asuflipmode
New member
Hi Everyone. I'm a bit new to the site, so please let me know if I could do anything better or differently as I start posting.I have been a Montero fan for as long as I can remember. My parents bought an 89 SWB off the dealer lot when I was in grade school, and I drove another SWB in high school. 15 years later, I decided I'd rather buy and rebuild an old ride like this as a fun project and hopefully something useful to take up to the cottage up north or on weekend camping trips.
The first thing I did was take out the old school alarm system. It was one of those embarrassing talking proximity sensors that yelled at anyone passing by to, "Step away from the vehicle!" My wife thought it was entertaining, but I work in Detroit so I don't want to offend the wrong guy at a gas station...
Next, I sent it to the shop. There's a little rust on the panels, but the underside is actually pretty clean and solid. I haven't gone to the body shop yet, but I'm sure that will be a few thousand dollars down the drain to make it pretty. I decided to put all new Cooper Discover AT3s after reading an Expedition review of AT tires where it came out on top. I like the look of the BFG KOs, but was trying to make sure I get something quiet on the highway and that will stop on a dime. AFter putting on the Coopers, I don't love the look and have a little remorse, but other than aesthetics they do ride, handle and stop great. I also need to recondition the rims at some point. I really don’t want to get aftermarket rims, as I think they cheapen the retro look. Any advice on refurb on the aluminum is welcome!
I had the engine taken apart and had all new gaskets and seals, pumps, wires, and timing belt done. I also had new steering arms and links done.
The struts were replaced with nothing fancy. I'm not planning to do any serious offroading, so I decided to go with the stock struts and coils for now. If I find that the ride quality isn't great, I'll probably upgrade to OME all around. There was an airbag leveling system in the back that was shot so I took it out. I'm also considering replacing the airbag system. The kits are cheap online, ~200, so it wouldn’t be a huge deal…any thoughts on anyone who has done this or has the system? Curious if it improves handling or stabilization, or if it’s really just if you’re hauling/towing…which I don’t plan on doing.
My plans for the car are to revamp the interior but leave that stock. It has the brown tweed seats that seem to be in cherry condition aside from needing new foam on the drivers seat. The headliner and moonroof need to be serviced, which is annoying given that the windshield has to come off to do the headliner. Hopefully the body shop and the headliner guys get along well enough to coordinate that for me when the time comes. It has an aftermarket stereo with an aux input which is nice, and I'll replace the speakers with something higher end, of course leaving the rear box covers on after the fact.
On the outside, we’re going to cut out a few small spots of rust, sand everything down, put in new rubber all around, re-tint the windows, and finish it up with a gunmetal grey color or something similar. The 2016 Wranglers have a nice color that is a cobalt/turquoise grey that I might have the shop try to copy.
I also would appreciate any insight into a safari rack. I gather that I’m going to need an XL and probably something like Smitty rain gutter clips to mount it. Anyone who has done this already and has any thoughts on the rack, let me know.
I will post pics along the way. Here are a few of it today. I’ll provide updates as I go!
