Truckspotters

[Rick W]

A few thoughts…

IMHO, over the years, people who have to do hard work buy Ford trucks. People who need a truck for occasional service buy the sexier Chevys or a Dodge/ram. Yeah, the big ones will all carry a heavy load, but the Ford will do a day and day out, the Chevy occasionally, and the Dodge will s*** its pants after a couple times. Maybe they are more Chevys around because they haven’t been pushed near as hard.

Having a run fleet a few times, Ford was much easier to deal with when we had problems with the trucks. They helped fix them, or they take it in as a discount on a replacement truck. That way they kept Fords in your fleet & kept you happy, which kept you working.

When I had my engineering company, we had 250 to 300 rangers and S-10S. This was in the 90s and the early 2000s. We tried the Dodge Dakota’s twice, and it was a disaster. Every truck got turned in early on the lease, The Fords outworked and outlasted the S-10’s, but all the guys wanted the S-10’s because they were more comfortable and more sexy. When we kept them to the end of the lease, we just put them up for sale to the high bid for anyone in the company, as an additional little fringe benefit. A lot of good little trucks sold for 200 or $400 Guys bought the Fords and fixed them and used them, and most of the S10s were bought for parts.

And I seem to remember that the Fords were easier to fix than the S-10’s, but I might be wrong on that.

All three of my little Rangers are from the 80s and 90s. The two you guys know both have over 300,000 miles. All of my little S-10s, oh, wait a minute, I don’t have any S10s!

 

[rusty ol ranger]

One thing i will say about dodge is their engines/tuning whatever always seemed to be superior to either GM or Ford.

Any dodge ive ever driven would of blown the doors off the comparable GM or ford product.

I love the 351W, but it was no match for seat of the pants power next to a 360. Same for a 318 vs a 302. The 8.0L V10 i had would of ripped my 460 in half and thats saying something.

I havent drove enough of the hemis and 5.0's to make that comparison...but ill bet it still holds true. The older 5.7's made the tritons look like a joke.

Hell even that 3.3 caravan i had woulda smoked the 3.0 aerostar i owned later.

Dodge/Ram whoever puts great drivetrains in shit vehicles, GM's put ok enough drivetrains in ok enough vehicles, and ford puts mediocore (for power anyways) drivetrains in great vehicles.

The king of trucks would be a mopar drivetrain, stuffed in a ford body, with GM amount of buildabilty and interchange.

With a kia pricetag

Disclaimer...this is mostly from a pre late 90's point of view.

 

[Rick W]

I’m a junkie for old sci-fi and horror movies. Last night I watched “the creeping terror” from 1964. Many have argued if it is the worst movie ever made, or if “plan nine from outer space” is the worst movie ever made. But I loved it.

I loved it even more, when a little bit into the movie, there was a 1962 Chevy long bed pick up truck, exactly like the 3WD I had in 74(?). In the one in the movie, you couldn’t see straight through to the other side in front and behind of the rear wheel, or at the back of the cab, like you could with mine.

I know it’s a 62, because it was the only year that had the “baby bib“ headlight bezels.

 

[Blmpkn]

I’m a junkie for old sci-fi and horror movies. Last night I watched “the creeping terror” from 1964. Many have argued if it is the worst movie ever made, or if “plan nine from outer space” is the worst movie ever made. But I loved it.

I loved it even more, when a little bit into the movie, there was a 1962 Chevy long bed pick up truck, exactly like the 3WD I had in 74(?). In the one in the movie, you couldn’t see straight through to the other side in front and behind of the rear wheel, or at the back of the cab, like you could with mine.

View attachment 121364

I know it’s a 62, because it was the only year that had the “baby bib“ headlight bezels.

The worst movie ever made is undoubtedly "Troll 2" released in 1990. There ain't even any trolls in the damn movie... They're GOBLINS.. that take over a little town called Nilbog (goblin backwards lol)

It's terrible. Watch it.

 

[Jim Oaks]

Dodge/Ram whoever puts great drivetrains in shit vehicles, GM's put ok enough drivetrains in ok enough vehicles, and ford puts mediocore (for power anyways) drivetrains in great vehicles.

