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Besides a k5

82crewcab said:
Go for the Jeep XJ or MJ. I daily drive a 99 XJ with a 5 inch lift. Drive it all week and four wheel it on the weekends. I also have a 91 Comanche (MJ) with an eight inch lift and 35 inch krawlers. I use it when I wanna four wheel fairly hard and not worry about breakage. These things are cheap and plentiful. Lifting and locking them is dirt cheap also. Just my .02 worth
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My problem with the XJ's and ZJ's is the unibody, they will eventually tear apart under any kind of serious wheeling. The steering boxes tear away, doors don't shut, etc. Any body damage will pretty much tweak everything. Plus they need tons of lift to fit any kind of bigger tire.

Just my experience, but they do certainly make decent wheelers ;)
 
38377k5 said:
Also, realize that my motor makes ~430 hp. I'm not saying horsepower is worthless, just that its overrated. Lower weight will make a rig a lot more capable than more power any day.
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So, I guess if you could build a Toy that was less than 1000lbs, it would be an equal power/weight ration to your K5, or what's left of your K5.:D (Don't get me wrong, I dig your rig:waytogo:) That was my original point, that a 22r is great for a go-kart. A full body '85 4wd Toy is still gonna be about 3000lbs, maybe even more, but I guess the axles are plenty strong if you keep the 22r. Fine, it's all about what you want in a rig, my opinion just happens to be f*ck Toyota. I'm sure you have some formula to spring on me now, right Chris?:whistle:
 
I know Ill get stones thrown at me for this but here goes.

Build a samuri with a GM TBI 2.8 v6, TH200R4

heres why I think its a good combo.
stock sami 4cyl is 55-65hp TBI 2.8 is around 130-140hp
The 2.8 being a 60* v6 will fit pretty well in the sami
its more than twice the HP but not so much to start breaking parts
A 200r4 is short enough to work with the divorced sami x-case, and way stronger than the stock sami 5 speed.
You have to have a overdrive transmission because the sami high range is not 1:1 but a slight underdrive.
And finally this stuff can be had CHEAP.
(NOTE you could use a 2wd s10 5 speed transmission if you want to keep a stick)*I think they are a T-5*

some people will say the 2.8 is junk and still others will say why not swap in a 4.3. I have had several high milage 2.8's they run forever in stock form. The 4.3 is a realy tight fit in the sami and TOO powerful for the x-case and axles. The 4.3 can be done but adds to the cost and means you would need to upgrade other parts adding still more expence.
 
I think what rig you choose should correspond to the type of wheeling you do. If your into mud than a high HP full size would probably suit you best. If rocks, go with something you feel comfortable wheeling in. I would love to have a straight axle Yota running on propane someday.
 
apache said:
You want fast and nimble with low maint? Im sure Buell would love to build a cop special.
To each his own I suppose.
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I would so love to see them build that, of course the cops wouldn't have any place to stash their donuts.:haha:
I get your point about D-C, but the XJ's were around before it was D-C and it is no longer D-C, so it's kinda up in the air right now. My feeling is that import quality isn't great any more either. Dealer support sucks IMO also, but not just with the Big 3, since I've had much better service with the GMC dealer I use than I ever got at the Toy dealer where I got my Tacoma(long since sold).:dunno:
 
throttleissues said:
So, I guess if you could build a Toy that was less than 1000lbs, it would be an equal power/weight ration to your K5, or what's left of your K5.:D (Don't get me wrong, I dig your rig:waytogo:) That was my original point, that a 22r is great for a go-kart. A full body '85 4wd Toy is still gonna be about 3000lbs, maybe even more, but I guess the axles are plenty strong if you keep the 22r. Fine, it's all about what you want in a rig, my opinion just happens to be f*ck Toyota. I'm sure you have some formula to spring on me now, right Chris?:whistle:
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No formulas, lighter rigs will be more capable.

A 500 hp, 5000 lb rig and a 250 hp, 2500 lb rig may accelerate at nearly the same rate but take them through some corners and the lighter rig will be much quicker. Rock crawling is just like that. Lighter rigs are more capable. That's not to say that heavier rigs aren't capable, but comparably, a lighter rig is a better performing one.

Power is sometimes relevant in rockcrawling, and when it is, the power to weight ratio matters a lot. IME power isn't too necessary in the rocks, 98% of the time power doesn't really matter.

Of course, tire size is a big deal too. There are times where 37's simply get swallowed by obstacles and said obstacle is really only drivable with 42"+ tires (regardless of weight). And then, bigger tires need bigger axles which means more weight, so its kind of a catch 22.


But, back on topic, solid axle Toyota's make the most capable truck out there for the least amount of money. K5's are probably a solid second.

