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

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by birdman1, Aug 13, 2020.

  1. birdman1
    Joined: Dec 6, 2012
    Posts: 1,591

    birdman1
    Member

    I will start it out with the GM joke, the Chevy corvair. Chevy tried to copy be bug, but failed in so many ways,! Ok, now a Ford somebody. Let's keep it going.
     
    Driver50x likes this.
  2. bobscogin
    Joined: Feb 8, 2007
    Posts: 1,771

    bobscogin
    Member

    Ford's lack of engine parts interchangeability. Too many different bellhousing patterns and motor mount arrangements severely hampered the ability to mix 'n match. Interchangeabilty is one reason the Small Block Chevy became the powerplant of choice for hot rodders.

    Bob
     
  3. lilmann
    Joined: Apr 13, 2017
    Posts: 145

    lilmann

    That pretty much sums it up!!! I love Ford but dang......
     
    SlamIam, 56don, mgtstumpy and 4 others like this.
  4. .........The Corvair got a bum rap. It wasn't as bad as Ralph Nader made it out to be.
     

  5. Moriarity
    Joined: Apr 11, 2001
    Posts: 30,777

    Moriarity
    SUPER MODERATOR
    Staff Member

    I had a number of corvairs in the past and actually they are wonderful little cars, especially the later ones......
     
  6. Fitty Toomuch
    Joined: Jun 29, 2010
    Posts: 328

    Fitty Toomuch
    Member
    from WVa

    They both had faults, that`s why Chrysler was ...;)
     
  7. Flathead Dave
    Joined: Mar 21, 2014
    Posts: 3,959

    Flathead Dave
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from So. Cal.

    The Corvair is a cool car. Alway's has been.
    But, I will own a Ford over any chevy any day.

    Sent from my SM-G973U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
    Last edited: Sep 23, 2020
  8. Moriarity
    Joined: Apr 11, 2001
    Posts: 30,777

    Moriarity
    SUPER MODERATOR
    Staff Member

    if we are talking cars on the Hamb it is 65 and older......
     
  9. The Edsel, not really a bad car per se, but a marketing mistake.
     
  10. elba
    Joined: Feb 9, 2013
    Posts: 628

    elba
    Member

    The Corvair was actually a good car for GM. They made them for 10 years and made 1,700,000 of them . The Truck on the left is mine and I have a 62 SW and some 66 coupes . The bad handling was total BS. Yenko even sold Yenko Stinger coups that won many races ! My truck rides really good and handles good because the front suspension is the same as a 62 Chevy Impala except it is front steer and the rear is independent also .
     
  11. Penetrator
    Joined: Aug 25, 2011
    Posts: 514

    Penetrator
    Member
    from SK CAN

    Ford's three bolt starters and possibly their worst idea ever... studs on the torque converter.
    .
     
    j-jock, Aaron65, bchctybob and 2 others like this.
  12. KenC
    Joined: Sep 14, 2006
    Posts: 1,045

    KenC
    Member

    Corvair had a lot of bad press but was a good little car, especially after the '65 suspension upgrade. A lot more fun than a 60 Falcon! I would place the Vega engine in first place of the general's mistakes. The Valiant was better than either though. As others said, Ford never made a bad just too many versions of good ones.
     
  13. 302GMC
    Joined: Dec 15, 2005
    Posts: 7,856

    302GMC
    Member
    from Idaho

    If you ever heard a Lakewood wagon with Douglass ''trombones'', you never forgot it ...
     
  14. Darin Younce
    Joined: May 8, 2019
    Posts: 589

    Darin Younce

  15. 49ratfink
    Joined: Feb 8, 2004
    Posts: 18,828

    49ratfink
    Member
    from California

    well lets see... Ford made the Flathead until 1953 and had buggy springs until 1948.
     
    uncleandy 65, jimmy six and Deuces like this.
  16. 49ratfink
    Joined: Feb 8, 2004
    Posts: 18,828

    49ratfink
    Member
    from California

    I'd say any GM screw ups came after our timeline here. as far as the Corvair, I'd say building 1.7 million over 10 years was a success since everyone seems to know now they were bad in some way but can't really explain it. there are a great many popular opinions where believers have nothing to back them up. people can't think for themselves and parrot what others have said.
     
