Your opinions on a good pre-1995 beater car/truck/vans

[Torn Mind]

I am in Maryland, where I can get cheaper and less hassle-laden tags on vehicles older than 20 years old.

Info on ease of repair, insurance costs, gas mileage would all be appreciated.

 

[WoodButcher]

I have liked the Astro Safari vans since forever. I have two Safari.
Insurance is cheap. They are peppy little trucks, come either AWD or 2WD and if they were maintained the 4.3 motor will last a long time.

I do all my own repair and won't tell you they're easy to work on. I can pull the doghouse in just a few minutes yet I have heard from others who were completely baffled. Like any vehicle there are tricks that come with practice.
My '97 2WD is the beater, my work van. I've had it since '00, done the lower intake manifold gasket and installed a rebuilt trans, rear end, and so many other parts that it has been pretty much rebuilt from head to toe except for the engine.
280,000 and it still runs strong but the New England winter salt is finally winning the war.
Running around fully loaded if not overloaded all it's life my mileage was below average for these vans which typically is 15-18 MPG.
for utility the only thing better is a bigger van.

My '93 is my project van, 6 passenger + driver, (does that make a 7 pass?) 2WD.
I put a 350 SBC this past fall so the MPG aren't really part of the equation, I got around 10.5 the only time I tracked it, I prefer smiles per gallon in this one.
Here is a link to my build thread-
http://www.astrosafari.com/viewtopic.php?f=127&t=17922

Lots of good info on that forum if the astro interests you. V8 swaps, lowering, lifting, AWD >4WD conversions, campers, tow rigs you name it, it's been done to an astro.

 

[schmuckley]

1995/6 Chevy 1/2-3/4 ton PU

 

[NutBucket]

Easy, Toyota pickup. 22RE is indestructible! Also, early 90s Accord and Camrys are excellent. Of course, the hard part is finding these cars in decent condition without an outrageous price tag.

 

[thedarkwolf]

The toyotas 22re blows headgasket and rust like crazy and are still super expensive. I bought a 91 nissan 2.4l 5 speed 2wd 91k miles in great shape for the same price I could get a rusty 200k mile toyota back when I was looking at little trucks. The nissans also rust though. The best beater I ever owned and what replaced the nissan was an 89 dodge caravan 4 banger turbo. It was a BEATER!!! but everything worked and it ran great plus those old 4 banger chryslers are dirt cheap to fix and easy to work on. They also blow headgaskets and rust but at least they are cheap lol. Had that thing for 12 years mainly because it wasn't worth enough to bother selling and it was just super handy having around.

If I were buying something a long those lines today I'd probably look for an 90ish ford f-150 with the 300 straight 6 and 4/5 speed manual trans. Indestructible, cheap to buy, cheap to fix, parts everywhere, and pretty easy to find but not the greatest gas mileage.

 

[NutBucket]

What's rust?

 

[Belegost]

If you're looking more for a passenger car, the 91-95 Sentra with the GA16DE is pretty solid, especially with the manual transmission. Easy to work on, and the engine was used for like 8 years so parts are easy to come by. Only real issue that might come up at this age is the timing chain guides wearing. Replacing them isn't particularly difficult, though it requires a bit of work getting to them and then putting everything back.

When I got rid of mine 3-4 years ago, I was still getting 28-30 mpg from it.

 

[Torn Mind]

I have liked the Astro Safari vans since forever. I have two Safari.
Insurance is cheap. They are peppy little trucks, come either AWD or 2WD and if they were maintained the 4.3 motor will last a long time.

I do all my own repair and won't tell you they're easy to work on. I can pull the doghouse in just a few minutes yet I have heard from others who were completely baffled. Like any vehicle there are tricks that come with practice.
My '97 2WD is the beater, my work van. I've had it since '00, done the lower intake manifold gasket and installed a rebuilt trans, rear end, and so many other parts that it has been pretty much rebuilt from head to toe except for the engine.
280,000 and it still runs strong but the New England winter salt is finally winning the war.
Running around fully loaded if not overloaded all it's life my mileage was below average for these vans which typically is 15-18 MPG.
for utility the only thing better is a bigger van.

My '93 is my project van, 6 passenger + driver, (does that make a 7 pass?) 2WD.
I put a 350 SBC this past fall so the MPG aren't really part of the equation, I got around 10.5 the only time I tracked it, I prefer smiles per gallon in this one.
Here is a link to my build thread-
http://www.astrosafari.com/viewtopic.php?f=127&t=17922

Lots of good info on that forum if the astro interests you. V8 swaps, lowering, lifting, AWD >4WD conversions, campers, tow rigs you name it, it's been done to an astro.

Astro has been on my radar. The minivan class in general piqued my interested due to insurance, but I wasn't aware of Astros until only recently. My mom already got a G20 van with the same tranny and engine for $500, so if I get an Astro, I've got a spare tranny and engine. :awe: The official repair manual on Ebay for the G20 vans was cheap and I bought some, and it has info on the 4.3L engine and its related tranny.

