Buying Gen1 4dr Montero in 2020 - am I sane or not?

[drabina]

A little intro from a new member here before I get to the topic. I currently drive a 2018 Chevy Colorado Z-71 that I bought new. It is an OK truck (size-wise) but has some shortcomings that drive me crazy. I do a lot of camping with kids, drive up to the ski resorts in the winter and need to run up some fire roads when we go fishing. I do need a 4x4 with some decent cargo space. No serious offroading done or planned.

So with that said, I have came up with a plan to sell my Colorado and buy two other cars. One of them would be a 1st generation 4 door Montero as I like the boxy looks and 70/80s dash. The car would be used mostly in the wintertime when 4wd is needed and for weekend trips throughout a year. The rest of the time, I would spend driving my second car that would be more of a daily driver (thinking of buying the Challenger again). I am fairly handy with simple mechanical things (brakes, alternator, spark plugs, etc) but for a more involved jobs (head gasket, transmission work, etc), I would have to take the car to a mechanic (have a good one - read: not cheap but solid). There would be no mods planned to the car they way you guys mod yours.

Is my plan sane or I need somebody to hit me hard and bring me down to earth? Am I going to get into a constant maintenance nightmare and frequent visits to a service shop or with some initial investment I can expect decent trouble-free ride? How about parts availability? I do have some experience with old cars but they were older Chevy's with V8 engines so parts were plenty and cheap. Look-wise the 1st gen is what I am after. The 2nd gen is OK on the inside but outside gets a bit too roundy. 3rd gen looks too much like everything else. I also like some early Pathfinders and Troopers but I think 1st gen Montero is the classic boxy look that make it stand apart from all the other SUVs on the road. Of course I know that finding a decent 1st gen Montero won't be easy but let's tackle that later.

 

[borison]

1st gen. Do it. Post pics.

 

[evomaki]

That's a good question drabina. I'm mostly replying to bump this post. I think most of the folks here have gen 2or 2.5. One member worth hearing from in Irish44j. That guy has an old Raider he is fixing up. I think those pre-date the gen 1's, but he is way more mechanic/fabricator than you wish to be. The gen 1's look awesome. Gotta love the late 80's early 90's, but that is an old car. I hear the engine is simple and solid on the gen 1's. It's a 3.0L 12 valve and non-interference. Not sure what a joy it would be climbing into the mountains loaded with kids and gear. The biggest issues for me would come down to condition of the vehicle and parts availability. What about AC? You'd need to convert the R12 refrigerant, right? The later Monteros have some foibles that need solving like leaking valve stem seals, but it's not like the 80's series Landcruisers (to pick on a that ride a bit) are perfect. They are underpowered too with a propensity to blow head gaskets with the later models. I had one do that on me on a test drive, and the vehicle was almost 3x the price of a Montero. Continue your research and you are best to be patient and buy the cleanest, best example, so you can maintain it, vs. rejuvenate it. Read Irish44j's thread. Lots and I mean lots of love required to bring a ride back to nice after years of so so care.

 

[drabina]

Thanks for replying and your insight. The Montero would be a fun truck for me but it would need to be reliable enough to get me thru few snow days as my other car would most likely be a sports RWD. Good point with the AC but if if it doesn't work then I am OK. I have gone thru few humid summers here in NJ with my 1970 Chevy that had no AC. I know that with such old cars the prices do not follow blue book values but I should have a budget big enough to buy one that has been maintained and in good condition. Nothing super rigged or anything that will get me thru the zombie outbreak though but that's not needed anyway for my camping and fishing trips. I guess my main concern is the parts availability and maintenance cost.

 

[Montynv]

I love my gen 1, this is our 2nd one. First one was an auto this one is a manual. I drive it everywhere, I have a 19 Bison as well but the gen 1 is just fun to drive. I drive it up and down the mountains almost daily with the a/c. Yes its not the fastest but I can drive up in the hills going 65 to 75 with the a/c. But it can be a bit tuff when its windy, just plan on enjoying g the drive. As far as gen 1 parts, body/ interior parts can b hard to find. Drive train can be upgraded with the gen 2/2.5 montero. The 6g72 is a solid motor just not much hp, they run for miles. Not a big deal to replace valve seals but most need to be done.. Your search could be your biggest challenge, as I would try and find the one that would need the least amount of work/ parts. I think Beryl is selling his SWB and his LWB and both are in excellent condition diction.

 

[mudraider]

Come on now, you can't be serious. You are either going to need to get one that has been monitored and service to almost aircraft standards, as Beryl's LWB has and pay for it accordingly. Luck out and find one that has maintained well. Or find the norm of one that the PO has let items get past theim (AC?) and require the service, maintenance and love that a 30+ year old vehicle will require. Dependable, can be. Stay away from AutoZone/Pep Boys/Advanced for parts. I daily my 89 SWB because it is so damn fun to drive.

Sent from my pretty good android phone

 

[drabina]

Few years back, I bought a 1970 Chevy and turned it into my daily driver. Compared to i.e. 89 Montero, Chevy was 19 years older. So nothing is impossible if the parts are available and not crazy expensive. My expectations are adjusted and I know I am not buying Civic or Corolla type of car that's reliable with good mpg that will get me from point A to B 99.99% of the time.

Got the link to Beryl's Montero for sale? I couldn't find it.

 

[plh]

Daily driving a 30 yo + vehicle can be challenging especially if depending on it for work transportation ie: winter. You will probably need to search south of NJ to find a rust minimum sample as well.

 

[drabina]

Daily driving a 30 yo + vehicle can be challenging especially if depending on it for work transportation ie: winter. You will probably need to search south of NJ to find a rust minimum sample as well.

I do not need the Montero to be a daily driver. Just reliable enough for few weekend trips and handful of snow days during the winter. These days I work from home so even my daily driver doesn't get any miles on it.

 

[plh]

I do not need the Montero to be a daily driver. Just reliable enough for few weekend trips and handful of snow days during the winter. These days I work from home so even my daily driver doesn't get any miles on it.

Get it up to date on the PM, timing belt, cooling system, brakes, brake lines, wheel bearings, fluid changes etc... Sounds like it should fit your needs. Great vehicles if they have been taken care of without the high entry point of a LC. Oh - and did I say... travel south to find one. Rust sucks.

 

[RyanY]

No matter how well it's been taken care of it will still be a 30 year old vehicle, and things are going to break. The best thing you can do is to plan ahead with your maintenance and replace everything that wears - example: do the timing belt/water pump service and replace every single hose in the cooling system, have the radiator rodded out, install a new OEM thermostat and radiator cap, flush the system, and replace the fan clutch if it's not functioning perfectly. Then you'll need to plan on that type of service for every other system on the vehicle. If you're wanting reliability that's going to be how you get it in any vehicle that old.

Montero parts prices aren't Chevy smallblock cheap, but they're also not BMW/Mercedes expensive - they're pretty much the same as most other Japanese vehicle of the same era, although some parts are getting harder to locate here in the US.