Chevy vs. Ford vs. Mopar

[LightningCrash]

Scarce, no, but will the alternator from a '96 T-bird (with the 4.6) fit a 4.6 or 5.4 in an 2000 F150? nope. Will just about any alternator from the late 60s swap into a 1997 Chevy 1500? Yup. the problem with ford is that they have parts that were changed mid year, sometimes three or for times a year and nothing is compatible except that exact part. Time is everything in the apocolypse.

And to answer the "why would you need a car in the apocolypse?" question- to run, for defense, for basic travel, just as you need one now! If you have a truck and most people don't, then you are at an advantage. Understanding how to keep yours running is even more of an advantage.

US Petroleum reserves have enough fuel to keep commuters running for about 30 days, that's it. In addition, the military will likely be the only one with access to that petrol. You might reconsider your apocalypse transportation. If there's a gas stoppage... petrol is out almost instantly.

 

[CamaroMan]

US Petroleum reserves have enough fuel to keep commuters running for about 30 days, that's it. In addition, the military will likely be the only one with access to that petrol. You might reconsider your apocalypse transportation. If there's a gas stoppage... petrol is out almost instantly.

Wait you don't have 10,000 gallons stored in your backyard?

 

[cjjtulsa]

And to answer the "why would you need a car in the apocolypse?" question- to run, for defense, for basic travel, just as you need one now! If you have a truck and most people don't, then you are at an advantage. Understanding how to keep yours running is even more of an advantage.

And you're going to run it on what, chili farts? QT won't be open after the apocolypse, so you'd better have a good still - and better have adapted that fuel system to tolerate methanol.

*****edit*****

Lightningcrash beat me to it.

 

[ZombieHunter]

If you have a truck and most people don't, then you are at an advantage. Understanding how to keep yours running is even more of an advantage.

Here is My manifesto...

This is why Chevy will always win for me, you can literally throw a rock and hit a car that you can take parts from it and put in ANY chevy behind it or in front if it in age in the years between 1969 to 1999, '00 was the red headed stepchild for Chevy to me, as that was the year they did the new body style half way into it and decided to F*CK up their tried and true 5.7 for a puny 5.3l V8 and screwed up the entire electrical system. Something about the 92-99 anything full size Chevy/GMC that just SCREAMS reliability. I carry backups for almost all major systems in a HD Rubbermaid tote in the back of my suburban, 4 core radiator and manifold, A/c Compressor (front only back is a b*tch to install on the go) Entire Serpentine Assembly including A/C, alternator etc etc, brake pads and front rotors (have rear Disc Conversion but if you need brakes 2 will do in a pinch. I can replace all exterior mounted lines and components in my rig in under 3 hours on the road (ask how I know) and Do not need to call anybody for anything.

Have also Driven a blown transmission 300 miles after putting a bottle of Lucas Transmission Fix in it got me to the next major service area where they had a new tranny waiting, which was through the Ozark Mountains Believe it or not (thought I was gonna be sleeping in the back that night)



Now I do not claim they are bulletproof for everyone but for me and my family who barely take them above 2000RPM going up a hill in 3rd they last us quite awhile, hell we got a 95 GMC 1500 sitting on our farm that just got "totaled" out from a stupid texting and driving teen who rear ended us, blew up the rear axle to the point it only goes 55 now and that is EXTREMELY loud, ABS system got blown up Long-bed got shortened about a foot and the frame is "Diamond-ed (think "l \" ) but it still runs and JUST hit 200k on original motor and 2nd tranny (common) as our farm and Dump Run truck, will continue until it falls apart probably around 250k or 300K in a decade or 3.

Chevy Is a Rock, the only thing that beats it as far as TUFFNESS is a Toyota HILUX, and that is only because they have Laddered Steel Frames and All Steel Body Paneling up until 2004. If you want the Laddered Frame its 700$ at a decent Frame guy and you have the same thing on the Chevy Chassis.

And to why you would want a vehicle you know how to most repair work on yourself in a SHTF situation, exactly what I said above, carry spares and be prepared with some macguyver fixes if need be in the knowledge belt, you will *never* be stranded again.

*DISCLAIMER*
Subject to Owner/Operator Competence in Maintaining his own vehicle, and Individual driving style of the Operator, Not Liable for Jack Sh*t that happens to you on the road, Maybe not being such leadfoots would help the service life of your vehicles. Imagine if we all still used Horse travel, there would be an A$$load of dead horses because no one gave it water or food and ran it for 5000 miles top speed....Shame.

 

[ZombieHunter]

Wait you don't have 10,000 gallons stored in your backyard?

Sadly my family only has 2-550 gallons underground, those are hard enough to maintain levels on over the year as it is SO easy to just fill up at home instead of stopping and filling up elsewhere and only cost effective to fill once below 1/4 each. Assuming it was full though and with mixed driving in our rigs we could go 17,000+ miles before we ran out, I am sure I could find a few tankers on the way and bring them back to home base whilst stashing my rig as well in the event of.

