Such gorgeous

"Just Jeepin'" (macintux) 10/24/2018 at 21:26 • Filed to: Jeep

5

17

Sweet, sweet J-series Rhino goodness. $2500!

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Nibby > Just Jeepin' 10/24/2018 at 21:38

0

someassemblyrequired > Just Jeepin' 10/24/2018 at 21:44

0

in a world of 80K AMC Grand Cherokees, how are these still reasonable?

jasmits > someassemblyrequired 10/24/2018 at 21:48

3

I’ve seen SJ Cherokees in similar trims and in similar condition as this for not much more money, some cars(vintage SUVs especially ) have a very strange price curve where pristine ones are worth a ton but a solid runner is worth nothing.

Just Jeepin' > someassemblyrequired 10/24/2018 at 21:55

2

What jasmits said. Also, there seems to be a recognition problem. A lot of people know “Grand Wagoneer” but practically no other FSJ.

someassemblyrequired > jasmits 10/24/2018 at 22:00

0

Yeah, the wife likes the GCs but I vetoed the idea, resigning myself to the fact it was one of those cars I should have bought back in the day for $1500. I should probably get on the Craigslist and see what’s around. But the J10's are routinely cheap in good, honest condition. I guess it’s probably that not a lot of people know about them, and a fair number are 2wd.

someassemblyrequired > Just Jeepin' 10/24/2018 at 22:01

0

Yeah I guess they were kind of obscure even in the day (the XJ trucks were the ones you always saw).  And they were often 2wd.

jasmits > someassemblyrequired 10/24/2018 at 22:12

0

2wd is big. Also the Wagoneer is an icon and these just aren’t, no matter how similar they appear  

jasmits > Just Jeepin' 10/24/2018 at 22:14

1

Plus in normal-land Grand Wagoneers are $15k not $80k. The $80k ones are for a  few buyers for whom money is no issue that simply wants the absolute best one there is. A good but not perfect example isn’t $60k like you’d imagine, it’s $20k

someassemblyrequired > jasmits 10/24/2018 at 23:17

0

I would want something not that great to be honest, something I wouldn’t be afraid to get dirty or have to keep away from the kiddos. But yeah, there’s a one-owner 66K mile one near me - $21.5K in nice shape. The $5000-6500 ones that need some help are probably the ones I’d really want.

Even at that price I’d be sorely tempted by the metric crap-ton of 9-10 yr old Range Rover S ports for under 10K here in DC ... 30 years newer with all the safety goodies , also a mountain goat like the SJ, and about the same amount of care and feeding...

jasmits > someassemblyrequired 10/25/2018 at 00:10

1

Or spend even less and get a proper Range Rover ;)

I spent $2500 on mine , a bit on the ‘needs some help’ side. Y ou can get a good one for $5000 or a great one for $10k. I’d honestly do any full size Range Rover over a RRS, nothing against the Sports really but either way is a roll of the dice so why not go all in

someassemblyrequired > jasmits 10/25/2018 at 12:59

0

Yep good point  if you’re gonna burn your wallet anyways... I really like the looks of the first gen but the 3rd and 4th are a lot of rig for not a lot of money.

jasmits > someassemblyrequired 10/25/2018 at 13:11

0

Second and third you mean? Fourth is the current one and those haven’t really gotten cheap yet. Steeply depreciated , but still not cheap.

Second gens and first gens are very similar mechanically actually, just air suspension instead of coils, s till solid axles front and rear. Even late Classics could be had with the air suspension. A third gen could be pretty fun and a really nice vehicle for the money but a first or second gen will be better for serious off- roading and much easier to fix.

someassemblyrequired > jasmits 10/25/2018 at 13:43

0

2013s are right around 21K here below 100K , but yeah a steep drop from there to the third gens. The second gens are probably the sweet spot, but the late Rover V8s in the Discoveries had so many issues, I just assumed that they would be even more trouble than a first gen and it would be better to go with one that has an AJ-V8.   But maybe the larger displacement Rover V8s weren’t as problematic as the ones in the Disco.

jasmits > someassemblyrequired 10/25/2018 at 14:11

1

Other way round actually, as a general rule the larger displacement Rover V8 the less reliable. Basically as the tooling wore out they kept boring it out to postpone the inevitable but there were still issues. QC issues aside(apparently some of the later ones would blow headgaskets basically brand new because thanks to worn out tooling the head or block would have imperfections causing them to not mate properly) the Rover V8 itself is actually pretty solid, actually the 4.0 in the Discovery 1 and early second-gen Range Rovers is known to be the most solid . What’s less solid is the cooling system, and being all aluminum if you let it overheat chances are you’ll warp something or slip a liner and kill the engine for good. A much-bemoaned fact among Land Rover enthusiasts is more often than not killed Rover V8s could’ve been saved with some preventative cooling system maintenance or even just the awareness to recognize a failure and stop before doing any real damage. I would be very nervous to try and maintain a 3rd gen Range Rover on my own but even a full headgasket replacement on a Rover V8 is just a weekend worth of work.

I guess what I’m trying to say is an old Rover is fun as a toy, stuff breaks constantly but it’s always easy and gratifying to fix while newer ones are actually fairly reliable overall but much harder to work on when stuff does break.

Plus just listen to what happens if you uncork one

someassemblyrequired > jasmits 10/25/2018 at 16:45

0

Yeah that is one thing about the Rover V8 - when it’s been overheated you know. I guess I’m not as nervous about the newer ones just because I’ve found the newer JLR stuff to be pretty straightforward (for the most part). It’s either dead obvious or some cheap piece of plastic has failed and you need a new part or you need to fabricate a fix.

But I think you summed up the British car experience in a nutshell - if you can swing a wrench, you get something amazing for next to nothing. If you can’t, you might as well set fire to your wallet and invest everything in crypto, because you’re going to be broke.

Holy smokes that exhaust sound is amazing . I can’t believe that’s just a muffler delete.

jasmits > someassemblyrequired 10/25/2018 at 17:41

1

That’s good that they still end up easy to fix, I do still like most of what they turn out(and even what I don’t would probably be my top choice in a category I generally don’t like, like the Velar), maybe one day if they stay easy to fix. I’ve only had it a few months and it would’ve cost me hundreds were I taking it to a garage, and maybe $100 in parts doing it myself.

Haha yeah, a good friend of mine has a Discovery 1 with a very loud exhaust(not sure on specifics) and I think the seed was planted the first time I went off roading with him and it and could hear that noise loud and clear from inside my (then)2nd-gen 4Runner following him around all day. Said friend and said D1 continued to be a bad influence and are probably to blame for my Rover ownership . Mine has a magnaflow system of some sort(came on it) and it’s a bit quieter and deeper than that but still sounds great.

someassemblyrequired > jasmits 10/25/2018 at 22:50

0

LOL it’s good to have bad influences.   Enjoy the best 4x4xfar and hopefully I’ll join the club in due time.