Just my opinion of course ;)
 
What kind of wheeling do you do and how extreme do you want to get? I Daily drive a 1990 ford bronco II and I think that would make a good wheeler for someone. Lift it a little, trim some sheetmemetal, throw some 33s on it, lock the rearend, upgrade the tiny rear driveshaft, throw a winch on the front and you would have a nice little nimble wheeler for under $5K
 
muddermilitia said:
I Daily drive a 1990 ford bronco II and I think that would make a good wheeler for someone.
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The best part is you can get them for free on the "get this POS outta my yard" program.:haha:
I was kinda wondering about exactly what kind of wheeling he wanted to do, too. Perhaps we'll get some clarification on that tomorrow, when TC4X4 comes back to this and sees what a mess we've made of his thread.:whistle:
 
I just wanted to clairify that for some reason I thought he said he wanted a small rig. I dont know where I got that from cuz he didnt say anything about size LOL

I also think XJ's are great. I wheeled mine totally stock on tiny street tires for a LONG time. Funny part was the more people I had in it the better it did. I guess it was all about putting weight on the dumb tires it had.
 
Perhaps other guys can have better luck with a bronco II than I and a friend had with ours. Mine was gutless and had constant front axle/hub problems, my friends had the same front axle/hub problems and he went through 2 borg-warner transfercases. Maybe we was just too hard on them I dont know. We ended up always carring 2 hubs each with us.

Of course I couldnt complain much at the time, my friend gave $300 for both of them and gave me the gutless one so he would have someone to go wheel with. It was an upgrade from the pontiac 6000 I was driving then.
 
TC4x4 is up here in Traverse City, MI.

Also known as "rocks, what rocks?" Lots of two tracks, the Silver Lake Sand Dunes are about 2 hours away, there's some decent hills, trails, climbing, etc over by Camp Grayling, and if you go up to the UP there's EVERYTHING...with the majority of the local stuff being MUD with more MUD and a little bit more MUD. I hate mud so yeah...


Whatever you do don't buy some rusty ass POS that's spet it's entire life up here in the rust belt. Folks are still selling their restored stuff or good shape stuff they brought in from elsewhere for good prices so if you're spending the cash find something from elsewhere or just in good shape. With gas prices as they were folks were letting stuff go for half what it went for a few years ago.

You know what I drive. I'd love a Toyota but they're all too expensive and rusty up here. There is a nice IFS one over by Garfield and Front though. Had a TTB '96 Ford Ranger 4x4 with the 4.0L V6.
What do you want to do with it?
 
:whistle:

That Toyota is still sitting there just south of Garfield and Front.
 
late 80s xj

i ahd a 86 xj with the 2.8 and it ran pretty good for having 250,000 miles on the clock.xj jeeps are pretty good overall rides.i heard the 94 to 01 models were the best iirc.inline 6 4 liter runs forever.tranny is fairly strong with an overdrive.you only need a 3-4 inch lift to fit 33's and that gives you i believe 9 inches of clearance under the axles.you can get away with 35s if you trim a lil.if i wasnt building a blazer,id go for the cherokee buildup.i love driveing the cherokee around.and it get 17 miles a gallon.cant really beat that in a 4x4 that has ample power and ive never got stuck in it under "normal" wheeling conditions for a stock vehicle.
 
here's a couple of my xj cherokee's
DSCF0143.jpg


DSCF0144.jpg


HP dana 30/8.8 with 4.56's, rear welded; rusty's 4.5 inch coils and 1.75 inch spacer up front with RE 4.5 inch packs and 1.5 shackle; rusty's short arms and track bar sitting on 34" LTB's and 15x8 767's

14unknown04.jpg



21sundaycruise07.jpg


Pair of D44 front (80's Waggy front & XJ D44) and rear with 4.56, lockrite front, mini-spool rear trussed, relocated shock mounts.
Custom Longarms, Highsteer, DOM steering with heims joints, 4.5" RE ZJ coils, SYE, RE 4.5" 1462 springs with drop shackles and sitting on 36" TSL on 15x10 6X5.5 bolt wheels.

and the toyota (sorta)

toyota_045.jpg


allied 15x12 beadlocks
3200 lbs/2000 frnt and 1200 rear
38.5 14.50 tsl/sx 50% tread on back 60% + on front
lockright front locker with cromo axles and longfield ringed birfs 4.10
welded rear with 1989 rear axles 4.10
3.8 v6 B&M th350 with dual toyota t-cases
112" wheel base one link rear suspension with fox nitrogen shocks 18" travel
custom front springs with 5150 bilstien shocks
high steer trailgear arms with fj80 tre dom tierod, draglink and ifs steering box
full cage custom soft top
engine cage 2bbl motorcraft carb great on off camber trails

:D yes, i'm a pic whore :D
 
if you know how to fab get a s10. cheep, 4.3 kicks butt. and alot of the k5 blazer stuff is compatable. i bought a s10 for 350 bucks, slapped a set of fullsize 10 bolts under it along with a np208 case and been abusing it all year long
 
You've obviously never seen a S10 up here in the rust belt...


...remember he's in Northern Michigan. He's got three choices:

1 - buy a rusty POS and either partially restore it or just beat on it and hope the seat doesn't go through the floor.

2 - find a survivor someone has either kept from the elements or brought here from somewhere else and probably pay their premium for it.

3 - go elsewhere and bring a vehicle back.

I won't buy rusty junk from here any more unless it's got parts I want.
 
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