Like cars and trucks?

[Opsimath]

Here's another Jeep thing I don't understand, a 7 year old rig with blowed engine...

I got trucks over 50 years old that still work hard on the original engines, harder than I can. Unloading this giant load of horsepoop a couple weeks ago did a number on me. Ended up going to chiropractor, waste of $125, and a miracle massage therapist who figured out I have IT Band syndrome in the right leg, getting somewhat better now with ice, stretches, drinking more water.

This is a '63 Dodge 1ton, orig from Missouri, driven cross country to Priest River ID where the guy plowed with it - extremely rough duty - for 18 years on flat ground with a lot of sandbags in the back, I bought it for the plow and the truck has been hauling heavy loads ever since. Hard to see because of the sun, but the tow hitch frame is only inches from the ground here.

Here it is 10 plus years when the plow frame was still on it, hauling a ridiculous amount of straw.

My husband had a Ford pickup, may have been his first F250. He was in the middle of picking corn. The corn picker was hooked to the tractor and a wagon was hooked to the corn picker. The wagon was about half full of corn, and the tractor wouldn't start. He hooked a chain to the front of the tractor and the back of his truck.

My assignment, whether I wanted to accept it or not was to pull the tractor off fast enough for him to pop the clutch and get it started. I am not a fan of anything that involves pulling something on a chain, and besides the dirt in the field was soft and there wasn't much of a runway to get up to speed, and all that stuff hooked together had to be heavy, and we were even going up a slight slope. My opinion was that this was never going to work.

He was on the tractor. I slowly pulled the slack out of the chain and then he yelled for me to put my foot in it and Go! Go! Go!

The truck did indeed pull that entire train in soft dirt fast enough to pop the clutch and start the tractor with plenty of runway left. I was amazed, and still am.

 

[adorshki]

Here's another Jeep thing I don't understand, a 7 year old rig with blowed engine...

I suspect there may be folks out there who wouldn't consider that a "real" Jeep:
"In the U.S. the Patriot uses either the 2.0 L or 2.4 L World gasoline I4 engine."

In fact I'm not even particularly a Jeep fan and I wouldn't, especially since it used the same platform as the Dodge Caliber. Got saddled with one of those as a rental once, and it was one of the most irritating POS's I ever drove, especially with the CVT, although apparently it was replaced with a 6-speed auto in '14.

In any case, there's a reason FWD platforms (or AWD's derived therefrom) ain't a good match for a "truck" application. This is a "crossover".
Like smartphones, don't do anything particularly well except help you spend money...

I got trucks over 50 years old that still work hard on the original engines, harder than I can...'63 Dodge 1ton, orig from Missouri, driven cross country to Priest River ID where the guy plowed with it - extremely rough duty - for 18 years on flat ground with a lot of sandbags in the back, I bought it for the plow and the truck has been hauling heavy loads ever since. Hard to see because of the sun, but the tow hitch frame is only inches from the ground here.

'53 B4 crossed the block at Mecum, too, didn't meet reserve:

1953 Dodge B4-B Pickup at Indy 2021 as K110 - Mecum Auctions

1953 Dodge B4-B Pickup crossing the auction block at Indy 2021 as K110.

www.mecum.com

Loved the paint, then noted the 5-window cab.

Not really a major truck fan either, but if I had to choose, gimme a Dodge.

Sold a new '94 Ram with the first-year Magnum V-10, looked like this before the dealer-installed factory accessories like the step bar, light rack, and brush guard.

Had 800 miles on it, was the sales manager's "demo", still got full sticker plus $1000 dealer markup, just by being patient.

Guy came on the lot driving an '87 Buick GNX. Just wanted to compare drivability between long and short wheelbase trucks. Test drove about 4 trucks and noticed some of the other guys snickering about how much time I was spending. My thought was "Laugh all you want, but I got an up. Whadda you got?".

So things were petering out when the light went on: "Guy's driving a GNX. Likes image". The V-10 Ram was parked in back, not on the line.
So jawed a little bit with him about the GNX and then said "Hey, lemme show you something...".

