Do you think 1st Gens will become classics? | Page 2 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Do you think 1st Gens will become classics?

I think the Sports, especially the manuals, might have a slight niche market that makes them a little more sought after. As a whole though the Explorer line will probably fade into obscurity.
 



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I don't see them going up in value unless a niche use for them is discovered that can't be filled elsewhere. Once reason for the low price is because there are so many to choose from. As they increase in rarity, they may go up a bit, but I'd be surprised it they go up in value enough to make them a worthwhile investment for investments sake.

On a side note, I paid $1500 for my '94 sport (probably over paid) in 2011. Tranny went out, but I oped to have the tranny rebuilt as opposed to replacing the truck just because I knew the rest of the truck was in good shape and once the tranny was rebuilt, it'd be good for several more years. Guys at work keep telling me to buy something newer, but after paying a mere $69 to renew the registration, I think I'll keep it a bit longer.
 












Sounds kinda high unless that is for more than one year or property tax included. Mine is $22 a year.

Well, when everyone else around these parts are paying $300-$500 for registration because they want a car less than 3 years old, I feel good about mine.
 












I paid 85 dollars here in California
 






50 bucks/yr. regardless the of your car.

there's a precedence in our local court that says that you don't have to register your car at all, as long as it is insured. The lawyer to talk you out of trouble is more expensive though.
 






Fact is too many are in such bad shape. It's a utility vehicle after all.

The Southwestern US has old Explorers on the road that could pass as new. All depends on the climate, and how the vehicle was stored. A garaged Explorer from AZ is an amazing platform to start work on. No rust issues, everything comes apart easily... About all they need are some new bushings and maybe some ball joints and rod ends to make them handle like brand new...

High mileage, perfect body and chassis $1700.

Invest a few grand into making it as new... Install a modern HU with all the modern bells and whistles like Nav, Bluetooth, etc and you have a real truck based SUV that will last another 200k.

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/wvl/cto/4309036180.html

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I hear a lot about how folks hate all the new crap... But I see very few restoring the old stuff and making it like new for a whole lot less than what it costs to buy new, or newer...

Sure there are tons of people keeping them alive, but there aren't many people like Kris G Russell D that are doing full restos to make them as good, or better than new.
 






They are classics in my mind. Open the hood and you can see and identify just about everything. Need help? Come here.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the guy that fixes it. I turned 60 on Saturday and my truck just turned 23. Truck runs great and I can still maintain everything.
Both are in great shape.....
 












Huhhuh that arizona explo!

I just cursed when i changed brake parts on my own. Chassis and under body at all is messed with rust and ****.

20 years in Finland where they but salt and again more salt on roads october to april....


You dont do anything with good tech if your body and chassis disappears....
 






Karpov, come to our island. We have salt in the air all year. My Navajo holds up pretty well, but has a very solid base for its age. I've seen worse in German "quality" cars that where way younger.
 






Karpov, come to our island. We have salt in the air all year. My Navajo holds up pretty well, but has a very solid base for its age. I've seen worse in German "quality" cars that where way younger.

Heh. Its long trip to here :D


If salt is on the air, will it hurt bottom of car ? :eek:


Thats true that american cars wont rust bad even hard conditions when you compare those on european/japanese cars.

German "star hood" cars are pretty rotten here too.


Explorers chassis is very good for snow and **** storage.


Luckily body on frame style is stronger and better to weld and repair than unibody.
 












I'd love to see these become official classics. Sure, X's give us problems, but what classic doesn't? I'd love to go to a classic car show with my 67 Mustang sitting next to my 94 XLT.
Who knows, the SUV class could be coming. It's up to the X's to take that category by storm!
 






I like the utility, and the junkyard parts avaliability. I've been able to keep mine alive, even resurrect it from hydrolock, and use tree & chain hillbilly body work to pull both sides of the front bumper back out. It needs ball joints soon, but the body was so beat by my son that it's hard to put money into. I've been looking for another one to pass down parts from mine.
The Arizona option looks good, my '93 is getting eaten alive by rust.
The prices on Craigslist, run about the same here in Omaha area as there for rust free Explorers. might be worth $400 -600 to ship one here.
 






I love my Ex. I'm sooo sick of car payments even though the Ford Raptor is calling my name. I live in California, so the weather treats our cars well. By the way, I take my Mustang to the biggest Ford show in the US, the Fabulous Ford show at Knotts Berry Farm in Buena Park. It happens every April. Would you guys be interested in reserving spaces for our Explorers?
 






I doubt it. The Explorer is no sports car, and the only mainstream enthusiast that would consider it is the off-road enthusiast which usually will go for a Cherokee instead (TTB and transmission are not marks in the Explorer's favor, nor is the lack of aftermarket support).

The first gen Explorer is about at its lowest point in value right now I think. The majority I see driving around are welfare rides that are on their last legs, waiting for a transmission failure to doom them to a scrapyard. Us Explorer fans are truly in the minority and the general public sees them as disposable transportation like everything else these days. I don't expect values for these trucks to ever rise, honestly, though they are probably stable now since a solid and clean one is still worth the "old workhorse" average market price.

I realize this post has a negative tone but it's the way I see it. I love my Explorers though and don't mind having something uncommon. I like getting compliments from the average joe on the street that can't believe a 94 model truck has such great looking original paint. It just doesn't compute in most people's minds that a 20 year old truck could be well maintained enough to look awesome, when their personal vehicular appliance is trashed by the time it is paid off.
how do you feel about this post 10 years later? I once drove a 1986 Chevy Sprint. I thought it was a piece of junk toy. It kind of was a tin can / death trap. But it could literally get 40 mpg on it's tiny 1 liter 3 banger, Suzuki made engine. Well to my surprise one of those 1986 Chevy Sprint sold for like 10,000 dollars in an online auction.
Scarcity is a real thing. As all Explorers get dumped and disposed, and with lots of the country going electric, a pristine condition Explorer might actually be something to see.?
 



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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.
 






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