The Dow's at 23,000, oil is only $50ish a barrel, tax cuts are just around the corner, and Trump is in office.
F-450 Platinum Dually of course. Because F-350 is too light duty and too 2008. That's how you gotta roll in these times. Go ahead. Stretch those payments out to 10 years. You can do it.
Brian said:93gsxturbo said:If I was to go Minivan I would suggest an AWD Astro/Safari. They are great vehicles, the newest one is 15 or so years old though by now so you will end up getting a nice one from a southern state. The best part is they are 100% parts bin so parts are cheap, they are super reliable and not too bad to work on, and they hit your price point. They also look cooler than most car based vans, and you can crank the torsion keys and lift the back with some add-a-leafs or shackles and put some little 31" all terrains on it and it will look the business. Also opens up the opportunity for an A-Team paint job.
BAD idea. the astro AWD wasn't parts bin engineered in reality, it has alot of expensive one off parts that weren't shared with other GM products. Yes they shared engine,trans and transfer case with the bravada, but not the wheel hubs which are a common failure point on the front and expensive to buy (relative to other hubs)
I do agree with the miniivan idea, but would suggest the older caravans (01-10) as they typically have the 3.3/3/8 V6 which is reliable by that point and the 4 speed automatic has had its kinks worked out.
What about the AWD siennas?
The cheap route for basic cartage is a long bed standard cab 2wd Ranger. You can get solid runners around here for under $2000 everyday, often under $1000. The 6' bed helps a lot for hauling boards and stuff. Minivans are cheap too and a great solution, but they're harder to work on and (IMHO) less reliable than an early Ranger. Those things can be fixed with twine and a rock.
Hmmmm, reliable, cheap, decent cargo volume and practicality without being huge...I can think of only one reasonable answer.
#kiarondo
not to be captain obvious, but would a utility trailer and a hitch on the Supercoupe solve the problems without adding another vehicle for substantially less money and upkeep?
Unless you really want another vehicle... in which case I vote a truck.
Brian said:93gsxturbo said:If I was to go Minivan I would suggest an AWD Astro/Safari. They are great vehicles, the newest one is 15 or so years old though by now so you will end up getting a nice one from a southern state. The best part is they are 100% parts bin so parts are cheap, they are super reliable and not too bad to work on, and they hit your price point. They also look cooler than most car based vans, and you can crank the torsion keys and lift the back with some add-a-leafs or shackles and put some little 31" all terrains on it and it will look the business. Also opens up the opportunity for an A-Team paint job.
BAD idea. the astro AWD wasn't parts bin engineered in reality, it has alot of expensive one off parts that weren't shared with other GM products. Yes they shared engine,trans and transfer case with the bravada, but not the wheel hubs which are a common failure point on the front and expensive to buy (relative to other hubs)
I do agree with the miniivan idea, but would suggest the older caravans (01-10) as they typically have the 3.3/3/8 V6 which is reliable by that point and the 4 speed automatic has had its kinks worked out.
Astro van is cooler though!
I did manage to keep a 95 on the road for my parents from 2001 to 2014, the only thing that killed it was rust. They ended up with somewhere like 400k miles on it too, just doing brakes and moderate maintenance.
The front hubs are not too bad, somewhere in the $150/ea range. Certainly not enough to sway me away from one. Then again I am a poor example of buying for cheap parts, considering my other two vehicles are a diesel F250 and a Viper, neither of which is known for their cheap consumables.
ultraclyde said:The cheap route for basic cartage is a long bed standard cab 2wd Ranger. You can get solid runners around here for under $2000 everyday, often under $1000. The 6' bed helps a lot for hauling boards and stuff. Minivans are cheap too and a great solution, but they're harder to work on and (IMHO) less reliable than an early Ranger. Those things can be fixed with twine and a rock.
This is what I am about to do.
I prefer pickup trucks cause I want to haul garden stuff and that is better in the back of a pickup IMO.
Jeep ZJ. Enough room for hauling. Nice to have a back-up snow vehicle; it will climb an iceberg in full lock on all-seasons. Will tow 5,000 pounds in a pinch and 3,500 pounds nice and easy.
But otherwise, minivan. It never surprises me that over-privileged neighbors will whine about old pickups parked in the neighborhood, but never an old minivan.
I also lean towards a minivan. Especially since I had pretty much exactly the same needs. I have a 2008 Grand Caravan that I've beat on pretty much without mercy. Bought with 78K miles in Nov/2013 and it'll pass 196K during my drive home tonight. I've hauled engines, bikes, camping gear, a 900 b scissor lift... it's basically my truck. With a nice low lifting height. Working on it isn't my problem. I pay my mechanic to do that because they can do it way faster than I can and for not much more money. Seriously, while problems have been minor, it has amazed me how cheap repairs have been.
While I bought a giant E-350 diesel conversion van to replace it, I'm starting to get cold feet about the idea...
xflowgolf said:not to be captain obvious, but would a utility trailer and a hitch on the Supercoupe solve the problems without adding another vehicle for substantially less money and upkeep?
Unless you really want another vehicle... in which case I vote a truck.
Not the right solution for me. Don't want to add weight to the SC, doesn't make a good vehicle for camping, trailer would have to be pretty big to offer the same utility as even a small pickup, don't have a good place to store one, etc.
If I were smart, I'd admit a minivan sounds like a good choice because they're cheap and I know I'd never care about it enough to turn it into another project. But it might take some time for me to get on board with the idea of actually paying money for one.
Just for reference and to show you where my head is, this is the vehicle that interests me most from my limited local searching. Not going to run out and buy it, but I like the body style, the 4wd, the short box and the mod motor.
