You would be ahead of the game buying a first or early second-gen Chevy Blazer. Once the removable hard top is off, you basically have the same look, and you haven't tossed away any resale value.

My Sub isn't worth anything with 260K on it. The AC compressor is on its way out and the rear heat/AC gave up the ghost a long time ago. The body still looks decent and it's decent mechanically. I'll be getting something else in the next year or two but got to thinking it'd be a cheap and fun project with my oldest kid. Good for beach runs, running the dunes on the Cape and towing the boat around in the summer. I've got a buddy who does boat canvas so I figured if I went with a roll cage for safety anyway, I could have him use the cage to frame a top.

See how I try to rationalize it to myself?

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)