 

[tm8634]

chevy...but i own all three with the business...

 

[Bruno2]

Well, we all saw what making a bad product for many yrs will get you. A govt bail out like GM got. I remember seeing on the news that Toyota out sold GM. I remember thinking Gm is on their way out. Then about 5 yrs later they broke the news to the world. We cant stay afloat any longer. I have owned all of the big three when it came to trucks. I have a construction business that requires me to have 5 trucks on the road. The only ones that require new motors and new tranny's have been the chevies. I am about to put a tranny in a Ford F-250 , but , it has 270,000 miles on it and has had a trailer hooked to it most of its life. The Gm's never towed anything except for maybe a 6oolb cement mixer twice a month. The Gm's are the easiest to work on and the parts are the most prevelant. That shows you that you will need to work on them and by parts often. So they want to make it as easy as possible.

I drive a 2006 Ram 2500 with the cummins . Its 4x4 and 4dr. I have found bolts on this truck that werent tightened up from the factory. I could tell b/c they werent tightened down all the way and then painted. I had terrible warranty service from all the dealers in Tulsa. Thats right all of them . I took it to every last one of them . The service guys at the one on 46th and memorial refused to handle the warranty work at one point b/c it rolled 35k as I pulled in their driveway. Really crappy of them IMHO. I did have a 99 1/2 ton 4x4 Dodge that ran until the wheels fell off. It had about 150K on it and I worked it like a 1 ton for 5 yrs.

The Fords have the heaviest suspension out of all of them. Ford was the first Company to make a truck. Its hard to beat the ones that have been doing it the longest.

I bought a Chevy Silverado 3-4 yrs ago. The Silverado isnt a package anymore its its own truck now . This was apparently the replacement for the El Camino. There was nothing truck about it. It was like a car with a p/u bed on it.

As far as the diesel motors go. The cummins is a little bit superior to the rest. The Duramax is probably the next in line. This motor that Gm got from Isuzu was one of the driving forces behind Gm even being able to recover from their financial problems. Had they not adopted it when they did it would have been curtains. I remember back in the early 90's going to live stock shows and driving through the parking lots at the fair grounds. There were probably 600-700 3/4-1 ton trucks out there with trailers hooked to them . This was before the D-max . You could count the GM's on 2 fingers maybe 3. The 7.3 PSD and the 5.9 Cummins were just eating the 454's lunch in sales.

The trucks are about all that the Americans have going for them and now its the heavy trucks b/c Toyota and Nissan have really great 1/2 tons now. The gov is really fighhting them hard on producing a small turbo diesel for a 3/4 ton and 1 ton. This would probably cause us to lose 1 million jobs if they sucessfully build one and get it on the lots. As far as cars go Nobody to speak of are buying American. Why would we? You can buy a Honda ,Toyota, or a Nissan that will run reliably , get great fuel mileage and not break down. Not tomention hold some resale also. I have been hosed so bad on all of the American cars and vans that I bought for my wife that I feel like the big 3 owe me some money. My wife drives a sequoia now and it has been in the shop twice. Once for a battery and once for a gas cap. It has 100k on it right now. Its still books for $30k . Keep in mind that this thing has a lot of gadgets and luxury items on it , so there is plenty of things that can break. They just dont.

Here is something else that a lot of people dont understand about American vehicles. GM and Dodge use a lot of the same subcontractors for parts. There isnt much difference between the 2. Gm really pushed hard advertising the "Allison transmission" as selling point for their trucks. Guess what? Allison has been making most of the automatic transmissions in American cars and trucks since the 50's. So they dont have the lock up on them like they would want you think.

My neighbor is a mechanic and he works out of his driveway. GM keeps the food on his table and there is plenty of it. I am looking over there right now . He has a S-10 Blazer , a pontiac Grand Am and a Duramax torn apart right now as we speak.

I am not so much brand particular as I am good product particular. I will drive anything. I like Ford , Dodge , Nissan , Honda , Toyota , Isuzu, KIA, Hyundai, Porsche, Mercedes, BMW, Volvo, VW, Mercury, Chrysler, Infinity, Lexus, Acura, SAAB, Audi.

 

[onearmedman]

Well, we all saw what making a bad product for many yrs will get you. A govt bail out like GM got. I remember seeing on the news that Toyota out sold GM. I remember thinking Gm is on their way out. Then about 5 yrs later they broke the news to the world. We cant stay afloat any longer. I have owned all of the big three when it came to trucks. I have a construction business that requires me to have 5 trucks on the road. The only ones that require new motors and new tranny's have been the chevies. I am about to put a tranny in a Ford F-250 , but , it has 270,000 miles on it and has had a trailer hooked to it most of its life. The Gm's never towed anything except for maybe a 6oolb cement mixer twice a month. The Gm's are the easiest to work on and the parts are the most prevelant. That shows you that you will need to work on them and by parts often. So they want to make it as easy as possible.