1st Gen Toyota RAV4 AWD or 1st Gen Nissan Xterra 4WD.
In reply to Jaynen :
haven't heard any complaints except the early bad engines and the premium price they demand because they are loaded only models.
Bringing this one back to life a bit. I've done more thinking and clarified in my mind what I'm looking for.
-Decided against a Subie wagon. If I were looking for a more practical DD, this would be a great option, but I'm looking for something for only occasional use. As such, I'm okay with something that can do more truck stuff.
-Decided against a minivan because I definitely want 4WD at this point.
-Decided against a Chevy/GMC because there's a big price premium in my area when you compare them to other makes.
-This leaves me leaning heavily toward a light or half-ton truck. Discounting Toyotas because they seem neat, but they hold their value like crazy. Discounting Rams because I know nothing about them and they don't appeal to me at all.
A Ranger might work, but at this point in my thinking, the front runner is definitely a 97-03 F150. I know mod motors and the Essex V-6 family pretty well, so I can't go too wrong on engine choice. The 4.2 trucks even use the same manual transmission as my Supercoupe.
Right now, the ideal combo for me sounds like a regular cab, short-bed, 01 or later (for the PI heads) 4.6/5.4 F150. Is there any reason to stay away from one of these? I've heard the spark plug stories on the mod motor trucks and they don't concern me too much. Anything better or worse about particular 01/02/03 models?
Volvo xc70 or v70r
Will said:Bringing this one back to life a bit. I've done more thinking and clarified in my mind what I'm looking for.
-Decided against a Subie wagon. If I were looking for a more practical DD, this would be a great option, but I'm looking for something for only occasional use. As such, I'm okay with something that can do more truck stuff.
-Decided against a minivan because I definitely want 4WD at this point.
-Decided against a Chevy/GMC because there's a big price premium in my area when you compare them to other makes.
-This leaves me leaning heavily toward a light or half-ton truck. Discounting Toyotas because they seem neat, but they hold their value like crazy. Discounting Rams because I know nothing about them and they don't appeal to me at all.
A Ranger might work, but at this point in my thinking, the front runner is definitely a 97-03 F150. I know mod motors and the Essex V-6 family pretty well, so I can't go too wrong on engine choice. The 4.2 trucks even use the same manual transmission as my Supercoupe.
Right now, the ideal combo for me sounds like a regular cab, short-bed, 01 or later (for the PI heads) 4.6/5.4 F150. Is there any reason to stay away from one of these? I've heard the spark plug stories on the mod motor trucks and they don't concern me too much. Anything better or worse about particular 01/02/03 models?
Not sure off the top of my head on exact years but i think thats a similiar time period to when the 5.4 had some timing chain issues. usually only show up if oil changes werent done fairly often. Most people ignore the noise on start up and just drive them. The 4.6 or 4.2 would be my choice in those years. we see alot of this era truck at work still. Aside from most all of them needing ball joints they hold up well and the owners love them. Good thing is they dont have the popularity of the OBS trucks so alot of times you can find a pretty clean one cheap.
the mod motors all have timing chain issues if they weren't meticulously maintained, they also have the spark plug seizing in the head issue. I also don't like fords. That is based on what I've seen over the years though.
If you do get F.O.R.D. make sure to do the complete timing chain setup and plugs asap, also keep a helicoil kit on hand. from what I recall, they also used ignition coils fairly frequently. (pertaining to the 4.6/5.4)
Right now, the ideal combo for me sounds like a regular cab, short-bed, 01 or later (for the PI heads) 4.6/5.4 F150. Is there any reason to stay away from one of these?
Not if you can stand the Mod motors. Just do yourself a favor and replace the coil packs in packs of 8 with good quality replacements and hell, double down and take care of the intake manifold at the same time. I just put the 3rd (that i know of, counting the original) intake manifold and a full set of coil packs on an 01 last week. That was after he drove it around pouring water out the back for the previous month or so. I guess the fact that it isn't blown up is some kind of testament.
Oh yeah, make sure and blow out the spark plug holes before removing the plugs!
I much prefer the 4.2 but i can't recall if it was offered with 4wd or not.
Why is it that you never hear about these problems in other mod motor vehicles? Mine have been flawlessly reliable. Cop cars, taxis, and livery Towncars go 300k miles with ease. Why does the same engine cause problems in trucks?
In reply to Will :
I've had mod motors in trucks and never had a failure other than coils at 140K. I own two now with zero problems other than coils on the wife Mustang at 134K. No plugs shot through the hood, no broken plugs, no continuous coil failures, no timing chain issues. Other than coils, they have all been good engines. I think I've owned 5 of them over the years. The mod motors are not my favorite engines, but they also are not the catastrophe waiting to happen that is portrayed on the internet.
The 4.2 truck engine is a tank. My last one went 420K before I sold it to a painter. I still see it around town on occasion.
To be fair, i have personally never had to repair plug threads or timing chains in a 2v mod v8.
Oh yeah, while you have it apart for the intake manifold, replace that PCV elbow at the back that always fails.
I really like the 4.2. To me, it feels very little slower than a 4.6 truck and if you're comparing 4.2/5spd to 4.6/auto it's probably faster. The 4.2 has a couple of minor issues but in general i feel it is less troublesome than the v8s. That plus the much higher likelihood of finding it hooked to a manual makes it a winner in my book. But, if you can't find a 4x4 one then i doesn't matter.
In reply to Vigo :
The 4.2 was available with 4WD. Here's one on my local CL--price seems a tad high, but it does look like a really nice bare-bones truck.
I thought the 6 cyl trucks ate their insides or something like that.
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