bulletsforringo Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 I work at a hotel that is the middle of a desert and it is not uncommon for people to break down while passing through on their way to L.A. About a month ago a guy arrived at the hotel and told me his engine blew up in his truck while coming over the mountain pass on the other side of the river (Colorado River)- he had the truck towed to our parking lot and stayed a couple days trying to find a junker to come and pick it up to no avail ( it is an hour and a half to anywhere from where I live). At the end of his stay he surprised me and gifted the truck to me, I had been admiring it, thinking about what I would do with it (mainly what I could take off of it and put on my Pathy)- It is a 1995 Mistubishi Montero, complete with mudding tires, Con-Ferr Porthole Roof Rack and an ARB bumper. I've been scratching my head now for a while about what I can port over to my Pathfinder- thus far I have only taken the rack off as it was the easiest and most straightforward thing. In short- what would you do in this situation? The engine definitely has a broken piston and a rebuild would be too expensive. I am pretty sure the radiator is shot as well as it copious amounts of oil in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 Looks like the front end's a little more curved than the WD21, so you'd have trouble adapting the ARB even if the width is correct. If you can find an engine for it and put it back together you might get enough $$ out of it to buy a proper bumper/tires/etc for your Pathy. If you're parting it out you might try and find a Montero forum, the trim and bits might be worth something to someone. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trogdor636 Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 Its an ARB....somewhere, someone will pony up money for that thing. As for the rest, part it out and get what you can if you have no interest in a long term project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gv280z Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 Damn man...I think I would really try and find an engine for it, barring that then I would immediately yank the tires and rims, I think they should fit and look good, and grab the roof rack and then just try and part out the rest...but I think that would kinda be a shame, would really like to get it running again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushnut Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 I'd find and engine. those things have a great 4x4 system with diff locks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulletsforringo Posted June 12, 2013 Author Share Posted June 12, 2013 I would like to fix it up however an engine for this thing is in the $1000+ range and I really cannot afford that. The tires are 9.5x30xR15, with a healthy amount of tread left on them and the wheels will fit. I have been thinking about putting them on my Pathy and setting the legos aside for a while. Alternatively, a someone in town has offered me a few hundred bucks for the whole thing- I've given this a little thought as there is another guy in town with a WD21 sitting in his driveway broke down and I was thinking about trying to buy it off of him to have a doner truck/ make a FrankenPathy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebelord Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 You could probably sell that ARB bumper for a few hundred bucks. I would take it and take the time to part it out as much as possible. Keep the wheels if I were you. Or could try putting the whole thing for sale on Expedition Portal. I know those trucks are fairly popular there. May have some luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 Parts for those things are pretty hard to find sometimes. If you parted it out I'm sure a lot of people will want parts off of it that's dealer only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 I would like to fix it up however an engine for this thing is in the $1000+ range and I really cannot afford that. The tires are 9.5x30xR15, with a healthy amount of tread left on them and the wheels will fit. I have been thinking about putting them on my Pathy and setting the legos aside for a while. Alternatively, a someone in town has offered me a few hundred bucks for the whole thing- I've given this a little thought as there is another guy in town with a WD21 sitting in his driveway broke down and I was thinking about trying to buy it off of him to have a doner truck/ make a FrankenPathy. Honestly, I'd try my damndest to get it in running shape, then sell the whole rig for $3k or so. You might have to pull every string you have ( been there, but it is possible), but you'll come out the other side with some $ and people who you can work with. Then use the $ to upgrade your rig as you see fit. Look at the big picture... B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jj big shoe Posted June 15, 2013 Share Posted June 15, 2013 I'm with B on this one. I figure since you got it for nothing and seems like you have plenty of storage area at the hotel why not hold on to it until a cheap engine becomes available? If you just strip some of the goodies off it you'll lose out in the long run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted June 15, 2013 Share Posted June 15, 2013 THE FIRST THING YOU SHOULD DO IS make sure it was actually HIS truck !!. Would suck to start making plans and doing repairs on a stolen vehicle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulletsforringo Posted June 15, 2013 Author Share Posted June 15, 2013 THE FIRST THING YOU SHOULD DO IS make sure it was actually HIS truck !!. Would suck to start making plans and doing repairs on a stolen vehicle. Same thing my brother recommended, I was the one that checked him in at the hotel and took his ID and credit card- the name matched the title (and VIN) he gave me so I am pretty sure it is legitimate. Honestly, I'd try my damndest to get it in running shape, then sell the whole rig for $3k or so. You might have to pull every string you have ( been there, but it is possible), but you'll come out the other side with some $ and people who you can work with. Then use the $ to upgrade your rig as you see fit. Look at the big picture... B I'll see what I can do B, you are right- where there is a will there is a way. I might have to make a trip to Mexico on this one guys- I have good information that there are a lot of these things south of the border. