Missoula, Montana is an outdoor town with a lot of “adventure” type vehicles kicking around its various boroughs. American Expedition Vehicles has their original headquarters here, as well as their R&D and engineering offices. There are also a number of respectable local shops that specialize in off-road and camping modifications.
On my daily walk to work, I often run across interesting cars and trucks begging for adventure, some modified, some not. Often, when I see these vehicles, I find myself imagining all the cool modifications I could throw at them, and the amazing trips I could take them on (we all do this, right?).
Here is a survey of just some of the expedition-worthy rigs within only a four-block radius of my house. Now, I’m not even bothering with the myriad 3rd and 4th Gen 4Runners, the many, many flavors of Tacos, or the plague of JK Rubicons on 33s in my neighborhood. They’re all a dime-a-dozen.
Without further ado...
Late model Chevy Express Panel Van with high-top conversion (complete with curtains!). Maybe needs a bit of a lift and some more aggressive rubber for any real off-road work, but I bet this would make a pretty nice long-distance hauler. You know it’s dead simple.
A battle-worn 70 60 Series Cruiser that’s suffering from some pretty gnarly rust in that front-end crumple, and it’s ratty as hell inside. But props to the owner for keeping it going.
Ahhhh, here we are - a much nicer example of the late 1980's Land Cruiser, and only one block down from the other one. This guy used to own a beautifully preserved Grand Wagoneer, but I believe he traded it in on this chrome-lipped dandy. A little saggy in the back, but I can’t fault his taste in 4x4s. Gets driven every day
This might be the most tragic of all of them. My neighbor’s 80 Series sits out in front of his house day after day and never goes on any adventures :(
This has been the case for at least two years now - his daily driver is an Echo (?). It’s starting to show some real rust. I’ve pondered many times offering to take it off his hands.
This 100 Series is also someone’s daily. I really like these trucks, and the “potential adventure quotient” is very high right out of the box. Love that smooth V8 action, too.
Here’s a sweet Sprinter conversion with an Autohome roof-top tent in a very jaunty shade of yellow. Believe it or not, there used to be TWO expedition-worthy Sprinters in my ‘hood sporting RTTs. Hopefully the other one left for Mongolia or something.
However, of all the interesting trucks I see around here on a regular basis, this is the one that has stolen my heart:
I don’t even know what year it is, but it appears to be an early 6th Gen GMC Suburban, so, late 1960's? The tin worm has attacked, and it’s hilariously impractical with its two puny doors in the front and 15 feet of space behind, but I really find it charming with its two-tone paint. Four-wheel drive, too.
That roof rack is just begging for a surfboard. And the exhaust rumble from the small-block? Mmmmm. I love the cleanliness of the overall design: that unbroken line from the hood step, all the way around to the French-doors tailgate, the sweeping chrome trim that further emphasizes the length of the truck. Just look at the size of that window between the C and D pillars!
Any cool expedition rides, potential or otherwise, around your neighborhood?