Newbie needs help

[LS1FJ40]

Thanks for responding. I hate making myself misunderstood. Hopefully, we can continue moving forward in the discussion.

Being that your profession is a salesperson, what advice to you have for me as a buyer? What mistakes do you see a lot of buyers commonly make? What is your position as a salesperson/what do you sell? Thanks!

Have cash and be ready to pull the trigger when you find the “right” one. Don’t him and haw about it. Pull the trigger.

Figure that every rig you buy in Colombia is going to be worse than rigs in the US. Based on the stories I’ve heard on Mud there is little maintenance done and it certainly isn’t performed in an air conditioned shop at $95/hr.

You’ll see a bunch of sh!t that isn’t “normal” or standard here in the US.

And go in to it expecting to spend a fair chunk of change doing deferred maintenance. I would figure $3-4K to be safe. That plus your purchase price gets you in the door. After that you can start figuring for upgrades/mods.

Don’t whine and cry when your new Cruiser sh!ts the bed. Anything that can happen has already happened to someone else on here. Don’t panic. Creator a post. Listen. Follow directions exactly as they are told to you.

And the only blanket statements allowed on here are the following:
1) 100 Series are for guys that wear Tommy Bahama shirts whereas real men drive 80s

 

[pchz84]

Go look at several. See how they start and run. Listen closely to the engine. Look for rust underneath, particularly in the rear. Look for obvious signs of a blown head gasket (sweet vapor cloud out the exhaust, bubbles in the radiator), and maybe even use a test kit (comes with a tube you attach to the radiator cap opening and a chemical that changes color when exposed to exhaust gases). Depends on how worried you are about head gaskets...

They're old rigs. They're going to have leaks. Unless they're owned by fastidious 'mud members, you're probably going to have to do a lot of maintenance to get them where you want them to be. I tell people to plan for around $2k in parts. Starter, alternator, vacuum hoses, axle and Birfield rebuild, intake disassembly and cleaning, and a cup holder. Plus all the other stuff that you find out is broken or worn.

Thank you very much. My use for the vehicle will be mostly family and coworker transportation to and from remote mountainous locations accessible by "roads". Lots of the roads are dirt out here, lots of mountain farms, and plenty of steep grades and zero pavement. Many of the 80s that are found here were used in the big cities by rich dudes until the next fancy 4x4 came along, some were used for off-roading, and others have done extreme mudding and beaching. FYI

 

[pchz84]

Have cash and be ready to pull the trigger when you find the “right” one. Don’t him and haw about it. Pull the trigger.

Figure that every rig you buy in Colombia is going to be worse than rigs in the US. Based on the stories I’ve heard on Mud there is little maintenance done and it certainly isn’t performed in an air conditioned shop at $95/hr.

You’ll see a bunch of sh!t that isn’t “normal” or standard here in the US.

And go in to it expecting to spend a fair chunk of change doing deferred maintenance. I would figure $3-4K to be safe. That plus your purchase price gets you in the door. After that you can start figuring for upgrades/mods.

Don’t whine and cry when your new Cruiser sh!ts the bed. Anything that can happen has already happened to someone else on here. Don’t panic. Creator a post. Listen. Follow directions exactly as they are told to you.

And the only blanket statements allowed on here are the following:
1) 100 Series are for guys that wear Tommy Bahama shirts whereas real men drive 80s

HAHAHAHA!! Excellent input. I'll avoid blanket statements, for sure. LOL.

I've been surprised by my motorcycle mechanic who is incredibly thorough and treats me very fair. But I will assume that he's the exception, not the standard. Thanks for the input and what to expect.

 

[pchz84]

Found and purchased a '94 80 series that was treated very well for the duration of its life thus far. Scratching the front bumper was my bad...but those things are subject to change anyways.

I picked it up about a month ago now and it needs nothing. I want to put OME suspension under it and new tires eventually...but as it stands, it's doing everything I need it to and more.

Thanks for your input in this conversation.

 

[Tedward]

You know the rules.
Pics or it didn't happen!

 

[pchz84]

You know the rules.
Pics or it didn't happen!

 

[pchz84]

View attachment 1663979

View attachment 1663956

View attachment 1663958

sorry...repeated the upload of the same photo twice.
I'll post more as I take more and add mods...planning a 2.5" OME suspension upgrade plus a roof rack. Any suggestions on what to do to improve exhaust?