jjester6000
New member
Depending on who you ask, a reliable chase vehicle is often stated at the most important piece of equipment a chaser can have.
[Photo hasn't been retouched]
There are several vehicles that I've personally chased with in the past ranging from proper antique cars, to cars old enough to qualify for classic plates (You may see a theme here).
The first vehicle I ever did anything that approximates storm spotting with was my my first car, a 1974 GMC C1500 I call 'Ol Yeller (I still own/drive it).
Obviously, I had to get something a little more daily drivable, so I picked up this 330,000 original mile 1995 Chevrolet Suburban C1500 for $700 and proceeded to spray bomb it white and paint a tornado on the side. I actually ended up driving this truck all the way from Peoria IL to Oklahoma City on a chase. Unfortunately, on my way home, the original 350,000 mile 4L60E Transmission blew a seal, and left me stranded 400 miles from home. after pouring in some fluid and replacing the seal, I was able to limp the truck home in 2nd gear.
After this debacle, I decided to buy myself another vehicle, this '51 Studebaker Champion Starlight Coupe. I got it going again after 40 years, and actually had to daily drive it briefly while both of my other vehicles were broken. I did actually take the unit on a local sort of chase once, though I didn't see anything (I still own this one as well).
After fixing and selling the '95 Suburban, I decided to find myself an actual daily driver, this 1986 Suburban C2500 with a 454/TH400. This is by far the nicest vehicle I've ever owned being a rust free California truck with only 103,000 original miles. I got this truck for an absolute steal, but I just couldn't afford to keep it given that it only got 7MPG. This lead me to sell it at a pretty big profit.
After this, I decided that I needed a more modern truck that actually had 4wd, so I picked up my current daily driver, a 1998 Chevrolet Suburban K1500. The two things that really drew me to this unit were the lack of rust, and the fact that it is a government spec truck with a manual T-Case, crank windows, and a bench seat (A lot less to go wrong). I bought the truck for real cheap needing a transmission, despite that, I was able to limp it 300 miles home after pouring some Lucas Stop Slip into it. When I got the truck the odometer read 198,000 miles, which I later found out was about 80,000 mile off the actual mileage after doing a Carfax report (you don't generally Carfax sub $1000 vehicles from craigslist). I later rolled the odometer forward to the approximate mileage soon after installing the rebuilt transmission. The truck is currently sitting at 316,500 miles, and I wouldn't hesitate to drive it anywhere.
Anyways, what do you guys drive?
[Photo hasn't been retouched]
There are several vehicles that I've personally chased with in the past ranging from proper antique cars, to cars old enough to qualify for classic plates (You may see a theme here).
The first vehicle I ever did anything that approximates storm spotting with was my my first car, a 1974 GMC C1500 I call 'Ol Yeller (I still own/drive it).
Obviously, I had to get something a little more daily drivable, so I picked up this 330,000 original mile 1995 Chevrolet Suburban C1500 for $700 and proceeded to spray bomb it white and paint a tornado on the side. I actually ended up driving this truck all the way from Peoria IL to Oklahoma City on a chase. Unfortunately, on my way home, the original 350,000 mile 4L60E Transmission blew a seal, and left me stranded 400 miles from home. after pouring in some fluid and replacing the seal, I was able to limp the truck home in 2nd gear.
After this debacle, I decided to buy myself another vehicle, this '51 Studebaker Champion Starlight Coupe. I got it going again after 40 years, and actually had to daily drive it briefly while both of my other vehicles were broken. I did actually take the unit on a local sort of chase once, though I didn't see anything (I still own this one as well).
After fixing and selling the '95 Suburban, I decided to find myself an actual daily driver, this 1986 Suburban C2500 with a 454/TH400. This is by far the nicest vehicle I've ever owned being a rust free California truck with only 103,000 original miles. I got this truck for an absolute steal, but I just couldn't afford to keep it given that it only got 7MPG. This lead me to sell it at a pretty big profit.
After this, I decided that I needed a more modern truck that actually had 4wd, so I picked up my current daily driver, a 1998 Chevrolet Suburban K1500. The two things that really drew me to this unit were the lack of rust, and the fact that it is a government spec truck with a manual T-Case, crank windows, and a bench seat (A lot less to go wrong). I bought the truck for real cheap needing a transmission, despite that, I was able to limp it 300 miles home after pouring some Lucas Stop Slip into it. When I got the truck the odometer read 198,000 miles, which I later found out was about 80,000 mile off the actual mileage after doing a Carfax report (you don't generally Carfax sub $1000 vehicles from craigslist). I later rolled the odometer forward to the approximate mileage soon after installing the rebuilt transmission. The truck is currently sitting at 316,500 miles, and I wouldn't hesitate to drive it anywhere.
Anyways, what do you guys drive?