What are some of the most reliable old vehicles?

[MOguy]

if you decide to go to Old vehicle route and make sure you have a good friend with a the tow strap.

Here's my old vehicle situation of the day. My truck was used in the past primarily is a farm truck/ firewood truck. I've been working on it and fixing it up. It is running really really good,it goes and it stops great. However after using it as a semi daily driver over the last couple months it started throwing belts on occasion. I thought the power steering pulley was out of line. Upon further investigation I realized there's a wrong pulley on the harmonic balancer. My brother-in-law has a friend he thinks has the right one he's going to get it right now, my wife's making tacos. We'll have tacos and change pulley party tonight.

I like having the old truck to tinker on and for the social part as well as bringing it back to life. For me it is fun.

 

[REDONE]

Ok, I get it. Get a WJ. They are cheap to buy, cheap to fix, cheap to modify, parts are everywhere, and you'll learn the chops of wrenching without too tough of a learning curve, more like a modern vehicle than 'old iron', but still as cheap as old iron. More capable off-road than they get credit for, and plenty comfy on the pavement between the dirt road turn offs. Big enough for a guy, still big enough for a couple. Perfect for a couple and a dog. Doesn't get too small until there's diapers involved.

 

[Rachmaninoff]

Ok, I get it. Get a WJ. They are cheap to buy, cheap to fix, cheap to modify, parts are everywhere, and you'll learn the chops of wrenching without too tough of a learning curve, more like a modern vehicle than 'old iron', but still as cheap as old iron. More capable off-road than they get credit for, and plenty comfy on the pavement between the dirt road turn offs. Big enough for a guy, still big enough for a couple. Perfect for a couple and a dog. Doesn't get too small until there's diapers involved.

Diapers won't be involved until I can afford the nicer stuff. Lol.

 

[ducktapeguy]

It sounds like you want a project car. For what you describe, I'd recommend something like an older jeep. They're pretty reliable, but mostly because the aftermarket is so huge for them that modifying and maintaining them is still somewhat affordable. I also like older land cruisers, but I can tell you from experience nothing on those are cheap, so although they're great vehicles, it's probably not a great idea as a starter project. I started out with an old jeep as a starter car, then eventually purchased an old FJ40 once I had more experience and got all my dumb mistakes out of the way. But they're both great in their own way, you can't go wrong with any vehicle if it's something you really love. Except for Land Rovers

One thing you should probably realize, There are 2 different standards when it comes to reliability. There's reliable, and then there's reliable for an old car. My experience mirrors what others have said, you can have a reliable car, or an old car, but it's rare to have both. Sure there are some older vehicles that people drive around without any issues, but it takes a lot of time and money to keep in that condition. If people had to spend that same amount of time and money on a new vehicle, it'd be considered a lemon. But because it's old, it's called "character", or "soul", or "charm", which honestly is really just another way of saying uncomfortable and requires a lot of work. As Martin mentioned, 100K miles used to be near the end of life for an old vehicle. Nowadays, most cars will do 100K until the first tuneup.

I consider all of my older vehicles reliable, and I'm pretty proud of the fact that I can take them on multi-day trips covering hundreds of miles. It's almost an accomplishment to say it survived without failing. But that's not without a lot of work and pre-preparation to make that happen, and even then during the trip there's always some worry in the back of my mind that something will break. When I take my new car, the only thing I need to think about is filling it with gas. Even when I drive it thousands of miles, it's not even worth mentioning, because for a new vehicle that's what supposed to happen.

So the one thing you should really think about, do you want a project car to work on, or do you want something you can actually drive and take trips with? Most people think they're going to be able to do both, but the reality is a project car will probably spend most of it's life as a project, that's why you see so many unfinished ones for sale.

 

[MOguy]

Ok, I get it. Get a WJ. They are cheap to buy, cheap to fix, cheap to modify, parts are everywhere, and you'll learn the chops of wrenching without too tough of a learning curve, more like a modern vehicle than 'old iron', but still as cheap as old iron. More capable off-road than they get credit for, and plenty comfy on the pavement between the dirt road turn offs. Big enough for a guy, still big enough for a couple. Perfect for a couple and a dog. Doesn't get too small until there's diapers involved.

I wouldn't waste much time or money on a uni-body vehicle.

 

[REDONE]

Haha! Single issue thinking is how the world got where it is.:ylsmoke: I thought much the same thing until the XJ cut it's teeth back in the 80s. Rock crawling I might be convinced, but for adventuring over vast distances, I'll take a unibody and independent suspension over body-bushings and straight axles anymore.

 

[SoCal Tom]

If you don’t go over 33 inch tires, and find a nice rust free XJ you have a good project car. The 4.0 is simple and easy. Lots of after market support. Weld up the seams and the frame can be pretty stout.


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[MOguy]

Haha! Single issue thinking is how the world got where it is.:ylsmoke: I thought much the same thing until the XJ cut it's teeth back in the 80s. Rock crawling I might be convinced, but for adventuring over vast distances, I'll take a unibody and independent suspension over body-bushings and straight axles anymore.

I have a uni-body crossover with full independent suspension and love it. I know cherokkees and grands can be EXTREMELY cable rigs for even hard core wheeling. I just would not want an old uni-body vehicle to rebuild for this type of activity.

 

[motoboss]

2000 XJ working on an Overland build. I'll list upgrades and more pictures if I can figure out how to flip the pictures!

 

[plh]

First generation 4 door Montero.

Or even an early Gen 2 Montero. Up thru '93.

 

[zerodrift]

Or even an early Gen 2 Montero. Up thru '93.

The Montero is a great value and very capable. I've two of em now- a 2000 Gen 2.5 and a 2002 Gen 3. Initial purchase price was less than $2000 and each needed (Will need in my recently acquired 2000 Montero) about $2500-$3500 to make reliable and capable.

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[docwatson]

I bought a Jeep XJ to do much of what your are describing. Growing up, my dad only taught me how to change the oil but I was fascinated by cars and wanted to learn more. The XJ, and Jeeps in general, are great because they are simple and prolific. The XJ has a huge following so you can research how to do model specific work easily and then go do it. The 4.0 is a great learning motor because the I6 is a little simpler and it isn't overwhelming when you pop the hood. I would suggest a 97+ but specifically a 98/99 w/C8.25 so you have some decent stock axles.

 

[motoboss]

XJ for sure. They're like the KLR of the off-road world

 

[Mickey Bitsko]

Any old vehicle you want to make yours.

 

[Happy Joe]

I bought a Jeep XJ to do much of what your are describing. Growing up, my dad only taught me how to change the oil but I was fascinated by cars and wanted to learn more. The XJ, and Jeeps in general, are great because they are simple and prolific. The XJ has a huge following so you can research how to do model specific work easily and then go do it. The 4.0 is a great learning motor because the I6 is a little simpler and it isn't overwhelming when you pop the hood. I would suggest a 97+ but specifically a 98/99 w/C8.25 so you have some decent stock axles.

That's the thing running old junk you can (with a modicum of skill) change it any way that you want (as long as you don't live in one of the socialist states)
I would just jamb a disk brake Ford explorer 8.8 rear axle under a Post '95 XJ/ZJ were I willing to run a unibody vehicle, again... one of my prerequisites for junk vehicle builds is a reasonably strong frame (they last better under my level of off road abuse).

Really like a particular unibody??? ... Drop it on a pickup frame and then move the axles to fit the wheel wells..

Enjoy!