A Chevy Man About To Buy A Ford? Again?

[espressoman]

Yeah, I'm Chevrolet through and through but I'll tell you what...I rescued a 91 Ford Probe from a farmer's field back in 2004 that had been sitting there for about 2 years, put a battery and an alternator belt on it and drove the thing off. And continued to drive it for 2 more years without any major problems!

That kind of changed my mind about Fords.

Not that I was a hater, or thought that Fords were crap, I just thought that Chevys were a little better-built. Now I'm not so sure...

My current ride is a '94 Caprice that I have modded and will be in the shop for a bit so I decided to get another car to drive in the meantime (my wife won't share her '96 Impala SS). If all goes well, I'll be buying a '93 Sport tomorrow. High-mileage and not so pretty but that's okay since it's just going to be an A ----> B vehicle at first. Maybe later down the road I'll start modding it but for now any mods will be in the name of reliability.

Anyway, this is getting long for an intro post. Just wanted to say that this forum looks like a GREAT place to learn about my upcoming ride and I'm looking forward to making new friends here as I gain vital Explorer knowledge.

Eric

 

[Sams01XplrSprt]

welcome eric

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum!

 

[Dan Whitaker]

Glad to see our subliminal messages are working

 

[storlied]

(Shh.. don't mention the messages.. or they're not subliminal anymore.. )

Welcome!

 

[espressoman]

Must...join...elite...forum...must...buy...lift...kit...

 

[storlied]

Damn, this bug is getting worse..

 

[Dopler174]

Welcome to Explorer Forum!

 

[Glen4X4]

Welcome To The Forum!

 

[espressoman]

Thanks guys, for the nice welcome. I should be leaving to buy the Explorer in about an hour!

 

[Glen4X4]

If ya can post pics of it when ya get it

 

[espressoman]

If ya can post pics of it when ya get it

I'll do that once I get it home and knock the dirt off, might be tomorrow.

That is, if the sale goes through today...

<crosses fingers>

$700 seems to be a good deal. Has a radiator leak (easy R & R) and is missing the driver's side door panel (not a big deal). Other than that, no major issues have been reported by the owner. Replaced clutch, starter, tires and brakes in the past two years. Haven't seen the truck yet in person, only one pictue, but I assume there will be some good dents and dings in it.

 

[Glen4X4]

Yeah I don't think 700 is a bad deal neither, is it 4X4?. If so if you've read around here if it has the autohubs they maybe junk or they will be junk in the future. The door handles in the first gen explorers were well known to bust off or bust the door panel while it was breaking. Good luck on the deal today.

 

[HUA99XLT]

Yeah I had my mind changed about Fords too. I grew up in a Chevy family and always thought that Fords were junk. I ended up buying a '91 Explorer as my first vehicle because I wanted a mid-size SUV and the Explorer has slighty more room than a Blazer or Cherokee, which were the other two vehicles I was considering. Anyway, my '91 performed spectacularly (sp?), especially for a 17 year old who just learned how to drive. Kept that Ex until 2005, then bought my '99 that I have now and once again am very pleased.

Now I'm not so sure about Chevy's. My cousin bought a '97 Silverado a year after I bought my '91 Ex and had numerous problems with it, and my dad had a '94 Silverado in which the engine blew at 75,000 miles. Thought that was pretty low mileage for that to happen, especially since my dad always took great care of his truck. Oh well.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Welcome espressoman- hopefully we can continue to brainwash you into finally accepting that there is nothing built better than a Ford. I have faults too, so I won't judge you for being a Chevy guy.

Congrats on your Ex if it works out, and once again:

:ttiwwp:

 

[espressoman]

Yeah I don't think 700 is a bad deal neither, is it 4X4?. If so if you've read around here if it has the autohubs they maybe junk or they will be junk in the future. The door handles in the first gen explorers were well known to bust off or bust the door panel while it was breaking. Good luck on the deal today.

Thanks, your luck wishes must have helped...I offered him $500 and he took it. Cool.

The radiator doesn't seem to be the issue, I think it has a stuck thermostat. After 10 minutes of driving it was at HOT, so I parked it right away. Top radiator hose stays cool, so that pretty much tells the story. I just hope he didn't warp the heads on it. Seems to drive just fine. And yes, it's a 4x4 but with the manual hubs.

 

[MustangAndy]

Welcome to the forums! Your Blue Oval conversion will warp itself into a hard-biting bug here.


Member Ped5stang runs a parts thread, you can probably get a door panel from him.
http://explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=166984

 

[Glen4X4]

Cool, glad ya got it, hope your heads didn't get too hot to warp....glad it drove fine the distance that ya did drive it though.

 

[espressoman]

Thanks again for the warm welcome and encouraging words, guys. Modding...yes, I'm sure I'll catch the bug with this ride like I did with the Caprice. I'd like to open up the intake and exhaust...need to find some headers for this push-rod 4.0L.

I'm about to leave to replace the thermostat and serpentine belt so I can get the Explorer to my house. Then it's off to the bone yard to find another door panel and rear wiper motor and/or arm and whatever else is available I might need later.

 

[Glen4X4]

Have fun, I was going to go to the boneyard today to get an inside door handle and the yard around here said the snow was pretty deep so I couldn't go lol. Good luck getting the truck fixed