On/Off road vehicle opinions

[DeanWinchester]

Looking to swap out my jeep (locally) for something else.

Yall remember Baja Bugs? Modified beetles that would go just about anywhere. I want one. Problem, I loathe and despise the VW engine. Been down that road and wasted more money than I care to talk about.

What other vehicle would do about the same job and be equally simplistic in it's mechanics? I'm not looking for a swamp buggy, just a light nimble little trail blazer me and the wife can drive to the store or tear up an old chert back road.
Ive had my eyes peeled for a Subaru Brat but you can't find them around here.

Thanks guys.

[AlaskanGuy]

Here ya go Denosaurus..... A suzuki Sidekick.... Good gas mileage, decent clearance, and most of all, no vw engine.... Lots of aftermarket parts available.....

AG

[AlaskanGuy]

I wish something like that would work for us, but it's just too small... We use a gas guzzler..... But there are times with the amount of snow we get, other then chained up front end loaders, we are the only thing on the road.... 38's for tires, skyjacker II, dual shocks all around... And a 360 that is pretty hot... Unfortunatly, it gets about 6 MPG... So it sits parked most of the time... At almost 6 bucks per gallon, it can stay parked untill the next blizzard...

111436

AG

[DeanWinchester]

Yeah, I got the gas guzzler took care of. '07 Toyota FJ about 14-15 mpg.

The Samurai is cool but I wish it was a little lower and spread out like a baja racer.

[HarryT]

Sounds like you need a 10 dog power sled or an Argo with tracks.

[DeanWinchester]

Sounds like you need a 10 dog power sled or an Argo with tracks.

I like a more rigid suspension. The suspension on those sleds are....mush:kidding:

[osteodoc08]

You've got about as good as they come (the Jeep). If you must have a tinker toy, get an older Cherokee with the 4.0L and 4wd.

A subaru brat brat or dune buggy.....sounds like you want a miata LOL

[Pb2au]

Older Toyota tacoma.
Nigh on indestructible.

[quilbilly]

My wife just bought a Subaru Crosstrek and sold her Subaru Baja to a local dealer who then fixed it up. There is now a bidding war for the Baja. The Baja did for us (around town plus occasional limited ORV) just what you are looking for. We think the Crosstrek will do the same off road since it has even more ground clearance than the Baja plus gets 34 mpg and will be easier to park in town. Our goal with various of her crossover cars has been to be economical in town and safely get us 40 miles from pavement in Nevada (and back) for coyote calling and rockhounding.

[DeanWinchester]

Had a dune buggy a few years ago. It was great...one day a week. We'd ride all day Saturday. It'd quit on me sometime Sunday. I'd too pissed to work on it Monday and Tuesday. I'd work on it Wednesday Thursday & Friday. Drive it all Saturday, it'd quit Sunday.

See where im going? What ever moron thought a magnesium crankcase with a vertical seam and modular cylinders was a good idea? Porsche wasn't a genius. He was a friggin retard.

I missed out on a pretty cool dune buggy here locally. It had a modified Corvair transaxle mated to a small block Chevy. In a rail buggy! There's another one locally that has a Northstar caddy engine in the back but that junk is too complicated.

[Remiel]

Looking to swap out my jeep (locally) for something else.

Yall remember Baja Bugs? Modified beetles that would go just about anywhere. I want one. Problem, I loathe and despise the VW engine. Been down that road and wasted more money than I care to talk about.

What other vehicle would do about the same job and be equally simplistic in it's mechanics? I'm not looking for a swamp buggy, just a light nimble little trail blazer me and the wife can drive to the store or tear up an old chert back road.
Ive had my eyes peeled for a Subaru Brat but you can't find them around here.

Thanks guys.

They make a kit to put the subaru boxer engine in the VW chassis, more stable and reliable

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Do you need DOT street legal ?
some small towns allow ATV's and such on city streets. I know Glencoe does.

