Older or Newer?

[Ak907Girl]

Okay, I can't stand it. What happened to go old trucks where you really had to press down on the breaks, actually turn the strearing wheel, and actually know how to drive!?!?!

My friends that have brand new cars and trucks are so lame. They have all these anti-slide, park assist. PARK ASSIST!!! ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME!?!?

If you need park assist... you shouldn't have a license!!!

If you can't use a TURNING SIGNAL! you shouldn't have a license.

I get told I need a new truck, but I keep saying NO! I love my truck. I like actually having to drive my truck, not drive a f***ing computer!

Even the 2012 YAMAHA snowmachines have POWER STEERING!! THE HELL IS UP WITH THAT!?!?!

Come on now, I'm 100 pounds and I can still throw my 1998 700 triple around in the powder.

I like my simple little truck, it's fairly easy to fix. I don't have to press a bunch of buttons, and I can drift without having to stop and turn off a bunch of stupid "User friendly, safer driving" crap.

The coolest truck I have gotten to drive so far is my ex's 1974 Ford Currier! Yeah. manual too! that truck is freaking awesome. AND it can haul like TWICE it's own weight. Not many of those things putting around, especially the one's from the 70's.

What ever happened to good ol' fashion Hot Rods. Now those are worth driving!

 

[The Mud Addict]

What has happened is the "safety police", have to save the stupid from hurting theirselves Isay remove all "safety" devices and warning labels from everything, its time to thin the herd My daily driver was an '68 F-250, had 4 corner drums, no power any thing, with a 4-speed

 

[LIMA BEAN]

Ha yea i have a friend that was a Courier freak, i built a few for him and now he is on his 2nd Ranger. As far as older steel goes i still love 72 chebby/gmc trucks, they got the sessy body. Show you some magazines my rigs were in when you come over and i should have the lift kit for the f- 250 on mon or tues so thats my project next week.

 

[LearjetMinako]

I like my Ranger for the same reasons. While it does have some of the modern convenices, it at least doesn't control how I drive. ABS, sure, only for the rear wheels. What I'm saying is that I can do without all those safety controling devices too.

My 76' Nova has no safety control device, besides seat belts. Power steering is a bit overpowering thou, you can steer it with a pinky finger, which I prefer to have feel in the wheel. 305ci carbed, no computers, all mechincal.

 

[Andy D]

You go girl! My favorite truck was a '47 GMC 1/2 ton pickup. It had a heater and that was it, not even a radio.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

For a few years my work truck was a '54 chev one ton 12' flatdeck. Vacuum operated windshield wipers, Armstrong steering, drums front and rear. It came with a 283 the PO put in that I rebuilt and built up, and it hauled ass pretty good. I don't think I want to go back to vacuum wipers, but the steering sure built up the pecs, and the brakes built the leg muscles pretty good. It had a turning radius of a football field. I still have the 283 after scrapping out the truck 10 or 15 years ago and just picked up a 700r4 and t-case, tentatively thinking into my race truck.

I think that everybody should learn to drive on old school vehicles and how to control vehicles in skid conditions.
At first I thought these newish cable fences down the center of the freeway were a waste of tax $ but now think they save lives.
While I agree in principle, unfortunately thinning the herd would only work for idiots without children. And after thinking about my youth, all [OK...most] idiots can learn, I did.

Richard

 

[RatDog8o8]

My '78 Jeep CJ-7 has manual brakes...discs front, drums rear....and a T18 granny 4spd. Power steering, though.

The '74 Datsun pickup I had in TX with the 302/C4/Maverick-axle setup was manual brakes, drums all 4 corners.....and manual steering.

 

[doorgunner]

For a few years my work truck was a '54 chev one ton 12' flatdeck. Vacuum operated windshield wipers, Armstrong steering, drums front and rear. It came with a 283 the PO put in that I rebuilt and built up, and it hauled ass pretty good. I don't think I want to go back to vacuum wipers, but the steering sure built up the pecs, and the brakes built the leg muscles pretty good. It had a turning radius of a football field. I still have the 283 after scrapping out the truck 10 or 15 years ago and just picked up a 700r4 and t-case, tentatively thinking into my race truck.

I think that everybody should learn to drive on old school vehicles and how to control vehicles in skid conditions.
At first I thought these newish cable fences down the center of the freeway were a waste of tax $ but now think they save lives.
While I agree in principle, unfortunately thinning the herd would only work for idiots without children. And after thinking about my youth, all [OK...most] idiots can learn, I did.

