off road/ winter beater project suggestions...

[stefan]

Mazda b2600!!!!

[wybnrml]

Chevy LUV. We had one and we took it everywhere. It did really well offroad. Then we lost it in a flood, it was underwater for 3 days.

[thered56]

i have been thinking of [Mazda B series] for some time now...with a fe3

This gets my vote! The 10:1 C/R FE3? I wanna see this for sure! I also wanna see the 300 in the Ranger, sounds real sweet man. I love the 300. Great engine.

[SimonTuffGuy]

Why not get a Jeep?



Perks:
Great offroad
Inline 6 is nearly indestructible
Holds value really well
Easy to mod
Capable, even in a very stock form (toss some BFG A/T's on and you're good to go)

Cons:
They hold their value well, so more expensive
I6 gas mileage isn't great
Wranglers don't have a ton of space... An XJ would be a good fit if you need space

[thered56]

^^ It never crossed my mind, but I loved my Jeep Commanche. It had the I6. What a great engine. A Commanche would be cheaper than a YJ (as that generation of Wrangler is called the Canada), and have a box (I'd go for the shortbox).

[villageidiot]

id go with a toyota or samurai, with a vw diesel conversion

[Ford Fester]

"Four banger, low range, decent mileage, and tough as heck." I'm not sure if your're gonna find that in one package. I think Fester's mpg with the Four Runner is unique. The few guys that I knew with 4 cyl. Four Runners were lucky to touch 20 mpg. Since it is a beater, maybe not consider the MPG part as much of the equation and you can get a decent older fullsize pickup for much less than a Toyota or Suzuki. The lower cost will offset the MPG savings you would get with the higher priced vehicle and with the right tires will take you into the bush.

Banana, I'd love to see pics of that 300 in the Ranger. I was considering a 300 for a project in the past but sold it.

27 was babying it

[sasquatch]

i would like a jeep comanche, i think they are awesome... but are rare as heck and would kill me on gas...

[Banana Bonanza]

Banana, I'd love to see pics of that 300 in the Ranger. I was considering a 300 for a project in the past but sold it.

I had pics up on Fordsix.com website and on another but after people stopped clicking on the thread I posted them in, the free pic hosting site disappeared them for lack of use. I had posted pretty detailed pics of how I built it. Then my hard drive crashed last summer taking my copies with it.

So best I can do is take couple new pics of it currently with hood up and post here. Try and do it in next day or two.

There is one other Ranger with a 300 and pics posted that I found, but that guy used a 3 inch body lift which makes life much easier. He did nice job of it though. Not sure if his pics are still up either.

The worst regret was I used 3spd and d20 transfer case from an early bronco. No overdrive and the 300 just not a revving kind of engine. So I am having to push it to 3000 rpm to go 60mph. It would be ever so much happier to cruise 60 at 1500rpm. Plenty of power to do it, just not the gearing. The 3 spd and d20 is perfect size fit for Ranger chassis, I couldnt get much bigger tranny in the space and the light duty stuff wouldnt hold up to the 300.

[Banana Bonanza]

27 was babying it

Its possible, I know those with 4cyl Wrangler Jeeps all stock could get 25mpg, but they had to really baby it ALL THE TIME.

Some BroncoII people claimed they regularly got 25mpg with the 2.9 (fuel injected)V6 and 5 spd. I highly doubt it after my experiences with the 2.8 (carbureted)V6 in Ranger.

The sad truth is most small 4wds, unless really small like Samari and Sidekick, may get 1 or 2 mpg above what a full size pickup/suv gets, generally 20 to 22 at best.

[SimonTuffGuy]

I know fuel mileage is going to be a deciding factor... But how much are you going to HAVE to drive it? All 3-4~ months of winter time, or just on an "as needed" basis?

I only use my Jeep when I need to, or for off-roading, etc. ... But when it' only gets 12 MPG, there's a reason behind it... I think some of that has to do with the snorkel and 33's on stock gears... But, it still works fine.

[25Horseplay]

If you want something different how about a Suzuki X90?

[leapin]

4x4 and fuel milage dont like each other. You try with a 4 cyl but its working so hard all the time to turn all that drivetrain. Then a larger V6 has the power to run but it makes the power by burning the gas.

I had a 83 Toyota pick up with the 22R, and with the 33's it was working hard. And it was a built motor.

[mckabe]

Mitsubishi montero

[thered56]

Some BroncoII people claimed they regularly got 25mpg with the 2.9 (fuel injected)V6 and 5 spd. I highly doubt it after my experiences with the 2.8 (carbureted)V6 in Ranger.

I don't buy it. I managed to squeeze 26mpg out of my 2WD Ranger with the 2.9L. This was with very tall gearing on highway driving. By very tall gearing, I mean to say I was revving at 1500rpm in 5th at 90kph (56mph). The rear end was replaced, and obviously mismatched! haha