I have never owned a Ford except for my '39 1/2 ton but it's for show. I need you guys to win me over. I'm interested in a '88-92 F-150 standard cab, I need a dependable truck and I'm sick of rusty ol Chevys. Here are the items of question;
1-Fuel mileage
2-common problems/recals
3-reliability
4-child seats
5-diesel/gas
6-L6/v6/v8
7-maintenace
8-parts cost
9-durability
10-4x4 or not

I appreciate any info you all could give and remember you are trying to win over a long time bowtie man, but please be honest.

 

1. the exact mpg is better than chevy
2. the only problem with a ford is it cant be killed.
3. alot more reliable than chevy.
4. plenty of room for a child seats(i recomend a supercab)
5. i'd go with the diesel
6. 300 six is a good motor so is the 302 and 351, the newer 4.2 sux though. GET THE DIESEL
7. less maintmance than a chevy
8. parts are cheap, but you will never have to worry about parts as much as you would with a chevy.
9. you dont know ford if you asking about durability, thats the d in ford.
10. defintely 4wd, though i drive my truck as if it were 4wd, it gets stuck rarely.


there you have it, join the club
John Floyd
South Mills,NC
'86 F150 2wd 300 6
Crane Cam 260/272
stock manifolds, w/ staight pipe

 

come on now, I still hear a heartbeat...

 

O K How about this for being honest........
(1) fuel mileage, depends on alot of things such as how heavy is your foot,what engine trans rear is in it. But basically somewhere in the 14-17 city 16-20 hwy range.
(2)common problems, look on the board there are some problems as with everything mechanical about the worst thing I can think of is dual tank selector switch.
(3) reliability, look at the post on the board about highest mileage ever we have a 6.9 diesel here with 580,000 miles some small gas engines with 200,000 or more and the 300ci six will go about 300,000 pretty impressive huh?
Do I hear a code blue yet??? not yet huh? well lets continue then.......
(4)Child seats, More room in cab than a chevy so this shouldn't be a problem.
(5) diesel or gas If you want a 150 you can only get gas My suggestion is a 250 supercab diesel!!!!
(6)L6 V6 V8 well in the years you mention you only have two choices L6 or V8 either one is good L6 is the 300ci very good engine lots of torque good puller or try the 5.0 small good mileage not bad at pulling.
(7)Maint. normal just change your oil and tune it when nessisary.
(8)parts cost, actually pretty close to gm although with 157,000 on my truck I haven't put much in it they last.
(9)durability, this is a big one, ford hasn't been the best selling truck on the market for the last 15 years for nothing!!! you just can't kill them I have a friend who is a die hard chevy man will not drive a ford car but if you ask him honestly what kind of truck should I buy he will tell you there is only one truck a FORD!!!!
(10)4x4 or not this is more of a personal prefference than anything Myself after I had this 4x4 I will never go back to 2 wheel drive the down side is a little more to go wrong U-Joints in the front a lower fuel mileage And if you get the 4x4 I would suggest manual hubs (i'm sure some of the other guys will say go with auto hubs ) but again it is personal prefference.
Now I have been as honest as I possibly can is there still a heartbeat or are we flatlineing now????? You know the heartbeat stops HERE don't you? John

 

Fords are definitely long runners! I regularly drive 2 high-mileage fords, Our service truck, an '89 f250 302 with around 225 000 Km, and my parents' '88 f150 351m with almost 250 000 Km... Neither of these engines has had much major service, and they're both running great and show no signs of dying in the near future...

-Der Meister-

 

Psycosmyth, do you have any pictures of the 39 you could post? I have a 40 1/2 ton chopped and channeled still a project though.
John

 

I can base my knowledge of chevy vs ford pretty easily due to the trucks and cars in my family

Chevy trucks:
1984 Suburban, 350/auto/fully loaded sold in 1993 for $5000 after lotsa carb related problems, water pump went out xmas eve once, never could fix a off idle stall condition when you gave it pretty good gas, got 8-11 mpg

1987 S-10 Blazer, 2.8L V6/auto/no options other than V6, dad bought new, drove it into the gound until 1991, gave to sister, she babied it until 1994, brother drove it for 3 years, then it sat until nov. 1999 when I started driving...OMG what a peice of cr@p!!! got 23 mpg, but had a nasty fuel injector problem...couldn't figure it out when I sold it in feb. 2000 for $2500 to fund buying my F-150

1991 S-10 Blazer 4.3L V6/auto, VERY strong truck, reason for dad buying this was the `87 blazer had a 13 gallon fuel tank and 125 hp...not exactly a good SUV combo, this truck went until 150,000 miles of HARD driving, needed a rebuild, dad bought a new truck in 1997, gave this one to my brother, he had it rebuilt and has since put every single engine mod onto it, it's faster than my f-150 with 5.0L, sad huh? This is still one of my brothers cars...18-20 mpg

1997 GMC Sierra, 4.3L V6/auto/3.42 rear end, awesome truck, will be mine at end of the year, currently has no problems except: steering kick when turned to the right, like a tooth missing in the pinion gear...and the transmission dipstick broke off during an oil change, the shop paid for the repairs though, gets 21 mpg

FORDS:
1992 Mustang GT/conv 5.0L/auto, sisters car after she had the blazer, that d@mn blazer with 125hp makes everyone that drives it go out and buy something with a big motor! Got about 16 mpg, had a radiator fluid leak up until the day she sold it in 1998 for $8500 or so, not sure

1993 Mustang LX 5.0L/5-speed, brothers drag car, gets 23 mpg when driving on highway to the drag strip, 16-18mpg in city, no problems that haven't been associated with mods we've done to it, however since the day it was bought last summer the synchro's in 5th gear are a little messed up.

