Top 10 Underappreciated All-American Cars And Trucks

Popular Mechanics ^ | July 03, 2008 | John Pearley Huffman

[abb]

I used to make fun of Chrysler worshipers. I always said those types marched to a different drummer. However, I have an ‘02 Ram 1500 with 265K miles on it. Original engine.

I plan to get 400 - 500K out of it. When I was a kid, any iron that got over 100K over it was unheard of.

[epow]

if you added an oil accumulator and a pre-oil system to a modern port injection engine 400,000 miles would not be out of the question.

The owner of a local repair shop that I patronize was service manager for a large Honda dealership for several years. He told me that it was not all that unusual to see a Honda come in that had 300K or more on the original engine, and had seen more than one with 400K. I can't vouch for his truthfulness, so take it FWIW.

One of my responsibilities as service manager for a national corporation was keeping track of maintenance on the delivery truck fleet. It was not too unusual for our F-700 Ford trucks' 390 ci gas engines to go over 300K highway miles without any major engine work, and I know of at least one 18-wheeler over the road tractor with a Caterpillar diesel engine that went over the million mile mark before an overhaul. My experience on that job gave me a lot of respect for Caterpillar equipment.

[Professional Engineer]

Every time I see a Lincoln Navigator, I think of that car. Heh heh heh

"You think you hate it now, wait until you drive it."

[Dr. Sivana]

I’d pull the Aries/Relaint and replace it with the Dart/Valiant.

[Chode]

i was 6yrsold in 61 when we got it and that was the last 2door we had. my Dad never complained.

saturday mornings were fun since he had to take it up the four lane to "Blow the Carbon out of it." built up during the week... of course i always had to go with. 8^)

[Old Professer]

The Ford FE engine which included the 390 used in all the heavy duty models was an engineering feat; short of running one out of oil they ere nearly indestructinle other than severe overheating.

They were built with seasoned blocks, forged crankshafts, forged connecting rods, forged camshaft, high voluime oil pumps, sodium filled exhaust valves and equipped with governors to limit any chance of overspeed.

The cam profile combined with a favorable bore/stroke ratio allowed for over 420 ft. lbs. torque at 3300 rpm; transmission selections along with two speed differentials allowed for extreme loads to be handled with ease by an experienced operator.

If there was a weak point it was the valve springs and top end over oiling which mostly led to carbon buildup with poorly maintained fleets.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

We had these on our 4600 Manitowoc draglines. They had Cat 379 stationary engines which we worth 12000-15000 hours per overhaul. These motors probably would not have lasted 10,000 hours without this early prelube system.

[perfect stranger]

old car ping

[Emmett McCarthy]

I have always thought the ‘61 was the prettiest of the Chevys of that era with the ‘59 coming in real close to it.

[Wild Willy]

True story, the brakes gave out and it started rolling backwards on a slight hill. Three people couldn’t stop it from crashing into the car behind it (try as we might). It completely caved in the side of the car it hit and only had slight damage to the chrome on the tip of a wing. It is a tank...

[Chode]

yes sir... the 64 we got next wasn't neat as pretty as the 61.

[Gay State Conservative]

My (much) older brother had a ‘61 or ‘62 Plymouth Valiant that just wouldn't die.He used to joke that he never even *checked* the oil let alone changed it.

[Doohickey]

That was never my experience. During my formative years, I had both a Pinto (a ‘71) and and Mustang II (a ‘74 Ghia). Trust me - the Pinto was the better car.

[Nachoman]

The Rabbit GTI. German engineering combined with legendary UAW craftsmanship turned a decent pocket rocket into a mechanic’s constant companion.

Too bad they didn’t build them in Germany.

[Blue Highway]

here are 2 under appreciated:

1972 Ford Maverick Grabber

1976 Dodge Dart

[KYGrandma]

Agree with the Taurus. I have had five or six in the past, and loved everyone of them. Although, my favorite was a SHO I had sometimes in the 90’s. Hubby worked for Ford and we got a new car every year and sometimes two. My favorite car of the 27 years was the Mark VIII.

[Dust in the Wind]

If it was a Ford it was a Ranchero. I had a ‘73 that went 213 thousand miles before it got totaled. Good caruck;^)

[BikerTrash]

cool thread marker bump

[djf]

Now yur talkin!

Inside my '66:



Actually, though, you can hardly call Impala underappreciated. From something like 61 to 69 they were the largest selling car in American history. Beat out finally only by the Escort, if memory serves.