Ten minutes later: "Can we take it for a drive?"
"Well sure, it's my job..."

 

[geoguy]

Opsimath, I thought your tale was going to end with the pickup's rear bumper severed from the pickup!

 

[Guildedagain]

I sold a neighbors junker Mitsubishi Dodge Ram that had been sitting for years. This real bright fella shows up to buy it, has some Japanese 4x4 pickup and a tow dolly. I told him, a) put in in 4WD to get out of the Canyon, b) haul butt outta here, keep up your speed.

So he does neither and comes walking back down here, "Stuck on the hill", in the middle of the road at that. I get my giant 1 ton duallie 4x4 '70 Power Wagon, drive up the hill to pull him past the steep part - 100 yards - and he confesses it was overheating too, so he wants me drag him all the way out of the canyon, so I hook on to his truck, and I pull him all the way out of the canyon, another two miles up steep windy hills, get up on top, flat ground, unhook and off he went. We saw a couple people coming down the hill, neighbors coming home, it must have looked like a parade float ;]

As I come back down the hill I notice from the skid marks he left in the road that I pulled him the first and steepest 100 yards with his eBrake on... till he had the presence of mind to let it off...

 

[Opsimath]

Opsimath, I thought your tale was going to end with the pickup's rear bumper severed from the pickup!

No. I'd be more likely to hook something up and pull a bumper off. He knows where on a truck or a tractor to wrap a chain. It was likely the receiver hitch.

 

[adorshki]

I get my giant 1 ton duallie 4x4 '70 Power Wagon

I was looking at Power Wagon pics probably while you were posting this...but decided to let it rest for a while!

Power Wagons...Dodge wrote the book. What people who think they want a Willys should be looking for but don't know it yet.

 

[bluesypicky]

Not a fan of the Jeep crowd either, however I must admit that Jeep is putting some really good vehicles on the market.
This is mine and I really can't find much bad to say about it. As a matter of fact this is the smoothest engine/transmission combination I have ever driven. Would it not be for the engine sound, although very tamed thanks to a very efficient soundproofing of the engine bay, you would not know gears are actually changing.



It replaced the GMC Terrain that was a bit underpowered for passes on the highway and to tow the boat.
This V6 fits the bill perfectly.

Although for passes on the highway, this is much more fun:

 

[JohnW63]

From what I have learned on a Jeep forum is that there is a BIG difference between the Jeep Cherokee and the other low end Jeep vehicles and the Grand Cherokee and the higher end stuff. The low end stuff is based on a car chassis and the upper end is based off a Mercedes SUV chassis. However... that Mercedes link was to end and be based on Fiat stuff, last year. I'm not sure about the motor specs, as I didn't dig much into that area. The straight six that they used for so long was based on an AMC Rambler engine from the 60s. 4 liter six with 200hp and 235ft-lbs of torque. Simple enough that when you drop a tool in the engine bay, it hits the ground.

I guess the " Jeep thing " is that the vehicle can do things other road cars can not and some owners actually take them off road and enjoy doing it. I don't get the drive in a muddy field and get covered in mud to just look like you've been off roading. They have a huge third party upgrade market if you what to go stupid with your money.

"Samurai are also increasing in value. "

We used to call those Suzuki Rollovers. Narrow wheel base and high center of gravity. Don't turn too fast of your car takes a nap on the side of the road.

 

[cupric]

From what I have learned on a Jeep forum is that there is a BIG difference between the Jeep Cherokee and the other low end Jeep vehicles and the Grand Cherokee and the higher end stuff. The low end stuff is based on a car chassis and the upper end is based off a Mercedes SUV chassis. However... that Mercedes link was to end and be based on Fiat stuff, last year. I'm not sure about the motor specs, as I didn't dig much into that area. The straight six that they used for so long was based on an AMC Rambler engine from the 60s. 4 liter six with 200hp and 235ft-lbs of torque. Simple enough that when you drop a tool in the engine bay, it hits the ground.

