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

I became a Ford guy mostly by accident. Growing up, my Dad had no brand preference of any sort, they were just useful appliances to him. That changed in '53 when his boss bought us a brand-new Ford wagon, V8 3 speed w/OD for Xmas. My mother fell in love; here was a car with some zip! She had a heavy right foot (a trait I inherited), and was even more happy when we got a new '55 wagon with a 292 w/OD, again for Xmas. Eventually the '53 wore out, my Dad took the '55 for a work car, and my mothers choice was a very nice used '56 Fairlane 2-dr with a 312 stick. She was really in love now, 'Finally, a car that really goes!' Unfortunately, I rolled that one over... Next up was a '64 Dodge Dart that my brother-in-law talked her into. With 'It's economical' (six stick) and 'convenience for your friends' (4 dr) she reluctantly got it. It lasted a year... 'No guts, and it looks like an old ladies car', it went down the road. Surprisingly, my Dad put the kibosh on GM products as the shop he worked at had bought a bunch of Chevy trucks and they hadn't proved to be very reliable. She wasn't interested in another Mopar either. She also didn't like the starter sound, said it 'sounded like a wind-up toy' LOLOL! A trip to the local Mercury dealer and she was smitten with the new-for-'67 Cougar. I almost had her talked into a 4-speed, but after the salesman demonstrated that the 289 4V/C4 could squeal the tires, she decided that an automatic was ok (and years later told me she figured I'd get in trouble with it...LOL). A Cinnamon Frost/Parchment interior version came home. By the mid-'80s it was getting a bit worn looking, so I took her new car shopping (my Dad had passed at this point). She was not happy. 'No guts, and they're all ugly' and I couldn't really disagree with her. The Cougar went in for restoration, she had her baby back. She drove that car until we had to take her license (medical reasons). Cost to re-do was less than a new car, she gladly paid it. The truly amazing part is to the best of my and my sisters knowledge, she never got a speeding ticket, or if she did nobody heard about it...LOL. She had that heavy foot until the end... and my sister also inherited it.

At this point in my life, I've decided to stick with my Fords. I've owned other makes, but the GM products were by far the most troublesome (except for my Jags) and while I have the utmost respect for the longevity/durability of Chrysler drivetrains, their body/interior quality was never as good. My Dad bought a couple Mopars in the '60s and the interiors literally fell apart. And GM tended to experiment on their customers IMO. It really boils down to corporate philosophy; GM has almost always been run by bean counters and it's showed more often than not. A number of people mention how it's cheaper to build a Chevy, but the operative word there is cheap. Both Ford and Chrysler were run by car guys, and Ford was the most conservative of the 'big three', rarely experimenting with their customers on their bread and butter cars but also getting exotic on occasion.

You can debate the GM vs Ford vs Mopar choice endlessly, in the end it's what you like...

 

I became a GM guy (mainly Pontiac) through my Dad.
Getting married and starting a family during the depression, a car was a conveyance and tool, and he bought what he could afford, which was usually a pretty used up car that would get him by for a while. After the war it was still a matter of 'buy what you can find' (still used) because of shortages. After they had their feet on the ground in the late 40's, he got a '46 Pontiac that was in nice condition, and big step up from the cars he had been driving. He really liked the power (???) of the straight 8, and the rest of the car was a step above a Chevy. From then on it was all Pontiacs (still used, but generally 1 or 2 years old), except for a new Stude he bought in '53. A couple of weeks after he bought it, we made a trip from SW Washington to North Dakota. 2 weeks later he traded it for a new Pontiac! He drove Pontiacs the rest of his life, and he didn't baby them. He 'influenced' me in that direction.
My oldest brother somehow got tangled up with Plymouths (6 cylinder flatheads), and he wasn't heavy on maintenance, drive 'em hard and put 'em away wet. He got really good service out of them. His last Plymouth was an early 70's, then he gave up on Chrysler products and went import.
My other brother was not a car guy at all, and bought based on looks and creature comforts, so he had a little but bit of everything over his lifetime.
But me... most of my cars have been Chevy or Pontiac except for a stretch when I bought imports (more bang for the buck for a DD back then), until I came back to the Chevy/GMC fold about 30 years ago. Toys, no matter who built the body and chassis, have all been SBC powered.. can't beat them for economy of build, availability of parts, and power-to-size. Plus.... their starters sound normal!! I would, however, really like a '48 Plymouth Deluxe Coupe like Steve Frisbee built!

 

I just spit my coffee out on my phone screen.
LMAO!

 

Growing up in my dads old wrecking yard, we had a variety to choose from.

