Why can't we have one of these?

[rusty ol ranger]

Dad has a '80 K20 and a 92 1500 both with 350's, aside from quadrabog on the '80 they both run fine to me.

'80 is a factory cab chassis with a utility box full of tools so I do cut it a little slack.

Eons ago on here a guy pitted his 351W truck vs his wife's 4.3 Blazer in a pulling contest, the Blazer mopped the floor with the 250.

That was mostly due to the fact the F250 was way heavier and had 3.55 gears...the blazer obviously was lighter and had 4.10s


Not to drag up ancient history but it was not a fair fight in my opinion

 

[rusty ol ranger]

lolz classic.

https://www.tiktok.com/video/7580005054183279927

https://www.tiktok.com/video/7220069145994349867

That bottom test video was obviously rigged. First off the F150 of that era sat higher in the front then the chevy of that era. Im pretty sure they cranked the shit out of the torsion bars.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

That bottom test video was obviously rigged. First off the F150 of that era sat higher in the front then the chevy of that era. Im pretty sure they cranked the shit out of the torsion bars.

T bars didnt start until the new body in 88.

2wd were coil, 4wd were leaf.

 

[Lefty]

That was mostly due to the fact the F250 was way heavier and had 3.55 gears...the blazer obviously was lighter and had 4.10s


Not to drag up ancient history but it was not a fair fight in my opinion

The Chevy Syclone was somewhat different from a standard size truck with a big V8. It was a lightweight body which offered good handling. It wasn't meant to tow or haul all that much. It didn't have a crew cab. It fell into an entirely different category some call a sports truck. Ford Motors could have done the same for the Ranger. I wish they did.

 

[superj]

thinking back, i did have another chevy that wasn't a dog and it had a 350 too. i had a 79 gmc heavy half step side short bed with the 350 and t350 trans. that actually was a super cool truck and i really liked it but being a single cab and us having two kids in car seats, it had to move along.

that truck did actually run very good and was fun to hot rod. i had the stock exhaust swapped to true duals with one tip coming out in front of each back wheel.

a funny thing that happened in this truck that i had never experienced before was i driving to my parent's house and it started backfiring out of the carb. i got home and my dad says it probably bent a pushrod, listening to it run. sure enough, i take it home and a push rod is bent. i straightened it on the porch step and put it back in and never had that issue again.

it did have a very poorly tuned quadrajet on it but it tore it down and did some smoothing of the seams in the throat and tuned it using a vacuum gage and that sucker turned into the best running truck.

i was really unhappy about having to sell it.

it looked just like this but with eagle alloy rims and didn't have that aluminum square trim by the door handle

 

[cbxer55]

Back in 2000, before I bought my first Lightning, I test drove a used 454SS that had a whipple supercharger on it, along with a button on the dash that allowed you to change the tune on the fly. MAN! That puppy was ear-bleeding fast. Step on the throttle hard, back tires went up in smoke. But, I ended up buying a brand new 2000 Ford Lightning.

 

[19Walt93]

I've had over 80 cars, including a 350hp/327 4 speed 67 Corvette and a six cylinder 3 on the tree Camaro convertible. In 1972 I went to rescue a customer with a 30,000 mile 69 Impala that wouldn't start, thinking it needed a jump. It started after I replaced the timing chain and gears, then I shut it off, pulled the heads and fixed the bent valves.
I drag raced my Cobra II for about 20 years and beat every 350 TPI Camaro I raced. I also spent countless hours baking in the staging lanes while they cleaned the guts of the last SBC off the track. It doesn't work to combine 6000rpm heads with 4000 rpms connecting rods. Chevy used to sell "pink" rods for 350's- they had been magnafluxed so they might not break.
In the early 80's Hot Rod magazine took a new Mustang and Camaro, tweaked them and drag raced them. The Mustang got a new intake, a 4 barrel, and headers. On the Camaro they tore it down and replaced the pistons and rods before they started.
GM has had some good ideas- like the step built into truck rear bumpers- but they fall down on production quality.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

T bars didnt start until the new body in 88.

2wd were coil, 4wd were leaf.

That is an 88+. The solid axle square body style last untill 91 on 3\4 and 1tons...but 88 went torsion for half tons.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

The Chevy Syclone was somewhat different from a standard size truck with a big V8. It was a lightweight body which offered good handling. It wasn't meant to tow or haul all that much. It didn't have a crew cab. It fell into an entirely different category some call a sports truck. Ford Motors could have done the same for the Ranger. I wish they did.

No i get that...im just used the SS and lightning as examples of how ford seems to bring a knife to a gun fight at times

 

[Lefty]

thinking back, i did have another chevy that wasn't a dog and it had a 350 too. i had a 79 gmc heavy half step side short bed with the 350 and t350 trans. that actually was a super cool truck and i really liked it but being a single cab and us having two kids in car seats, it had to move along.

that truck did actually run very good and was fun to hot rod. i had the stock exhaust swapped to true duals with one tip coming out in front of each back wheel.

a funny thing that happened in this truck that i had never experienced before was i driving to my parent's house and it started backfiring out of the carb. i got home and my dad says it probably bent a pushrod, listening to it run. sure enough, i take it home and a push rod is bent. i straightened it on the porch step and put it back in and never had that issue again.

it did have a very poorly tuned quadrajet on it but it tore it down and did some smoothing of the seams in the throat and tuned it using a vacuum gage and that sucker turned into the best running truck.

i was really unhappy about having to sell it.

it looked just like this but with eagle alloy rims and didn't have that aluminum square trim by the door handle

View attachment 141250

A sweet looking ride

 

[Lefty]

No i get that...im just used the SS and lightning as examples of how ford seems to bring a knife to a gun fight at times

You are most certainly right. Ford seems to gravitate toward dull and boring. Not always, but often. The Splash could have been a sports truck. The Edge could have come with a more complete off road package, The Vulcan could have been tweaked to be more like a SHO or even a Taurus.

Yes, I get it. They need to compete with low priced imports, but still, they could have offered more options, especially for the Ranger

I don't mind. I get around, but that trusty old vulcan could have had a little more giddy-up-and-go, especially at highway speed.

 

[bobbywalter]

 

[rusty ol ranger]

You are most certainly right. Ford seems to gravitate toward dull and boring. Not always, but often. The Splash could have been a sports truck. The Edge could have come with a more complete off road package, The Vulcan could have been tweaked to be more like a SHO or even a Taurus.

Yes, I get it. They need to compete with low priced imports, but still, they could have offered more options, especially for the Ranger

I don't mind. I get around, but that trusty old vulcan could have had a little more giddy-up-and-go, especially at highway speed.

Thats one thing ive always kinda admired about mopar. They never were afraid to offer atleast a version of most models that had a pulse.

Frankly ive never drivin a mopar that wouldnt outpower a comperable ford or GM

 

[Lefty]

One very sweet little ride.