Yes - did you get my reply...???

Just paid 1.82 a gal for Shell 87. Wi**** would stay at that price for a long time.

Wow - haven’t seen gas that cheap in a long time! Was that in Burly....???

Yep, it was 1.92 and I get a 10 cent Kroger discount at Shell.

How many miles do you have on the old Expy now.....???

10,200. Put 27 miles on it last year. We were just talking about 30 minutes ago about me maybe driving it some to Athens. Keep miles off the truck which now has 78,000. The Expy wouldn’t sell for much so really should get some use out of it. Just hate to lose that new car smell it still has.

The Michelins on the Expy are like brand new, maybe 5,000 on them but they’re 28 years old. Wonder if they might be dangerous st highway speed?

Well, if you are going to start driving it to Athens, I would definitely “pop” for some new tires - even with no appreciable UV exposure, at that age they could go at any minute! I think the 10-year rule promoted by the tire manufacturers is a tad over zealous for a car that is garaged most of the time, but 28 years is approaching 3x their recommended service life - that would make me a little uncomfortable once I got up to highway speeds.

I thought you had a grandkid that was wanting to take that over - figured that was what had probably already happened? Glad that you didn’t go that route since it would be such a shame to have some young kid trash such a well-preserved older vehicle! That truck is a real unique collectible since most SUV’s were family haulers and within a few years had high miles and lots of wear and tear - to have one that old in pristine shape with only 10k on the odometer is approaching “unicorn” territory.....

I saw a ‘97-‘04 F-150 the other day that had the curvy grille insert that they used in the Expedition. It was funny because my original plan back in the day was to get a new “soap bar” truck and then try to do that mod myself - the only problem was that by the time I had saved enough money to buy a truck Ford had moved on to the ‘04+ body style....

The grandson wanted it and we thought about it. As you pointed out, just didn’t have the heart to see it abused and neglected. Our son, his uncle gave him his 2012 Tahoe when he bought s new Toyota Land Cruiser.

Well-preserved SUV’s will at some point enjoy the same “hot factor” niche appeal as full-size station wagons do in today’s collector world. Most were purchased as “beasts of burdens” and to have one in another twenty years or so that hasn’t been beaten-up by kids and full of shopping cart dings will be very unique! Personally, I’d take it out for occasional 20-mile exercises every couple of months just to keep it limber and refrain from doing any long hauls out to East Texas where it will eventually pick up the nicks and bruises associated with daily driver use.....

Of course, some would argue that when it comes to cars, I’m completely nuts....