Chevy or Dodge.
Unless it's 4X4, then any of the 3 are fine.

The twin I-beam abortion that Ford used kills it for me.

Chevy, no decision. Either 2wd short box or 4wd long box, both fleet side. The only body style I like the looks of in 2 tone. If you're southern US, rust shouldn't be an issue and a 4spd solves the weak auto trans.

Like the 65/66 & 67/68 bodies as well. Nice trucks lifted or lowered.

quote:

Originally posted by ScreamingCockatoo:
Chevy or Dodge.
Unless it's 4X4, then any of the 3 are fine.

The twin I-beam abortion that Ford used kills it for me.

^^ THIS ^^

We had these at work and couldn't keep the damn front ends aligned.

I never understood the sport/flare side or whatever it is called.
I don't think it looks good. I see no added benefit smaller bed is all it seems to get you.

I don't really care if it is pretty. Just want something that has prevelant parts, and easy to work on and I can keep a spare points distributor in the shop for when N Korea drops that EMP on us I'll still be able to get around

Definitely a Chevy. Regular cab short box 4x4. I love the 73-87 body style but my hands down favorite is the prior generation, 67-72.

Don't sell the Ford 300 ci inline 6 short. First good produce truck I ever had was a 1969 Ford F600 straight job with a 14 ft box that I bought in 1975. Ex Ryder rental truck and it was a 300 cu in 6 cyl w/manual transmission. Served me well for several years.

quote:

Originally posted by MikeNH:
Definitely a Chevy. Regular cab short box 4x4. I love the 73-87 body style but my hands down favorite is the prior generation, 67-72.

Here are a couple of good ones from days gone by.

1969 C10 and 1972 El Camino

So I know a six with manual from the mid eighties is not going to be a speed demon.
But wondering about how it would be more for torque and pulling than higher geared and higher highway speeds.
Anyone with personal experience with 84-86 ford 1/2 tons with this combo? 4wd btw.

Thanks.

In SW PA, (think rust) I've noticed that most trucks that are daily drivers over 30yrs old are Dodges.

I see ALOT of Fords 20yrs or older. Most belong to high school kids who beat the hell out of them.

I don't see a lot of Chevy's 20yrs or older.

I have nothing against any of them, I'm just adding to the conversation...

Move up a few years to the late 80s, say, '87 and up, and you can get fuel injected engines. These run much better than the electronic carburetors of the early and mid '80s.

Its not a chevy but... My father had an 85? dodge regular cab, short bed with inline six and a manual transmission. It was definitely weak I don't think it would have pulled much well.

I learned to drive a stick on that thing. It didn't have power steering or synchronized gears so you had to double clutch when downshifting.

It was fun trying to turn the wheel while stopped. You had to move forward and back a little to make it easier. Good times.

1974 Ford F250 4x4 4 speed with a 460. Yeah. Bigfoot.

Keep in mind too that while half ton trucks are handy they aren't rated for, say, 40 bags of pellet. Sure, they CAN (for short distances) but it's really not good for them.

I'd seriously look at the 70s Fords, or 80s GM 3/4 tons. I had an 85 1/2 ton Chebby and a buddy had an 84 3/4 GMC and the parts (steering suspension brakes and even cab and bed mounts) were quite a bit burlier than mine.

I like MOPAR cars, but don't care for the looks of the trucks compared to the boxy GM/ Ford.

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
So I know a six with manual from the mid eighties is not going to be a speed demon.
But wondering about how it would be more for torque and pulling than higher geared and higher highway speeds.
Anyone with personal experience with 84-86 ford 1/2 tons with this combo? 4wd btw.

Thanks.

I had one. Probably an '83, but I don't really remember. I-6 300 with a floor shift 4 speed, but was 3 plus granny gear, so really a 3 speed. Wasn't fast, but was a very good truck, and I did a lot of miles in it. Plenty of torque IF you kept some rpm in the motor. If you let it get too slow, it bogged. Mine was carbureted, and that didn't help. The next truck we bought was an F150 (86 or 87) with the 5.0 mustang engine and a granny gear 4 speed. Got about the same mileage as the I6, had much more torque at low end, and due to the injection, was much smoother pulling across the full power band. All in, a much nicer truck to drive.

Those I6 engines are really tough, though.

For early 80's I'd go Chevy....and I'm not a GM guy.

quote:

Originally posted by doublesharp:
I'd get an 87 Silverado. First year for throttle body fuel injection 350 and last year for the box body style.

This. We have an '87 Suburban Silverado, was my 2nd vehicle in high school when my Mercedes was down for a transmission replacement.
Truck ran so well & now is permanently re-homed to our ranch in S TX & has been converted into an 'Avalanche' of sorts (cut the roof off the back & put a truck cab to make it a crew cab.

That would be worth a pix p250uas!

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
So I know a six with manual from the mid eighties is not going to be a speed demon.
But wondering about how it would be more for torque and pulling than higher geared and higher highway speeds.
Anyone with personal experience with 84-86 ford 1/2 tons with this combo? 4wd btw.

Thanks.

I had a 91 F-150 2wd extended cab with the 300 cubic inch 6 and a 5 speed stick. It was fuel injected, so probably more powerful than a carbureted one like you are looking at. I think that if it had a compound low first gear it would have been adequate to tow my 16' flatbed or my 14'stock trailer, loaded. But the first gear it had wasn't nearly low enough to start a load without way more clutch slipping than I was comfortable with. I traded that truck in on a 3/4 ton with a 460 and automatic transmission that got marginally worse mileage but was more than adequate to pull the loads I had.

I had a late 80s Bronco 4wd with 300 cu in 5 speed transmission bought used. Way it was geared it was terrible to tow with but I was too dumb to realize it and bought it cause it looked and ran so good. Had to use 4wd to pull a bass boat up a ramp. I sold it quick.

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
I am looking at a 1985 ford f150 with the six cylinder and mannual transmission.
Wondering what kind of preformance i can expect from that combo?

Slow and steady. I personally couldn't tolerate it. I could barely tolerate my '82 Blazer's 305 V8.

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
That would be worth a pix p250uas!

Best I have, since it's 8 hours away.