 

[Torn Mind]

Easy, Toyota pickup. 22RE is indestructible! Also, early 90s Accord and Camrys are excellent. Of course, the hard part is finding these cars in decent condition without an outrageous price tag.

Camrys and Accords certainly were good during that era. I know about that.

Seems like the 22re vehicles in my area are indeed expensive. 3000+ is the norm, not the exception. Seems the current stock on craigslist does show some rusty bodies. Cheapers ones are typicaly with manual tranny. A $2000 one just sold right now(listing expired).


http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/search/cto?autoMaxYear=1995&query=toyota+pickup
Some of the manual tranny versions can be had for $1500.

 

[WoodButcher]

So you've had the privilege of playing in a van's underdrawers,,,
I bought a G20 w/ 350 for my donor. They are very similar to work on, the astro just a little tighter. Putting the 350 in, well, tighter still but a lot more fun.

My question for you, what is your primary use for a beater?

 

[iamwiz82]

I have liked the Astro Safari vans since forever. I have two Safari.
Insurance is cheap. They are peppy little trucks, come either AWD or 2WD and if they were maintained the 4.3 motor will last a long time.

I do all my own repair and won't tell you they're easy to work on. I can pull the doghouse in just a few minutes yet I have heard from others who were completely baffled. Like any vehicle there are tricks that come with practice.
My '97 2WD is the beater, my work van. I've had it since '00, done the lower intake manifold gasket and installed a rebuilt trans, rear end, and so many other parts that it has been pretty much rebuilt from head to toe except for the engine.
280,000 and it still runs strong but the New England winter salt is finally winning the war.
Running around fully loaded if not overloaded all it's life my mileage was below average for these vans which typically is 15-18 MPG.
for utility the only thing better is a bigger van.

My '93 is my project van, 6 passenger + driver, (does that make a 7 pass?) 2WD.
I put a 350 SBC this past fall so the MPG aren't really part of the equation, I got around 10.5 the only time I tracked it, I prefer smiles per gallon in this one.
Here is a link to my build thread-
http://www.astrosafari.com/viewtopic.php?f=127&t=17922

Lots of good info on that forum if the astro interests you. V8 swaps, lowering, lifting, AWD >4WD conversions, campers, tow rigs you name it, it's been done to an astro.

A forum for Astros? I have now officially seen the end of the Internet. Time to go to bed.

 

[nedfunnell]

Early 90's Camry.

 

[angminas]

If I were buying something a long those lines today I'd probably look for an 90ish ford f-150 with the 300 straight 6 and 4/5 speed manual trans. Indestructible, cheap to buy, cheap to fix, parts everywhere, and pretty easy to find but not the greatest gas mileage.

Shit in the rain or snow, though, unless you get good tires, carry around sandbags, etc

 

[thedarkwolf]

Snow maybe but rain come on. If you can't drive a 2wd truck around in the rain maybe you shouldn't be driving anything.

I drove my little nissan 2wd around in one of the worst winters we have had in the last 20 years and I lived at the top of a hill lol. I stuck snow tires on it and while it still sucked I made it to my house everytime. Actually since I've moved and live on yet another hill one I can't get a run at I've had to park and walked up it many times despite having FWD cars not that the truck would be able to get up it either.

 

[CovictJoe]

pre 1995 cars can be nice due to the lack of OBDII (here in new Hampshire that means you can get inspections stickers super easy) I wouldn't get anything carbureted though if you live anywhere that sees snow or is hilly.

personally I go with late 90s early 00s that way I get things like ABS, the ABS systems in the early 90s (if the car even had them) were usually quite bad.

 

[thedarkwolf]

Carbs are fine what isn't fine are the 80s feedback carbs with a mile of vacuum lines.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Volvo 850.
http://jalopnik.com/the-volvo-850-wagon-is-now-officially-indestructible-1684956316

Holy cow!

 

[slashbinslashbash]

Saturn S-Series (SL sedan, SC coupe, SW wagon) are good beater cars. I've got 2 now and worn through another 2. (Although mine are/were all 1997+) The wagons have some added utility for carrying larger things, although I have carried 12 foot lumber in my sedans with the rear seats folded and the front passenger seat laid back. Stuck out about 2-3 feet from the trunk.

The engines were kept mostly the same from 1991-2002 so they are fairly easy to get parts for (switch of injection methods, from TBI to MPFI to SFI; and addition of OBDII computer/control stuff in 1996+). They do not have the Japanese car markup. You can find a Saturn of similar year and mileage for half of what someone would be asking for a Honda or Toyota. Find an example with under 150k miles and it will last till 200k+ for less than $1500.

Also, sometimes overlooked is the Geo Prizm. These were essentially rebadged Corollas, and sometimes you can find them for cheaper than equivalent Corollas.

 

[evident]

94-96 camrys are the pinnacle of old reliable and frankly awesome vehicles that are better than many modern econoboxes.

 

[michal1980]

94-96 camrys are the pinnacle of old reliable and frankly awesome vehicles that are better than many modern econoboxes.

right.