You just said you couldn't find a Ford truck, either too expensive or too much damage.

Yet, you want this truck with a busted rear fender, a bent up and dented bumper, and the same mileage as the other trucks you looked at.

Ever wonder why all the Ford trucks you look at have been worked? And this Chevy looks 'oh so nice', lol?

Not to mention, if you want a big old gas hog V8, you better go with the 460 over the pathetic 454. The 454 is more of a revver, a hot rodder, but the 460 will tow and work all day, every day.

Your best bet is getting a diesel if you really plan on towing a lot, though.

 

The fender is nothing...barely noteciable. Same with the tailgate...about the size of a quarter. Mainly, I was just nit-picking the small stuff for reasons to talk the place down on price. And it might have the same mileage as the others...but it's 8+ years older too...


Thing is...I won't be towing that much. 2-3 times a month as planned...maybe less. Diesel is not worth the cost, but I don't want a small V8 either...

 

Well, I dunno what to tell ya. My dad had a souped up 454 in a 66 Chevy truck before. It didn't last long at all. He said it was weak. That engine alone turned him against 454's (all in all). And he is a Chevy man. He loves the 350, lol.

Me, I don't have much experience with those year model trucks. Either they are decent trucks, or it's just because there aren't many of them around here. I don't know of a single person that has a 93-97 3500 Chevrolet. And, I rarely, rarely even see them on the roads. Not saying that means anything.

It just sounded like you were looking for an excuse to get a Chevy, but hey, to each their own.

Don't you just hate truck shopping? Hard to find what you want. Everyone is driving a truck now. And I mean, it's hard to find an older truck. Thank god I found my '86 with everything I wanted and 109,000 original miles.

Would an F250 pull what you need to pull? Or are you soley looking at 1 ton trucks?

 

Keep in mind that 04 5.4 put out as much if not a bit more power than that chevy 454

 

I'm not a Chevy guy (obviously), but most of my friends are and they say that the 454's are great engines. Hell, one of them has a twin-turbo'ed 454 in an S10! But I really don't know...I have no experience with them.

That also means that if I have problems, I know who to go to for parts and knowledge. That would be the only solid reason I am considering a Chevy. To tell you the truth...I kinda gave up on that truck.

And yes, I hate truck shopping. Took me a solid week to find my '97 I had...right before college started. I have some time to kill this time around.

An F250 would work for what I am pulling...but there's something about them that just blends in. EVERYONE around here has 3/4 ton trucks. I actually get tired of seeing them on the road because they are always a CC F250 with the 6.0. The only F350's you see here are CC dually diesel's. That's it. Bland. And I will not consider a pre-SD F250 because of the TTB.

I actually built a '09 F350 XLT on Ford's site with everything I need (skipping most of what I 'want')...V10, 6sp, 4WD, HD suspension, 4.30LS, regular cab, etc...for only $34k. Not too bad. Just playing around with it though, as I can't afford something like that.

 

I have thought of that, which is why I am keeping that truck in the back of my mind. Those 5.4's made 300HP and 360-380 ft-lbs? (someone correct me if I'm wrong). That's 70HP more that the 454, and the same ammount of TQ.

However, I'm afraid it will turn out just like my 4.6L F150 I had...feeling gutless due to a severe lack of power for the size of the truck (and it is an automatic). I do plan to go back and look at it (maybe tomorrow), and the first thing I'm going to check is the gear ratio. 4.10's and I'll consider it. <3.73's and I'll walk away...

 

Just one quick note about your friends saying the 454 is a great engine AND them being Chevy guys...

What do they say if you ask them if the 302 or 351w or 460 is a good engine? I'm almost betting that they would say they are 'junk' and to get a 305/350/454. I have a few 'Chevy only' friends who told me their 'dad said' that Fords were junk and tore up a lot. HAHA. Let's hope they don't fall into that category.

I've always heard the 454 just wasn't that great 'down low', but really, who is to say? It's a friggin' big block, it should be good 'down low'. But, it's usually when being compared to the 460. I don't know the bores and strokes off the top of my head, so I don't really know what, or IF, there is that much of a difference.

I USED to be a Chevy guy, or have no preference, but no one will ever turn me onto Chevrolet again. After working in a garage that deals with a little of everything, I really, REALLY started to hate Chevrolet enough to never buy another one. So, sorry for my "Ford Ford Ford"-ness. It's actually for a reason, not something my 'dad told me'. BTW, my dad is pretty much a Chevy guy, but only because he worked in GM dealerships for over 20 years and just knows them really good.

 

Thanks for the info and help. Like I said before, I think I'll skip over that truck.

On another note, I saw a nice '04 CTD today, and an identical '06 at the same place. They also had a '07 F350...but it's out of my price range, and has the 6.blow in it...

I'm tempted to go back for a test drive tomorrow...

Sad thing is, I've searched the entire city (minus one or two dealerships I don't know about) and these are the only two trucks I've come across that are in my price range and nearly add up to what I want. The search isn't over yet though...

 

The only way I'd consider a big Dodge like that is if it has a manual transmission. They are notorious for blowing their auto transmissions. The last one I rode in looked to be in mint condition, never worked, just a daily driver. We were towing 3 ATV's and 1 dirtbike. That's not a heavy load for a truck at all. The transmission would jump around and search and jerk.. As if the rumors didn't keep me away from Dodges, that one experience added to the rumors and now I really laugh in my head when I see those trucks with automatics.

 

I know about the Dodge auto's. But they have come a long way since the 2nd Gen's. I have asked around on another site about them, and the general consensus was that they will handle the stock power output pretty reliabily. They suggest an upgraded TC and VB if you up the power on them...

 

Oh yeah...

So I went back out there and test drove it. Very nice truck inside and out. You can actually SEE the engine and all of it's components (ever look under the hood of a PSD? ).

Overall performance suprisingly didn't impress me very well (it was not the HO model either), but I blame most of that on the 3.73's and automatic. Don't get me wrong, it had plenty of power...just not what I had expected from all the hype. The tranny seemed fine, but the TC did seem to lock and unlock quite often...however I've noticed this is nearly all diesel pickups I've been in.

Interior quality has increased quite a bit from the 2nd Gen's. A TON of storage (under rear seats, door pockets, center console, under the front-middle seat), great Infinity stereo, and pretty cofmy seats with plenty of room in the cab (I'm 6'5").

 

Some good news:

I found a Ford that is a possibility tonight. A friend of mine suggested another dealership (one of the ones I forgot about). So I just went to their website and saw something I liked.

An '07 F250 XL ex-cab long bed. 4x4 of course, 6.0 PSD, auto.

The catch: Per CarFax, it was registered as a commercial vehicle in NC for a year, and racked up 35,700 miles. It also has the 6.0 in it which I'm not too fond of, but being an '07...I'm not that worried about it. It also has some pretty retarted looking aftermarket wheels on it...

It also has a 6 year, 100,000 mile powertrain warranty in effect, so that eases a lot of worries.

It's only $1k more than the Dodge, which only has a 30-day warranty, and is 3 years older. Ford was one owner, and fleet maintained (I would guess based on the commercial use and mileage), whereas the Dodge was 2 owner.

I guess it's time to ride down there and take a look at it...