Do You Plan To Buy A New Truck In The Next Year?

[Trickymissfit]

not on here much cause im in afghanistan but i just bought a new to me 1973 CJ-5 and am planning on buying another "new" hunting truck. small 4 wheel drive with a carburetor. to replace my fuel sipping ford hi boy

First of all keeo your noggin' down and your eyes open over there!! I'm with you in my thoughts (I'm a combat vet), and will be waiting for you safe return back to the world.

There hasn't been anything built with a carb in the last twenty years that I can think of. You might be able to find a good used ZR-2, and slip a small block in it with a carb. The electronics will be a bitch as everything is run thru the computers now, which means that you'll need a strait stick. Even the radiator will need changing out, or reworking. I've seen a couple ZR-2's with small blocks in them, so I know it can be done. Look for one built in the first couple years of production.
gary

 

[Catfish1990]

First of all keeo your noggin' down and your eyes open over there!! I'm with you in my thoughts (I'm a combat vet), and will be waiting for you safe return back to the world.

There hasn't been anything built with a carb in the last twenty years that I can think of. You might be able to find a good used ZR-2, and slip a small block in it with a carb. The electronics will be a bitch as everything is run thru the computers now, which means that you'll need a strait stick. Even the radiator will need changing out, or reworking. I've seen a couple ZR-2's with small blocks in them, so I know it can be done. Look for one built in the first couple years of production.
gary

thank you for your support. and i know there hasnt been any carbs in 20+ years. ive never had any problems with my hiboy that i couldnt fix myself. my 03 eclipse that i bought for gas milage however has had endless problems as well as my 95 camaro and the other 2 fuel injected engines and i cant work on them as easily. i like old trucks anyway. more fun to drive easier to work on and its hard to beat the sound that comes out of a carbed engine. im only 21 but i love old vehicles and dont see any reason to buy these new vehicles. which is what i said about semi auto rifles until i just recently puchased an AR in pieces.

 

[The Surgeon]

Not going to buy, but I should have my 1979 Chevy project done by the end of November. As much money as I have tied up in it, I could have bought a new truck.

 

[Michiganhunter]

@ Surgeon,
But they don't build them like they did in 79'. Now a days, you need to be a "mechanical- surgeon" to work on them!!! My 65' chevy big window, I could sit in the engine compartment, and wrench away. My wife's 06' Cadillac STS has a plastic cover over the entire engine that you have to take off, just to see anything!! My 05' F-150 I was wishing I could get my hands on the engineer that put the oil filter in a spot that without a hoist and a filter "socket" was almost the death of me.

 

[Trickymissfit]

just a note not trying to **** off the world, but let me tell you some crule facts that I learned from some very extensive engineering tests as well as test done by SAE lubrecation engineers over the years.

*the cleanest burning gasoline is Shell and BP. You might add Mobil in there as well, but we didn't have access to it at the time. The worst is Marathon/Ashland. The afore group of fuels will usually give you two to three mpg over the latter I might add. But most of all is the deposits left in the engine, and of course the fuel delivery system. Around here you can buy BP and Shell for about two cents a gallon more, and that's a bargin!

*year in and year out you will always find the same group of engine oils in the top four or five. Mobil is usually number one for use in gasoline engines (keep this in mind). The others will float around a little bit. We never did much testing of oil additives, but Lucas and Royal Purple seem to help greatly. But as much as we tested oils, our primary direction was with deisels. Castrol is the best period. Better than Mobil and all the other by a good margin! Mobil One is very good for gasoline engines, and Castrol is right in there as well. What Mobil lacked was suspension of dirt particals and transfer of heat in the deisels. The suspension of dirt is critical in a deisel as that's how you get it to the filter. Engine oil is actually a major form of coolant in an internal combustion engine, and if it dosn't absorb heat from the bearings they will fail. Deisels do put out a lot of heat in the bearings under hard usage.

* most people fail to realize just how critcal the oil and fuel filters are in an automobile. Buy cheap ones and pay out dearly down the road. We found that Baldwin filters were by a long shot the best out there. There are other good ones as well. You really can't change an oil filter too often!
gary

 

[SidecarFlip]

I've got my trusty '97 F 350 4x4 4 door long bed 7.3 diesel that hauls my hotel on wheels...Lance camper that only has 87K miles on it, no rust, mint. No, it's not for sale......