Except today Ford leads the industry in recalls, the 10-speed transmission doesn't like cold or cool days, the seals around the doors are paper thin, and the trucks smell like mildew after it rains.

I'm convinced that new vehicles built these days are shit, and the fastest american made vehicles seem to be coming from Dodge.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

A friend took me for a ride in his new dodge ram. 700 HP with the factory supercharger. Definitely fast!
He used to be a ford man but swapped over to dodge over a decade ago. He owns a small oilfield service company. Too many problems with the fords...

 

[Rick W]

The worst movie ever made is undoubtedly "Troll 2" released in 1990. There ain't even any trolls in the damn movie... They're GOBLINS.. that take over a little town called Nilbog (goblin backwards lol)

It's terrible. Watch it.

I’ll check it out. But for clarity, when I say, worst movie, I mean the production, the endeavor, the undertaking, not necessarily the story. Both plan nine and creeping terror were bankrupt before they started. For terror, the costume maker, who made the creature, stole his creation and left before it was filmed, so they substituted a tarp and the sunflower plant. Virtually the whole movie was narrated because the sound was too expensive to produce. The filmmaker and star took off after filming with the investor’s money before it was edited etc., etc.

I’ll check out troll 2, and provide an opinion later

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Except today Ford leads the industry in recalls, the 10-speed transmission doesn't like cold or cool days, the seals around the doors are paper thin, and the trucks smell like mildew after it rains.

Holy shit...their quality took more of a nosedive then i figured.

 

[Brain75]

I can give you a little direct reliability survey from the 80's..... Everything on the farm had to pull its weight or it got gone. My grandad with no brand loyalty had a Chevy LUV, it lasted till it rusted out (and that is saying a whole lot for 15% humidity no rust land). He went to a dodge D50, drove that till he couldn't drive anymore (failed drivers renewal). Other vehicles "on the farm" were all Ford's Trucks except the motorohome and "whatever mom drove".. Motorhome was a MiniWini with a Hemi engine... that thing pissed itself and overheated every time we drove it anywhere. Blew the fan belt off 250 miles from home and we ended up with a universal "cut it to your own length" from a marine store at the dock. It got shown the door.... Sure that engine could pull the motorhome and a boat up wolfcreek pass, but could it do it reliably....
Mom drove a Buick Century (diesel), and other than gelling up in the winter was reliable enough it could have gotten a like replace. Dad talked her into a Taurus and she never looked back. She drives an Escape today, her 2nd car is a Ranger (the 2007 I mentioned in other threads). I only ended up with my Ranger because she wanted an automatic Ranger.
My first Ford (mercury) I drove till it had less than zero value, even bent the frame and blew the motor (replace with junkyard) and still drove it 8 more years until it just completely gave up. (all of that damage was purely my fault for being a 16 yr old kid, not the vehicle's fault)... My second (also a Ford/Mercury) drove until a 5mph collision totaled it (set every airbag off and blew the glass). There is only one reason why I have a GM vehicle as a 3rd car right now, I wanted a front wheel drive hard top convertible. Ford didn't make one, only choices were Buick, VW, and Pontiac (and BMW but couldn't afford that)... and my GM has been a pain in the ass over and over.. I keep fixing it cause gas would have to be $7/gal before it would make sense to plunk down $60k to get rid of it and get a new car.

 

[Blmpkn]

Except today Ford leads the industry in recalls, the 10-speed transmission doesn't like cold or cool days, the seals around the doors are paper thin, and the trucks smell like mildew after it rains.

I'm convinced that new vehicles built these days are shit, and the fastest american made vehicles seem to be coming from Dodge.

Look for water staining at the back of your headliner. My 3rd brake light leaked, good stuff.

Might be worth checking your trans fluid level as well.. lots of folks have reported them not being full from the factory. My 10 speeds haven't been problematic when it's cold.. and it was -1 when the bronco set off this morning. You can definitely tell when they're cold.. but nothing I've ever thought was an issue when compared to other autos I've driven.

