Do you think 1st Gens will become classics?

[donalds]

I definitely see the 1st gens being used for hunting mudding on trails
just not rock crawling

 

[mr cribb]

I see one for sale every now and then.

 

[Lazerskull]

10 years later I barely see any 1st gen Explorers for sale near me. Most of those I see on the road are in desperate need of paint. I occasionally see a creampuff, but it is very rare these days.

Sadly the Explorer, one of Ford's best offroading platforms has been seriously neglected by the print media since the beginning. I don't know if it's because the Explorer was never "all American" with it's German built engine and Japanese built transmission, or if it all boils down to the bad publicity from the Firestone tire fiasco of the '90s.

In all honesty I find it quite depressing. I have worked for nearly 30 years trying to get the word out about the offroad ability of the first two generations of Explorers. Unfortunately these vehicles are not on the radar screen of the younger generation.

I feel like this could work in favor though of anybody with a decent 1st / 2nd Gen Explorer. Personally I have a 97 and it's not a cream puff as you say but it's not too shabby either. with a little TLC maybe swap out the rear hatch with a nicer one from Pick and Pull I found, it could be pretty nice aesthetically as well as mechanically. But I'm at my whits end. Going on 2nd transfer case, I do a lot of 4x4. And I'm just trying to decide to keep it or let it go. Another complication is in CA. I have to deal with smog. I'm thinking someone in Nevada might wanna take it off my hands they can just chop off the cats.

 

[Mbrooks420]

I feel like this could work in favor though of anybody with a decent 1st / 2nd Gen Explorer. Personally I have a 97 and it's not a cream puff as you say but it's not too shabby either. with a little TLC maybe swap out the rear hatch with a nicer one from Pick and Pull I found, it could be pretty nice aesthetically as well as mechanically. But I'm at my whits end. Going on 2nd transfer case, I do a lot of 4x4. And I'm just trying to decide to keep it or let it go. Another complication is in CA. I have to deal with smog. I'm thinking someone in Nevada might wanna take it off my hands they can just chop off the cats.

Ditch the weak 4405 for a BW1354. No lame clutch to eat itself.

 

[Rick]

Ditch the weak 4405 for a BW1354. No lame clutch to eat itself.

Or if you have deep pockets get an Atlas II. 20+ years with no issues.

 

[Mbrooks420]

Yeah, if you’re not ballin’ on a budget nothing beats gear driven.

 

[CreepingNet]

Man, time flies, I remember this thread. I'm still driving my 1st Gen as a Daily Driver to this day, and less than 75,000mi shy of 1/2 a million miles and closing in fast. They're classics to me. One can always take the individual view vs. the communal view of what's classic or what's not.

Personally, I don't drive mine as a "classic", I drive it because I like it, and because it's inexpensive to repair, easy to repair, parts are still surprisingly plentiful even after the cash4clunkers culling, and It starts every morning like the sun rises and sets. I also have had some bad experiences that have made me very weary of mechanics, especially big corporate chains. So I do (almost) all of my own work now.

In my area there's about 5-6 of us still driving them around, seemingly as daily drivers. All of us have a little wear, but hey, it's a 29+ year old vehicle, you can't expect them to look brand new if they can't qualify for classic plates due to mileage driven per year. But Rick is right on me not seeing them for sale anywhere. I have to think part of it is they are in the "this thing is ancient and uncool" category.

When I last replied to this 9 years ago, I thought that the value would be going up because of what happened with the Bronco II in light of the rising prices of regular vintage Broncos. It makes logical sense, since the Explorer was originally just going to be the "New Bronco II" with a 4-door version, so why wouldn't the 1st gen Explorer be a prime candidate?

I see some of my generation (Xennials - we're between X and Millennials) getting into these, but mostly as a "Movie Car" thing with Jurassic park. There must be some interest outside that though because Donut, Hoonigan, TFLclassics, Doug DeMuro, and some of the other bigger internet channels have been doing some 1st Gen Explorer stuff in the past few years. I find the JP thing a hair annoying and after a few talks like that from *normies* I'm starting to understand what your average DeLorean owner goes through with comments about Flux Capacitors and Cocaine. The others are not really "car people", they're just young brats trying to impress the gender of their choice in something based on brand name or model name, and not necessarily what it is. That's the problem with all special interests is the young and their focus on aesthetics over functionality. Those aren't car guys, they're just teenagers using cars as a tool to get attention. Not unlike all those "guitarists" I used to know in high school who don't play anymore, yet here I am, still playing at 40.