Richard

vacum wipers....waaaaahahahahhahaaaa...you'd havta put one of those new-fangled vacum canisters in-line to make em work correctly...then they'd be ruint forever--

OP.....good idea on the old trucks though(with a "few" mods, of course)

 

[cody93]

why cant i find women like you here in arkansas?? i agree with you on the pussifacation of modern vehicles, one would think with all the modern features and user assist, it would be easier for a driver to be distracted... Im happy with my truck, i like it simple, manual trans/brakes/steering. AM/FM/cassette, heater, wipers, lights are the only powered accessories i want/need. I think to pass a driving test, you have to take it in a manual vehicle without user assist.

 

[snoranger]

I miss my '79 F350 Ranger suber cab. 460 w/ 8-71 blower. The only thing in that truck with power was the ENGINE!


You had to reach back and slide the window open by hand.
You had to crank to side windows down, again, by hand.
You had to lean across the vinyl bench seat and unlock the pass door, by hand.

The wipers only had high,low, and off.

Best off all:
The high beam switch was on the floor!

 

[exbass94]

I like my newer truck with power everything and air conditioning . I agree park assist is a bit ridiculous, but safety items like power brakes and airbags I'm all for. Newer cars are 1000x safer than those death traps from the '60s. Flame suit on

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

vacum wipers....waaaaahahahahhahaaaa...you'd havta put one of those new-fangled vacum canisters in-line to make em work correctly...then they'd be ruint forever--

OP.....good idea on the old trucks though(with a "few" mods, of course)

I had plans for a coffee can/vacuum tank but never got there. It was real fun in the rain going up hill. The cam was lumpy so it never did build much vacuum anyway. One of the other upgrades the PO did was put in a push button start switch when he put in the 283. They originally had a button on the floor by the gas pedal for starting with. I finally installed a radio with fm as well... who knew there was more than one station?

Richard

 

[James86]

Growing up as a kid, my dad had plenty of basic vehicles thru the years (K-Car, Chevette, early Escort, '72 F250, Monza), and I can remember looking back and thinking how simple they were. Sure, I learned stick in a chevette with a 4spd, no power brakes, and no power steering, and I can appreciate the simplicity of a motor that doesn't need miles of wires and dozens of sensors to run, but at the same time, I have better things to do than turn my wheel 15 times to park. I also distinctly remember how many people used to lament how easy it was to work on their vehicles... they were the ones ALWAYS working on their vehicles. I've had my truck for almost 6 years and have had NOTHING go wrong save for an injecter. Maybe I don't know how to rebuild a carb, and perhaps I am spoiled by my AC in humid summers here in the land of 10,000 lakes, but I WANT that dumb bitch in a Volvo behind me putting on makeup to have her car automatically slow when she flies up my ass on the interstate and I WANT those air bags and crumple zones if (and when) a deer runs in front of me, or some asshole in a Tahoe cuts me off. In my opinion, HORSEPOWER is the great evil these days. We won the war with open topped 40HP~ jeeps. Even my dad's 86 Grand Wagoneer only put 160HP out of a 360. People think their vehicles are rocket ships these days. I just putter along with my 3.0 on a snowy day and point and laugh at them in the ditch 5 miles after they pass me. I've never put weight in my truck bed, and I've never gone in the ditch. Any time I did lose control, I recovered without any incident. My first car was a 95 Intrepid with a 3.5, four wheel discs, but no ABS.... when you have that much power, and that much stopping power and no ABS to help in winter and you just got your license, you learn an aweful lot about caution, and I've never owned a vehicle with that much HP since.

 

[robertc1024]

I like my newer truck with power everything and air conditioning . I agree park assist is a bit ridiculous, but safety items like power brakes and airbags I'm all for. Newer cars are 1000x safer than those death traps from the '60s. Flame suit on

No flame from me. I gave my daughter my Maxima and drove around in my Ranger for three years. She rear-ended a dude a few months after she started driving and she's still got all of her teeth, which she probably wouldn't have if she were driving the Ranger.

To the OP, I agree with you a lot. Everybody needs to know how to drive a stick. If you go to anywhere outside the US, you'd better because damn near all rental cars have got 5 or 6 on the floor.

 

[azreb]

What is with all the extra crap in the modern 4 wheel drive systems? My '04 Ranger has a motor on the transfer case and a gadget with a bunch of hoses under the hood. The old-fashioned second lever to shift the transfer case was a lot simpler, more reliable and surely less expensive to build.

Hydraulic clutches are possibly easier from a manufacturing or design point of view, but putting the slave cylinder inside the bell housing jacks up the price of repairs to the point it might be less expensive in the long run to go with an automatic transmission.

I wish I could find a new '85 Toyota 4x4 like my old one.