Landrover 110
and Mercedes Benz G Wagon. These vehicles were all in the one tonne
capacity class. The Unimog UL1300 and the locally developed Landrover 6X6
were the competitors in the Perentie 1.5 to 2 tonne capacity class.
For the record both Landrovers won. The Jeep was ruled out because it was
powered by a petrol engine whereas the Australian Army had specifically
stipulated diesel power. The G Wagon was powered (underpowered???) by a
five cylinder diesel but was very slow at on highway and I believe
extremely expensive. The four cylinder Isuzu powered Landrover was the
clear winner in that it was cheap (er), fast and locally built. I don't
know why the bigger Landrover was chosen over the Unimog. Probably a
package deal with Jaguar Rover Australia at the time. Incidentally, all
110s built for the Aust Army since about 1990 including the SAS Long Range
Patrol Vehicles (LRPV) have been built by British Aerospace (Australia) in
Adelaide. That was after JRA went bust.
Believe me, the 110 Landrover was heaven to drive after the horrible 6
cylinder powered Landrover Series Threes that they replaced. How the 2
vehicles could ever come from the same manufacturer is beyond me.
Cheers
Rod Diery
Kulin Western Australia
Austin Champ owner and 'would be' restorer
ROD_DIERY@onaustralia.com.au