Keepin the Ol Skool Alive

[Inyo_man]

My daughter is in her early 20's. She doesn't own a car, but her motorcycle was built when Richard Nixon was in the White House. Actually, since I don't know the exact build date, it may have still been LBJ. She wants to buy a car though, and I'm the one suggesting she buy a car new enough to have fuel injection and maybe even ABS, which she grudgingly accepts (she wants a small economical car, and I think early-80's Honda carbs and vacuum hose networks aren't a good choice). She insists on a clutch pedal and window cranks. Me, I have a 2016 Tacoma with every option.

My 16 year old girl and I are turning wrenches on her 1990 Geo Tracker, 2 door, softtop, 4x4.
The little rig has a manual box, no power steering, and no power brakes. 25mpg! She loves it.
The 4 cyl., 1.6L engine is really a straight forward rig to learn wrenching on.

 

[centexan]

I've always been one to build from scratch, to meet or exceed performance of newer vehicles. But new vehicles are getting so amazingly good, it doesn't seem to be as simple a choice anymore. Case in point:

I put a little 4 cylinder diesel with a GM 4L60E transmission into an old Scout 800.
The next step is linked suspension. So I went and test drove a Jeep JK to use as a bench mark (research before starting the suspension design). I was so blown away with the JK, that I bought one. It is the biggest "easy button" vehicle I've ever had off road, and swallows 15 hour road trips in comfort and fun.

Will I go back to the Scout? I don't know. It gets twice the fuel mileage, especially at speeds above 70mph. It is more narrow, and shorter. It is very comfortable to drive with the updated seating and air conditioning. It is almost as quiet on the freeway.
It uses readily available parts, and only has an ECM for the transmission (which can be over-nighted from the mfg if failed). I know every square inch of it, since I'm building it from the ground up.
But it takes a lot of weekends and evenings to build (probably another 700 to 800 build hours to complete). That is time I could be planning, and going on trips.
So I'm really on the fence. Which ever way I go, one of the two vehicles will get sold, because they are both so good at being multi-use vehicles.

Picture one: The Scout as it sits today (a long way from finished)
Picture two: The Jeep in it's natural habitat.

If I could find an affordable scout locally, I'd be all over it. I had a Comanche myself and regret getting rid of it even thought it was beyond my ability to bring back up to speed. I have an '89 suburban 4x4 and love the relative simplicity of it. I would however, love to go older and the scout fits the bill.

 

[Long Rifle]

Great pic of the Scout-between my Dad, brother and I we had owned just about every model and configuration. Learned to drive on a 1967 800 with the 266 V-8 and my first one was a 1969 304 V-8. Last one was a 1975 Scout II. The one I wish I had now would be my Dad's 1965 with factory turbocharged slant four with positraction on both axles. No intercooler in those days so it went thru a lot of fan belts and hoses in Phoenix heat. I restored a 1970 800 SR2 with factory chrome warn bumper and winch as a present to my oldest son who will keep it and hopefully hand it down to his son.

Currently in my garage is a 1959 Chevy NAPCO 4x4 pickup which unfortunately doesn't see a dirt rode any longer other than to keep the transfer case and axles seals lubricated.

 

[Sabre]

Back in my college days my girlfriend and I rebuilt an old Series Land Rover. It was very straightforward. Other than a bit of fuss finding a few parts now and then, all it took was patience, 7/16 and 1/2" wrenches, and that was pretty much it. And that thing is still going strong, just requiring the odd bit of tinkering or the renewal of a dried-out gasket. Nowadays I drive a Gen III Montero. It's a highly competent and very comfortable vehicle, but when something goes wrong it's almost always electronic.

Computers: it's a love/hate relationship. There is no doubt that they've improved our lives in ways that we still don't understand. At a very simple level, I've been able to do things in my garage and my driveway by watching YouTube vids on my tablet that I would not have been able to do in the old days. At work I'm constantly pulling up information on the computer or on my phone, information that's critically important for the welfare of my patients. My kids have access to the entire world; researching school projects is child's play.

But when my Montero blinks an error code at me and 4WD stops working, it's not because a bearing is going or because a linkage needs adjustment. It's because one of the damned computers has sensed an error. When one of the sexy MB Sprinter vans that I formerly owned went into "limp" mode it took weeks to discover that the culprit was a shorted filament in a tail light lamp!

Yeah, computers make our world better. No doubt about it. But they're sensitive, they're finicky, they get wonky very, very easily. Here's perhaps the really big part: they have a finite lifespan. And when they misbehave, things simply stop working.

Metal and grease can be renewed and refreshed forever, but in 50 years there won't be any transmission ECM computers lying around on the shelf for my Montero. Don't get me wrong, I love the thing, my family loves it, and I'll do whatever I can to keep it going for as long as possible. But when the Zombie Apocalypse comes, no one will be repairing these delicate electronics with baling wire and duct tape.