And lastly, I think a lot of people in general have cold feet over investing massively in anything with an Internal combustion engine now for fear that the goobermint is going to make us all drive EVs by 2035 or 2050 or somesuch. So you buy a used ICE Vehicle, make it nice, and now you either have a very expensive and heavy paperweight, or the government makes you give it to them to destroy because it's "bad for the environment in the case you DO find some gas and start it up".

That's one and only thing that terrifies me about dailying a 1st gen at this point, not that it's 30 years old, not that parts could become scarce, but the fact that someday I could end up having to part ways with my vehicle for no other reason than to become "compliant" to the supposedly well-meaning in intention, but misguided in execution, eco-friendly requirements of our government to the tune of tends of thousands of dollars I can't afford on the immediate. These things are not getting any less expensive, and I'd like to own a home of my own before I die, and a new vehicle could destroy that for me.

 

[Matteo93x]

With all the new vehicles being so round and aero I do see these as boxy treasures.One for sale in my area with 50k miles for 14k.probably close to og sticker price.Thinking of selling mine lol but never find another like it.

 

[joney]

Man, time flies, I remember this thread. I'm still driving my 1st Gen as a Daily Driver to this day, and less than 75,000mi shy of 1/2 a million miles and closing in fast. They're classics to me. One can always take the individual view vs. the communal view of what's classic or what's not.

Personally, I don't drive mine as a "classic", I drive it because I like it, and because it's inexpensive to repair, easy to repair, parts are still surprisingly plentiful even after the cash4clunkers culling, and It starts every morning like the sun rises and sets. I also have had some bad experiences that have made me very weary of mechanics, especially big corporate chains. So I do (almost) all of my own work now.

In my area there's about 5-6 of us still driving them around, seemingly as daily drivers. All of us have a little wear, but hey, it's a 29+ year old vehicle, you can't expect them to look brand new if they can't qualify for classic plates due to mileage driven per year. But Rick is right on me not seeing them for sale anywhere. I have to think part of it is they are in the "this thing is ancient and uncool" category.

When I last replied to this 9 years ago, I thought that the value would be going up because of what happened with the Bronco II in light of the rising prices of regular vintage Broncos. It makes logical sense, since the Explorer was originally just going to be the "New Bronco II" with a 4-door version, so why wouldn't the 1st gen Explorer be a prime candidate?

I see some of my generation (Xennials - we're between X and Millennials) getting into these, but mostly as a "Movie Car" thing with Jurassic park. There must be some interest outside that though because Donut, Hoonigan, TFLclassics, Doug DeMuro, and some of the other bigger internet channels have been doing some 1st Gen Explorer stuff in the past few years. I find the JP thing a hair annoying and after a few talks like that from *normies* I'm starting to understand what your average DeLorean owner goes through with comments about Flux Capacitors and Cocaine. The others are not really "car people", they're just young brats trying to impress the gender of their choice in something based on brand name or model name, and not necessarily what it is. That's the problem with all special interests is the young and their focus on aesthetics over functionality. Those aren't car guys, they're just teenagers using cars as a tool to get attention. Not unlike all those "guitarists" I used to know in high school who don't play anymore, yet here I am, still playing at 40.

And lastly, I think a lot of people in general have cold feet over investing massively in anything with an Internal combustion engine now for fear that the goobermint is going to make us all drive EVs by 2035 or 2050 or somesuch. So you buy a used ICE Vehicle, make it nice, and now you either have a very expensive and heavy paperweight, or the government makes you give it to them to destroy because it's "bad for the environment in the case you DO find some gas and start it up".

That's one and only thing that terrifies me about dailying a 1st gen at this point, not that it's 30 years old, not that parts could become scarce, but the fact that someday I could end up having to part ways with my vehicle for no other reason than to become "compliant" to the supposedly well-meaning in intention, but misguided in execution, eco-friendly requirements of our government to the tune of tends of thousands of dollars I can't afford on the immediate. These things are not getting any less expensive, and I'd like to own a home of my own before I die, and a new vehicle could destroy that for me.

Considering the current pres. admin is the opposite of the previous, you never know how much progress the push for EVs by the gov't is going to happen IMO. I'd convert my 98 Ex to LPG rather than bother with an EV. Just about everyone but the gov't realizes EVs are immature as of yet. Current economics improve the appeal of any car you can DIY on the maintenance!

 

[ChildIdenticant]

I'd convert my 98 Ex to LPG

Is there a modern offering for that conversion? Only seen it once.

 

[CreepingNet]

Is there a modern offering for that conversion? Only seen it once.

That'd be my question as well. I know recall seeing Shango66 run a 92' Eddie or XLT parts donor on YouTube using LPG and it seemed to run really well on that stuff.