Was looking for a diesel Ford Excursion, but…..

[Gingerbeard Man]

Sick stuff man, you got the work horse and the weekender now

Before my last vehicle I picked up a ‘99 Grand Cherokee from yodizan

Gave that thing the ol’ rub a dub and decided I needed a truck more than I needed the WJ so I sold it on. I’ll be honest, that was a fair misstep on my part. They took care of that rig so well and I just carried the torch. Should have kept it, but having the attention span of mosquito on fentanyl, I get bored easily.

Here’s the before

And after:

Put a 2” lift on it, Flowmaster exhaust, added a receiver hitch and wiring, replaced the headlights and taillights, updated the sound system. This was definitely one of those “hindsight is a son of a bitch” moments. I believe when I sold it it had just a touch over 118k miles. For the 4.0 inline 6, that was just the beginning of its life. If I’m being honest, I like this color combo better but I’ll rock the granny grocery getter red.

 

[GAGunguy]

So I was dead set on finding an old diesel Ford Excursion. That was the mission. But, I’m ditching that plan.

I mentioned in another thread that I sold my Tacoma. Some local guy just had to have it. We shook hands, made the deal, and boom—she was gone. Which left me with only my motorcycle to get around. Not ideal when the sky waters the crops. To top it off, my wife had an upcoming work trip and has to leave her car at the airport, so yeah… not exactly a convenient time to be a one-bike household.

While I was juggling that chaos, I picked up my Excursion search again—but man, people out there are treating those things like they’re forged from unicorn bones and sprinkled with cartel glitter.

Then—outta nowhere—Sunday morning rolls around and BAM. The stars decided to show off. I find this gem: a burgundy red Jeep Grand Cherokee (WJ), 4WD, only 61k original miles, and everything works. The guy basically handed it to me for lunch money. Naturally, I brought it home and named it Ron Burgundy. It felt right. He’s my holdover ride until the right Excursion showed up. Or so I thought.

Later that same day, I get a call from my Dad. I’ve bought a truck of his before—he’s one of those meticulous, “I torque every bolt to spec” kinda guys. He asks me about my Excursion hunt, then drops this: “Why don’t you just buy another truck?”

I knew he was about to tee something up. Turns out when my uncle passed, his wife was looking to rehome all his beloved machines. This guy had a serious shop—everything indoors, pristine. And no, don’t worry—no rusty frames here. They lived near Vegas and then southern Utah. Not a grain of road salt in sight. And just like my dad, extremely diligent with maintenance.

So what is it? Buckle up: it’s a 2003 Ford F-250 Super Duty dually, just rolled over 80k original miles. Absolutely mint. I’m beyond stoked. No car payment. A whole lotta truck. And Ron Burgundy is holding it down until I fly out to pick it up.

Bonus? I’ve got some weddings in Utah soon anyway, so it’s all syncing up perfectly. Even better—my best friend (more like a brother) is taking the week off to road trip back across the country with me. Just like old times. Gonna be an epic ride, with the right music, dumb jokes, gas station snacks, and plenty of memories in the making.


Crazy how the universe works sometimes. Couldn’t have planned it better if I tried.

Photos of Ron Burgundy and big Blue!
View attachment 8891988View attachment 8891987View attachment 8891989

When you want to sell Ron Burgundy, I have a 15yro in need of a ride. I have cash, pm me.

 

[Gingerbeard Man]

When you want to sell Ron Burgundy, I have a 15yro in need of a ride. I have cash, pm me.

I'll definitely reach out. May be toward the end of September or so.

 

[Gingerbeard Man]

Threw some money at ol' Ron over the past few weeks.
Rough Country 2" lift
Rough Country steering stabilizer
Swapped out the tired end link bushings for a polyurethane set
Magnaflow catback exhaust
Upgraded the stock radio to a larger CarPlay unit and new JVC speakers all around
Replaced the headlights
Added on the cross bars and roof rack which has been great when we go fishing
Found a pesky EVAP leak and fixed that

Took off the push bar to complete some repairs. After I completed the lift kit I took it for a test drive and one of Darwin's favorite birds (a vulture) flew head first into it. Just need to fix a mounting tab. Going to coat it in bed liner and toss it back on.

 

[Gingerbeard Man]

When you want to sell Ron Burgundy, I have a 15yro in need of a ride. I have cash, pm me.

Sent you a PM 👍