I lot of likes of the xj and I agree. I've had a 99 xj for about 12 years and it has been reliable and easy to work on.
I went from the stock 215's , to 225, to 235 AT, to now 30" mud tires.
Have a 3" lift for it in the garage that will go on it someday.
On 215 and 225 it was a lot of fun in the street and occasional parking lot hooning.
On 235 I've done plenty of offroad, mud and a two Gambler 500's.
On 30's it's done serious off road, a gambler 500 that was 9 hrs away in Big Bend and one rallycross.
It's a bit of swiss army knife. Haven't put the lift on it yet so that I can do more rallycrosses. The group near me has a 65" maximum height.
When my brother was looking for a Gambler 500 vehicle, we found that in Texas the cost vs quality, cheapest 4x4 were the zj's, bought a 98 commuter with 170k miles for $1600. He then hit a deer coming back from the Gambler and has replaced it with a v6 manual sn-95, to do rallycross with too.
Long rant, the xj is great if you can find one, zj is a little bigger, has a lot of the same mechanicals and seems to be behind on the jeep tax.
Good luck
In reply to Toyman01 (Moderately Supportive Dude) :
Thanks for the detailed break down! I used to follow along with the build threads on the sammy.... It might not be the best choice but the want is mucho-biggo for a samurai. I think I need to learn more about them.
I need to sell my NB and maybe my ranger to liquidate for it, I'm at 6 vehicles right now and thats probably 2 too many.
In reply to accordionfolder :
I completely understand the appeal of the Samurai. They are amazing little machines. Cheap ones are getting thin on the ground and are frequently beat to death.
You might also consider the Tracker and Sidekick. They are also very capable little machines.
1997 Nissan that will not die. Off-road only now
In reply to pilotbraden :
That looks spectacularly fun. And cold.
In reply to Toyman01 (Moderately Supportive Dude) :
i mean it still likely has heat, but yes cold
In reply to Toyman01 (Moderately Supportive Dude) :
I think the only time Samurais were cheap was when they were brand new.
$6995 in 1986 if I recall correctly.
In reply to Woody (Forum Supportum) :
Occasionally I see them for under $2k and I bought a titleless rust bucket for $300 several years ago for parts. Prices are certainly climbing though. I probably couldn't replace my rust free tin top for under $5k.
Yesterday was about 25 to 30 degrees. I was too warm wearing carhart insulated bib overhauls and a goose down jacket. It does get snowy inside. I'm probably going to make canvas doors like old tractors wear in the winter. A rear window would help too. I tossed a chunk of fire wood through it a couple of weeks ago
you wanted to get something cheap to play in the dirt......
an rc dirt truck...
