So, wanting an 80-series for decades, and haphazardly looking for one about 5-years now (Yeah, I know, I should have bought before COVID hit), finally picked one up a couple weeks ago.
Triple Locked 96 with 241K miles. The best thing is it's rust free, other than a couple little brackets that hold something on the engine, etc.
Bought is locally here in Colorado, and found it on Craigslist. It checked all my boxes except the higher mileage, but hey, the price was very reasonable. I was looking for a 95-97 with cloth seats, triple locked, and under 200K. I wasn't ready or willing to pay BaT prices. Being rust free was the biggest aspect of my search other than pricing.
It's not perfect by any means, lost of little things from the typical "D" light burnt out, power antenna broken, knobs missing off the OEM radio, to the typical scratches and dings that a 26-year old vehicle would have.
My first experience with the 80-series started when we deployed to Desert Storm, and our little group got a brand new 80-series from a local leasing agent because of the shortage of vehicles. I thought it was an awesome vehicle, drove like a dream at 120-KmH (~75mph) on the highway, and it just wouldn't get stuck in the sand, but that 3FE had to be pushed and rev'ed to keep it going in the sand. I loved the 5-speed, as I'm a manual transmission guy.
After such a long absence from driving an 80, I was really surprised how well balanced it drives on ice and hard packed snow covered roads, almost the exact same feel as my 200 series. I haven't had time to drive it much, as we've been getting hammered with lots of snow this year, and it seems like all I do in my waking hours is snow removal.
Down the rabbit hole I go, as I'm already getting another 80 from another Mud member here in a couple months. I'll let him make the announcement when that time comes.
Triple Locked 96 with 241K miles. The best thing is it's rust free, other than a couple little brackets that hold something on the engine, etc.
Bought is locally here in Colorado, and found it on Craigslist. It checked all my boxes except the higher mileage, but hey, the price was very reasonable. I was looking for a 95-97 with cloth seats, triple locked, and under 200K. I wasn't ready or willing to pay BaT prices. Being rust free was the biggest aspect of my search other than pricing.
It's not perfect by any means, lost of little things from the typical "D" light burnt out, power antenna broken, knobs missing off the OEM radio, to the typical scratches and dings that a 26-year old vehicle would have.
My first experience with the 80-series started when we deployed to Desert Storm, and our little group got a brand new 80-series from a local leasing agent because of the shortage of vehicles. I thought it was an awesome vehicle, drove like a dream at 120-KmH (~75mph) on the highway, and it just wouldn't get stuck in the sand, but that 3FE had to be pushed and rev'ed to keep it going in the sand. I loved the 5-speed, as I'm a manual transmission guy.
After such a long absence from driving an 80, I was really surprised how well balanced it drives on ice and hard packed snow covered roads, almost the exact same feel as my 200 series. I haven't had time to drive it much, as we've been getting hammered with lots of snow this year, and it seems like all I do in my waking hours is snow removal.
Down the rabbit hole I go, as I'm already getting another 80 from another Mud member here in a couple months. I'll let him make the announcement when that time comes.