Factory UTV Polaris RZR XP4 900, RZR 4 800 Doors
http://www.sidebysidesports.com/fautvporzrxp.html?utm_source=googlepepla&utm_medium=adwords&id=92767421306&gclid=CKfhwejD2b8CFcVAMgod7hEAKg

[DeanWinchester]

Yeah, it's gotta be street legal. Certain Polaris vehicles are legal in Tn but the provisions are a headache. Can't drive on the highway and I can't get out of my town without hitting a highway first.

[leadman]

I have seen several ford 2.3L powered VW Baja's. Just takes a little bit of thinking to lay out the cooling system so it works. I had a Baja, several bugs, and 2 buses. The last bus had a 2.0L in it and air conditioning.

I built several VW engines that had in excess of 60K miles on them with just normal maintenance when they were sold. Doesn't come close to the mileage the Cummins diesels in the semi trucks I built though.

The biggest things lots of people do wrong when building a VW air cooled engine is to use paper gaskets, silicone on good cleaned surfaces is much better if the paper can be eleminated. I also used to retorque the cylinder head nuts at regular intervals so the jugs don't come loose.

The SIDEKICK should have a much better ride than the Samurai. I had 2 Samurais and my wife still has the Chevy version of the Sidekick, the Tracker and it rides decent.

The Samurai takes much less modification to make it very off road capable than the Sidekick.

[MaryB]

Neighbor has a Tracker and they loved it. Frame is rotted and so is the floor now so it will be headed to the scrapyard if they ever find the title.

[country gent]

When the sand rails were really popular there were adapters to use a pinto ford 4 cylder behind them. In the bugs an air scoop underneath and radiator mounted in the back maybe. Otherwise all you can do is look around and see what you like.

[Cornbread]

How about one of these :)
http://www.gizmag.com/watercar-panther-amphibious-jeep-acura-jet-boat-water-fun/28099/

[multigunner76]

How bout a samuri? With a little work I had a 231 v6 eased into mine, wider toyota axles, body lift, and a Ford Ranger winch bumper. Roade miles or trails in West Virginia with it. Sold it in Murfreesboro Tennessee and then bought a buggy

[Artful]

What kind of Jeep are you replacing - wagon?
Kia Sportage?
Mitsubishi Montero?

http://www.gizmag.com/the-top-10-most-and-least-reliable-4x4s-on-the-road/13714/

http://images.gizmag.com/gallery_lrg/top10-most-and-least-reliable-4x4s-1.jpg
http://images.gizmag.com/gallery_lrg/top10-most-and-least-reliable-4x4s-0.jpg

[Artful]

Dean, is this your Ad for your old Jeep?
http://saginaw.craigslist.org/cto/4561044712.html
http://images.craigslist.org/00J0J_em7edTs7nvY_600x450.jpg


93 jeep wrangler - $2350 (Auburn, MI)
I should start by saying that if you are looking for a "Pajama party Barbie Jeep" you my friend, should keep looking. If you are looking for a short description of to the beast before you, I can offer you two words "MEAT & POTATOES". This is the All American chariot of the free world.

You are not dealing with any ordinary, cookie cutter Jeep son. This thing was forged from a single block of all American Tungsten Steel. Real sturdy! From that day forward my life has never been the same. Winch yourself off that couch and see if you can handle this Jeep Wrangler Renegade.

So if you are looking for a rice burning hatch back, a solar powered liberal mobile, or even a Hyundai crossover keep on looking my friend this thing is a piece of red white and blue Americana Machinery.

This baby's pulse is pumping 4.0 liters of uncensored raw fuel through her straight six nuclear power plant. And rest assured this is no metro girly automatic. . .you command her to obey, with your calloused hand planted firmly on the shifter. And she will obey, the first time, every time. If you can't handle a stick shifter, or reach the clutch pedal, you better not skip over here wanting to test drive her. If you stall her out, then this isn't the Jeep for you.

It doesn't have A/C but are you kidding me. . ..Really! If you want to blow the sweat off your brow, you do it the old fashioned way: doors off, top down. "What if it rains?". . .You whiney kid! I told you to stop reading. . . Any man who drives this beast doesn't give a darn about rain. Not even skin melting acid rain, Cause he's already dripping wet in sweat, dip spit, and fish guts.

