Personal computing discussed
Moderators: askfranklin, renee, emkubed, Captain Ned
Chrispy_ wrote:That's a sweet looking ride but it saddens me how a pickup must be covered in pretty chromed plastic to appeal to the soccer moms and suffer with paltry ground clearance at the front because of that low "street style" nose.
What's the point in trucks having great ground clearance from the front axle backwards if they still grind their nose on speed humps?
Deanjo wrote:It's amazingly hard to find regular cab trucks that are not base no frills white fleet trucks in stock now days, everything is extended/crewcab (to appeal to the soccer mom's I suppose). One thing that I noticed is that most of the add ons now from 3rd parties are simply bolt on vs the drill to fit of yester years (plus finding stuff for a regular cab is quite a bit harder). It is nice to just "bolt in place" but man have the price of accessories gone up since trucks are not only for the working man.
Deanjo wrote:One thing I don't miss however from my old 80 is the fuel consumption. Took the same trip that would have eaten a tank in that thing with this new one and there still was 3/4's a tank left.
mnecaise wrote:Ford announced they're building the F-150 body out of aluminum beginning with the 2015 model year, which will give them another 6~7 mpg thanks to weight reduction.
Chrispy_ wrote:That's a sweet looking ride but it saddens me how a pickup must be covered in pretty chromed plastic to appeal to the soccer moms and suffer with paltry ground clearance at the front because of that low "street style" nose.
What's the point in trucks having great ground clearance from the front axle backwards if they still grind their nose on speed humps?
Deanjo wrote:mnecaise wrote:Ford announced they're building the F-150 body out of aluminum beginning with the 2015 model year, which will give them another 6~7 mpg thanks to weight reduction.
The hood on this one happens to be made of aluminum. I also noticed that the front wheel wells are a composite instead of metal as well.
mnecaise wrote:I'm planning to pull the rusty steel floor out of the bed of my '71 and replacing it with wood.
just brew it! wrote:With all the aluminum cans we recycle, it seems like it ought to be economically feasible to make better use of aluminum for auto bodies. I imagine there's a potential galvanic corrosion issue though, since there will still be a lot of steel as well. Need to make sure the aluminum is electrically isolated from the steel.
Deanjo wrote:just brew it! wrote:With all the aluminum cans we recycle, it seems like it ought to be economically feasible to make better use of aluminum for auto bodies. I imagine there's a potential galvanic corrosion issue though, since there will still be a lot of steel as well. Need to make sure the aluminum is electrically isolated from the steel.
Not as big of an issue as you think. Aluminum and steel have been used together for years in automotive and aircraft.
just brew it! wrote:Deanjo wrote:just brew it! wrote:With all the aluminum cans we recycle, it seems like it ought to be economically feasible to make better use of aluminum for auto bodies. I imagine there's a potential galvanic corrosion issue though, since there will still be a lot of steel as well. Need to make sure the aluminum is electrically isolated from the steel.
Not as big of an issue as you think. Aluminum and steel have been used together for years in automotive and aircraft.
For automotive it has been primarily used for internal engine components. For aircraft it is used as the outer skin (which, unlike in an automobile, wraps all the way around). Either way, you don't have aluminum and steel in close proximity where they are constantly exposed to the elements.
Deanjo wrote:It may wrap all around but it is not one contiguous piece on aircraft nor is it limited to the outer skin.
Captain Ned wrote:mnecaise wrote:I'm planning to pull the rusty steel floor out of the bed of my '71 and replacing it with wood.
There are many first-gen Toyota pickups (never actually named HiLux here in the US) here in VT whose rust-cancered beds have been replaced by pressure-treated 2x6. Adventurous types add 4x4 PT bumpers. You simply cannot kill the mechanicals on those '70s/'80s Toyota pickups.
just brew it! wrote:Deanjo wrote:It may wrap all around but it is not one contiguous piece on aircraft nor is it limited to the outer skin.
For galvanic corrosion, what matters is whether you've got dissimilar metals exposed to the elements with a conduction path between them. Internal components that aren't exposed don't count.
For automotive use, you also have the added complication of road salt (in northern climates). Salt water spray makes a great electrolyte. Any exposed steel/aluminum interfaces will rot away in fairly short order.
mnecaise wrote:Since road salt and time have taken their toll (what Chevy doesn't have rust on it?) I plan to replace it with the classic wood bed, which ironically will cost more than buying a new factory steel bed.
Deanjo wrote:mnecaise wrote:Since road salt and time have taken their toll (what Chevy doesn't have rust on it?) I plan to replace it with the classic wood bed, which ironically will cost more than buying a new factory steel bed.
My old 80 was rust free right up until I got rid of it last year. The body was still flawless. The only reason that I got rid of it was because the power train was simply worn out. The guy that bought it was blown away that all he had to to is prime and paint after replacing the power train.
mnecaise wrote:Deanjo wrote:mnecaise wrote:Since road salt and time have taken their toll (what Chevy doesn't have rust on it?) I plan to replace it with the classic wood bed, which ironically will cost more than buying a new factory steel bed.
My old 80 was rust free right up until I got rid of it last year. The body was still flawless. The only reason that I got rid of it was because the power train was simply worn out. The guy that bought it was blown away that all he had to to is prime and paint after replacing the power train.
Impressive. Clearly you took good care of it. Well done sir. Well done.
Deanjo wrote:I can't stress the importance of regular proper washing and regular inspection and clearing of drainage holes enough. I've never had rust on any of my GM's over the decades. The Fords and Toyotas I've had the other hand....
JohnC wrote:GM car? Don't forget to let the dealer fix stuff related to recalls - ignition switches, exploding airbags, random transmission software glitches (supposedly shifts to "neutral" at random time) or whatever else that is wrong with every GM car produced during last 10 years
Chrispy_ wrote:Sadly, even our most off-road capable cars are starting to get the lower-slung "road bumpers" now as well, thanks to
rich city folk buying them instead of MPV's/minivans/whatever you call 6+ seater people-carriers in the US:
mnecaise wrote:What would be really cool, would be to see wood floors in the bed get re-introduced. It's not as rugged, admittedly, but I happen to like the look. I'm planning to pull the rusty steel floor out of the bed of my '71 and replacing it with wood.
Deanjo wrote:JohnC wrote:GM car? Don't forget to let the dealer fix stuff related to recalls - ignition switches, exploding airbags, random transmission software glitches (supposedly shifts to "neutral" at random time) or whatever else that is wrong with every GM car produced during last 10 years
No recalls for my truck.
JohnC wrote:Not yet
Personally I'd rather go with something like regular cab F250 XL (with 4x4, of course) for all utility needs (including snow removal using something like 7'6" Boss straight blade) for one of our business locations. Not that I have unhealthy obsession over the Ford brand (I don't), I just like to minimize the chance of someone getting killed by undeployed airbag during serious collision or getting the neck arteries slashed by metal debris from exploded airbag during very minor collision (GM used these Takata-sourced airbags on some of their models) or whatever other defect on random GM vehicle that WILL appear during next few months
Deanjo wrote:The problem is that you think that Ford (or any other manufacturer) is that much better.