My first car was a 57 Plymouth 4 door Savoy, with a 318, and a type writer transmission. Next car was a 63 Ford 4 door Galaxy with a 352 V-8. Jr. year of High school, I had a very cool 59 Dodge station wagon with a not stock 383. I should have never sold that one !

I did not have a camera back then, so no pictures of those cars.

I got a good indoctrination into G.M.C. and GM products at age 17, when I bought my 41 G.M.C. K-18 panel truck, it had a 270 inline 6 banger with a Zenith up draft carburetor and it was a great learning experience, highly impractical, but a hell of a lot of fun !




Over the years, I have owned a variety of cars and trucks. My dad got me into Internationals, strong bodies, stout frames, easy to work on, and good candidates to put GM engines in when the "Cornbinder" boat anchor engines wore out.

In my experience, after the years 1971, 1972, that was when the entire industry changed and the element of " planned obsolescence " reared its ugly head ! I have had a variety of mid 60's GM trucks, and have found that they were the easiest to work on and for parts availability as well.

The most indestructible vehicle I ever owned, was my dads old 65 Checker Marathon, it had all GM parts, and a very dependable GM 283, with a Borg Warner transmission, super roomy, super comfortable, and built like a tank !




( pay no attention to the sign, it was an open parking space )

For ease of working on and parts availability, I have had good luck with GM products.

For styling, I am still very much into older MOPARS from the 40s and 50s.

I recently sold my 47 Dodge Business coupe.



Love the Tri 5 years for Chevy and for Ford.

My current daily driver is a OT 2004 Dodge Dakota Quad Cab.

The most fun vehicle I ever had was my 56 IHC, S-110, retired Bell Telephone service truck, I should have never sold that one either.

 

At 16 I worked at an Esso Station, asked the mechanic which car he thought was a good first car- GM or Ford? He said a GM was a little bit easier to fix and a little cheaper for parts. (he drove an ex police car ford). I have had mostly Chevy cars and trucks ever since. However I am in a mixed marriage, my better half grew up in a Ford household, her
father sold and collects Lincolns, she refuses to drive anything not Ford. Owned one Dodge in my life.

 

Someone touched on it here. Having multiple brands means more parts and now I'm out of room. I started with Chevrolets so I have collected tons of parts.
Had a couple Mopars, collect parts.
Then I got into prewar Fords, had to collect bunches of early Ford parts. My garage looks like a war zone. I had to build a shed to accommodate the influx of rusty junk. Need to clean, purge, and organize

 

Dad always had fords, red fords if he had a choice on color. My first car was a Pontiac and have stayed true, well until 2010.

 

I've owned them all and had good and bad experiences with them all. I stick with Ford mostly because it's what I grew up working on since I was kid, and they were actually more in ski boats. We got a Mastercraft in 1985, first new thing dad ever bought, and he told my brothers and I "we can afford the boat barely, but not the service. So you boys are going to do all the service yourselves. I'll show you, after that, it's on you. You get lazy with it, the boat is being sold." So by the time I was 8 I was doing tuneups and oil changes on the boat, and soon everyone on our street wanted us boys doing their boat maintenance, lol.

The other reason is my wife just got a job at Ford, started Monday. So I was a Ford guy before, but now I'm REALLY a Ford guy.

 

From 1995-97, I drove my '50 Ford 2dr Sedan everyday rain or shine. I slowed down driving it when I got an OT car, but still drove it very much, just not everyday. In about '05 or so, I bought a '57 Chevy. When asked why I bought a Chevy, my answer was "I was just getting too many speeding tickets driving my '50!" BTW, my Flathead powered '50 could beat my Buddy Joe's '57 Chevy. At least until he took the 283 out and we put a 327 in. Lol. Ron

 

My father had a jukebox business and bought used Fords for a business car..He had a Dodge truck....My first car in high school, 1964, was a 56 Ford 292 3 speed..Got a full time job the next year and bought a 62 Galaxy 390 4 speed..But I couldn't them 383 Mopars or 300/327 Chevys....So I traded the Ford for 64 Chevy Impala 327 four speed..The 327 was much smoother than the Mopar or Ford when wound up....

 

Interesting. In the past decade, I built a blown 427 Chevy engine, and a blown 426 Hemi engine. The Chrysler engine cost about five times as much as the Chevy.

