When I bought my first gen1 Monty it was 6 years old and my second one was 11 years old.

I've often wished I could buy a new gen1 style Monty and wondered what it would be like to have driven one of these off the showroom floor. Anybody have that awesome experience?

<small>[ December 08, 2002, 07:17 AM: Message edited by: whitebomber ]</small>

I could go the Hyundai dealership ang get myself a Galloper if I had the money. I guess that would feel like buying a brand new GEN I.

I did get to experience riding a brand new GEN I when I was 5 years old or so (~1985). They were government issued. They were base models (steel wheels, no electric stuff, etc.) powered by the 4D55 diesel engine.

The new car smell was awesome. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="images/icons/smile.gif" />

Yes, but not legally, so lets keep this on the hush. My dad bought a new '88 in the beginning of '89. It was the base 2.6 with a five speed. I don't think I really appreciated it then as I was 12, but it later became my first car. It was traded in soon after with a cracked head, only to be replaced by my Raider. I still miss that old thing. Ted.

I traded in my first Montero, an 88 bought in 89, for a brand new 90 4dr. Found a pile of glass one morning, insurance bought another 90 4dr for me. So I guess technically I drove 2. Never had a Gen II or newer that was new though. Would be nice, but you outgrow those monster car payments!

I drove both a new '86 and '90 [3 Liter] off of the Showroom floor and the 2 door '90 - especially - was good fun. Great pickup and turned and parked on a dime. I don't rockcrawl, but did some ancient mining and turn-of-the-century logging "roads". The '90 even towed trailer-loads of firewood pretty well and carried 4 persons REASONABLY well. But, for 2 of us and the dog with a carrier/topper, it was great. It was put out to pasture w/127K trouble-free miles on it in order to get the present '00 Sport Ltd. I thought about keeping the '90 for beating on trails, but we're building a house now and don't have time for such side projects. Perhaps the '00 will become solely an off-road vehicle in it's Golden Years.

Side topic: the Dealer just put on the deeper A/T Tranny pan at n/c at 50K miles after a single "A/T Temp" light incident last weekend while towing a ~1K lb. tent trailer and winding out at 4.5~5K RPM in 3rd at ~45 degrees F on a slight grade. The Tranny pan retrofit is now covered under the 60K/5 Year Powertrain Warranty. The Dealer was not adverse to adding a n/c stand-alone NAPA Tranny Cooler in the future - that's a Regional Manager's call - but will do so upon demand only for those towing horse trailers or having further temp problems. I intend to add a Tranny temp gauge and not get blindsided again, since heavy loads at higher ambient temps caused no past A/T overheating. The Dealer claims that, yes, flatland towing [here in CO at 5K feet] and moderate loads ARE causing A/T overheating indications and they really don't understand why. Weird, and illogical. And, no, these Dealer guys are not doofuses; they're smart and very straight with me.

Mine had 13 miles on it. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="images/icons/grin.gif" />

We had a brand spankin new 87 2.6L 5-speed in California. When we took in through the mountains of Colorado it suffered terribly in the altitude. Even the triple-hitch 18-wheelers pulling two extra trailers were passing us. It performed very well in snow. It seemed bouncier than my 88 does. Other than the high altitude power loss on hills on the highway, the memories were so pleasant, I got my current 88 last summer to begin wheeling it the way I wished I had our 87 when it was new (we sold it to move overseas).

Mitch, you beat me!

My `87 had 29 miles on when I drove it off the lot!

Was in the market for a short-body 4x4, but couldn't afford the Toyota. When I drove by the Dodge dealer and saw the Raider, I pulled in (`78 Subaru 4x4 wagon) and did the deed!

Needed it to pull 3,200lb boat/trailer. Does that just fine. Slow on the freeway up the big hills though!

Lots of low end torque back then, that faded over the years. Engine re-build brought that back.

The stock 225's, Bridgestone Desert Duellers were not that good. Wore out in 3 years, after 36K miles. Lousy cornering, lousy on the hiway. But the small diameter gave the 2.6L more "real" torque at the pavement.

The 31's really hit the haway performance hard, but the improvement in off-raod clearance is worth it.

Great rig. Really sturdy, and still looks good.

Wow, i still remember my monty when we bought it off the lot. I was 5, i still remember riding in the back while my dad test drove it. With my mom in the front. The salesman's name was John. He was kinda funny looking. I also remember going straight to the tire shop and putting Some alloy rims and 31's on it the same day we bough the truck.

Christian

Now it's mine, and i drive it, i love that thang. She treats me well. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="images/icons/grin.gif" /> <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="images/icons/grin.gif" /> <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="images/icons/grin.gif" /> <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="images/icons/grin.gif" />

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, Helv, Helvetica, Sans">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, Helv, Helvetica, Sans">Originally posted by CGuava:
<strong>I also remember going straight to the tire shop and putting Some alloy rims and 31's on it the same day we bough the truck.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, Helv, Helvetica, Sans">Hey, I did the same thing!! I drove it off the lot and right to Discount Tire. She's ridden on BFG MT's since about 20 miles or so.