Technical List your favorite goofup by ford and GM. This may cause a war!!!

someone once told me Chevy's biggest mistake early on was rolling the vehicles out of the factory

 

Rusty - I would get carpel tunnel syndrome before I was finished typing!

Suffice to say that in all of the carburetors Carter produced over the years, the Ball & Ball was the only one (not even the horrible model AS, and the even worse model RBS) which Carter actually published a trouble-shooting chart!

http://www.thecarburetorshop.com/Service_Carter_BB_downdraft_issues.pdf

Also, should be able to find it with search, the story about Plymouth using the Chevrolet carburetor in 1947 when the plant producing the Ball & Ball went on strike; and subsequent complaints to Plymouth from neighbors of customers that bought the "strike" cars. The Chevrolet W-1 was good for about an extra 5~6 MPH top end, and about 25 percent better fuel economy! Plus, over the long haul, the reliability was excellent.

http://www.thecarburetorshop.com/Carter_574_Plymouth.pdf

Jon.

 

I know Plymouth used a Carter carburetor on the 318 while Chevy used a Rochester on the 283 and the 318 was not only faster, it got better mileage. And it didn't burn your eyes out with unburned gas fumes when you drove behind one.

 

Hello,

That is a great cut off date as the GM cars from 1966 and later had some new stuff, but the cars grew in size and crappy style. The last great car style by GM is the 1965 Chevelle. It had just enough power to be mean on the street and dragstrip. If I could have ordered a 396/4 speed/A/C in the 65 El Camino it would have made my day. But there were factory restrictions to keep the top of the line relevant and a goal for most buyers.

At least I got a V8 motor that had enough power + a Positraction rear to keep us out of trouble out in the sandy deserts and Baja beaches. We all have our likes in later models, but overall, it was all downhill for that portion of GM products from that year onward. Actually, it was all downhill for cars coming out of Detroit to keep the smog people happy and limit our resources.

Jnaki

As a means of mollifying certain people who grew up in the later years, there were plenty of innovations. But, we are speaking of those giant late 60s, 70s and crappy 80s styles that were shoved in our faces by Detroit. Hot rods had a certain appeal using the parts, but it was a time when hot rods also went through a “odd” money stage with different styles than the HAMB traditional look.

As far as Ford is concerned, after the Original Mustang and its relatives up to the modern days, it created “The Mustang Idiots” classification that is so popular on You Tube and the local city streets. “Oh, look, another idiot in a Mustang…”

 

Ford- who's idea was it to have a CCW distributor?
Chevy/GM- Try changing points on a rear-mounted distributor in a big sedan like a Caddy when you are a short-ass like me, and not make it look like you are performing an unnatural sex act with the motor!

 

I have a '57 Ford Retractable, and the wiring system is not that complicated.
The system is based upon a sequenced operation. This switch activates that motor,
and when that motor completes it's sequence another switch is activated and so on.

 

You can lead a horse to water, but, you can not make it troubleshoot an electrical problem...

 

And neither was successful. Rambler showed a couple of the Bendix Electrojector test cars at Daytona Beach in 1957. They only built 4-6 of them (some say a dozen, some only the two -- those are the only two verified as they appear in a photo together) as test mules, all of which were converted back to 4V and sold in early 1957. Chrysler built 35 cars, and possibly an additional 15 Plymouths, but many of those were converted to 4V carbs due to warranty issues and complaints. I'm a Rambler guy, and according to a book on the 57 Rambler Rebel the Electrojector system was just too far ahead of technology. It ran well between 40 and 90 degrees, poorly any other time. The heat affected the rather primitive electronics, there was no way to "choke" the system for winter driving. AMC execs decided that wasn't reliable enough and pulled the plug before building any production cars. Chrysler had the same issues, but apparently decided that was good enough for a few "halo" cars... or didn't do enough testing.

Ironically, Bendix sold rights to the system to Bosch, who came out with the D-Jetronic in 1967. Transistor technology had developed to the point to make the controller more reliable, which solved the heat issues. An extra central injector was added to solve winter starting/driving issues. The controller had a temp sensor and would activate the extra injector when temps got below 40 or so, and deactivate it once the engine warmed up.

 

Me and my ‘64 convertible can relate to this post.


