Art & Inspiration Why do you like Ford, Chevy, Dodge,etc

I’m not brand loyal. The brands could care less about any of us so I’m not very concerned about supporting them.
I use the parts I have or the parts that work.
Everyone has strengths and weaknesses.
The best stuff I’ve ever owned (least amount of service needed) are not forum friendly.

I like cool stuff. All of em made cool stuff and cool stuff has been made from all of em.

honestly the idea of one of the big 3 (in the classic sense) being superior to the other is a strange concept.

 

There seems to be a pretty common theme amongst most posts here. Nostalgia. My dad owned one...it was my first car..etc. Seems logical since we are at a site that celebrates traditional hot rods and customs that we'd be nostalgic too. I also found Mopar starters weird sounding decades ago...but lately have been looking at mini starters or later GM smaller starters for my own projects....I guess they don't sound as weird any more.

 

Okay, kids. Don't make me pull this thread over to the shoulder.
I'm with Lloyd. The starter sound is the opening prelude of every trip. I get that. It sets the tone for all that follows.
"Sound" is easily the largest percentage of the essence of 'hot rodding'. Let's not argue with, "Truth, Justice, and the American way", eh?

 

Asthmatic sound? That's pretty close, I always thought they sounded like a life long smoker laughing. ....Edit sorry to all the smokers.

 

All my race cars were Chrysler powered mostly hemis. As far as old cars I’ve owned pretty much everything, right now I have a 31 model a 41 olds 51 merc.

 

My experience has been if you want to go fast in a chevy, you have to build it. My mopars, just turn the key. Once you start tearing into them and hopping them up, they become sums of their aftermarket parts. I think dollar for dollar I get more out of Chrysler products. I don't drag race or have muscle cars anymore so I am more open to what I build and drive. I've been driving my 59 F100 with a 223 for almost 16 years. I also have a flatty mopar stocker and a 66 olds I drive as well. It would be a boring world if we all liked the same stuff.

 

If I were loyal to any brand, it would be GM. They fed me as a kid and adult since my dad worked for them for 28 years, I worked for them for about 5, and now my brother still works for them and has for more than 20 years. So, I grew up playing with Chevrolets and then a few Pontiac’s. However, most folks likely know me by my Ford that I drive now...

 

My dad was for the most part a Ford guy when I was growing up. He still talked about a '51 Ford Woodie he used to own almost until the day he died at 100+. My first car was a '31 Model A coupe I bought when I was 15 for $95.00. Had a '65 Falcon 2dr wagon in HS and JC. After that not so much Fords until a couple of '40 1 1/2 ton Fords which got sold to make way for the '39 p/u I still drive almost daily. A couple of years ago I added a '54 Ranch Wagon to the fold. But only older Fords. Never will own a new one after the 2004 POS 6.0 Super Duty diesel.

 

Once you start driving one brand and one brand only I find you start accumulating spare parts for that brand. Starters, alternators, brackets, switches, the list is endless. I swear I have the whole Ford parts department in my garage attic. I'm sure not going to switch over to another brand anytime soon.

 

On a side note, I grew up next to an uncle with a shop. He’s a Ford guy. His shop was always full of GMs, mostly Chevys getting fixed.

Fixing Chevys is how he always had a nice Ford to drive

He loved Chevys, but said “I don’t get paid to work on my own truck, that’s why I buy Fords”

lol

 

Lol I'm sorry.... you'd thought I kicked his grandma. I can't stand sensitive computer commandos. They whine like a 77 440 dodge starter.

 

Mostly chev and Ford, prefer chev for powertrain interchangeability. Worked for a dodge dealership as a young en and I too developed a solid dislike for the starters, hence I ve never owned one

 

That is a lol story! My son works at the Ford dealership, drives a Chevy, service manager asked why he didn't have a Ford, Big Ave told him that it's too far to walk to work when it breaks down lmao

 

Helluva lot cheaper to build a small block Chevy than a small block Ford

 

Depends. The average SBF we built didn’t need everything replaced.
The vast majority of the Chevys got total rebuilds.
Stock overhauls that is.
But you are correct. Chevy usually wins the being cheap category. That’s one reason they need those total rebuilds

 

"" 4 letter words are easier to spell""

 

Back in the middle 60's my Dad sold cars at Dan O'Shaughnessy Chrysler Plymouth in Lansing Mi. He also sold cars at most of the dealers in Lansing, so as a 10-15 year old kid I got to see and love 'em all. The neighbor across the street from our house had a sweet almost new 396 Chevelle SS 396 4speed and as a kid I wanted to hang out with him. The neighbor knew that my Dad sold Chryslers at the time and he hated Mopars. What I remember the most about the neighbor was his mimicking of the Mopar V-8 starter sound. " chew chew chew,chewchew varooMMM!! Any way you had to hear him do that.. I can remember it to this day. Well I had to bring it up after the discussion about the sound of the gear-reduction starters!

 

I've been mostly GM for daily drivers. My hobby cars have been mostly orphan makes, most with Chevy power. And I have a gear reduction starter on the 327 in my Henry J. Works much better than the old one.

Gary

 

Takes all kinds man. I'm a Chevy guy. I'd take a core 350 over a new Windsor any day.

 

Some men are Baptists, others Catholic. My dad was an Oldsmobile man.

 

Both cheaper than a flathead but as the saying goes "real hot rods don't have valve covers"

 

And I’d take a 2jz over either one.
I’d put that in my OT.
I don’t need either one for my old stuff.

 

I've mainly build chevy, parts interchange easily, transmissions fit everything, go fast parts are easy to find and cheap. Plus I have a garage full of it.

I struggle switching brands, but as I get older, anything with a solid 2 door body is interesting to me.

Fords and Mopars are hard work, I commend you guys.
Different transmissions for all the engine families, not much interchange unless you own a machine shop, good factory heads were limited availability and were like gold until the aftermarket stuff came out. Hi-Po builds are closer to evening out cost wise now, if you use aftermarket heads etc.

 

Love that line

 

I asked why you are loyal to a certain brand. When I was a teenager, we had the Ford vs Chevy vs Mopar battle every weekend here. One cat had a 429 Ford that was supposed to be badass, another had a 351 Windsor that was supposed to be wicked, but they got outrun every weekend by our small blocks. Now there wasn't many mopars around, but the few that were around were bad mother fuckers. I just always hung with the Chevy crowd.

 

Gotta ask, what's a 2jz?

 

Chevys are cheap

 

Off topic
But worth more than a sbf or sbc

 

OK

 

I like all old cars! I've got three old Chevies and a Chrysler powered Plymouth. Chevies were always more plentiful and cheaper so that's how i got hooked. GM= generic motors.