Not a day goes by that I don't appreciate my truck more and more. At the Navy base here in CT, there are 2 dentsides, mine and a '79 Bronco. I drive mine every day and so does he. I have to listen to people brag about their brand new $50k plus trucks and imported sports car and I know they won't last like our trucks are doing. I don't see hardly any other vehicles older than 10 years old, let alone 40 years old driving around.
As mentioned before, electronics, sensors, and cheap recycled metals just won't last as long. Like my neighbor right now, last summer I rebuilt the top end of his 2008 Chebby to replace a fancy lifter that kills 4 cylinders at cruising speeds, along with three sensors (dealer quoted him $6700 for new engine or $7k to rebuild his) for $500 in parts. Now, he replaced two O2 sensors and his throttle body (another $400 in parts) and it idles at 2500 rpm. Takes a computer at the dealer to cal the new TB sensor. Screw all that. I'll keep my trusty old truck that gets 10mpg and rides like a Mack truck. If something goes wrong, I know exactly what it is, how much it cost, where to get it, and fix it myself. And best of all, no check engine light.

 

In case anyone was wondering what "Brine the Main Roads" meant. Keeps the car wash in business in the winter months, ALWAYS have the underside sprayed, the POV pic is from my drive home yesterday, we got about 3" of snow last night.

 

............

 

I got approved for a $24,000 loan last summer so I could buy a "newer" diesel 4x4. I was chasing a 2005-2007 F-Series 4x4 Powerstroke (I think 2005-2007 was the years that had the 6.0 and radius arm front end). Average price was $20,000 and most of these trucks (even the ones under 100k miles) looked beat to hell with broken interior parts, worn out seats, rusted-out cab-corners and other problem areas. Two of them had the engine-light come on during the test-drive. I even budgeted to do an EGR delete and get head studs installed. I would have easily spent $25,000 in total on the truck, have a car payment, and expensive insurance.

I shopped for six months all over the country.. I even considered Chevy Duramaxes, Dodge Cummins, and the 7.3 Powerstroke.. everything up to the $24,000 price-range required some kind of "bullet-proofing" whether it was the engine or the transmission and all of the examples I could find just looked, ran, and felt crappy (shopped at dealerships and private party). I couldn't tell you how many vehicles I test-drove.

Eventually I decided to look for a Ford with a V-10 but the trucks themselves were of course worn and torn so I gave up altogether on getting a modern vehicle. I considered getting back into Early Broncos but they were all rusted-out and over-priced so I turned to 1973-1978 V8, 4x4, PS, Disc brake, F100's/F150's (I really wanted a radius-arm front end). $4,000 later I have a very reliable 1978 F150 4X4 Short-bed (good luck finding a reasonably priced and in good shape modern F-Series short-bed), all original, minor surface rust issues, and everything works. I plan on putting a 460 in it, AC, a lift to accommodate 35's, and locked differentials. I don't expect to get rid of this truck and it is my daily driver... any other vehicle would just be a toy

 

And you will still spend way less than $20k for everything you want. Good for you!! Back in 2012, I sold my 2010 F150 CC Lariat fully loaded and bought my truck. So much more happier now.

 

My '79 supercab is shaping out to be a resto-mod type project, with some modern-ish features like keyless entry and soundproofing, but staying simple and reliable with a 12v/5 speed/NP205. I plan on having it for my "good" pickup for, well, basically forever. For my work pickups - I'm not in a nasty salt area, so they'll get driven as long as the bodies hold together, planning on a long, long time. Yeah, the mileage sucks, but in the grand scheme of things, I really don't think the extra fuel and limited amount spent on cheap replacement parts (water pumps are $30, brake pads are $19, etc.) offset the payment on a newer 3/4 ton I'd have to have for what I need it to do. That, and my old company '09 Chebby with a 6.0 actually got WORSE mileage than my 400. But, I'm an old, cheap vehicle person - not into the status symbol thing, my ego gets stroked enough on the basis of "there's no WAY you could keep this thing running and get anything done!" To each their own....

 

75 Big Block and all other on this tread,
Just wanted to say that I've enjoyed reading this post form folks. Allot of varied backgrounds, ages and points of view, of which all are insightful. Overall an enjoyable read and undoubtedly a good thought provoking topic. Thanks