NJ Newbie
05-21-2009, 02:44 PM
#12
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2009
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 6
Pics? LOL! 
It's very stock-looking, and not in very good shape... it was a Louisiana car, so no rust, really, but the paint is very badly sun-faded (no, it was not a "Katrina Special", LOL). Windshield's cracked, too. The interior is not too bad, just the saggy map pockets and a few broken or missing trim pieces.
I might give it a good wash 'n' wax this weekend, try to clean the interior a bit, and even get some of the grunge out of the engine bay... maybe after that I'll post a pic or two.
It's very stock-looking, and not in very good shape... it was a Louisiana car, so no rust, really, but the paint is very badly sun-faded (no, it was not a "Katrina Special", LOL). Windshield's cracked, too. The interior is not too bad, just the saggy map pockets and a few broken or missing trim pieces.
I might give it a good wash 'n' wax this weekend, try to clean the interior a bit, and even get some of the grunge out of the engine bay... maybe after that I'll post a pic or two.
05-21-2009, 03:22 PM
#13
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2009
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 6
It is quite a leap, but I'll tell ya, that little Tracker served me very well for 8 years, starting when I needed an economical 4WD for long-distance commuting from a house up a mountain on a dirt road. Put over 100K hard miles on it in he first three years or so. That little Japanese engine is bombproof- I changed the main bearing seal a couple of times, but other than that, it was trouble-free until recently (now pushing 200K). In its prime, it would cruise very happily at 90 mph... provided I wasn't planning to turn at that speed!! 
I drove it to the Gulf Coast twice, to Wisconsin twice, and even out to New Mexico. On the NM trip, the bearing seal started leaking badly when I got into PA (Murphy's Law)... I discovered it would spit up anything more than 2 quarts of oil, so I drove it all the way out there and back (nonstop, BTW- I had a co-driver) with only 2 qts in the 5-qt sump! Even went off-roading a bit near Taos!! The whole time I expected it to die on me, but it just didn't care! Replaced the seal when I got home and it was fine. It's a geeky little truck for sure, but I can't complain about the quality.
I was happy with it, but it now needs a lot of work, I don't really need 4WD anymore, don't drive to work every day, and the Mustang fell in my lap on a "pay me whenever" basis, so I couldn't resist.
I drove it to the Gulf Coast twice, to Wisconsin twice, and even out to New Mexico. On the NM trip, the bearing seal started leaking badly when I got into PA (Murphy's Law)... I discovered it would spit up anything more than 2 quarts of oil, so I drove it all the way out there and back (nonstop, BTW- I had a co-driver) with only 2 qts in the 5-qt sump! Even went off-roading a bit near Taos!! The whole time I expected it to die on me, but it just didn't care! Replaced the seal when I got home and it was fine. It's a geeky little truck for sure, but I can't complain about the quality.
I was happy with it, but it now needs a lot of work, I don't really need 4WD anymore, don't drive to work every day, and the Mustang fell in my lap on a "pay me whenever" basis, so I couldn't resist.
05-21-2009, 03:27 PM
#14
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2009
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 6
Those are cool... probably almost as much fun to drive as a Spider. I would love to get another one some day- I dig that sexy Italian exhaust note, and a Spider handles like an extension of your body. Mine was not a good one (old and horribly neglected when I got it), but even that POS was a blast to drive. Forza!!
05-21-2009, 07:55 PM
#15
4th Gear Member
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: The Rocket City, AL
Posts: 1,881
Pics? LOL!
It's very stock-looking, and not in very good shape... it was a Louisiana car, so no rust, really, but the paint is very badly sun-faded (no, it was not a "Katrina Special", LOL). Windshield's cracked, too. The interior is not too bad, just the saggy map pockets and a few broken or missing trim pieces.
I might give it a good wash 'n' wax this weekend, try to clean the interior a bit, and even get some of the grunge out of the engine bay... maybe after that I'll post a pic or two.
It's very stock-looking, and not in very good shape... it was a Louisiana car, so no rust, really, but the paint is very badly sun-faded (no, it was not a "Katrina Special", LOL). Windshield's cracked, too. The interior is not too bad, just the saggy map pockets and a few broken or missing trim pieces.
I might give it a good wash 'n' wax this weekend, try to clean the interior a bit, and even get some of the grunge out of the engine bay... maybe after that I'll post a pic or two.
05-22-2009, 12:00 PM
#17
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2009
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 6
OK, OK... here's some pics. It will probably never look much different except for new paint, and even that will be a while as I am currently unemployed. 
https://mustangforums.com/forum/memb...rst-stang.html
https://mustangforums.com/forum/memb...rst-stang.html
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