  17. hotrodjack33
    Joined: Aug 19, 2019
    Posts: 4,128

    hotrodjack33
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    As far as engines in hot rods...

    Ford front sump pans/crossmember issues.

    Chevy rear distributors/firewall issues.
     
  18. blowby
    Joined: Dec 27, 2012
    Posts: 8,661

    blowby
    Member
    from Nicasio Ca

    Chevy - Running the distributor through the intake manifold and the timing cover behind the pan.

    Ford - Too many mechanical variations as mentioned.

    Mopar - Serving cocktails at styling department meetings.
     
  19. What? Corvair? It's the Corvette for the average guy! Hahaha....

    Sent from my Pixel 3a XL using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
  20. Deuces
    Joined: Nov 3, 2009
    Posts: 23,753

    Deuces

    I love old Chevies.... From '55-'73... I don't know what happened after that.... Now I drive a Ford...
     
  21. Zax
    Joined: May 21, 2017
    Posts: 623

    Zax
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    1. 1952-59 Ford Social Group

    How about the Ford ‘61-‘62 f100 unibody trucks body flexing issues and the quick fix ‘63 f100 with the mismatched bed?
     
  22. The lever to adjust the drivers side mirror on my '66 Mustang was located so far down and forward on the door panel that you had to lean forward to reach it. Once you were leaning forward you couldn't see where the mirror was pointed. I assume this was a problem for all of the Mustangs starting in 1964 1/2 when they had the "Pony" interior. I also assume they continued this feature for several years. Since this was the only complaint I had about the car you can tell I thought it was pretty good.

    Charlie Stephens
     
  23. Magfiend, 6-bangertim, dan31 and 13 others like this.
  24. Ford and Chevy mechanical brakes. Plymouth was born with hydraulic brakes. Ford’s seizing distributors.


    Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
  25. Ericnova72
    Joined: May 1, 2007
    Posts: 595

    Ericnova72
    Member
    from Michigan

    Ford Twin I-Beam front truck suspension...tire eating mofo if everything isn't perfect.

    Shock tower front suspension in cars, Ford and Chrysler...Chevy realized that was dumb, space hogging idea after just 5 years of the Chevy II. Same with that front oil sump nonsense.

    Ford Y-block and that goofy stacked intake port lay-out.

    Chevy 250" Straight 6 "Integral" head and intake manifold.

    Vega engine, Pinto gas tank...but those are obvious picks.
     
  26. Deuces
    Joined: Nov 3, 2009
    Posts: 23,753

    Deuces

    I couldn't agree more....
     
    OLSKOOL57 and Montana1 like this.
  27. studebakerjoe
    Joined: Jul 7, 2015
    Posts: 1,136

    studebakerjoe
    Member

    I think the Corvair screw up was that they stopped making them.
     
    48fordnut, Jibs, williebill and 6 others like this.
  28. Darin Younce
    Joined: May 8, 2019
    Posts: 589

    Darin Younce

    FIERO
     
    OLSKOOL57 and chryslerfan55 like this.
  29. Rusty O'Toole
    Joined: Sep 17, 2006
    Posts: 9,657

    Rusty O'Toole
    Member

    Corvair turned out to be a mistake in a sense, as they did not need to make such a complicated car to compete with Falcon, Valiant, Lark and Rambler but when they made the decision to make a rear engine economy car they had good reasons. Only later did it become obvious that they went too far, and tried to give the public too radical a car.

    The real mistakes were things like Ford's flathead V8 with the exhaust passages running through the block to exit at the bottom. Nobody else did this, all other flathead V8s had the exhaust exit at the top of the block . The Ford solution accomplished nothing, made the casting more complicated and expensive, restricted the exhaust passages and caused bad overheating problems that were only partly masked by an oversize, and more expensive radiator and double water pumps. I can't imagine what they were thinking and no one has ever told me a good reason for this feature except "quicker warm ups" which means nothing.
     
  30. Darin Younce
    Joined: May 8, 2019
    Posts: 589

    Darin Younce

    Yeah, same year chevy quit with the rod babbit bearings, but love old Chevys and Fords.
     

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