I can't rationalize paying 50 plus for a new truck (I'd need a heavy duty 4x4 for sure).

I can't do GM. They still owe us taxpayers millions. Now if they gave away vehicles to balance the debt owed, I might take one......

I can't do Chrysler. I know what's underneath the sheet metal and it's all the cheapest available materials, besides, now that they are Fiat, that's worse. Fiats are all fugly....

Trucks, cars and sleds are the worst type of payment book, all depreciate faster than they get paid for.

If I was to get a new vehicle, one it would have to be cash and 2, it would be a car, preferrably an awd with a roof rack so my deer can go on top and my guns inside.....

My cousin has a Prius and he's hauled his kill inside, quartered of course.

 

[Educ8r]

Not within one year but hopefully the year after. Need to pay off the wife's new Explorer first then I am planning on buying a Ford F150 with the Ecoboost.

 

[Trickymissfit]

I've got my trusty '97 F 350 4x4 4 door long bed 7.3 diesel that hauls my hotel on wheels...Lance camper that only has 87K miles on it, no rust, mint. No, it's not for sale......

I can't rationalize paying 50 plus for a new truck (I'd need a heavy duty 4x4 for sure).

I can't do GM. They still owe us taxpayers millions. Now if they gave away vehicles to balance the debt owed, I might take one......

I can't do Chrysler. I know what's underneath the sheet metal and it's all the cheapest available materials, besides, now that they are Fiat, that's worse. Fiats are all fugly....

Trucks, cars and sleds are the worst type of payment book, all depreciate faster than they get paid for.

If I was to get a new vehicle, one it would have to be cash and 2, it would be a car, preferrably an awd with a roof rack so my deer can go on top and my guns inside.....

My cousin has a Prius and he's hauled his kill inside, quartered of course.[/QUOTE

half a Ford truck is made in Asia. It's so bad that they are not considered to be U.S. made these days (been that way for 15 or more years). The next flaw in you post refers to money (as in loans). Last time I heard (about a week ago that loan was a secured loan) Ford did it another way because they were never gonna get a loan anyway with 35 Billion in cash setting in the bank. Ford took a series of tax credits (one was $312,000,000 alone) which they will never have to pay back, but you will for them. Now how much Ford got in credits is somewhat disputed, but I've heard as high as $31.2 billion and as low as 7.5 Billion. Not all that bad for a wad of cash you never have to pay back.

Chrysler is an oddity here. They are privately owned, and the group that owns them is mega billions big. Their engines are a common sight in Ward's Ten Best engines every year. They are also the only company that does a 100% dyno test on all it's high output eight cylinder engines. The others are lucky to do 1:25 for 90 seconds. Chrysler has now gone to the ZF automatic transmissions in their heavy use rigs. This transmission is pretty much similar to the Allison LCT but with 8 speeds. (I still like the older ones better) Over a year back Chrysler wanted to pay back the entire loan with interest, and the Fed wouldn't take it. Their deisel is the Cadillac of deisel engines. Will out last the others by a long shot if that matters much (also the cleanest burning one by far).
gary

 

[Michiganhunter]

So Gary,
Is what you are saying is that we should all follow your cousin, and support the Japs directly, and all buy Toyscrodums? Because, my Grandfather was on a ship on one sunny day, when a bunch of coward, slope eyed red dot flying F--- sticks came over the tops of the Mountains and ambushed him, and he got to see fist hand, a couple thousand of his fellow military brother's and sister's get murdered? So to this day, I WILL NOT be as nice as to let a Jap car out into traffic, from a side street or parking lot, but do so willingly to anyone else? I wish I had RPG launcher mounted to the front of my Ford F-150, and it was legal to launch one at EVERY Jap Car & Truck I see on the roads here, around the "Motor City". I have several anti JAP bumper stickers on my truck, and I fly them proudly, for my Grandpa, ( Who was a Die Welder @ Ford Wixom for 43 years) and the ones that did NOT make it home from Hawaii? When the 23 foot tsunami hit Japan, I said the only thing better than that, would have been if it was 46 feet high? Do I sound sour? You bet I am. As far as Asia and Mexico manufacturing most of the "big 3's parts. You can blame that on Corporate Greed. After all, that is the "NEW, American Way" MOST companies only care about one thing anymore, and that is the bottom line. Workers mean NOTHING to investors, except, how can YOU make ME more profit? Lets wait and see how the Government, that now controls the retirement of GM workers figures out a way to screw the worker out of their retirement with their left hand, while stuffing Hummer's full of $100's into the pockets of their friends, the executives!! I just can't wait until we have a REAL Revolution. Not a Ron Paul Revolution, because Americans are too stupid to elect someone with integrity, but a revolution to be sure.

