Conflicted no more, 1990 or 1999 as a daily driver?

[yugo308guy]

Hello all. Another new guy, first post with a purchase question. I am looking at a couple of Monteros to be a daily driver. I am very mechanically inclined, but not a mechanic. I used to own a 1985 Alfa Romeo GTV6 which I did all the maintenance on myself.

The 2 Monteros I am looking at are a 1990 LS in very good condition with 197,000 and a 1999 2.5 Gen in very good condition with 152,000. The Gen 1 has a little fender bender on the passenger front fender/bumper, owner says it burns just a "small" amount of oil and blue smoke just occasionally. I am assuming that this is the Valve Guide Seals or possibly the rings need replaced. A really nice 23 year old truck. The 2.5 Gen is obviously in better shape, from the pics it looks near perfect. Owner says nothing wrong at all, everything works and no leaks or smoke. Both have newer tires.

My plans for the truck are a mild build. I live in Ohio, so no rock crawling or anything crazy. Daily driving and mild off roading for now.

So....what the heck do I do? I really like the idea of the 1st Gen but am hesitant. My guess is that everyone is going to say....Don't be stupid, buy the '99. So?

 

[eurosonic]

If money is not an issue. I'd go with a 2nd gen.

 

[4D55 Performance]

I think it is a matter of what do you like more. In the past year I have owned a 1991 Gen I and a 2000 Gen II.5 Montero. Both the gen I and gen II.5 were fun rigs and proved to be very reliable. My ideal Montero would be the looks of a first gen with the performance and comfort of a gen II.5 Monty. The gen I had a lot of character, it had an awesome dash, fly windows, it was light weight and was fun to drive. My biggest complaints about the gen I were parts availability, it made my shoulders sore on drives over 50 miles and it got only 16 mpg. The Gen II.5 definitely felt heavier and drove bigger, but it had more power, got better mpg and was very comfortable. Even though the gen I had less power, the power was still adequate for the rig as long as you are not towing. I think the comfort on a gen I could be improved if you installed newer seats and a console to rest your arms. My expectation would be if you get the first gen you will drive it for a year and love it. You'll love it so much you will want to upgrade to a Gen II.5 Monty. It seems to common with many members on the forum. They started with a first gen and now they drive and Gen II, Gen II.5 or Gen III Montero.

 

[BIGdaddy]

Gen II.5 hands down.

 

[GrassCat]

Don't be stupid, buy the '99. So?

You answered your own question. So what's the problem?

 

[Martinjmpr]

With the 1st gen you are looking at a $1,000 valve guide replacement (unless you have the ability to do the job yourself.) As someone who owned a 1st gen (a 1990, in fact) for 7 years, my advice is - get the 99.

 

[yugo308guy]

Thanks for all the opinions. I would plan on doing the valve guide seals myself, so other than time, it would not be expensive at all.

 

[fangars]

If you like comfort, the 1st gen is probably not the way to go. That said, I drive the 1st gen and love it. I used to have a 55 willys wagon that had the original spring in your butt seats and no seat belts. It drove like a tractor and I loved it. Now I have the Montero and it reminds me of the wagon in a lot of ways. I kind of like the tractor like feel and the goofy seats. The air conditioning blows cold, the heater works, but I am not sure how that works out for anyone in the back seats, my dogs have yet to complain. The narrowness of the vehicle translates into your legs being in contact with the door, so with the LS I am often hitting the window buttons and lowering my window inadvertently. This will be annoying during hot or freezing days.

If you are tall at all you might find that the front drivers seat does not go back far enough for your liking. I plan to remove the seat and put in an adapter plate of some kind to move back at least an inch. The power of the engine is not so great, when I had my manual 1989 it was not so bad but with my present automatic the lack of power is even more apparent, but that is due to being spoiled by the 2nd Gen Xterra I drive now and then, you can get used to the lack of power as a daily driver and I find that my driving style is more sedate and relaxed when driving the Montero. I drive like a grandpa delivering eggs.

I love the look of the boxy beast, I love the old headlights that are cheap to replace, I love everything about it with the exception of the lack of power, but to that I am adapting.

Test drive both, choose what you like best.

 

[off-roader]

I think you just don't know how fast one goes. I've been stopped by the CHP for doing 105mph in my 90 4-door Monty at 2:00am.

Keep in mind it was not a light rig. It had BFG 33x12.5" MT's on 15x8 steel wheels, trail armor consisting of 1/4-3/8" plate steel bumpers, 1/4" thick 2x2 square tube rock skids, and an xcase skid plate of 1/4" steel!

Chp officer was curious and asked me all sorts of questions about it and I was able to talk my way out of a hefty ticket and just get a warning!!

 

[yugo308guy]

Well...call me stupid! I am heading out on Friday to pick up the Gen 1! Price is right, California truck in good shape, recent timing belt and water pump as well as new tires. All in all an honest deal for a solid running truck, it sounds. Trip will be 3 hours there and 3 hours back, so should be a good test of it's soundness, owner says he drove it from L.A. to Indiana just last January. Has a couple cosmetic issues, passenger fender has a crinkled leading edge and is missing the Bumper end cap, and the drivers seat has a pretty good hole in it, but has front seat Camo covers.

This should be the start of an interesting new relationship!

 

[fowldarr]

Good choice.

 

[4D55 Performance]

I think you'll like it. I would still have my first gen if I didnt need more seating capacity, but i have been very happy with my Mercedes G500 which looks very similar to the first gen Montero. The boxy look is so cool. Let me know if you have any need for upgrading to some 5.29 gears or some manual hubs. I have a few parts left over from my build.

So give us a little more info, is it a 2 door or 4 door, auto or manual, engine size etc.

 

[yugo308guy]

4 Door LS, Auto with the 3.0l.

 

[fangars]

Nice, love that color, have been seriously thinking of painting my white Montero that color. The white is hard on the eyes here in the AZ sun, especially the hood while driving.
I had the stock rims and small tires on when I first bought my '91 and I have to say that when I put my 265-75-16 tires on, with different rims of course, the ride was considerably less bouncy and it was generally much more smooth. I will probably stick with that size tire as this is my daily driver more then anything else. I do not have much time to hit the trails lately, even so it is a good size for an all around tire.
This is what mine looked like when I got it, I think you got the better color.

View attachment 103527
View attachment 103528

 

[eurosonic]

definitely one of the best factory colors