 

[Rick W]

The worst movie ever made is undoubtedly "Troll 2" released in 1990. There ain't even any trolls in the damn movie... They're GOBLINS.. that take over a little town called Nilbog (goblin backwards lol)

It's terrible. Watch it.

Well, just for grins, I found Troll 2 and I watched about 10 minutes of it, and then I fast forwarded to a couple spots, cause I’m on a tight schedule with the holidays. It looks to be a professionally made movie, and from the little bit I saw, the theme in the story just suck. Again, when I think of bad movies, I guess I should say badly made movies.

But I can’t get enough of alien costumes that were made out of grandma’s closet, bombs and crazy devices that are made out of car parts or electrical toasters, an extra hand or foot in the corner of the frame, and my favorite is the aliens who come down who are wearing a Timex. I plan to check out a couple more over the holidays.

 

[Blmpkn]

Well, just for grins, I found Troll 2 and I watched about 10 minutes of it, and then I fast forwarded to a couple spots, cause I’m on a tight schedule with the holidays. It looks to be a professionally made movie, and from the little bit I saw, the theme in the story just suck. Again, when I think of bad movies, I guess I should say badly made movies.

But I can’t get enough of alien costumes that were made out of grandma’s closet, bombs and crazy devices that are made out of car parts or electrical toasters, an extra hand or foot in the corner of the frame, and my favorite is the aliens who come down who are wearing a Timex. I plan to check out a couple more over the holidays.

If you ever wanted to watch an alien invasion type movie that includes Australian muscle cars and a sheep getting vaporized by an RPG.. you NEED to check out "Bad Taste". It's one of Peter Jackson's (lord of the rings) first films.. and it's endlessly entertaining lol. If zombie movies are an interest of yours too.. DEAD ALIVE is the gold standard. Also a Peter jackson film. My face hurts after watching it every damn time because of an overdose of smiling.

 

[Rick W]

If you ever wanted to watch an alien invasion type movie that includes Australian muscle cars and a sheep getting vaporized by an RPG.. you NEED to check out "Bad Taste". It's one of Peter Jackson's (lord of the rings) first films.. and it's endlessly entertaining lol. If zombie movies are an interest of yours too.. DEAD ALIVE is the gold standard. Also a Peter jackson film. My face hurts after watching it every damn time because of an overdose of smiling.

I’ll check them out. I’m not usually into vampire movies or zombie movies. Watching night of the living dead 50 years ago kinda took care of that need for life. But I will check them out.

 

[Blmpkn]

I’ll check them out. I’m not usually into vampire movies or zombie movies. Watching night of the living dead 50 years ago kinda took care of that need for life. But I will check them out.

If you need to pick between the two for whatever reason.. go with dead alive. You seem to have a wacky sense of humor.. you'll love it. If you don't.. I'll drive right down there and help you organize the shed of miracles or something for wasting your time lol.

 

[superj]

remember the ford “big box” electronic ignition modules? green grommet, blue grommet. huge connectors.

My brother and i, for a short time, wpuld buy dead dirt bikes and 4 wheelers for cheap in the late 90s and early 2k. They had a little electronic piece that always went out and would cause a no spark issue. Well, we found out that you could get that ford ignition module for almost free at the junkyard so we would zip tie it under the seat and use it to provide spark. We had to gap the spark plug to double the factory setting but man would those things run after that. Way better then stock and never burned out that ford module like the factory one.


On the topic of hownto rate if vehicles were dependable or not, my dad always tols me to look at what uhaul and those places used, which were always fords back in the 80s and 90s. And than of course, he only bought rangers and those 2 f250s for the plumbing company. The f250s were mid and late 80s since they were just pulling the back hoe on ine trailer and the skid steer and mini excavator in the other. The rangers just drove back and forth across texas daily. I had lots of days were i started in corpus and would go to laredo, then go to mcallen or brownsville, and then back to corpus christi. Those rangers were some money making trucks. Dad would buy them 5k and i would do the maintenance on them