I once met a guy in the Galapagos Islands who had retired from an executive position with a large company, bought himself a big sailboat (though he'd never sailed before), and was setting off to see the world. When I met him he was getting ready to do a 2,000 mile crossing to the Marquesas Islands, about the longest ocean crossing there is. He convinced a young friend of mine to join him because he needed a crewmember (little buddy had never set foot on a sailboat). He didn't have a sextant because (a) he didn't know how to use it, and (b) he had a fancy Racal TRANSIT SatNav box. This was long before GPS; once every 60, 90 or 120 minutes a bird would pass high overhead and you'd get a fix (if it "took"). I had one of these gadgets, too. It was made in England and behaved accordingly; I think that it must have had some Lucas smoke in it. I never heard from either of them again...have no idea if they ever made it. He put their lives into the hands of that primitive little computer; I hope it worked out for them.

 

[ExplorerTom]

Check out this video on old SUVs.

[video]https://youtu.be/VsHPZJVX4R4[/video]

 

[7echo]

Check out this video on old SUVs.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/VsHPZJVX4R4[/video]

getting 404 not found on the video link

 

[dar395]

don't mind at all. im 46. its not the age anyway, its the miles and my chassis got no resale. wife says I have a salvaged title, lol.

we bought a 03 wr250 to start off with. I put pegs on back for the mrs and her and I just used it to putt around the general vicinity so we didn't have to break camp (the van) to see the immediate area. this worked great till we got into some single track trials with consequence on one side or the other (cliffs), where most cool single tracks end up. it was just a little too much bike for my tastes and lack of experience. especially when I went to go ride with my buddies that have decades of experience. not hpwise, but overall size wise. plus the wife couldn't ride it without a 2' high platform to start and stop with. she had no issues using it, there was just rarely a good spot for her to stop and start. while she didn't mind riding ***** all the time, she wanted to be able to ride it herself without having to worry about getting stranded. so we sold the wr and bought 2 pitster 160's with the money. most people make fun of us, but they are sized perfect and we have no issues getting them anywhere we want to go. easy to lift over logs etc. mines actually street legal and I ride it to work everyday its not wet weathering out. 60 mpg is kinda nice, lol. plus they fit really well on the back of our rig...

Nice looking van and bikes!, We also like to motor around and leave our van parked. Our bikes are more road bike's. The two we take with the Van most of the time are our Honda Expresses as we both like to explore town's and Cities and then our Kaw;s are a 550/4 and a 400cc nice 1980's road bikes but easy to handle and maintain, For the past 40 years we've just sat back and watched our friends as someone else stated here in the thread just payment book after payment book for the new glitz' we on the other hand love to drive for free (as far as the cost of our auto's), it's so simple and we feel we live better then most.

 

[ExplorerTom]

getting 404 not found on the video link

Fixed. Thanks for letting me know.

 

[shenrie]

Nice looking van and bikes!, We also like to motor around and leave our van parked. Our bikes are more road bike's. The two we take with the Van most of the time are our Honda Expresses as we both like to explore town's and Cities and then our Kaw;s are a 550/4 and a 400cc nice 1980's road bikes but easy to handle and maintain, For the past 40 years we've just sat back and watched our friends as someone else stated here in the thread just payment book after payment book for the new glitz' we on the other hand love to drive for free (as far as the cost of our auto's), it's so simple and we feel we live better then most.

thanks! they aren't "real" bikes, but they work very well for our needs. exploring single tracks that often dead end without much room to turn something around. being able to commute on mine is a bonus. van is a work in progress like all homebuilds typically are

those expresses are cool! i remember those from waaaay back. perfect for mobbing around strange towns. seats look cushy as well. the pitster seats are not cushy at all, lol. we get as far from civilization as possible so not ideal for us, but I can see where those would be a lot of fun. plus im sure they are pretty lightweight and easy to haul.

we sold our hillcimb and autox cars to fund the non tent camping, so we are pretty much debt free with our camp setup. not having to buy new race rubber all the time allows us to escape town most every weekend. something a lot of our friends cant swing. while we love camping with our group of friends, them not being able to go doesn't stop us from enjoying the outdoors. so we can relate, lol!

 

[Hillbilly Heaven]

Debt free and retired camping and exploring, just waiting on the check to hit the bank every month, makes for a pleasure in the late part of our life. To keep in on topic.

Having an older vehicle that was mass produced makes for less stress and worries about repairs. Being able to walk into any parts store and pick up a replacement part is key. Nothing special or unique that requires ordering from dealer. If it needs to be ordered it only requires a day or two wait while your exploring. Computerized vehicles pre 2000 are not so bad only requiring one good diagnostic tool. If it is an 80s or 90s vehicle the diagnostics are very limited. Take the time to learn your vehicle, divide it into sections and break it down into areas you can understand. Keep digital copies of service manuals that you can view on a laptop or phone. 70s vehicles just bring wrenches .