I drive a 2006 Ram 2500 with the cummins . Its 4x4 and 4dr. I have found bolts on this truck that werent tightened up from the factory. I could tell b/c they werent tightened down all the way and then painted. I had terrible warranty service from all the dealers in Tulsa. Thats right all of them . I took it to every last one of them . The service guys at the one on 46th and memorial refused to handle the warranty work at one point b/c it rolled 35k as I pulled in their driveway. Really crappy of them IMHO. I did have a 99 1/2 ton 4x4 Dodge that ran until the wheels fell off. It had about 150K on it and I worked it like a 1 ton for 5 yrs.

The Fords have the heaviest suspension out of all of them. Ford was the first Company to make a truck. Its hard to beat the ones that have been doing it the longest.

I bought a Chevy Silverado 3-4 yrs ago. The Silverado isnt a package anymore its its own truck now . This was apparently the replacement for the El Camino. There was nothing truck about it. It was like a car with a p/u bed on it.

As far as the diesel motors go. The cummins is a little bit superior to the rest. The Duramax is probably the next in line. This motor that Gm got from Isuzu was one of the driving forces behind Gm even being able to recover from their financial problems. Had they not adopted it when they did it would have been curtains. I remember back in the early 90's going to live stock shows and driving through the parking lots at the fair grounds. There were probably 600-700 3/4-1 ton trucks out there with trailers hooked to them . This was before the D-max . You could count the GM's on 2 fingers maybe 3. The 7.3 PSD and the 5.9 Cummins were just eating the 454's lunch in sales.

The trucks are about all that the Americans have going for them and now its the heavy trucks b/c Toyota and Nissan have really great 1/2 tons now. The gov is really fighhting them hard on producing a small turbo diesel for a 3/4 ton and 1 ton. This would probably cause us to lose 1 million jobs if they sucessfully build one and get it on the lots. As far as cars go Nobody to speak of are buying American. Why would we? You can buy a Honda ,Toyota, or a Nissan that will run reliably , get great fuel mileage and not break down. Not tomention hold some resale also. I have been hosed so bad on all of the American cars and vans that I bought for my wife that I feel like the big 3 owe me some money. My wife drives a sequoia now and it has been in the shop twice. Once for a battery and once for a gas cap. It has 100k on it right now. Its still books for $30k . Keep in mind that this thing has a lot of gadgets and luxury items on it , so there is plenty of things that can break. They just dont.

Here is something else that a lot of people dont understand about American vehicles. GM and Dodge use a lot of the same subcontractors for parts. There isnt much difference between the 2. Gm really pushed hard advertising the "Allison transmission" as selling point for their trucks. Guess what? Allison has been making most of the automatic transmissions in American cars and trucks since the 50's. So they dont have the lock up on them like they would want you think.

My neighbor is a mechanic and he works out of his driveway. GM keeps the food on his table and there is plenty of it. I am looking over there right now . He has a S-10 Blazer , a pontiac Grand Am and a Duramax torn apart right now as we speak.

I am not so much brand particular as I am good product particular. I will drive anything. I like Ford , Dodge , Nissan , Honda , Toyota , Isuzu, KIA, Hyundai, Porsche, Mercedes, BMW, Volvo, VW, Mercury, Chrysler, Infinity, Lexus, Acura, SAAB, Audi.

Who are the .gov fighting with about a TD powerplant?
http://forums.motortrend.com/70/6543162/the-general-forum/toyota-tundra-diesel-confirmed/index.html
http://www.auto-insight.us/2010/07/27/2012-toyota-tacoma-diesel/
2012 toyota tacoma diesel

Toyota is making final preparations to start production of the 2011 Tacoma midsize pickup at its new home in San Antonio. Here’s a first look at the latest Tacoma, which features a new grille for all models.

For the past few weeks, Toyota has been building preproduction Tacomas to check assembly processes and quality. The trucks shown here are part of the last pilot batch.

Tacoma production was moved to Texas after Toyota ended operations at the New United Motor Manufacturing plant in Northern California, where Toyota had built small trucks for the U.S. since 1991. The Tacoma will be built alongside the Toyota Tundra at the Texas plant.Toyota’s flexible manufacturing process allows Tundras and Tacomas to roll down the line back-to-back if necessary to meet manufacturing demand, said Craig Mullenbach, manager of external affairs at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Texas.

The 2011 Tacoma sports a revised grille that collapses the previous two-bar style to a single bar. While some models receive bare plastic grilles, others, like the sporty X-Runner, will have body-colored grilles.

Production of the 2011 Tacoma starts Monday, and the first Tacomas could find their way to Toyota dealerships as early as the end of this month.

Article Source:news.pickuptrucks.com
[Broken External Image]

 

[onearmedman]

http://www.peakmechanical.com/mine truck.html

You can have your Cummins and a Taco too...

 

[WTJ]

Funny, it seems most of the Chevy praise is geared towards parts availability.

I have owned different big 3 vehicles and always end up back with a Ford. They may not be all pretty, but it is difficult to tear one up. Chevy is an urban transport and Dodges have reliability issues.