Getting ready

[oneshot]

Was Trucks made better back in the’50’s and’60’s? Because I remember feeding in couple feet of mud and snow with 2WD

Now everyone wouldn’t think of it without 4WD.

Use to shoot plenty of Rabbits to eat while feeding too.

oneshot

[fishinwrench]

1 hour ago, oneshot said:

Was Trucks made better back in the’50’s and’60’s? Because I remember feeding in couple feet of mud and snow with 2WD

Now everyone wouldn’t think of it without 4WD.

Use to shoot plenty of Rabbits to eat while feeding too.

oneshot

Not necessary built better, but they usually had smaller (6 cylinder) motors and shorter beds, making them lighter in the front/heavier in the back. Plus they had locking differentials.   So yeah they got around better in 2wd than later model full size trucks did.   

I think 1966 was the first long bed Chevy truck.  They were standard with a 250 6 cylinder and 3 on the tree transmission (gutless POS).   So in 1968 they went completely the other direction and offered big-block 396 and 400 (RAT) V8's in them with 400turbo auto transmissions.....NOW THOSE were fun trucks!  😅 

They continued that until 1976.  The 1976 Big 10 Chevy's had a 454 big block with a Quad intake..... Freakin' Beast!  Not that great off-road, but they were capable of some Impressive Burnouts. 😂 

In 1978 they backed off a bit, with the Silverado and old reliable 350 small block from the 1972-73 era. 

[MOPanfisher]

The old 70 ford with positive lock rear end and a bit of wood it the back went places probably shouldn't have.  About 10 MPG on a good day.

[fishinwrench]

5 minutes ago, MOPanfisher said:

The old 70 ford with positive lock rear end and a bit of wood it the back went places probably shouldn't have.  About 10 MPG on a good day.

Yep had the 390 V8 

More like 8 mpg 😂 Seriously!   But then gas was 39.9 to 43.9 so what the hell!  🤣

[fishinwrench]

The 350 Chevy motor was originally designed for school buses and dump trucks.  It eventually morphed into Chevy's best engine ever.   Perfect balance of weight and power. 

[snagged in outlet 3]

1 hour ago, fishinwrench said:

The 350 Chevy motor was originally designed for school buses and dump trucks.  It eventually morphed into Chevy's best engine ever.   Perfect balance of weight and power. 

Best engine ever!

[tjm]

Chevy had V8 option  in '55 and 8' beds in '56 or '57.  I don't recall older four speed Chevys but the '62 and '64 both had 4 speeds and the dozen or so '49-'53 F-1 s that I owned all but one had 4 speeds, all had V8s too.

I thought the small blocks all started with the '57 283 and the 350 was where it maxed out?

[tjm]

3 hours ago, fishinwrench said:

The 350 Chevy motor was originally designed for school buses and dump trucks.  It eventually morphed into Chevy's best engine ever.   Perfect balance of weight and power. 

I had to check this out, since I never saw one in a school bus when I was riding them, and a kid in high school had one in his Camaro until it became airborne.

Quote

The 350 cu in (5.7 L), with a 3.48 in (88.39 mm) stroke, first appeared as a high-performance L-48 option for the 1967 Camaro. The exact displacement is 349.85 cu in (5,733 cc). One year later it was made available in the Chevrolet Nova, and finally in 1969 the rest of the Chevrolet line could be ordered with a 350. As had been the case with earlier versions of the small-block, the 350 was available in the Beaumont sold by Pontiac Canada, which unlike its US counterparts, used Chevrolet chassis and drivelines.

Many variants followed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_small-block_engine#350

Quote

The Chevrolet 350 V8 engine was first introduced in 1967 to be used in the Camaro. Since then it has become the favorite among Chevy small block engines and has been installed in almost everything that can be driven on the road, flown in the air or taken across water.

https://www.enginefacts.com/chevrolet350/

[fishinwrench]

Interesting.  I think maybe their definition of "first appeared" might be in relation to passenger cars.    

I did an essay on the history of Chevrolet when I was in school, and the info I found at that time said what I posted. That it was originally designed as an engine fit for towing heavy loads.   

Either way, yeah, awesome motor still to this day.

 

[tjm]

All the heavy trucks that I recall from the early years had 6s, 292 was the big one, any V8s always seemed to be in light applications, but I'm just going by memory.