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92Path_68CJ Posted June 15, 2013 Share Posted June 15, 2013 That's a very desirable roof rack. Use it on your rig or sell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulletsforringo Posted June 20, 2013 Author Share Posted June 20, 2013 Thanks for all of the advice everyone, I am still assessing all of my options. Hunting very diligently for an engine for this thing- apparently they are rare (expensive too). Engine is a 3.5 DOHC that was only made from 94-96, everywhere I have found one for a decent price all they had was the 3.0 which I guess is interchangeable with a few Mitsubishis. Like B said, I am trying to pull every string on this one to see what I can do and after trying my hardest (honestly, I am giving it my all) if I cannot come through on getting an engine I will probably try and sell the whole rig to a Montero enthusiast and fix up my rig with the proceeds. Albeit I could get a lot more out of a running Montero than a dead Montero I most likely will never be able to afford an engine more than $400- like a lot of people today I live on a very tight budget. In the meantime I took some more pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gv280z Posted June 20, 2013 Share Posted June 20, 2013 Do you have the title? Is the guy going to send it to you? If you do have the title, and he signed it over to you then you could let one of those car buyers (IQ Auto buyers in TX) come and give you cash for it, which I'm sure would be near market value. One problem though, you're going to have to pay the registration fee according to the blue book value of the truck. Atleast that's the way it is in TX, too many people were scamming on the whole "Uh, I paid 200 bucks for the car!" bit which ofcourse lowered the registration fee. I know the ones here will buy it even if it's wrecked or broken down, but you gotta have the title. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1987caddy Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 I would check the transmission fluid very closely. Don't know if these have external trans coolers or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulletsforringo Posted July 27, 2013 Author Share Posted July 27, 2013 (edited) Okay guys, after more than a month of searching for an engine and checking various other leads that could be the issue I have hit a dead end. Engines are a little pricey for this particular model- 3.5 V6 DOHC model: 6G74 and I have checked every wrecker and junk yard in a 200 mile radius. Prices for the whole engine (used) have ranged from $900-$1500 which even with all strings pulled I couldn't come up with. I hate to see this thing sit any longer so in the hopes of maybe passing it on to someone who can afford an engine I have put it up on Craigslist. If anyone on here is interested I would be happy to see it go to a good home. http://phoenix.craigslist.org/wvl/cto/3962474978.html Edited July 27, 2013 by bulletsforringo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rdtimesacharm Posted July 27, 2013 Share Posted July 27, 2013 Jam on a standard bumper and sell the ARB seperately and you'll be rich beyond your wildest dreams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gv280z Posted July 27, 2013 Share Posted July 27, 2013 You did the right thing. Hope you get a good haul out of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulletsforringo Posted July 27, 2013 Author Share Posted July 27, 2013 Jam on a standard bumper and sell the ARB seperately and you'll be rich beyond your wildest dreams. Very good idea- I know there is a high resale value for anything ARB. Haven't gotten any legitimate offers thus far, only one scammer. Perhaps I could yank the ARB bumper off and sell the rest to a scrap yard. You did the right thing. Hope you get a good haul out of it. Thanks for the encouragement, I hate letting this thing go but it it just out of my price range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted July 27, 2013 Share Posted July 27, 2013 Did you try to find a Diamante? I see the 3.5 engine you need was available in those also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulletsforringo Posted July 28, 2013 Author Share Posted July 28, 2013 I noticed that as well, evidently the 6G74 engine is expensive across the board. Usually in a situation like this you can get lucky and find someone that doesn't know how much they can really get for what they have so you come up on it cheaper than you would otherwise- not the case here, everyone knows what they have and wants lots of money for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 The junkyards around here, at least the u pull and pay ones, it doesn't matter what engine you buy whether it's a 3 cylinder out of a Metro or a Northstar V8 out of a Cadillac they are all $300 (with the core charge), I guess finding a Montero or Diamante with the same 3.5 would be the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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