New guy from MI, wanting an Explorer.

[Krsnik]

Heya everyone! I'm looking to purchase an Explorer later this year; however, it seems impossible to find what I'm looking for – could anyone help me to understand if what I want does indeed exist?

I want a '97 or newer (OHC), two-doors, manual transmission and AWD.

I can find a few '95 and 96 with the OHV engine, two-doors, Manual and AWD.. but nothing newer than that.

Did the OHC motor never come with a manual transmission option? Wikipedia states that this exists.. but between 'that' and searching online for 97+ for sale, I cannot find any resolve.

So... do these options come together from the factory, or will I need to look into getting a 95/96 to have both the manual and AWD? Automatic transmission is NOT an option for me.

Thanks!

 

[JAMES209]

I can't speak to the options questions, but when you get serious about buying, you might take a trip to Texas. More x's were sold here than any other state and there's not a rust problem here. Check out craigslist for Texas. Your welcome to stay at my house in Fort Worth. Good Luck.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! Did you check EBay or the classified section on this site?

 

[Krsnik]

Welcome to this forum! Did you check EBay or the classified section on this site?

I looked through both eBay and cars.com at first, as well as autobytel. I found one 97+ plus on here with a manual transmission; however, it was not AWD. I feel like I'm looking for a needle in a hay stack now.

And to James, I will take a look into postings based out of Texas -- thanks for the tip!

 

[Joe Dirt]

The package ordering option that was usually used with the SOHC came with an AT. You're looking for an extremely rare optioned truck, if they were even down-ordered with that configuration.

It is kind of like ordering anything with an AM only radio now...

 

[Krsnik]

The package ordering option that was usually used with the SOHC came with an AT. You're looking for an extremely rare optioned truck, if they were even down-ordered with that configuration.

It is kind of like ordering anything with an AM only radio now...

Perhaps it's a personal bias from being into and owning sporty cars.. but I cannot see how owning an automatic as truly being an 'upgrade' from a manual. Manuals provide better fuel economy, better acceleration, increased reliability - especially under load - and considerably reduced costs when needing service. I acknowledge that exceptions to these 'rules' do exist, but they are far and few between.

I looked around a bit more, and found that there are indeed a few '97s to '99s with what I want -- woot! Now, I just gotta save up and keep in mind that there are some Explorers out there that I exactly want.

Thanks everyone thus far.