 

[Trickymissfit]

So Gary,
Is what you are saying is that we should all follow your cousin, and support the Japs directly, and all buy Toyscrodums? Because, my Grandfather was on a ship on one sunny day, when a bunch of coward, slope eyed red dot flying F--- sticks came over the tops of the Mountains and ambushed him, and he got to see fist hand, a couple thousand of his fellow military brother's and sister's get murdered? So to this day, I WILL NOT be as nice as to let a Jap car out into traffic, from a side street or parking lot, but do so willingly to anyone else? I wish I had RPG launcher mounted to the front of my Ford F-150, and it was legal to launch one at EVERY Jap Car & Truck I see on the roads here, around the "Motor City". I have several anti JAP bumper stickers on my truck, and I fly them proudly, for my Grandpa, ( Who was a Die Welder @ Ford Wixom for 43 years) and the ones that did NOT make it home from Hawaii? When the 23 foot tsunami hit Japan, I said the only thing better than that, would have been if it was 46 feet high? Do I sound sour? You bet I am. As far as Asia and Mexico manufacturing most of the "big 3's parts. You can blame that on Corporate Greed. After all, that is the "NEW, American Way" MOST companies only care about one thing anymore, and that is the bottom line. Workers mean NOTHING to investors, except, how can YOU make ME more profit? Lets wait and see how the Government, that now controls the retirement of GM workers figures out a way to screw the worker out of their retirement with their left hand, while stuffing Hummer's full of $100's into the pockets of their friends, the executives!! I just can't wait until we have a REAL Revolution. Not a Ron Paul Revolution, because Americans are too stupid to elect someone with integrity, but a revolution to be sure.

I drive a 93% made U.S. N. American made truck. What you drive, I could care less about (your money). A Ford truck on the lot will be hard pressed to show a 53% N. American content while that Jap truck you cuss will be fifteen points higher in content. A new G.M. truck will show about 61% U.S. and Canadian content (Ford includes Mexico). That's why the Fed don't buy Crown Vics anymore because they're foreign made. (so now they closed the plant with a zillion of them laying around). Ford did agree to bring back some work they had done in Asia awhile back, but so far it's never shown up on the sticker content (probably a little too soon anyway). G.M. did the samething, and last I looked it hasn't shown up either. Takes about 24 months to get that supply chain rolling again.

G.M. does a small fraction of manufacturing in Mexico these days, and I'm not sure what Ford does down there. Ford's biggest interests are in Asia. Canada has a content law that is also against the NAFTA Treaty, but no one's got the balls to challange them on it. It's good to see the numbers make you mad, because they should!

gary

 

[Michiganhunter]

Hi Gary,
One of the problems I have, is that the profit from those Jap cars and trucks, goes back to the Japs. Even though they build their Jap cars on OUR Soil and employ local farmers, and high school drop outs for half or less than half of the competitors UAW worker, the profits leave OUR Soil, and go back to theirs. No, I am not or ever have been a UAW worker. But, if you look at the location of many of the Jap plants, they are in rural areas. That is where they find people that are less likely to push for a Union, and just glad to have a job away from the family farm, that pays a steady income? I know that my 2002 F-150 was built in Dearborn Michigan. Where the parts came from, I am not sure. I know that the people that put the truck together spend their income, here in my state?

 

[Trickymissfit]

Hi Gary,
One of the problems I have, is that the profit from those Jap cars and trucks, goes back to the Japs. Even though they build their Jap cars on OUR Soil and employ local farmers, and high school drop outs for half or less than half of the competitors UAW worker, the profits leave OUR Soil, and go back to theirs. No, I am not or ever have been a UAW worker. But, if you look at the location of many of the Jap plants, they are in rural areas. That is where they find people that are less likely to push for a Union, and just glad to have a job away from the family farm, that pays a steady income? I know that my 2002 F-150 was built in Dearborn Michigan. Where the parts came from, I am not sure. I know that the people that put the truck together spend their income, here in my state?

