Vintage Trucks

[adsm08 2,064]

3 hours ago, pullstart said:

 

I looked for one of those for quite some time, to bob it and put a military trailer box on for a bed.  I figured it would have to be the perfect 55 mph and lower driving experience!

 

I lived near, and had a few classes with, a guy in college who DD'd one of those things.

[ZXT 2,401]

On 4/3/2019 at 8:09 AM, C-85 said:

 

We had M880s when I first joined the Army, then they got rid of them and bought Chevy's.

 

I've never been a fan but these trucks were next to terrible.  But part of the reason is the way the government ordered them.  Building a 1 1/4 ton truck that is likely to have a pretty heavy trailer behind it, or in some cases a heavy body, with a small V8 (the 318 gas engine), doomed this truck from the start, it was way under powered!

 

When we got the Chevy equivalent in the mid 80s, (the M1008 series) they had 6.2L diesel engines, so it was much more prepared to carry the loads intended for that truck size. I will say that the Chevy's had so much low end power, they easily spun when on dirt or slippery surface, so we had to use tour wheel drive a lot.

 

Plus at about the same time the M151 Jeeps went away.  With the change to the Chevy's and Humvee's, that replaced the Jeeps (both had diesels), there was no need to carry a separate load of gasoline, all the rest of the vehicles were diesel.

 

I don't know why the Dodge trucks were ordered this way ?  Was the government just being cheap, or were they hoping for low power to keep the speed down and have fewer accidents/safety?

 

Heck, the Dodge truck name carried so much shame I guess they had to rid of it, and now they're called Ram's

 

I'm sure glad that Chevy's are still Chevy's

 

C-85

Can't imagine what problem anyone could've had out of a 318 other than being a bit slow being that it was the mid 70s. Those trucks were every bit as tough as a Chevy, and even more so than a ford, as you'd actually get to where you were wanting to go! You couldn't hardly kill a small block Mopar if you tried. Sure, a Ford inline 6 was a good engine, but that was about the only good engine they built. 

 

For comparison, a 318 around that year would've been 170 HP and 265 TQ. A 6.2 diesel in the 80s would've been what, 130 HP and 240 TQ? That is less than the 318, and I'm not sure why you'd have noticed much of a difference unless it was due to gearing.

 

Also, they didn't get rid of the Dodge truck name - Dodge was simply the brand and they've been making for 1500-3500 series Ram trucks since around 1981. They separated into a separate company from Chrysler in case Chrysler tanked. No shame to go along with the name at all.

 

Just had to jump in and give the Chrysler products a bit of support since they had none..

Edited May 30, 2019 by ZXT

[ZXT 2,401]

On 4/2/2019 at 2:36 PM, pfrederi said:

 

 

I liked some of the pictures until I saw the M-880. Now I have an 1952 M-37 (built by Dodge) and she is great...But those  880s were an absolute nightmare in the motor pool.  Damp out?? No start just the sickening whinning of the starter motors...till the batteries died.  Cold out No start.  the M-35a2s would start in Colorado Springs at 13  below zero as did my M151A1s.  if you could get the darn 880s started the engine would work OK till you splashed through  a puddle then the ballast resister would die and so would the truck.  Absolutely hated them  and have never even considered anything Chrysler since.

The "sickening" sound (which doesn't sound bad at all to be honest) was the starter gear reduction, making them easier to crank, and thus why they always would start easily, even without the best battery. 

 

If you couldn't make them start easily when it was cold, it was either because the choke was unhooked or the battery was disconnected. 

 

If you drove into the ocean you might have a problem with the ballast resistor. They die once every 25 years... And being that they're like $4, you just keep an extra in the glove box. The ballast resistors on these are nothing compared to the joke of an ignition switch that the 80's ford trucks had that you had to turn 280 degrees to get to engage, and would break every third time you used them.