If you are looking for the kind of jeep that has to be parked in the garage, so the "carpet doesn't get wet and soggy" Then you should plant your Obama sticker on your hybrid hatchback. Cause this thing has drain holes in the floor to let the sweat drain out from your hunt. When you get home you can leave your "sissy sponge glove car wash kit" in the pink bucket it came in. Go ahead and spark up your 6000 psi heated pressure washer on the dually trailer in your man cave, cause you are Tim Gillespie and you can pressure wash your truck. She's got a full roll cage in case any animals you got come back to life while you're doing 80 over some mountain pass or flooded river.

And forget about putting one of those "It's a Jeep Thing. . .You wouldn't understand" stickers on this machine cause when you're spotted in this American Classic there will be no questions, no further explanation required, people will understand, and get out of your way.

If you think you're ready to park this trail riding masterpiece on your tract of land. If you buy this jeep you better go get your wife/girlfriend ready for some darn changes around your lair, cause this stuff will be happening. What will be Happening? Glad you asked. . ..

1. More chest hair.
2. You're growing a beard.
3. Meat Only Diet.
4. T-Rex for a pet.
5. You're taking a job at the lumber mill.
6. Your car carries five kegs.
8. Catch more fish.
9. Wire bristled toothbrush.
10. All male offspring.
11. Chiseled jaw line.
12. Flesh turning to steel.
13. Higher salary
14. Promotions.
15. More golfing
16. More tools in your garage.
17. Bigger TV
18. Four Wheel Drive
19. Wife stocks fridge with beer.
20. Chuck Norris.
21. John McCain
22. Steaks for dinner.
23. Winning the Lottery.
24. Building stuff out of stone.
25. Riding Lawn Mower.
26. Bon Fires in cul-de-sac.
27. Bar Fights.
28. Craftsman Tools.
29. Jay Bisset.
30. Welding stuff.
31. Digging holes.
32. Huge Piece of meat.

Put your GPS back in your purse.

Sounds good doesn't it?

This jeep has carried me through 166,000 miles of battlefield twice as gruesome as the second half of the movie "300″. . ..And just like a trusty steed this juggernaut has never left me stranded. If you think you've worn her out you drag this beast back to me in any condition. And Ill handle the rest.

But if you think you're going to get to whip this mule you better pony up $Twenty Three Hundred and Fifty Dollars. . .American Cash. I'm not selling you this car unless you are clearly a pure blooded American Species, so don't even think about it


do NOT contact me with unsolicited services or offers

:bigsmyl2:

[starnbar]

Had a kid down the street that took a ninja bike engine and put it in a one seater homemade frame dune buggy he had some electrical issues with it at first but when he finally got it running it sounded like a F1 going out across the dirt.

[AlaskanGuy]

LMAO at Artful..... Well done... That looks like an add that Deano would place on craiglist...

[dubber123]

Had a dune buggy a few years ago. It was great...one day a week. We'd ride all day Saturday. It'd quit on me sometime Sunday. I'd too pissed to work on it Monday and Tuesday. I'd work on it Wednesday Thursday & Friday. Drive it all Saturday, it'd quit Sunday.

See where im going? What ever moron thought a magnesium crankcase with a vertical seam and modular cylinders was a good idea? Porsche wasn't a genius. He was a friggin retard.

I missed out on a pretty cool dune buggy here locally. It had a modified Corvair transaxle mated to a small block Chevy. In a rail buggy! There's another one locally that has a Northstar caddy engine in the back but that junk is too complicated.

Dean, I worked for years in a shop that dealt ONLY in Corvairs. Yeah, imagine that. The one thing I learned, is if it even sounds like "Corvair" run as fast as your legs will carry you.

[starmac]

I had a friend that had a corvair pipe sand buggy, while it would go very well, we went through motors way too fast in it. I always wanted to build a sand rail out of an olds toronado, with a 455 olds, or a eldorado with the 500 caddy. lol