Best 4X4 For Under $1,000?

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

This is something I have been thinking about for a while now. What is the best old 4x4 as is that you can buy for less than $1,000? Around here, you can find 70's and 80's K5 Blazers, Dodge Ramchargers and Full Size Ford Broncos in running condition for around this price. Most have 31 or 33 in tires, low range transfer cases and V8 engines. Some have A/C (mostly broken), and some need work, but they all have little to no rust and look like fun! Around here, there are either mud pits or trails with sugar sand as places to have fun with them. You can also find smaller SUV's with 4 wheel drive like Isuzu Rodeos and Nissan Pathfinders, but I think the solid axle trucks are the best. Anyhow, which would you own and why?


I am not definitely going to do this, but it may be fun to have and play with for a short time when I am done with the Cutlass.

 

[78mali350]

80's vintage blazer. they were the best looking blazers out there and some of them you can take the tops off the back and make it a truck basically. i was going to turn one of these into a mudder but we don't have the space.

If i could choose a pickup it would be a 79' ford. the best looking truck they ever made

 

[andrewmp6]

fsj is the cheapest for off road http://www.bjsoffroad.com/ has a 6 inch lift for 600 to 900 bucks depending on what shocks you want.

 

[R/T kota]

if you can find one

 

[Wolf001]

I had a old 1991 Nissan Pathfinder and I beat that 4x4 so much in mud and crossing rivers, it was umbellivebale!!!!!!!!!!

 

[megaladon6]

K5 blazer. it's a great off-road, mud-bogging, rock crawling truck stock! you can swap in pretty much any motor, axles or t-case you want, and parts are cheap and very common.

 

[KrisW]

I vote Jeep. I like the FSJ and have had many of them in pickup and SUV versions. They had boxed frames and with a little measuring, you can run industry standard drivetrains in them. My first Olds diesel went into a 73 j4000 truck with a TH400, Jeep gear drive dana 20 transfer case, Chevy dana 60 up front with a GM 3500 1 ton dually van cab/chassis dana 70 rear. Like I said, it's all in the measuring. Everything went in easily and there's lots of room to work.

The body parts aren't common but I like the different look. An ex girlfriend had one of the smaller X body cherokees from the 80's and a 2000-ish one. They were both great trucks and really took a beating.

And, of course, I like to be different....

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

I tend to favor the K5 Blazer/Jimmy myself as I like the way they look and the lack of shift on the fly. The majority of those shift on the fly systems seem to have issues with time, and I don't mind getting out to lock the hubs. Plus, few engines can compete with a small Chevy for cheap upgrades. Also, all of those trucks, except the Jeep have the removable roof. The later variants of the Dodge Ramcharger did away with it, but the early ones were removable back to the windshield, like the first gen (68-72) Blazers were. Trust me, if I got one, the roof would go in the back yard and a tarp would replace it because, I would never want to drive it with the top on! I also like the Leaf Springs on most of them because of the simplicity. It is one of the negatives I see in the later "OJ Style" Broncos with the split axle front end. Finally, I like the solid axle front end and want to avoid anything with a complicated independent front suspension. If I chose to lift it, it would become very complicated and expensive, not to mention solid axles are more reliable.

I really like this one for $500.
http://tampa.craigslist.org/car/590184796.html
It's all I can do to keep from over complicating things and adding another unfinished project to my crowded driveway. Here's a pic:

As for the AMC Eagle SX/4, I already have the 2wd version of it, called the Spirit. I don't really want another one because parts are hard to come by for the one I have. The big negative with AMC V8's like the Jeep usually has is the aluminum timing cover with the oil pump in it setup like a Buick uses. Also, AMC engines are not cheap to build. I know from the 360 in the Spirit. Then again, they are fairly common in the U pull it yards, so parts would be inexpensive.

 

[RITTER]

K5 Bazer, by far one of the best off roading vehicles ever and jumping vehicle. It stays very level while in mid air 😛

 

[Geesie]

Don't forget about the Scout II. IH had all the badass that Jeep pretends it has.