[PeacemakerJack 10,738]

@ZXT this is for you...

my first personal work truck was a 12V Cummins Powered 1997 Dodge with the NV4500 transmission and 4WD. It had an open exhaust and some fuel pump work but other than that was stock.  It averaged an honest 16mpg all the time except when heavy pulling.  I rarely ever saw 14mpg and had an empty high of 18mpg on a road trip down south.  It was a beautiful truck and I should never have sold it.  Hard to keep a body on anything up here in the “salt belt” though...

[ebinmaine 67,535]

39 minutes ago, PeacemakerJack said:

 It was a beautiful truck and I should never have sold it.  Hard to keep a body on anything up here in the “salt belt” though

Like you I've had a few Vehicles over the year that I wish I had kept.

 

I guess the whole thing is though... If a vehicle makeup is a higher percentage of iron oxide then any other material sometimes it's just time to let It go.

[PeacemakerJack 10,738]

 

 

[ebinmaine 67,535]

2 hours ago, PeacemakerJack said:

Cummins Powered 

Back in the late 90s and early 2000s I had jobs at different auto dealerships.. One of the guys I worked with in Western Massachusetts had a mid to late 80s Dodge 3/4 ton 4 WD that he had built. I don't know what vintage the engine was but it was one of those Cummins straight sixes.

He had done some amount of fiddling around with the engine and had tall tires and  an overdrive transmission, maybe even a double overdrive via gear reduction. If he was careful he could get 22 MPG with that truck.

Special purpose built, mind you, but 

VERY impressive for a nearly 7,000 lb vehicle. 

[Pullstart 62,902]

I haven’t visited the car wash in maybe a month, though I have an unlimited package on the Colorado.  I’ve been driving Norman mainly.  Stopped in and saw this beaut!  I think my heart skipped a beat!

 

 

 

[PeacemakerJack 10,738]

 that is awesome!  About 25 years ago I had an opportunity to buy one that looked just about like that except without the motor and trans.  It was the same color and was a factory SS car.  It had a black bucket interior with console. BB front springs, subframe connectors, and a 12 Bolt posi.  The guy told me, “Come back with $800 and the roller is yours. Come back with $2000 and I’ll give you a running 454 and a fully functional TH400 with the roller!”  Boy, I wish I could go back to that night...I often wonder who got that car.

 

thanks for sharing Kev.

[Pullstart 62,902]

Couple cool rides at the races tonight...

 

 

[ericj 1,578]

I have a 93 first gen with the Cummins with a converted NV4500 5 speed and 3:55 rears. I get 21 mpg empty and 13 to 17 loaded. Dad bought the truck new and gave it to me about a year or 2 before he passed in 18. I think  i wrote a post on this thread a while back

 

 

 

 

 

eric j

[ZXT 2,401]

On 4/2/2019 at 3:33 PM, ebinmaine said:

Oh yeah you bet! I've been around the angry Supra engines. Couple buddies of mine were way into those back in the late 80s.

That single cylinder head, staggered cylinder design, just fascinated the stuffing out of me.

 

When the GM straight engines came out in the early 2000s, I was working for GM dealerships. I got to read quite a bit of interesting literature about them.

 

A while back I had a 292 in a Chevy truck that was quite rambunctious. I don't know that I would want another carbureted engine as a daily driver but .... maybe...

Eric, I have a little 85 Toyota pickup that was my daily driver up until about a year ago - when I pulled the 22R 4 banger out and put a 7MGE straight 6 out of a 87 Supra in it. 

 

The engine turned out to be a bit tired and uses/leaks quite a bit of oil, but man will it run, even in stock non-turbo form. 200 HP may not seem like a lot, but when you consider that the original engine was only 96 HP, that's a huge increase. And like you said, they scream. 

 

I might've already posted this picture, but I can't remember. This was from before the swap, but I had a bit of a load on it.

 

 

[ClassicTractorProfessor 5,314]

My buddy brought his 66 C10 in for four new tires and new shocks today...figured I’d share it with yall

[JCM 9,168]

Amazing what a 1966 Chevy truck look's like in 2019 when it hasn't lived in New England, nice Lift;s by the way.

[19richie66 17,508]

Just saw this one the other day. Roadster Shop built it. Pro touring chassis. Love those old trucks.