 

I've always been a Chevy guy when it came to engines, and regardless of the make of the car I usually went Chevy engine. But back in the 60's when I built my '40 Chev coupe gasser, I had the chance to buy a complete '59 Chrysler that was rolled and put the 413, torqueflite, and rear axle all in my '40 Chevy. The big wedge was a wonderful motor, and even stone stock was plenty powerful in my '40 coupe.
I've owned a couple ford cars, and a truck over the years, and the old '69 3/4 ton truck was the only one I had good luck with. But I bought my wife a newer Ford driver some years back, and it's been flawless, and never seen the dealership, except for maintenance. Recently replaced her car, and I kept the Ford as my daily driver now as it's such a great car I couldn't sell it.

 

Think Mopar wedge and the price is only twice as much...

 

The gear reduction? You can install one of the mini-starters from a Dakota/Durango to eliminate the sound.

 

As far as building engine and drivetrain, I think (even as a Ford guy) it's impossible to say Chevy stuff isn't easier, and bolts together reliably, etc. A buddy that's redoing a c10 and I were just talking about that Saturday at the bar. Ford stuff is all different while Chevy stuff is consistent. If I was putting together a project from scratch, it'd probably be gm....

 

So from 1955 to 1996 all sbc starters, flexplates, cylinder heads, exhaust manifolds, brackets, water pumps, etc., interchange between each other? Amazing!

 

Mostly a Ford guy here. That’s what my dad bought when I was growing up. 53, 57 DelTio, 61, 65. He later switched to Lincoln’s, although there were a couple of GM pickup, an Olds, and a Pontiac thrown in with a few more later model Fords.

I wasn’t ever able to drag out much information about his first car, a 36 Ford Tudor, or the 46-48 Fords he had after the War. I came home from the hospital in a 39 Chevy with rusted floorboards. Mom made him get rid of it in deference to my lungs. He bought an almost new 49 Chevy from a relative. Always got the impression he hated that car for some reason.

My paternal grandfather taught himself to drive in a Model T. He said the trees along the road from the dealership to his house were scarred up pretty badly after that first trip. He ended up being a Chevy guy, until his last car, a 71 Comet, which ha said was his best car ever.

Maternal grandfather was a Buick, Olds, Mercury man, although his last ride was a 63 Galaxie. He had Ford trucks on the farm and a 36 Five Window Ford coupe that my mother learned to drive on.

I have had, and still have, Ford, GM, and Chrysler products, along with a couple of German cars. Last three drivers have been Mopar products, and the next will be an electric Ford Lightning pickup.

probably going with a gm engine in my 36, though. The poor thing needs too much other work to contemplate going with a sbf.

Ironically, one of the things that lured me to my current mid sixties Plymouth muscle car was the unique wail of the gear reduction starter.

 

My grandfather worked and retired (30 years) from the Newark Delaware Mopar assembly plant. Both are gone now. My father strictly bought Mopar and I was Mopar brand exclusive until our 02 Ram nearly rusted in half with 60k on the clock. Not so much brand specific anymore. Just buying what hits all the buttons anymore....

 

I grew in a Ford family., but my first 10 cars/trucks were all Chevrolets and first new car for the wife was an 85 Pontiac. When I started buying new pickups in 1996 they have all been Fords. I bought used Chevrolet pickups because they were readily available when I was looking and Fords were not. Even the dreaded 2004 6.0 diesel was a perfect with only oil changes in 80k miles in 8 years. I’ve had 2 new F-150 since then and both were/are great pickups. My wife fit best in American assembled Civics and has had 2 since the Pontiac. Our HAMB 56 Ford was what we both wanted. Me since we had them new and her wishing her folks would have bought one.

Today it takes my time and when asked I tell folks who want 40-50-60’s cars if they are not mechanical don’t do it because sometimes finding a mechanic for them, the parts expensive, and is time consuming. At 77 it’s getting tougher to get up and down especially from under the car from just from an oil change.

 

It's ridiculous how bad the stuff rust now. I swear it's because cars are being built out of recycled refrigerators and water heaters.

 

3 different starters, one mounts to the bellhousing, one has a straight pattern and one is offset, only difference i know in heads is combustion chamber size, accessory holes, and steam holes in the 400 heads. But you can drill those in any head and bolt it to the 400.

 

Nope...but the same bellhousing bolt pattern was shared by all the V8s and most of the straight 6s. Ford had I think 8 different bellhousing bolt patterns in that time, for the V8s and straight sixes.

 

" Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, if it wasn't for fords our tools would rust."

