New to me Tracker questions

[Sam1911]

Hi all!

I am looking at a very pristine '95 Tracker for sale locally that I'm thinking of buying as a commuter vehicle and with a view for mild trail riding eventually. I've never had a 'Zuki before, and have some questions.

I commute 80 miles round trip every day. As my job duties have changed recently, I no longer need to do this in a full-size pickup full of tools. I've wanted a Samurai for a long time and was thinking about using this as an excuse to get one, but I can't justify the expense now for something quite so old, and with the body cancer they seem so often to suffer from. Whatever I get has to be absolutely reliable and get very good gas mileage.

That's my first question. What kind of mileage should I expect from a 1.9 L Tracker (5-speed, 4wd, soft-top) that's bone stock and in good shape, with about 77K on the clock?

Second, when looking over a potential purchase, what are the Tracker-specific hot-spots to check out? Where do they rust out, what parts are trouble, what should/shouldn't the drive-train do or sound like, etc?

Third, as I am an addicted tinkerer and builder, what are the most common first mods? What kind of "mild" build would you all do? I'm pretty sure I wouldn't immediately swap in the solid front axle, but short of that, what? And yes, I know I said "RELIABLE commuter" so that's got to be more important than trailability for now.

4th, is there any value in my purchasing an early Tracker over a late-model Samurai? Does this make sense? Is the mileage going to be better? Is the body going to last longer? Etc.?

5th, what sites (besides this one) should I look at to see what's available/doable?

Many thanks!

[jtgh]

id go to any western state with no salt (except CALIF)and buy one.
why people buy rust heaps , amazes me?


Id buy a 96 or newer. ( it has the better ECU computers)
unless you want one older cuz you plan a few dents off road and that bothers you. (as you surely will).

Put it on a lift and look hard. Nothing is more important.
look for off road damage and overspray from body damage fixes.
look for HITS to the main frame, some can be nasty.
Look for body cancer.
Look for major oil leaks or Glue on tranny seams ,etc, where someone is hiding leaks.


idles perfect.
sounds good.
tranny doesnt whine ( listen in neutral clutch pedal out) rev it.

test 4wd in a tight turn , slow , off pavement. listen. Hubs locked.


then all the other things you do when buying the avg.car.

[blakej]

they get around 30 mpg if you dont cane them. the tracker is roomier and more comfortable than the samurai but the samurais are tough! its too bad they rust so much. ive had one(samurai) for 10 years in one of the most corrosive enviroments in the planet and the body is falling off but it runs like a top.

[jtgh]

cane them,I dearly love that expression.
we call it flogging.
I know it is impossible to transfer a KICK to USA from Canada but what about the opposite,
the west coast has 50 million rust free cars. buy one , drive it back.

stop at the Boing Air Museum on the way back and check out the SR71?
or ?

the body on my kick is not protected with anything more than paint.
but the frame is Galvanized.
I see you going down road siting on a frame only. soon.
regards,