What are some of the most reliable old vehicles?

[mmp3823]

I just recently picked up a 1996 Cherokee XJ. I wanted something smaller for tighter trails. The 4.0 is pretty reliable with readily available parts. You can usually find one pretty cheap though people are catching on that it is a decent off-roader and so prices are starting to go up on them.

 

[Deleted member 9101]

F150 with 300 straight six. Just as reliable as an old yota, with out being over priced or under powered.

 

[vintageracer]

No such thing as a "Reliable" OLD (Define Old) vehicle that meets the needs of modern drivers and modern traffic speeds on a daily basis.

Sure there are a few "Ole Coot's" that will pipe in with this old vehicle or that old vehicle is the best "Cause that's what I drive" HOWEVER the rest of us would have given up on driving that no driving POS a long time ago!

They don't make new vehicles like they used to for many very good reasons!

 

[plainjaneFJC]

No such thing as a "Reliable" OLD (Define Old) vehicle that meets the needs of modern drivers and modern traffic speeds on a daily basis.

Sure there are a few "Ole Coot's" that will pipe in with this old vehicle or that old vehicle is the best "Cause that's what I drive" HOWEVER the rest of us would have given up on driving that no driving POS a long time ago!

They don't make new vehicles like they used to for many very good reasons!

So true. Everyone loves to talk about how reliable old Toyotas are, you know the same ones that have chevy power and aftermarket axles.

 

[downhill]

Suburban

I'll tell you one rig that gets passed over everytime, but is a great base vehicle to build from. The Chevy Suburban. It has been in continuous production for over 80 years. Even if you are not an American car/truck fan, which I am not, the suburban seems to be built to a better standard. Maybe because it has been a fleet vehicle of choice for decades. It is built tough, has lots of room, is super versatile, and can be had with gas engines from 350 to 454cu in. There are wrecked ones in every junk yard in America, so parts are easy and cheap to find. They can also be found cheap. I just saw a super clean 1999 4x4 with 140,000 miles, towing package, 454 engine, and new Cooper Discovery tires for $6,800. That truck has at least another 100k left, and the 454 is infinitely buildable. It was in Phoenix. My GF had a 1999 with a 350 that when 290,000, and got beat to hell. It had a forty gallon tank, and got 15-16 MPG. That gave it a range of almost 600 miles. I loved that truck.

Aside from all that, a built Suburban is an awe inspiring sight. Worth a look i think.

 

[7echo]

F150 with 300 straight six. Just as reliable as an old yota, with out being over priced or under powered.

Excellent option and well said.

 

[LR Max]

Old chevy and Ford trucks. Especially those with fuel injection, even the early TBI units.

It all boils down to dealing with torn seats, broken door latches, worn bushings, a bit of burning oil, leaky seals, and worn tires after that.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

First generation 4 door Montero.

 

[Martinjmpr]

No such thing as a "Reliable" OLD (Define Old) vehicle that meets the needs of modern drivers and modern traffic speeds on a daily basis.

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Yeah, I have to concur with this.
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Here's the question I always ask when someone starts looking into this: Do you want a PROJECT or do you want a travel ready vehicle? Because unless you're a pretty good mechanic with a shop full of tools OR a millionaire, you can't have both.
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My own experience, and that of others I know in similar situations, is this: If you have an "old" vehicle (definition of "old" being subjective but to me, at least "Old" means old enough to have a carbureted or old EFI engine and drum brakes on at least one axle) you will never have a 100% "running" vehicle - there will ALWAYS be something that needs fixing, tinkering, adjusting or replacing.
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Again, unless you have a "money cannon", making an older vehicle (like say a mid-80's Toyota or Ford) as reliable as a modern vehicle is going to be a challenge.
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I know it sounds romantic to say "I don't want a new vehicle, I want an old, reliable vehicle like the ones they had when I was a kid" but that kind of thinking is more the product of nostalgia than accurate memory (our memories have a funny way of "airbrushing out" the time Dad got stuck by the side of the road with an overheated engine or a blown water pump. Remember that old vehicles had 5-digit odometers for a reason: By the time you hit 100k you were likely to need some major repairs.)
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Don't get me wrong, I love "Old Iron." If I had an unlimited budget you bet I'd have a whole fleet of old trucks or 4x4s from the 60's and 70's. BUT - when I headed off to the boondocks, it would likely be in a vehicle that is more comfortable, more reliable, more powerful and overall more enjoyable to drive, which would be a "modern" vehicle.

