That is, don’t know how it was back then to enter through Tijuana and try to drive way south. People from Chihuahua State and to the west of there seemed more friendly to me while meeting many of them in Colorado. East of Chihuahua was something else, and towards the south from the east side of Mexico was pretty scary. Going south, cops told us to turn back. They said that even some of the police to the south might plant us next to the road.
I used to drive to various points in Baja in the 80s and never had issues other than corrupt cops in TJ stealing my beer money. Most states in mexico seen reasonable in the daylight. Michoacan and Chiapas are down right terrifying at night, though it is a generally bad idea to drive anywhere in mexico at night.