How about a good ol' versus thread? :)

I live in central Illinois and I have a suspicion that this winter might drop a bit more snow than has been dumped in the past few we have experienced. (Gambler's ruin, yadda yadda...)  

I'd like to stay under $1,000 which might prove a bit difficult for options two and three.

Our fleet now consists of exactly zero running and driving Subarus. I have my old '97 Brighton in the garage but it's been cobbled and hacked together so many times when I was completely broke that it is now riddled with electrical gremlins.

The wife has the '11 Caravan so she should be good to go but I have my '99 Crown Vic which, with it's open rear diff and nose-heavy weight distribution, absolutely sucks in the snow. 

Which brings me to the versus part of this versus thread.

Option #1:

Dump some money into the Vic to make it more snow worthy; rear diff, snow tires, move the battery to the trunk, etc. I'd probably also have the trans j-modded while I'm at it, since it hasn't been done yet. I have a few steel P71 wheels ready some tires.

Option #2:

Snag a winter beater from craigslist, facebook or something similar. Do the bare minimum to catch up on most likely deferred maintenance then hope it lives through the winter so I can sell it in the spring. Or I could kill two birds with one stone and buy an S10 or Ranger, since I've needed a truck often enough to justify buying a haggard little E36 M3box. That one I might keep for a bit. Plus it's always nice to have a spare vehicle!

Option #3:

Have the Scoob dragged to a shop and just throw money at it until it runs properly since I'm completely sick of berkeleying with it.

I like the idea of snagging a winter beater since it gives me the chance to experience a car I wouldn't normally buy. I'd know going into the deal that it's a temporary fix and not a long-term purchase so it really opens up the options.

Conversely I also like the idea of upgrading the Vic since it's a known quantity. The devil you know and all of that.  But I also don't really enjoy driving the damn thing, I pine away for rack and pinion steering every day during my commute.

Despite the fact that it would be unstoppable in the powdery white stuff, the idea of driving the Scoob again is not thrilling to me. Not. One. Bit.

I liked my Ranger a lot for winter beater use and it really was nice to have a truck bed whenever I needed to cart big or messy stuff around.  4 cylinder, manual, 2wd,  and a bit of a lift with good tires and I never had a problem in the snow. I never even put extra weight in the bed.

I don't think you need a locked diff for snow use at all. Snow tires on the Vic would be all you need.

By way of example: My wife and I had LS400s at the same time; hers was a '92 with snow tires in the winter (Blizzaks), mine was a '95 on good quality all seasons (Michelin MX4v+). Hers was an absolute tank in snow, totally easy to drive and could handle hills with ease. Mine was borderline dangerous and had no traction at all in deep stuff and would slide back down steep hills every dang time. Both had open diffs and were similar weight RWD cars, the only difference was the tires.

ranger, winter beater and future Bro-lite. 

Option 4. Buy something known to be a hoot in loose grip conditions and go from there?

I've been looking for Rangers for a bit and oddly, most of the ones I have found local to me have had the 4 liter. 

An added bonus is the P71 wheels would look pretty good on a Ranger. At least to me they would.  

Lately my searches have skewed toward the quirky end of the spectrum:

NMNA, of course.

Also NMNA

Lightly worked 305 and a five speed. DO IT

I can't help with the snow question, but I can say that a CV with winter tires is unstoppable in the dirt. It's also very predictable and a complete blast to drive. 

https://www.youtube.com/embed/IPAnx6mjZoM

My best winter vehicle was an E39 BMW with snow tires.  The E30 M3 wasn't bad either, it just killed me to do it, so I used beaters for those years.

Bottom line is I prefer balanced RWD and Manual over anything else.  I once bought an 85 RX7 for a winter beater to preserve a Jeep CJ.  Yes, I wish all of those were still in the stable.

In reply to Toyman01 :

I'm sure you've mentioned it somewhere, but I can't remember; what year is your Vic?

I looked in your profile but didn't see it.

Any other mods besides tires?

Getting ready for work (imagine that!), so I can't search much longer.

I believe Toymans is an 06, but I'm not positive. 

My 05 with General Altimax Arctics is a beast in the snow, and fairly good in the dirt. It also has the 3.55 rear end with Tracloc, so that might make a difference. 

I was actually going to suggest a slightly newer vic, as I bought mine just to be a winter beater last year. Maybe an 02-04, the benefits of the newer generation, but without drive by wire, because I can't modulate the throttle worth a crap. 

Adding another vehicle at sub $1,000 price point is a crap shoot on reliability/driveability to make it through the E36 M3tiest time of year to break down.  