 

[rruff]

For instance, my buddy has an old 1990 Toyota pickup, super simple engine with the 22-RE and a manual trans.This is the sort of thing I'm looking for, but Toyotas.... They cost so damn much these days, even when they're 25-35 years old. It's kind of outrageous, really, and it is only getting worse.

I'll sell you my '86 SR5 Xcab 2wd auto cheap. Actual 70k miles. Looked showroom new 10 years ago when I got it from my mom, but kinda looks like hell now... after sitting in the NM sun and hitting a couple deer (and not fixing the damage). Runs great.

 

[Tex68w]

Like others have previous stated, I don't see old and reliable being copacetic haha. If I had to choose an older vehicle to travel long distance in and you removed Toyota due to their price point as you noted, I would probably look into an older Chevy Suburban of Ford truck. Parts are readily available pretty much anywhere and they are super simple to work on. They can be had for next to nothing and for the most part have respectable power from older push rod V-8's or straight sixes.

Out of all of the vehicles I have owned, the most consistent and reliable of them all was the 4.0L straight-six in my 90's Jeeps. It wouldn't get you anywhere fast and it wasn't exactly fuel efficient, but it had decent torque, was super simple to work on, and was not much different than a tractor, simplicity at its finest. Unfortunately most of those motors are found in older uni-body vehicles which would personally give me pause, but I wouldn't rule them out.

 

[SoCal Tom]

No such thing as a "Reliable" OLD (Define Old) vehicle that meets the needs of modern drivers and modern traffic speeds on a daily basis.

Sure there are a few "Ole Coot's" that will pipe in with this old vehicle or that old vehicle is the best "Cause that's what I drive" HOWEVER the rest of us would have given up on driving that no driving POS a long time ago!

They don't make new vehicles like they used to for many very good reasons!

X2. I drove a 1967 Bronco, with a EFI 5.0HO and 4r70W trans. That thing required constant maintenance, and was leaking beast. I loved it, but its no where near as turn key reliable as the 2007 JKU I'm driving now.

 

[MOguy]

I have a 1979 Chevy pickup that I have been working on for a while. It runs and drives great, now it needs the cosmetic touches. I have friends with similar age Ford Trucks. You can go back and forth all day on which is better. I think the big advantage with Chevy is parts. Chevy didn't change crap every few years like for ford did. Parts are much easier to find with the Chevy then the Ford.

It seems Chevy trucks, Jeep Wranglers and VW bugs have the largest following and the greatest abundance of available parts.

The smaller Toyota P/U seem to have a great following. I have bought a couple but rust seems to be a bigger issue with them compared to other vehicles.

 

[Scrapdaddy]

I want to spend more refurbishing something mechanically simple than buying new.


Here's the OP's first words, so he does want to work on something, not just drive it. My answer would be, make it reliable. Spend your money on rebuilding something you like. New pickups are $50 to 100 grand now, that leaves you plenty of play money to build what you need.

 

[Rachmaninoff]

I want to spend more refurbishing something mechanically simple than buying new.


Here's the OP's first words, so he does want to work on something, not just drive it. My answer would be, make it reliable. Spend your money on rebuilding something you like. New pickups are $50 to 100 grand now, that leaves you plenty of play money to build what you need.

Yes, I do want something to work on that I can just take to a mechanic if I **** it up while I'm trying to work on it, or if there's too much to do on it. I think I'll use this to elaborate on my plan in the OP:

1. Get out of school, save up a little, buy an old cheap, but most importantly awesome vehicle that I can weekend camp with and learn to wrench on, but not depend on it as my daily driver. This I can use to improve my skills for future trips for on the spot wrenching that might need to be done.

2. As my financial situation improves, I can start to do more to the vehicle that allows me to take it on longer trips and put more into it and make it truly my own. It would stay in this state for a while.

3. Eventually I'll just buy something nice like a new Taco, Wrangler or ZR2, but that will be a while. And, then I'll have a spare vehicle that I know how to work on for fun trips with perhaps multiple people who don't necessarily have a rig.