1995 F-150 XL 5.0L/5-speed/2.73 rear end, my truck, only problem is a blown up transmission, ouch...parking brake cable broke - $15, no biggie...and other than mods I've done, no money spent on repairs other than that, gets 15 mpg

1996 Explorer XLT (2 of them) mom and sister both have almost exactly the same explorers now, sisters has leather interior is the only difference, both get ~18mpg and are auto

I personally dont have a perference towards or against chevy or ford, I only bought a F-150 because all compairable chevy trucks I could find were $3000 more for the same options!

1995 F-150XL SC/SB
http://members.sounddomain.com/blind
5-Star Rated F-150 (Big Stereo)

 

If you are over 6 feet tall, then you can't sit in a chevy truck without your head being in the roof! Trust me, I know after all, I am 6'6". Ford's are much easier to understand, and much easier to work on when you have to work on them. My brother is constantly working on his chevy, and every chevy he has ever owned thus far. He never keeps one more than 4 years without it blowing up, or him geting rid of it because he is tired of the problems he's having with it. I've had my 88 F-150 over 5 years now, and have yet to be tired of it. I have more fun aggravating Chevy drivers, with the way it sounds, and the fact that it just keeps on running. I can let my truck sit and idle on an accident scene for 3 hours, and not burn enough fuel to reall make a difference. Plus it has yet to over heat just sitting idling, even in the Southeast Texas heat of 105!

Heartbeat? Only thing I hear is a low thud. Which would be everytime a chevy stops, the ford pulling it has to get it moving again, and the chain pops the bumper of the chevy.


1988 F-150, SWB, 5.0 EFI (formerly 4.9 EFI), M5OD 5 speed, 3.08 gears, Summit shorty truck headers, Custom built Flowmaster exhaust system. Force 4 LP6000 lightbar, Federal signal PA-300 100 watt siren, Icom IC-V100 50 watt mobile radio.
=======================================
1965 F-100 (just purchased 1/18/01), SWB, 390, C-6 auto. Dual exhaust, Not much else to do to it.

Can see both below.

[link:www.geocities.com/hotrodford_88/|Hotrodford_88's Webpage]

 

Paddles!!.......Clear!!.._________________________ _________.

 

Ahh man, dont knock the headroom in chevy's, both me and my dad fit fine in his `97 regular cab, I'm 6'5" and he's 6'2" but the S10's are another story, the S10 pickups I cant fit in to save my life, but I dont fit in my friends rangers that well either...

1995 F-150XL SC/SB
http://members.sounddomain.com/blind
5-Star Rated F-150 (Big Stereo)

 

The only problem with switching from Ch**ys to Fords is the deep unquenchable feelings of remorse over all the years wasted driving (pushing?, calling for assistance?, waiting in line at the repair shop?) Ch**ys, when you could have been enjoying the pure bliss of driving a Ford F150.

 

Well my search of the Knoxville area was almost a waste, they either wanted too much or didn't have it. I'm down to a 91 s-10 extended cab with the 4.3 and an 89 Ranger super cab 4x4, both automatic, the full size option still exists but the gas $$ localy is soaring beyond evrywhere else and there just aren't any good f150s out there...for sale, I suppose no one wants to shed theirs. I'm trying to swap even my 90 accord and trade-wise I need to stick in those years. Oh both trucks are in the low $4ks.

 

M 91 F150 has 271,000 KM and still pulling a 23 FT Travel trailer with a 14 ft deep boat on top of the fibreglass truck cap The boat uses a 25 HP outboard and all the trimmings,weights all told about 10,000lbs.
I pull at 60 Mph even in the mountains and it has the 302.

 

>If you are over 6 feet tall, then you can't sit in a chevy
>truck without your head being in the roof! Trust me, I know
>after all, I am 6'6".

Right on! I'm 6'6" too and a chevy is just too small for me especially the legroom. Oh, and the reliability should be no question. Ford is where it is. They run good and run good a long time. Just watch out, there are lemons out there. When you test drive it, you probably know what to look for, so, just keep your eyes open, and you should be ok. Hope you have a better experience with Fords. I'm sure after you get one you'll wonder why you ever had a chevy to begin with.

 

The Best never Rest.


BUILT FORD TOUGH



First on Race Day



The Best selling car in the world is not a car. Its the ford F-150 Pick up Truck. Ford has to be doing something right.





Quality is Job #1



Bowties are for little boys anyways