I think he's more into first gen box-style. (Not that there is anything wrong with that of course. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />)

check out the speeds towing auction tomorrow. theres a gen 1 V6 SWB in the pics.

I never drove a 'zu, but I've ridden miles in a friend's gen1, and my gen1 mitsu was much more capable. You want one with an lsd in the rear. Mine went wherever I wanted to go on 10.50-31's.

I don't know how bad the Tropper's rust around your part of the Northwest, but here in Chicago a GEN 1 Montero always looks like it's still got all of its body/sheetmetal or just some rust at the rear wheel wells, while any old Troopers look like hell. VERY rare to see a clean early Trooper here in the upper midwest. This might play into your "5" year plan quite a bit, since I'm betting you don't want to do body work. Gen 2 Montero's seem to do even bettter with fighting rust than a Gen 1.
I can't add more than the other posts, no vehicle is perfect, but the Montero's are very rugged and seem to age well for the most part.
Parts availability is going downhill for all of us, and the Cash for Clunkers program will probably scrap/crush alot of older SUVs that we could have pulled parts from. I hate the "ruin the engine" part with the sodium silicate mixture the most. Lot of money went into making the engines, alot of great machining work, and we trash it instead of allowing someone else to tinker with it and give the motors a new life.[And you just know a perfectly good,rebuildable engine gets ruined with a very crappy car all the time] Off topic,I know, but it hurts to read/watch about the program from some aspects.

rust isnt bad at all up here on either troopers or monteros. i have 2 troopers right now. the 88 is completely rust free and the 89 only has a couple small spots above the rear door. 2 gen 1 monteros and a 95 with no rust whatsoever.



regarding the clunker thing.....it pisses me off. i happen to be one of the ppl blowing them up and it pains me every time.

[ot]
Cash for Cluckers might get people to spend money, but what does it really do to make things better overall? How will make us more competitive in the world market, the next generation smarter, etc., etc. In the mean time, how much are we slamming the carbon footprint consuming new cars to replace older ones that run fine, just get less MPG?

The whole program is crap... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/ignore.gif" alt="" />
[/ot]

P.S., I know, it should be in

I just test drove a Gen-1 Montero last night. It has 100K, V6, auto trans and stock as they come. Single owner, $2700.

I'm impressed. I only drove it on the street but I can tell you right now that this motor is way better than the 4cyl Trooper. This thing has great get up and go. I feel as if the ride height was a bit taller and it seemed a bit narrower to me too.

All in all I like the machine and will give this some more consideration.

What sort of things should I be looking for when I take a look at a used Gen-1 Montero? Of course I always check fluids and the usual stuff, but is there some tell tail signs of impending doom or certian sounds or so on that should be spotted before purchase?

....As for cash for clunkers - Its hog wash. We are told that this program is to help out the economy and the environment. REALY? How does this help my economy. I can not afford a new car, nor can I afford full coverage insurance. But uncle sam is using my tax dollar to help the upper middle class guy buy a new car. How many poor folks do you see driving smoking station wagons, or working on old truck in the front yard. Their the folks who could use the hand out and could use a new car.

How is this program helping my environment. Adding motor kill juice to a motor and then running it till it seizes!?! I understand that this process produces clouds of toxic smoke and takes up to 20 minutes per motor. And according to SEMA, it takes less energy to keep an exsisting car on the road than it does to produce a new car. And looking at things from an enviro mode, how about this; It is better to reuse parts, or replace small parts than to simply scrap grind and rebuild.

So I get to help a richer man buy a car I wish I could afford, and watch a perfectly good car get scraped. A car which could have been used to keep my machine up and running. A machine that I count on to get me and my family back and forth to work. Nice plan Uncle Sam! Thanks for thinking of the hard working, underpaid, behind the 8 ball guys in this country like me. I refuse to participate in this plan and hole hartedly plan on keeping what ever it is I buy up and running. I swear that if Uncle Sam thinks he can tell me what I drive, he can shove it. Whether its a hotrod, classic collector, or old SUV it shouldnt matter. This is America and if I feel a particular car has value and is my source of fun, then I should be alowed to keep it going and on the road.

no smoke. when done properly after adding the magic juice to the engine it dies in about 30 seconds.

i get paid .3 per car (basically an oil change) and have gotten at least 5 gallons of fuel out of each one. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Couldn't agree with you more - a dealer here in KC took in a '91 with 127K miles, mistakenly posted it on the internet, and when I called on it, was told too bad-so sad, you can't have it. That was on the 3rd day after this insanity began...so I've been railing against the program pretty much from the get-go.

I did hear on one of the news shows that there is actually a loophole the dealers can use to essentially sell these "clunkers" out the back door to a wholesaler, but apparently not many know about it, let alone are taking advantage of it - it's a shame, we're gonna lose a lot of potential parts cars because of this...leave it to D.C. to screw us again.

Depending on the service interval they followed, it will be getting close to a 120k go which is tune-up, t-belt, water pump, oil seals, tensioner, etc., etc. From a stealer that is upwards of $1500. Try and haggle down if that is looming on the horizon. DIY is <$500 and a good days work for my skills.