Yep,'91 Bronco II I believe it was? Never bothered dealing with the trans after the dead cylinder issue showed up. Extra clutches does sound like the fix though. I still see quite a few of them around here. None even remotely modified but in daily use even in bad weather. That says a lot for them right there. Our local motel owner has one he bought new and uses it to plow snow with. One thing I've always wonder about was the possibility of a too high COG if you were to lift them. Seems you could only go so wide tire/wheel wise to off set it.

 

Actually the full real frame and heavier suspension adds bottom weight and ballast to compensate against the COG differences. They had a bad report for this for several years though. But this was all started by the high speed roll overs caused by the Bridgestone/Firestone agreement with ford to remove a ply in the oem tires trying to make them ride better from the factory. It was a mistake to try and satisfy a very unrealistic market trend that wanted a tough 4X4 to ride like a car. Sometimes you just have to be smarter than your customer and explain that it is not a Cadillac.

 

1998 - 2009 Subaru Outback is about the size of an XJ and super capable snow cars with excellent trail performance and moderate off-road capabilities especially with larger tires and a modest lift.

Pre-1998 wagons can be found with a 5-speed for even more fun.

 

90s 4runners are really fun to own and can be put through a lot. Just watch for head gasket issues.

There’s a ton of 5 speeds out there too.

Other than that a bronco II or a samurai. Samurais are very impressive on the trails and can get you places others can’t go

 

be careful with the early 00's Outbacks... were notorious for for overheating and blowing head gaskets. And tight engine bay makes them a PITA to work on. Other years were okay I've heard.