 

Learned to drive at age 12, in my Dad's '31 Model A coup, work car. Seldom wore shoes in the summer,
and the Model A had no accelerator pedal, just a rod thru the floor. Often had to reposition my foot,
as the rod worked to between my toes. My first car at age 14 was a '46 Ford Deluxe two door.
Ford man to this day. Have owned in the past, Chev.'s, Olds, Pontiac, Cadillac, Corvette, never a Buick. No Mopar's,
several Jag's. My one foray into Studebaker's was not a success. Had a "50 Stud. truck, removed the motor
trans., and radiator. Welded in motor and trans. mounts, and installed a radiator for a Chevy. Went looking
for that wrecked Corvette for the motor. Found it, the owner eventually ended up with my '50 Stud. truck.
Got into early T-Bird's, still there.

 

I Was A Ford Lover for Many Years My First Car 36 Ford I Bought at the local
Junk yard for 15 dollars & Drove it two a Garage that I had Rented
to do a Complete work over,
I took the Body off the Frame & had it hanging from the Sealing
and I Put 2x4 to Support it.
it took me a Whole Year to Do it & I took it out on its maiden Run
And some Guy liked it more than I did an made me a offer
That I could not Refuse, I was happier than a Pig in a Mud Bath,
I had a lot of Fords since Than Up until I Decided to start Drag
Racing I was going to Build a Ford & was going to run a BB For Engine
It Stop me in my Tracks when I found the Prices for Hypo parts
You had 2 options either Make your own Or Build Something
else,
So I went to Chevy & Put a L-88 in a 64 Chevy Malibu SS & Ran it
for 6 years.
The only Car that I regretted Selling was My 1935 Chrysler Conv.Ccoup
Dual Side Mounts Rumbel Seat & lugage rack
The car was Air Stream 8.
and my old Race car 64 Malibu SS

Just my 3.5 cents

Live Learn & Die a Fool-

 

Growing up my Dad always drove either a 6 cylinder Plymouth or Chevy. My first car was a 55 Ford and he told me my Grandfather had always said Ford wasn't much of a car so he never bought one. One day, a year or so later, he and I had a little contest. I was sitting at a stop in my hopped up, 289 powered 55 Ford and he drove by me in his 6 cylinder Chevy at 30 MPH. Before the end of the quarter mile I had easily caught and passed him. Next car he bought had a V-8, he never did buy a Ford though.

I guess I'm a Ford guy pretty much thru and thru but I've had my share of Chevys and Dodges. It's pretty hard to disagree with "because Ford kicks ass" but there does have to be more to it than that. I like the styling of early and mid '50s Fords and most of the early '60s Fords. 33 and 34 Fords and 40 Fords styling can't be beat in my books. I do like Ford engines but it would sure be nice if interchangeability was more like Chevy. Really though, it's hard to be the best as well as the same as something else, isn't it.

 

I drive a Hybrid:
I run a Chevy engine 'cause parts are cheaper for the results you get. (When I was a kid that was even more important than it is now) Then over the decades I became more familiar to the Chevys and now that's what I know the best. I'm a stuck in my ways ol' dude now, so that's what I'm most comfortable with.
I run a Ford 9" 'cause they are tough, reliable and I don't want to have to think about it except every 20,000 miles when I change the juice.
I run a Tremec 5- speed 'cause it shifts really nice, it's tough and I don't have to think about it except when I change the juice at the same time I change the diff's juice.
I run a Ford body 'cause it looks bitchin'...
Bottom line; I run what I like. 'Nuff said.

 

Well ya know shrinks make a fortune on this question but I'm not a shrink just some mechanic who knows a little and the quickest way for me to answer you is :
MOPAR for drag racing
FORDS for hotrodding and restoration
CHEVROLET for ease of performance due to most engineered of all three and used to be a better riding suspension

 

The best fight I ever saw was in the mid 80 s ,,on a Saturday night .
One Chevy guy,,,one Ford guy,,,,,,you know .
A little bitty disagreement escalated to yelling,,,,,,Ford,,,Chevrolet,,,,Ford ,,,,Chevrolet !
Fist flew,,,,,man it was pretty violent to be honest,,,,,,a fight can end up that way .
Thank goodness the damage was only a couple of sore lips,,,,,and a couple of swollen eye brows about as thick as my thumb .
They were two big tough boys,,,,,friends even,,,,,LoL .
Monday they both apologized,,,and shook hands,,,,,,LoL,,,,,the good old days !

Tommy

 

I agree with you 100% The circles I travel the mopar cost so much more then a Ford or Chebby.

There is not as many re-pop for a mopar. Every single item rather it be a door handle or a engine piston cost more. Just tough finding parts for a mopar.

Same time I like my old dodge flathead 6 will work for me, most would say no this is stupid send the mopar to a wrecking yard.

How is "almost funny" doing ... did you dump it? Just missed any articles on it last 2 years.