In the market for a truck...

[rc_brooks]

Well it's a matter of 5-7mpg with the 460 and 10-12 with the w300 (more than likely) . But that crew cab is a nice feature. Even if it's just you, it's nice to have a place to lock tools when on the road. Not saying the 460 is a bad motor, quite the opposite but I'd leave it only for hard use. Same for a 440. I will say that hauling things can become addictive. Once you get a trailer the world opens up. ahaha.

The only problem I've ever had with the 351M is a lack of upgrade parts. But most leave it as is. For my money the 352 was the best truck motor Ford ever put out. Our family was mostly Ford people growing up. My dad was a Chevy guy an I have an uncle who was an Olds/Pontiac fan and then there was me the Mopar fan. However I have to say I've had a few Fords over the years. I still regret selling my 66 F100. It was a good truck and got 20mpg no matter what you did.. with the 352. But I digress.

 

[RustyRatRod]

The FE was a fine engine family for sure.

 

[harrisonm]

I went to the local Dodge dealer a few weeks ago with a serious intention of looking at new trucks. I drive a 98 Dakota 4 cyl 5 speed now. I love that truck. AC blows cold, it drives fine, it gets 21 mpg in town, it ALWAYS starts, and it hauls anything I need to be hauled. It is getting a bit rough though. So I looked at new ones. EVERY truck at the Dodge dealer was LOADED and EXPENSIVE. They all had a hemi (are hemis stock), were a quad cab, and all but just a few were 4x4s. First, I'd like a smaller truck, but Ford, Chevy and Dodge evidently no longer make them. Second, I don't want a loaded, expensive, quad cab, gas sucking hemi. I do not need a truck like that. On the way home, I stopped by the Toyota dealer. Yea, I know, sorry, but they had a BEAUTIFUL plum metallic red smaller size truck with a V6 that was at least $10 less than anything on the Dodge lot. Dodge (and Ford and Chevy) sure are making it hard for me to buy American.

 

[famous bob]

I went to the local Dodge dealer a few weeks ago with a serious intention of looking at new trucks. I drive a 98 Dakota 4 cyl 5 speed now. I love that truck. AC blows cold, it drives fine, it gets 21 mpg in town, it ALWAYS starts, and it hauls anything I need to be hauled. It is getting a bit rough though. So I looked at new ones. EVERY truck at the Dodge dealer was LOADED and EXPENSIVE. They all had a hemi (are hemis stock), were a quad cab, and all but just a few were 4x4s. First, I'd like a smaller truck, but Ford, Chevy and Dodge evidently no longer make them. Second, I don't want a loaded, expensive, quad cab, gas sucking hemi. I do not need a truck like that. On the way home, I stopped by the Toyota dealer. Yea, I know, sorry, but they had a BEAUTIFUL plum metallic red smaller size truck with a V6 that was at least $10 less than anything on the Dodge lot. Dodge (and Ford and Chevy) sure are making it hard for me to buy American.

did you look (ask) for work trucks. If I were to buy a new one, I`d get a ram 1500 standard cab-short bed hemi w/ the 8 speed trans. trailer towing package. my sons hemi mega cab gets about 1 mi. to the gal. better gas mileage than my 02 , 4.7 quadcab.

 

[ramenth]

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.

 

[999yards]

I've had a few mid to late 80's Dodge trucks all with 360's, I still drive an old W250 4x4 4spd flatbed for hauling trash and pulling trees around after I cut them or whatever else may come up. They have been awesome. But that Ford 300 six truly is a good motor.

 

[barbee6043]

yes those old strait sixes were a great engine!

i'm a 12 valve cummins fan. I didn't see anyone mention it. find an older one, they will run 800,000- 1,000,000 miles, NO joke. seen plenty do it.

bought my 95 3500 new, has 200,000 mi auto, pulled goosenecks 90 % of those, only thing replaced was the fuel shutoff solenoid. ($450 at dealership , found one on line for $100) o k so it should cost $20!!!!!

they can be found for reasonable money with high mileage. I would not be afraid of one, unless it was a hotshot truck!????? maybe not even then...

 

[jimjimjimmy]

only thing replaced was the fuel shutoff solenoid. ($450 at dealership , found one on line for $100) o k so it should cost $20!!!!!

they

what we do with the cummins marine and the older trucks before all the computers was take the shutoff solenoid off and run a shutoff cable because if the alt ever takes a dump and they will the solenoid will shut the engine off once the voltage drops not a good thing in the middle of the ocean or on the side of the road . this way they will run until you shut them off .

 

[YY1]

My uncle had an E 350 van with the 460.

10 MPG empty. 10 MPG fully loaded with books pulling a trailer fully loaded with books.

$2500 will get you a super nice 72-93 Dodge, possibly crew cab unless it's a tricked out power wagon, Macho, LRE, or Warlock.

 

[barbee6043]

what we do with the cummins marine and the older trucks before all the computers was take the shutoff solenoid off and run a shutoff cable because if the alt ever takes a dump and they will the solenoid will shut the engine off once the voltage drops not a good thing in the middle of the ocean or on the side of the road . this way they will run until you shut them off .

I started to simply rig a cut off cable, but I really didn't want to take a truck worth some $$ if I decided to sell it, and reneck engineer it!!!! LOL I didn't mnd so bad giving that $100 for a new switch, BUT $450 to the dealership!? NO WAY!!!!!! lol

 

[barbee6043]

My uncle had an E 350 van with the 460.

10 MPG empty. 10 MPG fully loaded with books pulling a trailer fully loaded with books.

$2500 will get you a super nice 72-93 Dodge, possibly crew cab unless it's a tricked out power wagon, Macho, LRE, or Warlock.

car buddy just couple weeks ago showed me his 1/2 t dodge 4 x4, just over 100,000 mi, I think the year was like 92-4, v 8 s b , found it on CL for $2500, the ad had just come out. super clean truck, no rust or dings, I thought he made a great buy!

 

[ramenth]

My uncle had an E 350 van with the 460.

10 MPG empty. 10 MPG fully loaded with books pulling a trailer fully loaded with books.

$2500 will get you a super nice 72-93 Dodge, possibly crew cab unless it's a tricked out power wagon, Macho, LRE, or Warlock.

Yeah, that's one of the advantages of the early Fords.

My dad had a '74 extended wheel base F350 cab and chassis with a 360 and 4 speed. He used it to haul his JD350 for dozer work and scrap as his main business.

A friend of his had a similar 350 powered C30. The friend bragged that he got 15 miles to the gallon on the way to a job site. The Ford got about 12. On the way home, both fully loaded, Pop's F350 got the same 12. The Chevy fell of to about 6mpg.

Pop traded the truck to a local lumber mill in exchange for enough lumber to build an addition off the old single wide we had when I was a kid. Rumor has it that the truck is still at the lumber mill. I've yet to verify that as I don't have the money to make an offer on it. Be kinda cool if it is. I'd love to have my grandfather's '78 F250 and my dad's '74 F350 sitting side by side.

 

[Walker434]

Nothing wrong with the Fords I actually like both you posted. I just prefer the Dodges because I have a lot of spare small block Mopar parts laying around. Just makes it easy.

 

[71dartswinger]

I just picked this up for 6,000 Cummins diesel 71,000 miles I looked for five months for a 12valve Cummins. 1993 D250. Looking to sell utility bed or trade for a regular bed and bumper

 

['73red-duster]

My uncle had an E 350 van with the 460.

10 MPG empty. 10 MPG fully loaded with books pulling a trailer fully loaded with books.

$2500 will get you a super nice 72-93 Dodge, possibly crew cab unless it's a tricked out power wagon, Macho, LRE, or Warlock.

I had an '82 F-350 dually/flatbed with a 460. 10 mpg empty or loaded. Pulled my brother in laws 48" stock trailer from Houston, Tx. to Shelbyville, Tn. and back with a load of horses. It did drop to 9 1/2 on that trip. Truck before that was an '83 F-350 dually with a diesel. Spicer splitter that split up 25%. 16 mpg any way you wanted to load it.

 

[MOPARMITCH]

I know most of you have seen this before. But I absolutely Love my 92 Ram 250. 1st gen Cummins. Restomoded it myself. I didn't want or need 4wd since I got an old Jeep pick up for that.

 

[ocdart]

My uncle had an E 350 van with the 460.

10 MPG empty. 10 MPG fully loaded with books pulling a trailer fully loaded with books.

$2500 will get you a super nice 72-93 Dodge, possibly crew cab unless it's a tricked out power wagon, Macho, LRE, or Warlock.

Sounds just like the '77 F250 Camper Special with a 460 that I used to drive. 10mpg empty, loaded, towing, falling off a cliff. Made no difference.

 

[barbee6043]

I just picked this up for 6,000 Cummins diesel 71,000 miles I looked for five months for a 12valve Cummins. 1993 D250. Looking to sell utility bed or trade for a regular bed and bumper

slick lickin low miler!!!! ya know we always t to know what it costs!! LOL!

I have mopar buddy that has small mopar bone yard, he gets free used ATF and strains it with paint filters, and runs it in his 12 valve!!!!!! I wonder if it would run on cow pee!?????

most people just don't realize the power and longevity of these 12 valve cummins. maybe the newer 24 valve jobs are better? ( better mileage I know.) don't need to know!!!!

I get 18 empty and 13 pulling gooseneck with 4:10 gears , most have 3:54 and get 5 mpg better. yep it takes 10 or 11 gts of oil with change !!!! small price to pay......

 

[bear]

I know most of you have seen this before. But I absolutely Love my 92 Ram 250. 1st gen Cummins. Restomoded it myself. I didn't want or need 4wd since I got an old Jeep pick up for that.

Never tired of seeing your truck Mitch ! My vote is to stick with a Mopar . I've owned a "few" of them over the years and have used them for towing , wheeling , plowing , racing , and just plain having fun in . For me , It's Mopar or no-car .

 

[CordobaDart]

I paid $2k f my 89 W150 a month ago. It was purchased new in Colorado and later ended up in Arizona. It is sun faded but rust free! 360 tbi works good, though the mileage with the 727 could be better. I got 10 on the colder days of March, with a best of 11.6 highway. Just installed a tach, 2500 rpm at just over 60 is not bad. I feel there is mileage (and power of course) left on the table with the factory cam, tbi, and exhaust(i did put a glasspack on the factory single setup, and hollowed out the cat it is STILL quiet argh, egr disconnected, air pump seized so no belt) So in the future I will likely go carbed. 103k miles and the a/c even works which is unheard of for me, ha! My buddy's low mileage rust free 01 ram makes it look homely. And the last pick is a view of the 89 from my 83 in the morning before my commute, note the boost guage for the frankenslatturbo. Loving my Dodges, they need work still, but I have no payments for them unless you count fill ups.

 

[barbee6043]

I paid $2k f my 89 W150 a month ago. It was purchased new in Colorado and later ended up in Arizona. It is sun faded but rust free! 360 tbi works good, though the mileage with the 727 could be better. I got 10 on the colder days of March, with a best of 11.6 highway. Just installed a tach, 2500 rpm at just over 60 is not bad. I feel there is mileage (and power of course) left on the table with the factory cam, tbi, and exhaust(i did put a glasspack on the factory single setup, and hollowed out the cat it is STILL quiet argh, egr disconnected, air pump seized so no belt) So in the future I will likely go carbed. 103k miles and the a/c even works which is unheard of for me, ha! My buddy's low mileage rust free 01 ram makes it look homely. And the last pick is a view of the 89 from my 83 in the morning before my commute, note the boost guage for the frankenslatturbo. Loving my Dodges, they need work still, but I have no payments for them unless you count fill ups.

I had a 91 3/4 ton like your there a few years back, 360 auto 2 wd it got 9-10 highway, sold it bout 4 years back with 110,000 for $1700 best offer I could get after trying to sell it how many months!???? rust free but the bed was dented up bad.... good truck except for the mileage it got!! could not afford to drive it with the cummins sitting there.

 

[Frankie]

So I've decided that to be in this game I'm going to need a truck... Both for hauling a car trailer and for miscellaneous things for around the house like hauling dirt/gravel or what have you.

I was thinking like a 85 d150 but it seems most are 2wd, what do my mopar people recommend?

You know, if you wanted to be "different," and still be " in this game", depending on the type of trailer you're towing, you could use an older Station wagon. Any Chrysler "C" body wagon will easily haul a race car trailer.

Back in the day we used a 1972 Fury III Suburban station wagon. Similar to this...

It had a 400 cubic inch big block with a 2 Bbl carb, a 727 auto, and a 8-3/4" Sure Grip rear. The only modifications to it were a set of coil over shocks, an intake manifold, a 4BBl carb, and kick down linkage, an external trans cooler, and an RV cam. It also had a set of ET Slotted Aluminum wheels with G60/15's on the front, and L60/15's on the back, all Mickey Thompson's as I recall.

It pulled a 32 foot enclosed trailer, containing a the car, (68 Hemi Roadrunner) misc. parts, more tools than we needed, and other misc. stuff. The station wagon, carried 3 or 4 people, and our luggage and it did it all comfortably, easily, and for some pretty long hauls. We competed in NHRA divisions 1&2. North East and South East.

It also served as a parts car while we were at home, and a home improvement lumber, drywall, and plywood hauler in it's off time. lol .
I purchased the car used, with about 30K miles on it, and replaced the engine with 270+K miles on it. I replaced with a mildly built 383, and rebuilt the 400 as a spare. When I sold the car, we'd put nearly 400K miles on it. I sold it with the still strong running 383, and the rebuilt 400, to a guy who replace the 400, and was still using the car to pull his 35' camper trailer until 2012 ( at least). After that I lost rack of him. But, the idea of hauling a race car trailer with a full size wagon, than can compete with many of today's full size half ton pick up trucks isn't so far fetched as some might think.

Just a though, something you might not have given any thought, too.

 

[RustyRatRod]

No explanation necessary.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fK1HSoarMQQ"]1972 Chevrolet Truck Commercial - YouTube[/ame]

 

[famous bob]

No explanation necessary.

1972 Chevrolet Truck Commercial - YouTube

seems to be in my memory, that my old 352 ford was a valve burner, the 352`s and 390`s were known for that around here. that being said we have spent over $2000 on my wifes 06 mercury montego, that she bought new, we have spent about $200 on my 02 dodge ram 1500 that I bought new, mileage is about the same on both. "besides tires and batteries." Her check engine light just came back on again yesterday, and she said it seemed to be running funny. trying to talk her out of another ford product! we`ll be looking into all wheel drives for the new one.

 

[Roadcuda]

did you look (ask) for work trucks. If I were to buy a new one, I`d get a ram 1500 standard cab-short bed hemi w/ the 8 speed trans. trailer towing package. my sons hemi mega cab gets about 1 mi. to the gal. better gas mileage than my 02 , 4.7 quadcab.

This is what I did when I bought my '14 1500. Except that I got the 3.6 with the 8 speed tranny as well as the tow package. I only tow a few times a year and it easily handles both my B and C body cars getting around 14 mpg when towing. Otherwise I get around 23 mpg combined. I only got a few options, nothing fancy. Also, I started the process on line and got a price in the mid 22k range, which was about 5k off the list price. Maybe if more people stopped buying trucks off the lot and insisted on getting what they actually wanted then maybe the dealers would start stocking more of the affordable trucks. I know, wishful thinking!!