Newbie seeking input for Expedition - Overland Vehicle

[FROADER]

Brian1 and Scott B.'s rigs are the perfect example for what you are after in both the explorer and ranger platforms. If I were to build an expedition rig, it would be one of those, or a 97-01 4door with the 5.0 and a manual case swapped in. There are suspension upgrades out there for the IFS that will have you running super smooth. Also with a tire size of 33 max, and not doing any 4+ trails, you won't have to worry about the reliability of the stock parts.

Definitely buy a 4wd. I will always have at least 1 4wd vehicle for the rest of my life. I always say, it's a 2wd vehicle until I hit the button (I've had all auto trans/cases in my rigs so far).

If you haven't already, check out www.expeditionportal.com for ideas pertaining to the inside of the rig, too.

Good luck with your build!

 

[halfbreedinkc]

...The window motors on the first gens can be fixed for bout 8-$10 with parts from a help section at most auto parts stores..

..Some first gens have "Bike" cables on the rear windows..If you run into that, there is a permanent fix to get rid of those cables too..

..Never had a problem with locks on the first gens but when offroading always have a spare key for lockouts...

..Manual tranny is preferred as the A4LD tranny of the first gens are delicate and need to be handled as so...Generally expensive to repair also...Although myself and many others still have the auto tranny's...

..Manual t/c is preferred but myself and others still rock the electric t/c just fine...The shifter motor has a plastic bushing in it which cracks after years and can easily be permanently fixed on trail with a piece of 1/2" hose if need be.

..First gens do have a model with manual door locks and roll up windows...It is the "XL" model...The door panels remind me of the 80's f250 style and they always have bad or missing elbow rest..These panels seem to be the issue with these models and they are extremely rare to replace..

..My 95 ranger is an XL model and came stock with twin sticks, manual door locks/windows, and vinyl flooring..:biggthump

Wow! Thanks for input Tbars, that's all good info to file away for future reference. I think the best thing to do, in the case of pw/pdl, is to just find several of each and buy 'em up as spares, throw 'em up on a shelf and hang onto them. Have a good friend who does the same thing with his Grand Cherokee - of course he went so far as to buy a complete tranny, do a complete rebuild on it, and throw that on the shelf as well...which is fine if you have the $$$ and space.