I'd throw real snow tires on the Vic and call it a day.  No LSD needed, just do that if you want to for some other reason.  

Additionally, it sounds like it's time to sell the Subaru regardless.  Subarus are built for exactly what you want this winter, yet you stated "the idea of driving the Scoob again is not thrilling to me. Not. One. Bit."  That tells me it's time to make that one go away.

Another vote for snow tires on the Vic. Maaaaaaybe find a P71 in the junkyard and swap the entire diff for LSD. But definitely snow tires. It will change you.

In reply to The_Jed :

Mine is a 06 P71. It does have a LSD to help with the launch, but other than that, it's stock. 

And RevRico is right, the drive by wire sucks. There is supposed to be a ECU flash that helps, I've just been too lazy to track it down. 

I've been thinking about this a little for the future too since Colorado is my next home. I decided RWD and Snow tires. I figured if I survived a winter in a 5.0 with GT+4 on it back in the day, a G37 with snow tires and gasp traction control will get me around the front range just fine. 

So count that as a vote for the vic and snow tires. If you can snag a LSD great but not a huge deal. 

My lowered 2wd Ranger got me through several central Indiana winters without an issue. I don't often travel on non-paved roads though. I'm not sure if that's a vote for a Ranger, or just evidence that you can make due with just about anything as long as you're sensible. If you just want to have a truck around for reasons then go grab a Ranger. But Upgrading to a newer CVPI with rack and pinion and a limited slip should be about a break even deal no? They seem to go for peanuts and would do just fine unless you travel roads that rarely get plowed.

+1 on the Snow tires on the Vic. I ran 215/65/16 Pirelli Winter tires on my 2007 and it had no problem biting. 

xflowgolf said:

Adding another vehicle at sub $1,000 price point is a crap shoot on reliability/driveability to make it through the E36 M3tiest time of year to break down.  

I'd throw real snow tires on the Vic and call it a day.  No LSD needed, just do that if you want to for some other reason.  

Additionally, it sounds like it's time to sell the Subaru regardless.  Subarus are built for exactly what you want this winter, yet you stated "the idea of driving the Scoob again is not thrilling to me. Not. One. Bit."  That tells me it's time to make that one go away.

^Everything he said.

Junkyard/Ebay 8.8 Trac-loks are like $50-$100 and are super easy to swap in. That combined with good winter tires would turn your CV into a snow beast.

That is what I would do if I was in your position.

You could even spring for the carbon Trac-Lok rebuild kit. It uses the same clutches as the unit in the '03-04 Terminator Cobras. I have that diff in my '95 Mustang GT. Its $108 from American muscle for the rebuild kit.

RWD snow donuts!

Don't forget 4wd might max and  monteros can be had stupid cheap as well. 

Another vote for snow tires. You'll be well under your $1000 budget. I look forward to snow since I've been running them on my cars. 

In Reply to Toyman and RevRico:

A co-worker has a lightly wrecked '05 P71 that he says he'd let go for $800 but, of course, it's drive-by-wire. Ever since the wife's '05 Outback I've strongly detested dbw.

In my search for a throw-away snow beater I've even gone so far as to consider a $1,200, 150,000+ mile one of these:

Though that might be pushing it a bit too  far... 

Well i survived the winters in 2014 and 2015 in a foxbody mustang with a 2.3 and an open diff thanks to v treads and a heavy right foot. The wifes 98 s10 with the 2.2 and wranglers was also alot better then i expected via the horror stories everyone has. It was fine in the snow with its open diff and lack of power you had to be trying to make it spin. Im just waiting for snow so i can unload my 4x4 chevy because its worse in the snow then any of the previous vehicles thanks to rock hard kelly tires.

Woody said:

xflowgolf said:

Adding another vehicle at sub $1,000 price point is a crap shoot on reliability/driveability to make it through the E36 M3tiest time of year to break down.  

I'd throw real snow tires on the Vic and call it a day.  No LSD needed, just do that if you want to for some other reason.  

Additionally, it sounds like it's time to sell the Subaru regardless.  Subarus are built for exactly what you want this winter, yet you stated "the idea of driving the Scoob again is not thrilling to me. Not. One. Bit."  That tells me it's time to make that one go away.

^Everything he said.

As much as it saddens me(I've owned it for a long time...twice in fact, from '03-'06 then '07-now. Yep, I bought the berkeleyer back, with a locked up engine no less!), I agree about the Scoob. It's been frustrating garage art for too long. It was comical when we moved from Pekin to Canton; It spit and sputtered out of one garage and up onto the trailer then off of the trailer and into another garage.

Like an overbearing,needy, abrasive in-law that refuses to leave.