I would say:
--an old Cruiser
--Jeep
--Earlier Runner (With a little work the 3rd gen is not far behind)

S-10 down at the bottom because the tranny and case are sloppy. I also felt the suspension didnt articulate very well.

But jeep stock--out of the box--But parts for Yotas seem to be cheaper !!!!

 

A stock 96 xCab Tacoma gets my vote after I walked around a mod'd LR Disco the other day in Piper, AL. WABFAB should know where I'm talking about. I talked enough smack to last me the rest of the year.

 

I use to have a 1992 Mitibushi Montero and believe it or not, it was a very capable offroad machine. I use to take it elk hunting in the snowy range moutains and it was unstopable with just some old school mud tires. The 4x4 system had 4hi, 4hi lock, 4 low, 4low lock. It was just the center dif lock but man I loved that thing. It was a little top heavy but managble.

In fact one year we had a lot of rain and there was a mud slide covering the road with about 1ft of mud. I didn't feel like waiting for 3+ hours for a loader to get up there so I threw it in 4 lo lock and plowed it thru. Everyone looked at me like I was crazy, but I knew it was capable. After I mad it with no big problems, an F250 tried and buired himself.

 

Suzuki samurai !!!!!!

 

1972 Ford Bronco Sport

D44 front, big bearing 9" rear, Dana 20 Tcase, factory 302 V8, C4 A/T.
Coiled front suspension, etc. All in a rig that weighed less than 4000lbs.

IMO, it was the best out of the box wheeler ever made until the Rubicon came out.

Defender 90 is a close 2nd, but who had $60K to waste money on what was an under powered wheeler(when they first came out).

However, if you are looking for the best bang for the buck, I would say that the Sami is 1st followed closely by the 79-85 Toyota pickups/4runners. Too bad us 6'2" 240lb guys are way to big for a Sami.

 

did all broncos have coil fronts from then on?? wow

 

If your going to build it then you need to start with a good foundation. Sidekick/X90 has it. Yota powertran parts are what the Suzuki's lack. Put the two together & this is what I came up with. Sure we could have built a Rino or simular but no lic. plate & resale loss is eazy 1/2 as soon as you build it. That why the X90 was picked. Good on roads, with or with out pavement.

 

1972 Ford Bronco Sport

D44 front, big bearing 9" rear, Dana 20 Tcase, factory 302 V8, C4 A/T.
Coiled front suspension, etc. All in a rig that weighed less than 4000lbs.


to bad he said no v8's but my dad said the same thing to he had two of them

but i would have to say 79-85 toyota 4wd of any kind is a land tank

 

78 or newer FJ 40 (4 speed)
1st gen Runner (84-85 for rock crawling 86-newer for trail and hill climb)
Land Rover D90
Sami
International Scout II
AMC Eagle or Subaru Brat (just for kicks)