I'm probably the only guy here that's been inside Honda, Toyota, and Subaru plants as well as Ford, Chrysler, and G.M.. Subaru is pretty much a sweat shop unless it's changed in the last ten years. Toyota actually pays more per year than G.M. and Ford do. There base rate for an assembler is about two dollars less, but at the end of the year they do a profit sharing thing that often is in the 20% range. Their skilled apps are paid well under scale, and that's why they don't have anybody in there. If I were to work in a transplant plant, it'd be Honda (and I won't). Toyota wouldn't be either, but Honda would be the top one.

The domestic plants are unionized and some folks bitch and moan about. Yet none have ever stepped foot in one. Always amazes me that they have xray vision. Skilled people in those plants are the ones that are paid dearly, but even then it's below the job market scale for someone with their skill level. The union and the company are pretty much a similar thing these days no matter what they tell you. It's common knowledge that the most productive plants per work hour are the unionized auto plants by almost a 25% margin. Of these plants, Ford pays slightly more than the other two. The other two are on a semi second tier agreement (note: I used the word "semi"). Harder for Ford to compete with the other two due to labor costs alone (not as important as many here think). To get around this issue half of a Ford is made out of the country, and Ford literally manufactures about 35% of the parts in the product line (it was 30% a few years back). Outsourcing is one thing, but going a step further and moving those jobs accross the borders is another. G.M. does about 65% of it's parts in house, and of the 35% outsourced parts 60% are domestic. Chrysler is similar to Ford. Nobody does glass anymore, and rarely does anybody do their own electronics or wiring. Paint pretty much comes from Dupont. same can be said about seat covers and such. (G.M. still builds it's own seat frames and associated parts.) Labor issues are not a common thing in any of these plants anymore, but with a couple exceptions that have been delt with pretty hard. But 98% of here will think of a car or truck plant with a bunch of bodies rolling down an assembly line. Not much labor there; believe me! The real labor is in the componets that are shipped to the assembly plants, and this is one reason why G.M. is struggeling right now. These componet plants have almost 50% of the people in there not making parts. Machinery is so sophisticated that it takes a lot of folks to keep them running. Japs tend to call in factory reps at over $130 and hour with eight hours minimum. G.M. will do the same if it's in warranty or it's something they don't know how to fix. Their electricians will make about $34 an hour (machine repair is the same). They work in teams that may have as many as six men (at $350K and hour that's cheap). After about two years around a particular piece of equipment these guys usually fix it faster and better than factory service folks. There will also be an engineering group as well as programers and other non productive folks supporting the operator as well. Most salary jobs have been contracted out to outside companies (janators, clerks, etc), but engineering remains steadfast as it should. In this respect Ford is similar.

All these plants use similar equipment, but with one exception. The Jap plants will not buy anything U.S. made! Well we've seen the demise of the U.S. machine tool industry over the last twenty years, and that's a big part of it. It's amazing to me at all the kick backs that are comming out of all these plants ( with Japs, European, and Korean plants this is an acceptable way of doing business). Theft of intellectual property is still a common thing in today's world , and the Japs and Koreans are good at it! But now they are locked out of the places to steal from, and I'm watching the big three catch up and in many cases pass them up. Some folks are slow learners I guess. Then there are the mill stones that have been fitted to the domestic corporations necks. Affirmative action is a tax that used to have a 20% figure on every part made. OHSA is another mill stone. These plants are very safe now, but the OSHA folks are always jacking with them. (rarely a Jap plant I might add). Japs seem tobe better managers than what the big three tend to hire, so I'll have to give them that credit. Plus they tend to treat their help fairly well (better than the big three).
gary

 

[htp496]

I'm a Chevy/Buick dealer and also have everything under the sun pre-owned. Fellow long rangers welcome to contact if I can help with something.......and not just buying! Just give me a shout!!!!

 

[Catbird]

Hey Len, every time I click on one of your polls it says I've already voted.

Whats up?