Diesels ????
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Joined: May 2001
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Diesels ????
Nothing is worse than being behind a diesel driving up a steep hill. Luckily they are always easy to pass.
Postmaster
Joined: Mar 2001
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From: So Cal
Diesels ????
I wouldn't mind seeing a diesel in a half ton. I think it would be nice, have better tow capacity than a similar gas truck and would be just plain interesting. But I would suspect they would cost a lot more than a similar gas truck. It would take a lot of miles to make up the difference in gas versus diesel. It also might be a bit noisy in the cab on long cruises.
I drove my brother's Isuzu diesel Pup back in the mid 80's and it was alright. It got reasonable mileage and was OK once up to speed. It was a bit slow in acceleration but then most 4 banger gas trucks back then weren't all that quick either. I think my biggest gripe with the diesel was that we always had to keep an eye on the look out for a diesel "gas" station on long trips.
Jim Henderson
I drove my brother's Isuzu diesel Pup back in the mid 80's and it was alright. It got reasonable mileage and was OK once up to speed. It was a bit slow in acceleration but then most 4 banger gas trucks back then weren't all that quick either. I think my biggest gripe with the diesel was that we always had to keep an eye on the look out for a diesel "gas" station on long trips.
Jim Henderson
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Joined: May 2001
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From: Florida
Diesels ????
i disagree witht he comment on the 350 being the best engine ever. chevy engines havent proven to me to be all that reliable. I've seen many more ford 300's with 200 plus thousand miles on them than chevy's. Granted they are good engines and get a lotta use considering they are the most produced engine ever and are cheap to buy hi po products for. I think it's a shame more fords aren't seen in hot rod and magazines of the such. Are they really that much harder to work on........or is it just that not every part is interchangeable with every car like chevy. I think it's good ford makes different parts for different vehicle's (engines, trannies) because i think different parts are meant for different use. I dunno i guess i could be talking out my ##### cus i dont have much first hand experience replacing engines and trannies but this is just what i've heard from chevy lovers lol......
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Joined: Jun 2001
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Diesels ????
The main problem with the older Ford engines was gettin' them to breathe right. If you could do that you had somethin'.(Which
usually involved a head mod of some type.)
The sb chevy was easy to do that with. Just by swappin' heads.
Thats what has made them the most popular and most winningest engine on the planet. Simplicity.
Things could be swapped around internaly to build different
configs. example- a 327 with a 283 crank yields one meanass,
super short stroke 302. etc.etc.
But it's all about taste, man. Everyone who likes something thinks it's the best. The reason for so many auto makers world wide. Somethin' for everybody.
Garett
usually involved a head mod of some type.)
The sb chevy was easy to do that with. Just by swappin' heads.
Thats what has made them the most popular and most winningest engine on the planet. Simplicity.
Things could be swapped around internaly to build different
configs. example- a 327 with a 283 crank yields one meanass,
super short stroke 302. etc.etc.
But it's all about taste, man. Everyone who likes something thinks it's the best. The reason for so many auto makers world wide. Somethin' for everybody.
Garett
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Diesels ????
Concerning the older Ford engines, which engines are you refering to? If you are talking about the engines from the 70's, you would be right, however, the engines from the 70's were still comparable to anything that GM had to offer and this was all from 2V carbs. If you are talking about the engines from the late 60's, you would be real wrong. Take the 390 from 68 or 69 and you will find a smooth running torque monster that will eat anything that GM has for lunch in stock form. This was all accomplished with a 2V carburetor. If you add a 780 Holley with vacuum secondaries, then you really have something. All of the performance that you need or want can be had with Ford, you just have to know what to do. Ford hasn't owned the truck world forever because they are selling inferior products!
Posting Guru
Joined: May 2001
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From: Florida
Diesels ????
I believe there are a few baby diesels slated for '03 according to truck trend, in the dodges and the ford's and they said the duramax is modular so there may be one offered there as well.
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Diesels ????
Thats them. I owned a 68 Montego with a 390. It had 47,000 miles on it then. And I never seen a halfassed decent G.M. that I could outrun. Those engines were slugs. Ford never built a car that could outrun a factory G.M. 302 untill Carrol Shelby decided to do some cheeting. Did the homework on this subject already. Got tired of arguing with a G.M. fan bro-in-law. As bad as I hate to admit it the little bstrd was right.
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"There's a little red button there,kid...don't ever, ever touch the red button!"
Garett
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"There's a little red button there,kid...don't ever, ever touch the red button!"
Garett
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Diesels ????
If you had a Montego with a 390 that was sick, then you definately had a problem with it. Even though that was a very heavy car, that 390 had 345 HP with a 4V carb, and more torque than you needed. I have had many 390 engines, and the only ones that were not powerhouses were those of the early 70's vintage. It could have been the gearing that the Montego had that made the car a slug. I had a 68 GT Mustang that had the same 390 engine with a 4V carb, and with an automatic transmission, would lay a strip of rubber when grabbing passing gear at 60 MPH. It would chirp the tires again at 90 MPH when it went back into high gear. In my hometown there wasn't a GM, or a Mopar that could even come close to keeping up, let alone outrun me. While it is true that GM had some cars that would run back then, they were NOT the king of the hill by any stretch. BOSS 429 comes to mind, Talledega Torino's, Cobra Torino's, Mercury Marauder's, GT Fairlane's, BOSS 302's, there were several high performance Ford's out there that were more than up to the task of anything that GM offered.