In the market for a truck...

For the '70's I'll take a Ford Dentside hands down. Getting into the '80's I'll take the Dodge.

You might laugh at this, but the 300 inline is simply one of the best engines Ford ever made. It'll have the power to pull a car trailer with the Valiant on it, if you go that root, much more so than some of the smaller V8's. Long stroke, all the torque down low, and it won't struggle to get there. A much better engine in a pick up than most smaller V8's up to an including the 351W.

The draw back to the Fords, that's my personal thing, is I don't like the T18 Borgs. Don't get me wrong, these transmissions are bulletproof, but next to the NP435 - another bulletproof transmission - the NP435 has a better gear set (though the T18 has a steeper granny low) and is much more refined.

If you're going 4x4, again, I'm not a fan of the Borg transfer cases. I've yet to meet a Borg that slipped into range easily. As a matter of fact, there's two in the family right now (one getting parted out) and they both snap, clash, and clatter going into 4 high. The NP transfer cases, especially the 205, slide right in. This holds true of trucks up into the '90's. As was said, the E40D auto wasn't a good trans. But get a hold of a C6 and you're golden, much like the 727 in it's durability. The only drawback to Ford autos is that they're complicated and if you have to overhaul one, you're more than likely going to throw all the guts away and start with just a bare case with all new parts inside. Later years saw the introduction of the five speed ZF. A decent enough transmission for around town work, but first gear isn't steep enough to be a granny low - and it should be - and fifth gear (OD) is a waste of space. With 3.55's in my truck the dang thing still tach'ed 2500 r's at 65. That and the captured slave cylinder (inside the bell and a one piece unit with the throw out bearing) makes this trans a pain in the ***. Later years in the Dodge saw the NV4500, something my Ford will be seeing.

Dodge used a live front axle with leaf springs for a lot longer even in half tons. Always a plus in my book. In later years Ford switched to ttb front end, a 4x variation of the Twin I-Beam. They drive and ride better than the live axle/leaf spring combo, but aren't as durable in my opinion. Too many U-Joints to go bad and the pivoting on the suspension can be a huge draw back if you're in a spot with a lot of ruts.

In some years Ford used a top hat hub system. Another weak link. If you take a tire off the top hat has a tendency of coming with the wheel and you have to put it back together. That's not a big deal. The big deal is that this exposes the hub to dirt. Best bet is to buy the start clips available from Dorman and slide them over the lug bolts to hold the hub on. These are light duty hubs, too. If you're unfortunate enough to have a truck with these on it, then you're forced to find a newer truck and change everything from the spindles out in order to run Warn's or MileMarkers.

Two wheel drive the Ford is the way to go, all the way up to '96. (Longer on the 3/4 and one ton.) The Twin I-Beam suspension can take a beating, with just the kingpins being the weak link. But unless the damned things are rusted in tight, they are easy enough to place. Later years they replaced the kingpins with balljoints. I've never been fond of the oversized pass car suspensions Dodge and Chevy used.

One thing to be aware of between the two is the ignition. The Ford Duraspark was junk and the EEC (properly named) was even worse. If you wind up with a Duraspark system, keep the coil, and swap it out to the Chrysler ECU or GM HEI. The thing about swapping out to the Chrysler ECU is that with the existing Ford system you don't have to use a ballast and you can keep the existing Ford plug wires. Of course, with the '80's Dodges you'll be looking at the crap lean burn system, but that's easy enough to overcome. In later years Ford used a rail injection system, a much better system than the TBI that Dodge used.

Personally, I like the interior late out of the 80's Dodges better than the Fords. There's also more cab room, so if you have to fit three fat asses in the same seat, they'll fit. The Ford cab can't say the same thing. The '80's Dodge also more intuitive to the driver. I can flip the heater/AC controls with a knuckle and use my thumb on the fan switch in one motion. The Ford, you have to reach down to do it. If it's a stick shift, you have to reach around the shifter. Same goes for the radio.

I'd say it's a wash, with the edge going to Dodge in half ton 4x's and the edge going to Ford in the 2 wheel.

Three quarter ton or bigger is a wash .in 4x's. Anything that big and Ford eliminated the weaknesses of the half tons. I'd still stand by the Ford in the 2 wheel.