[Pullstart 62,902]

Anyone recognize this old Dodge?  I had Jada snap a few pics as we were driving today...

 

 

[squonk 41,121]

Looks like around a 63 Dart Wagon

[PeacemakerJack 10,738]

Thanks Kevin—a 1960’s family cruiser! Those old wagons are SUPER COOL! Mom and dad tell me, back in the day, NOT SO MUCH!  They said that the way I look at a minivan today is the way that they generally viewed wagons back then...

 

nice pics Jada!👍🏻

[Pullstart 62,902]

7 hours ago, PeacemakerJack said:

Thanks Kevin—a 1960’s family cruiser! Those old wagons are SUPER COOL! Mom and dad tell me, back in the day, NOT SO MUCH!  They said that the way I look at a minivan today is the way that they generally viewed wagons back then...

 

nice pics Jada!👍🏻

 

I don’t know if you can see the fuzz in the pics, but directly behind dad was a little girl.  If I hadn’t seen him drive past us as we were waiting to turn, I would’ve figured it was a lady driving with a fuzzy pony tail.  Not saying guys don’t have long hair...    In the few cornering shots, you can see the booster seat! 

 

I’ve often times considered looking for a 4 door ANYTHING pre-70’s for a daily driver, and for a while was considering selling the C10 to fund one.  I’m glad I didn’t and still plan to let Jada drive it when she’s 16.  She just needs to grow a bit taller so we can work on the three on the tree!

[Lee1977 6,663]

On 7/24/2019 at 7:17 PM, squonk said:

Looks like around a 63 Dart Wagon

I was thinking 1964 Dart. They had the slant six in them.

[Pullstart 62,902]

3 hours ago, Lee1977 said:

I was thinking 1964 Dart. They had the slant six in them.

 

Ahhh, the slant six.  A buddy and I had a ‘79 Dodge truck given to us one time, it had the slant six and 727 auto.  Those were the days...  three wires sticking out of the dash to start and run it!  Ok... I found the photo albums of my vehicles and toys over time... so bare with your bandwidth for them all to load...  There are highs and lows, you’ll see what I mean!  Sorry for all the pictures of me and my posse too!  Rebel kids, right?  A few funny notes about the pictures...  The Jeep was my first vehicle.  I totaled it on the way to school one morning, when the right rear axle shaft fell out and I sailed into the trees.  The Toyota was given to me with a broken frame and a bad clutch.  Wind it up high enough and it would kind of weld itself together and away we went!  I still have that first 8’ Boss plow.  The Propane Mud Truck was a Ford chassis and 366 tall deck BBC that came out of a school bus, and of course LP powered!  The Olds diesel was 5.7 liters, but it wasn’t just a converted gasser.  I’ll swear that was an awesome car and I shouldn’t have sold it!  It did a 20 second quarter mile at 45 mph at Mid-Michigan motorplex, would haul a Dana 60 axle or a 350 Chevy in the trunk!  The Junky old trailer that my brand new motorcycle was on came out of the junk yard.  The fenders were a coolant drum from the die shop.  Yes, that’s my girls when they were a bit smaller.  I was inside the enduro car when the rock crawler drove up my side... it was at a work car show.  The monster GMC truck I built was going to be a plow truck, but unfortunately it never made the road.  I’m probably still alive because of that.  Well, the photos are done up.oading, so I’ll quit rambling!  Enjoy, y’all!

 

 

[Pullstart 62,902]

It’s officially the weekend!  Let’s go racin’!

 

 

[Pullstart 62,902]

I have no idea what this is, but it’s cool/unique!  We’re on the way to the Kalamazoo Klash, 125 lap race on a Wednesday.  

 

 

[PeacemakerJack 10,738]

Kevin—you asked for it! Now everyone is going to hate me for the rest of the day. This song gets stuck in the brain...

 

However—I think the car you spotted was a Nash Metropolitan.  @953 nut Can set us straight if not😁

have fun at the races👏🏻

Edited August 7, 2019 by PeacemakerJack

[19richie66 17,508]

Definitely a Nash Metropolitan. Always wanted one.