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cross over exhaust pipe on the Ford Y-Block - ouch
steering wheel on a 55 Chevy, so beautiful, so deadly
Dodge calling a 4-door car a Charger, its a Coronet people
Ford turning a wonderful early Thunderbird into a later luxo barge
The Mustang II abomination, should have been called the Gelding
Mechanical brakes of any kind

 

Only someone that owned and worked on a lot of them, would also know that the weight of the 70 lb iron intake, combined with the problem of getting the manifold loose after unbolting it, was enough to break a weaker person.
My other big complaint about the FE engines, (except for the manifolds with the holes on the side), was that the upper exhaust manifold studs would oxidize so badly that you never got them all out without breaking one.
Bob

 

What the hell is a Coronado?


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The “squarebird” of 1958-60 handily outsold the earlier two seaters by a wide margins. I would be considered a successful relaunch of the name by almost any measure.

 

Haven't you heard, you could have crawled into the engine bay to do the job. That was what one of my friends used to do. A better solution than risking breaking a floating rib.
Bob

 

Crossfire Injection.

 

Brain fart, meant Coronet, edited post for accuracy


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Never had a Chevy come to me where the heat riser valve in the cast iron exhaust manifold wasn't either locked up solid or the clock spring that controlled it was missing which let the damn thing flop around. And I still don't like side post battery terminals.

 

Integrated bellhousing on the first-gen Olds.

 

GM - it's a matter of perspective, but I've read a number of times fuel injection on '57 & later chevs & pontiacs was replaced by carbs in the early days because of... a lack of mechanical/technical expertise to tune or fix them out in the field?

Ford - Not really a Ford guy, but I can remember running into information in my reading a few different times about all the casting sand left in early flat heads that gets cleaned out as part of well done performance rebuild, yes?

Mopar - did they install the rust at the factory for the late 50's, early 60's cars?

 

A joke, I think not. I find it funny that the Corvair gets bashed by so many.
The Corvair created a new category of car. The Mustang(witch is a piece of shit by the way) was built as a response to the Corvair Monza.
All the negative comments about the car stem from a certain book and owners or second owners that haven't maintained there car properly, and don't understand the driving characteristics of a rear engine car.
The only thing GM did wrong with the corvair was trying to make it fill to many roles. If it would have been marketed as a GT/sports car from the beginning it would be looked at differently.
I have driven Mustangs and Corvettes from the era and the Corvair is more enjoyable. Definitely more enjoyable than a Mustang.
I suggest finding a sorted Corvair and take a drive. The first Yenko was a Corvair for a reason.

 

Back when I worked for a dealership, the general manager asked me if I knew the difference between an STD and a GM diesel? His answer was, "Only you and your doctor know you have an STD, but everyone knows you've got a GM diesel on your lot."

 

Ok, here I go. Now remember, this is my opinion only.

Chevy had it absolutely spot on with the '55, then they went and spoiled it with rear fins and such by 1957.

Five, four, three, two, one....................and hello @Lloyd's paint & glass

 

289 Furd - 13 fucking bolts for the water pump, maybe 3 the same length... AND if you don't use the correct length fan bolts, a slightly longer bolt will protrude past the flange and contact the pump housing. $500 later, I learned WHY a previous mechanic used 2 flat washers, not one, on a fan bolt.

After a underhood restoration on my late sister's '65 Mustang, I'm convinced those fucks at World Headquarters got the best drugs on earth - based on their engineering prowless...

 

What!?
Not everyone loves '57 Chevies? Lol
Whats the dangerous part about the 1955 steering wheel? Asking for a friend, really.

 

Im going to go with its big,and flat with a peaked center cap.In the pre seat belt days if you got thrown on the wheel in a head on wreak your chest got crushed.In 57 they dished the wheel. Real problem was no seat belts yet,or shoulder harness.

 

If you don't have a paved driveway buy a Corvair it will pave it for you. If you have a push rod tube leak replace the tube with the spring loaded type then you will not have to pull the head to replace the seals.

 

any engine(ford) with the fkng distributor at rear ok if you are a chiropractor or contortionist unless you have one (or work on one) you will not understand

 

Also commonly known as Ceasefire Injection!

GM was notorious for badge engineering. Just change the grille and taillights to match the division it's being sold by. I think the worst example was the Cadillac Cimarron, which was just a Chevy Cavalier with a Cadillac badge and a MUCH higher price tag. Then there was the Cadillac V8-6-4, but that's another story/nightmare...