Anyone using old (50's-70's) truck?

but do be careful about how some off these boys bolt up parts to trucks that aint the right compatable years, you might run into a real PITA when one of their psychobilly bolt ups goes bad.

I have 2 73's. One is a 4x4 3/4 ton chevy called "trusty rusty" that pulls logs out of the timber and plows the driveway. I drive it to town about once a year to fill it up. The other is a very reliable 73 Dodge club cab with a 318 owned by a senior couple that I bought in Yuma, AZ when I retired in 02. It had 81,000 original miles on it and being a desert truck had absolutely no rust. It has 113,000 now and has hauled everything but the concrete and trusses for a 30 x 50 berm home.

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We have now officially entered the twilight zone.

They are BF Goodrich all terrain TA's- great snow tires.

I'd rather have and put money into an older truck then pay the money for a newer truck with all the puter stuff on it. The older ones are ment to last as I have a 78 ford f-150 4x4 i'm trying to sell right now along with my 94 jeep wrangler. they are both standereds and with my bad back I can't handle shifting anymore and is real bad on the back. But again the older trucks are 10 times easier to work on and parts are pretty cheap and are easy to come by. In Ohio they are at least. Later Matt

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Spelling and Gramer subject to screw ups I'm not perfect. Later MAtt

[QUOTE=Cabin Fever]Hummm...how come there's no rice burners listed here? Makes me kinda wonder?[QUOTE]


Toyota pick-ups are very popular around here. The things run forever and I'm told hey are easy to work on. They aren't even getting started at 200,000 miles. My neighbor has one with over 300,000 miles and it runs like a top and gets incredible gas mileage. For a small pickup there isn't an American truck that will touch them. If I needed a small truck I'd get a Toyota over an American truck like a ranger, S-10 etc. no question.

Heck, if I had the money and was considering a new full size I might very well end up with a Nissan or Toyota. I've seen some new trucks that cost over 40,000 dollars have some really unacceptable quality issues. Assembly line problems with bolts and screw being missing and also just plain old quality issues. Switches that don't work, parts that are undersized for their power or intended purpose and mainly just plain bad engineering. American manufacturers have improved in recent years but they have a very long way to go to meet the quality of Japanese vehicles. Interestingly, friend of mine who works at a German car dealership says that in the past couple of years they have been having problems with the quality of the German cars. Something that is extremely abnormal.

I hear you guys about the 70s and early 80s fords. I would love to find a nice 3/4 or 1 ton Ford 4x4. I'd love to put a dump bed kit and snowplow on one. I have a real soft spot for old fords. My first vehicle was a 77 ford F-150 custom. 400, C-6, dana 44 front, 9 inch rear, NP203 case with part time kit. I loved that old truck. I'd do about anything to find it again.

oh dont get me going on "new" jeeps....

they whould come with a chain so you can use them as an anchor when the warranty runs out.

.......................Toyata , is supposed to comeout with a full size , 3\4-1 ton truck that will be built at their new plant in San Antonio . Logically , a diesel +4x4 will also be available since diesel sales by the 3 other mfgers are hivolume vs gas engine sales . This is going to change somewhat since Diesel is priced higher than 93 octane , which makes NO sense given the fact that Diesel is the Cheapest fuel ...to refine... than any other grade of gas....fordy...

old trucks

Hum,

1952 Gmc 6x6 military with a grain box on it, (bought used with 7000 miles on it, added grain box)
1953 ford 1 1/2 ton with flat bed, have sides for grain box, and stock racks (my dad bought new)
1952 1/2 chevy short box, (my father in law bought new)
1978 ford one ton dually (I bought new)
1978 ford E150 van (bought used)
1974 chevy 4x4 1/2 ton (dad bought new)

yep that is it, and my 78 is my newest, all run well and are very usable,
oh I guess we do have 91 S10 chevy but that is not a truck, that is a piece of junk,

1977 Ford pick up. Wouldn't trade it for anything.

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Just feed me chocolate.

Heck yea-the older the better! I've got a 78 Ford F250 camper special, 197,000 miles on the origional 460, ever been rebuilt-running 30/50 in it to keep oil pressure, but hey-oil is cheaper than a rebuild, and it don't really need it-yet...LOL...body starting to go South, but just had a FULL load of firewood on it, along w/ a full trailer load behind it, and the thing hardly knew it was working...cannot kill it, and sure would hate it if anything happened to 'er...they don't build 'em like that anymore, and I sure wish they did! I do wish it was a 4x4, but I've loaded the bed w/ snow, and never had an ounce of trouble making it into town-the thing is like a tank!

Oh yeah

64' F100 acadamy blue, short bed with 223 motor (rebuilt ) runs like a top, for field mill haulng, fertilizer and seed transport etc
47' and a 50' power wagons non military for everyday heavy duty hauling
teh 47 is currently being restored , the 50 is the work horse
wouldnt trade them for teh world .....

Paula
Hyde Park Farm

Old trucks are great! But can be a little quirky and a bit of a PIA as a daily driver if your used to a later vehicle.
An old truck in Maine would obviously have to be checked for rust causing frame and structure damage. If the frame is rusted badly or the cab mounts or cowl are rusted you might be in for trouble.
I question using a manual transmission to plow with. When I left cold country many quit using manual trans for plowing because of going through clutches. The correct truck with an auto trans and a large cooler seemed to work better with less problems.

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"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self confidence"
Robert Frost