Hello all,
I bought a 1991 Explorer XLT, 5spd, manual hubs and transfer case in March. I sold my dirt bikes in Oregon last year to make room and money for my wife and I to move up to Anchorage, AK for an awesome job opportunity for her. I planned to buy another dirt bike when we got here, but a couple months after moving we found out we would be having our first child, so something that can take the whole family out would be a better purchase for now. When we were living in the Oregon desert I wanted to build a super simple, lightweight, go fast Ranger or Bug, but being in Alaska now meant needing something that could handle mud and snow. My budget was pretty slim ($3000, ideally less) with having just had a wedding, a baby, and bought a house. I wanted something that I could modify to do intermediate trails and still be well mannered on the road, including sub-zero temperatures in the winters. A hard top JK or Land Cruiser were high on the list but out of my budget. A Jeep XJ was on the list and there were several in my budget but the unibody was a big deterrent for me. Broncos and Blazers were in the running but I didn't find any in time. I forget what aimed me this direction, but I started thinking about the first gen Explorers. I looked at a couple that were rusted out and falling apart and they were asking $3000. Both sellers offered to go down to $1500 but I would have rather paid the $3000 for something not on its way to the scrap yard. I found a posting for a 1991 with a 5spd, manual transfer case, and manual hubs with a new clutch and all new brakes for $1500. Very little rust compared to the previous ones I looked at and straight and clean for a 30 year old truck in Alaska. The previous owner thinks the odometer has turned over once and was at 98K. I found out it had almost new tires, about $2500 of new brakes and a clutch a year before I bought it, a new windshield, and newer radiator and maybe water pump. Runs good, stops good, shifts good, good to go. I took it home just a few hours after the seller posted it. Here it is the first time in my driveway:
I bought a 1991 Explorer XLT, 5spd, manual hubs and transfer case in March. I sold my dirt bikes in Oregon last year to make room and money for my wife and I to move up to Anchorage, AK for an awesome job opportunity for her. I planned to buy another dirt bike when we got here, but a couple months after moving we found out we would be having our first child, so something that can take the whole family out would be a better purchase for now. When we were living in the Oregon desert I wanted to build a super simple, lightweight, go fast Ranger or Bug, but being in Alaska now meant needing something that could handle mud and snow. My budget was pretty slim ($3000, ideally less) with having just had a wedding, a baby, and bought a house. I wanted something that I could modify to do intermediate trails and still be well mannered on the road, including sub-zero temperatures in the winters. A hard top JK or Land Cruiser were high on the list but out of my budget. A Jeep XJ was on the list and there were several in my budget but the unibody was a big deterrent for me. Broncos and Blazers were in the running but I didn't find any in time. I forget what aimed me this direction, but I started thinking about the first gen Explorers. I looked at a couple that were rusted out and falling apart and they were asking $3000. Both sellers offered to go down to $1500 but I would have rather paid the $3000 for something not on its way to the scrap yard. I found a posting for a 1991 with a 5spd, manual transfer case, and manual hubs with a new clutch and all new brakes for $1500. Very little rust compared to the previous ones I looked at and straight and clean for a 30 year old truck in Alaska. The previous owner thinks the odometer has turned over once and was at 98K. I found out it had almost new tires, about $2500 of new brakes and a clutch a year before I bought it, a new windshield, and newer radiator and maybe water pump. Runs good, stops good, shifts good, good to go. I took it home just a few hours after the seller posted it. Here it is the first time in my driveway:
