And the 30 year old truck will still be on the road when the new one is scrapped.
Scurvy, I have a 2000 C3500 Chevy PU like the one in the pic and has 238,000 miles on an original engine and tranny. I agree, that 30 year old truck will still be chugging along. Those last years of that body style was Chevy’s pinnacle of perfection and longevity.
The new one has to attempt a 30 year run. Good luck with that.
Chinesium Electronics will start to Fail after about 10 Years, no Replacements will be available. Truck will probably be in good ‘Mechanical’ condition, but won’t Run without the Computers controlling Everything.
I have a pair of ’86 Chevy K-30/ M-1028 Military-Surplus 1-1/2-tons with the Detroit Diesel 6.2 Engine, 350 Trans, and NO electronics. about 50k Miles on both, Local Driving only, 17MPG or so, but it is getting a little harder to source common Parts for them. Should be able to keep them running for another 10-15 Years. IF things don’t go full-on Mad Max before then….
yep, 30 yrs and 40K apart.
In December 1995 I bought a 1992 K1500 regular cab longbox with a 5.0l and 700R4 and 60K miles for $5250.
How much is a 2020 Silverado now, and how easy is it to swap out the engine?
Swapping is easy, finding a good engine is a whole ‘nother matter. Crate engines can go for $10-15K easy.
I prefer to rebuild myself, letting a good machine shop do the necessary head/block work that uses equipment I don’t have. Everything else I have tools for.
Rotsa Ruck, Chuck!
Detroit keeps thinking that The Great Unwashed Masses want bigger bodies, flashier curves, turbocharging, more HP and torque, and my favorite, an Infotainment System.
It’s called Creeping Featureitis, and it’s the bane of our culture now. Gotta have the latest iPhone, when an iPhone 3 will do the same darn thing for a helluva lot less money. Probably sturdier as well.
I *never* buy The Latest and Greatest, because sure as shootin’ somebody is going to get tired of theirs, or upgrade, and there’s the old one that gets passed down or sold for a song.
I simply refuse to buy a new car because it immediately depreciates 25-30% the minute you get in and drive it away. I keep an eye out for the Oldies That Are Goodies (like your truck, Phil) that the general public is clueless about and try to snag it if possible. With wisdom and experience comes the knowledge that the newest gadget or item is NOT the greatest since Sliced Butter.
Gettin’ harder to find parts for my now 35-year-old Motor Coach, but I’m a pretty good mechanic, engineer, and African Engineer… So I can usually come up with something even better than the original. The newest RV’s are flashy but cheaply made, and cost $250K to start. No thanks.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t disdain the Old Stuff, we’ve usually gotten better and more clever at making things. But Made In China is a curse, and especially not something you can hang your hat on. Quality is definitely lacking nowadays. And it ain’t cheap, either, due to Chinesium crap putting the trade masters out of business. I’ve got old tools that still do the job, powered by Elbow Grease. And, I’m hanging on to them. Because.
Before I moved to the SLC area, the neighbor across the street has an early ’70’s Chebbie truck that just keeps running. His late 90’s Suburban keeps breaking and costing him money. I don’t know why he keeps putting money into that particular pit.
Us readers know the value of the “old” stuff. May not look pretty, but it will continue to work when The Latest and Greatest is broken and discarded.
Right?
Right.
Seeing that I think I agree with the fellow who said that vehicles today look like something a demon would 5hit out…
Old some is far more attractive (and, ultimately more robust and self-serviceable).
The Ford Ranger is even worse. My girl has a 2011 Ranger. The new ones are the size of my 2004 F150.
Unfortunately, CAFE is more complex than just the light truck and passenger car dichotomy. There are also different economy targets based on the “footprint” of the vehicle—that is, the car’s wheelbase times its average track width […] Vehicles with bigger footprints can be less efficient, while smaller ones need to be more efficient.
There’s a lot more to read there, for example, the Subaru Crosstrek qualifies as a light truck.
There is an extent to which consumer preference favors larger vehicles. Not my preference, at least not when it comes to owning a monster-sized pickup. And it’s been a long time since I had a use for the hauling capacity of a small pickup.
Had an uncle, a farmer, who passed away decades ago, and because of the way he made his living, used pickups like to smaller one on the left (he favored Fords though) Were he alive today, I can only imagine the eye-rolling and “earthy’ comments he would make about how “big gulped” sized pickups have become.
Pick up trucks are like your significant other. They got bigger and the beds got smaller.
Spin
I picked up a ’93 GMC Suburban, old school 4×4 in 2018, for a bad weather grocery getter. It’s got yer basic 350 with throttle body injection, most reliable induction system EVAAR! Water tight, lockable pick up. I put BF Goodrich All Terrain tires on, so far, unstuckable.
And the 30 year old truck will still be on the road when the new one is scrapped.
Scurvy, I have a 2000 C3500 Chevy PU like the one in the pic and has 238,000 miles on an original engine and tranny. I agree, that 30 year old truck will still be chugging along. Those last years of that body style was Chevy’s pinnacle of perfection and longevity.
The new one has to attempt a 30 year run. Good luck with that.
Chinesium Electronics will start to Fail after about 10 Years, no Replacements will be available. Truck will probably be in good ‘Mechanical’ condition, but won’t Run without the Computers controlling Everything.
I have a pair of ’86 Chevy K-30/ M-1028 Military-Surplus 1-1/2-tons with the Detroit Diesel 6.2 Engine, 350 Trans, and NO electronics. about 50k Miles on both, Local Driving only, 17MPG or so, but it is getting a little harder to source common Parts for them. Should be able to keep them running for another 10-15 Years. IF things don’t go full-on Mad Max before then….
yep, 30 yrs and 40K apart.
In December 1995 I bought a 1992 K1500 regular cab longbox with a 5.0l and 700R4 and 60K miles for $5250.
How much is a 2020 Silverado now, and how easy is it to swap out the engine?
Swapping is easy, finding a good engine is a whole ‘nother matter. Crate engines can go for $10-15K easy.
I prefer to rebuild myself, letting a good machine shop do the necessary head/block work that uses equipment I don’t have. Everything else I have tools for.
Rotsa Ruck, Chuck!
Detroit keeps thinking that The Great Unwashed Masses want bigger bodies, flashier curves, turbocharging, more HP and torque, and my favorite, an Infotainment System.
It’s called Creeping Featureitis, and it’s the bane of our culture now. Gotta have the latest iPhone, when an iPhone 3 will do the same darn thing for a helluva lot less money. Probably sturdier as well.
I *never* buy The Latest and Greatest, because sure as shootin’ somebody is going to get tired of theirs, or upgrade, and there’s the old one that gets passed down or sold for a song.
I simply refuse to buy a new car because it immediately depreciates 25-30% the minute you get in and drive it away. I keep an eye out for the Oldies That Are Goodies (like your truck, Phil) that the general public is clueless about and try to snag it if possible. With wisdom and experience comes the knowledge that the newest gadget or item is NOT the greatest since Sliced Butter.
Gettin’ harder to find parts for my now 35-year-old Motor Coach, but I’m a pretty good mechanic, engineer, and African Engineer… So I can usually come up with something even better than the original. The newest RV’s are flashy but cheaply made, and cost $250K to start. No thanks.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t disdain the Old Stuff, we’ve usually gotten better and more clever at making things. But Made In China is a curse, and especially not something you can hang your hat on. Quality is definitely lacking nowadays. And it ain’t cheap, either, due to Chinesium crap putting the trade masters out of business. I’ve got old tools that still do the job, powered by Elbow Grease. And, I’m hanging on to them. Because.
Before I moved to the SLC area, the neighbor across the street has an early ’70’s Chebbie truck that just keeps running. His late 90’s Suburban keeps breaking and costing him money. I don’t know why he keeps putting money into that particular pit.
Us readers know the value of the “old” stuff. May not look pretty, but it will continue to work when The Latest and Greatest is broken and discarded.
Right?
Right.
Seeing that I think I agree with the fellow who said that vehicles today look like something a demon would 5hit out…
Old some is far more attractive (and, ultimately more robust and self-serviceable).
The Ford Ranger is even worse. My girl has a 2011 Ranger. The new ones are the size of my 2004 F150.
You can thank the almighty goverment for the upsizing trend. This article explains – https://www.thedrive.com/news/small-cars-are-getting-huge-are-fuel-economy-regulations-to-blame
There’s a lot more to read there, for example, the Subaru Crosstrek qualifies as a light truck.
There is an extent to which consumer preference favors larger vehicles. Not my preference, at least not when it comes to owning a monster-sized pickup. And it’s been a long time since I had a use for the hauling capacity of a small pickup.
Had an uncle, a farmer, who passed away decades ago, and because of the way he made his living, used pickups like to smaller one on the left (he favored Fords though) Were he alive today, I can only imagine the eye-rolling and “earthy’ comments he would make about how “big gulped” sized pickups have become.
Pick up trucks are like your significant other. They got bigger and the beds got smaller.
Spin
I picked up a ’93 GMC Suburban, old school 4×4 in 2018, for a bad weather grocery getter. It’s got yer basic 350 with throttle body injection, most reliable induction system EVAAR! Water tight, lockable pick up. I put BF Goodrich All Terrain tires on, so far, unstuckable.