I guess the " Jeep thing " is that the vehicle can do things other road cars can not and some owners actually take them off road and enjoy doing it. I don't get the drive in a muddy field and get covered in mud to just look like you've been off roading. They have a huge third party upgrade market if you what to go stupid with your money.

"Samurai are also increasing in value. "

We used to call those Suzuki Rollovers. Narrow wheel base and high center of gravity. Don't turn too fast of your car takes a nap on the side of the road.

Samurai were not intended to be driven like a regular vehicle. It was not a VW. Used as a off road vehicles by adults they perform pretty well. The sidekick was engineered with a wider wheelbase and lower center of gravity. But they were still meant to be a small utility vehicle.

 

[adorshki]

We used to call those Suzuki Rollovers. Narrow wheel base and high center of gravity. Don't turn too fast of your car takes a nap on the side of the road.

The factory accessory anti-rollover nerf bar wasn't a very popular option.

 

[davismanLV]

Simple enough that when you drop a tool in the engine bay, it hits the ground.

Ah, the good old days. These days everything is so complicated and there's just this solid block of crap under the hood. <bitchy old man voice> My 1965 Chevelle El Camino had the 283 cubic-inch Chevrolet small block with two-barrel carburetor and 195 hp and power NOTHING! Pulled a horse trailer everywhere with that thing. What a great car that was. So easy to work on.

 

[Opsimath]

Ah, the good old days. These days everything is so complicated and there's just this solid block of crap under the hood. <bitchy old man voice> My 1965 Chevelle El Camino had the 283 cubic-inch Chevrolet small block with two-barrel carburetor and 195 hp and power NOTHING! Pulled a horse trailer everywhere with that thing. What a great car that was. So easy to work on.

StreetSideClassics has three, one just arrived. Take your pick! (Better get out your wallet, though).

 

[rampside]

I've owned many Trucks and SUVs, but nothing has ever compared to my '19 Jeep Wrangler. 270 HP 2.0 Turbo, 8 spd auto and they wrote the book on 4WD. Whether it's mud, snow, woods, rocks, long trips or even Friday date night, I Love It!

And.........talk about workhorse trucks!
Here's a pic of my retired buddy's logging truck. They don't make 'em like that anymore!

 

[Opsimath]

I've owned many Trucks and SUVs, but nothing has ever compared to my '19 Jeep Wrangler. 270 HP 2.0 Turbo, 8 spd auto and they wrote the book on 4WD. Whether it's mud, snow, woods, rocks, long trips or even Friday date night, I Love It!

And.........talk about workhorse trucks!
Here's a pic of my retired buddy's logging truck. They don't make 'em like that anymore!

Nice Jeep. 8 speeds? I've not heard of that before. No doubt Jeep wrote the book on 4WD, but I remain partial to the Bronco.

Your buddy's truck looks like it worked for a living. May need new tires, unless those are racing slicks.

 

[bluesypicky]

And.........talk about workhorse trucks!
Here's a pic of my retired buddy's logging truck. They don't make 'em like that anymore!

Gotta love these old trucks.....
Especially in movies with a psycho behind the wheel

 

[F312]

That's the movie with Chester (Dennis Weaver) in it. Great show.

 

[bluesypicky]

That's the movie with Chester (Dennis Weaver) in it. Great show.

Yep!
"Duel", the movie that put Spielberg on the director's map.
A classic that never gets old.

 

[walrus]

Great movie! I saw it on TV when I was a kid and was mesmerized.

walrus

 

[Guildedagain]

Ditto, saw it on TV, on an old B&W TV. It made an impression. Didn't know that was Spielberg, but go figure.

Not the best testimonial for driving a slant 6 Valiant... Dennis Weaver was awesome.

Always liked McCloud. He did his own stunts.

 

[JohnW63]

I like the older Broncos. The 66-77 years.

Ford Bronco Through the Years

Originally conceived in the 1960s as a more versatile alternative to existing 4x4s, the rugged Bronco would morph over the years into a proper full-size SUV.

www.caranddriver.com