Got a Mitsu....
 

...but one more interesting than an Evo :P

This should be a fun project, and since I've trying to figure out how to add a 4WD back into my life for a while, it came along at the right time.

1991 Montero RS 4-door, one owner from Genoa, mostly garaged from the looks of the paint, certainly off-road almost never. 180k miles, blown head gasket. Runs very smooth, starts on the first turn. Auto tranny, shifts great, 4WD works great, as do the auto hubs. The 3.0 V6 has enough oomph, the EFI eliminates dealing with carbs.

Everything feels tight - the steering, doors, running gear, etc. The body is 98% straight, with a couple of dings on the rear hatch and the hint of a push on one door that I didn't see until I got it in the right light. Glass is good, windshield is recent. All electric windows and locks work fine. It has AC, a tranny cooler, and a power-steering cooler.

Owner gave to a buddy with a wrecking yard, was going to crush it for the scrap money (!). My brother found it and worked a deal for $350. Couldn't pass that up. We saved it literally the day before the crusher showed up.

The idea is to get a good rebuilt motor, replace anything that doesn't look serviceable, and turn it into an expedition/vacation vehicle. Since my brother works at a 4WD fab shop, it should be fun for us.

Pie-in-the-sky build-out plans include:
One-of front and rear bumpers, trim but functional
Front electric winch
Skid plates
Side slider bars
Quarter-panel exo tube frames
Upper body exo tube frame with rack mount points
Full-length aluminum top rack tray
Interior and exterior mods for tool storage, extra battery, air system

If I am able to put just a part of the 4WD budget into this that I was planning for a newer vehicle, it should work out nicely. Especially if I can set aside time for it.....

Starting with a clean, tight, and non-abused shell and running gear is half the 4WD battle, after messing with it some today and evaluating the condition I think I am good to go. It really looks like it lived in the garage and only came out for winter driving around town for the vast majority of its life.

This also gets back to the argument about staying with vehicles you can work on yourself.....and we aren't afraid to cut and weld on it....

Nice find. That will make an awesome expedition rig. We had a Trooper from the same era - I'd still rock that truck if I could find a clean one today. Tons of usable space in a relatively compact body, and way lighter than most US trucks.

Nice box!

Skip the exo cage. Sure, they're functional, but damn they ruin the look of anything. If you really need that sort of functionality, just build a tube frame rig from scratch.

Also, I never noticed there are long and short versions of the Montero. Are the non-sport versions just rare, or am I just totally non observant?

Nice find.

I was thinking about winches the other day after watching the Reno 4x4 group video playing in the snow and thinking it would be nice to be able to move the one in my trailer around so I could use it on my truck or whatever and I think I have an interesting solution.

My truck has front and rear receiver hitches, so why not mount the winch on a platform with a 2" mount and then I could plug it into either end. Would need to make a receiver for inside the trailer, but that would be relatively easy.

If was building a custom bumpers like you, I might be tempted to use receiver size tubing so I could put the winch on all 4 corners plus the front and rear for any extraction needs.

Mine has it's own battery box but you could wire up sealed quick connects wherever you need them.

You mean like this?

http://static.summitracing.com/globa.../WRN-68531.jpg

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/WRN-68531/

Or one of the other 11 Warn makes and sells at Summit?

http://www.summitracing.com/search/?...%20hitch&dds=1

:P

The 1st gens were boxy, weren't they? There are a lot of 1st gen SWB's running around, some of them are labeled as Dodge Raiders.

Actually, I'm not envisioning a complete exo cage, but because there will be side sliders below the doors and solid f&r bumpers there is no reason to not run tubing along the quarter panels. Because I want a full-length top tray, there is also no reason to not run smaller-diameter tubing up the A, C, and D pillars to the rack frame. That will increase stiffness and protection by a LOT, because we will weld tab bolt points to the body itself. It also allows for additional mounting points for gear in the rear if done correctly. It would be done in a modular fashion, allowing the upper portion to be removed separately, etc etc.

I took a look at a full tube-frame rig that they are finishing in the shop right now, it looks sick and bombproof. However, I still want a vehicle that I would travel a long way in, not just a Mad Max assault machine.

This is very close to my concept, actually, I found it in the Expedition Rigs thread on Pirate:
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showp...60&postcount=5

Cool! I really like the body style and color.

I should be looking for a cheap 4X4 extra vehicle too. My only car is getting up there in mileage...

I was just thinking... Scotty, before you make an expedition truck out of that thing... let's race it at Lemons! :lol: We can cruise around with the whole team inside in comfort with the A/C and stereo on, drinking sodas and posting on the internet via iPhones.

I'm in! :lol:

That's identical to the car I learned to drive in, except ours was a stick. My dad used to take me to the Galena High parking lot, face it uphill, get out and say "your turn."

Those are great rigs...should be a fun project.

Yes. I figured I was not the first to think of it but was mentioning it to Scotty for his build so :P

Tempt me not.

Oh, I have long thought about the versatility of a winch on a hitch. The problem here is that I am not really sure if I want to plan a hitch receiver into the bumper to start with. I don't plan on towing anything, mostly because the vehicle was not really designed for it, and also because I am going to load it UP with extra weight and cargo capacity.

In all likelihood, the winch will be built into the front. Especially because it will be a heavy sucker with quite a bit of line.

I understand. I am barely an off-roading toddler so what do I know, but watching the snow extractions, I could easily see a time when a winch in the front might not be helpful especially in a solo situation.

I'll pull the e-brake right before I hit the drift.