Hi Guys, This is my first post. Long time lurker though as I had been looking for an 80/450 for about a year now off and on.
Background: I have a young family (wife, 2.5 year old, bun in the oven, and dog) and we currently drive a Forester and Saab 9000 turbo. I sold a highly modified 1991 Nissan Pathfinder with 4” lift, 33” BFG’s, Arb bars front/rear, etc. etc. so modifying trucks isn’t new to me but I don’t have one currently which is killing me (as you might imagine). We live in Northern Colorado where there is a goldmine of 4x4 trails literally out our back door. I can make it deep into Wyoming crossing pavement only twice to give you an idea.
So I’ve been looking at 80’s and pretty much had my mind set on one of those….but trying to find a low mileage one in Colorado seems impossible. By low mileage I’m talking under 80K. Seems like $15K based on the ones I’ve seen…I’ve driven lots of local ones in Fort Collins but they all seem to have
100K+ and people want $12K+ still. All seem to have the normal “quirks” mentioned above like the moonroof, torn seats, etc.
So we found a high mileage 2001 100 a few weeks ago and drove it. Holy crap was it nice! Better interior, more power, etc. and just about 5K more than the 80’s we’ve looked at. Mind you this would be a family car, but I would quickly upgrade the tires, add some armor, etc. to handle the N. Colorado trails which are pretty tough. Although the Forester can do mild wheeleing, we have been outgrowing it and tearing it up quite a bit. We'll keep it as the winter errand car though since it's so good in the snow.
So I was set on the 80 because of the solid front end (and I love the style with sliding rear windows) but from a daily driver point of view you simply cannot touch the comforts and convenience of the newer 100’s. Both of our current cars have heated seats so giving that up would also be hard. I drove in today to work and it was 11 degrees out – so yes they get used a lot out here, believe me. Also, I wheeled a pathfinder out here so I am not new to the capabilities of an IFS (with upgraded torsion bars) in Colorado and never had issues on the trails. I think the guys who rock crawl and do moab, etc. would prefer the 80 series…but for 95% of us who use our only 4x4 vehicle also as a destination vehicle for camping, hunting, fishing, etc back in the highcountry of Colorado the 100 would be hard to beat. The “albert” post is a perfect vehicle for this part of the country I am convinced. Just my loose change.
Also, since I have been viewing this website the “people viewing” section on the 100 series has steadily been going up which tells me more mods will be coming and parts for the 100 series pretty soon.
So now I’m looking for a 2000 or later 100 with under 80K on it. Seems like
eBay is the way to go as they are now in the $17K range which is awesome for such a vehicle.
Hope that helps from a newbie perspective who has been looking.
All I can tell you is the 80 is a driver's vehicle. If you know how to drive on ice the 80 is a firmly planted, sure footed beast. The 100 takes most of the driver's inputs out of the picture, which can be quite dangerous on ice or snow. Once, again both are great vehicles, but the choice for me is an 80 series, locked and loaded. You can't beat it in our climate. Fire away Shotts.