Archive through September 16, 2010

[dfrisk]

MYRON, TERRY - Co-worker told me about 2-3 yrs ago Honda was about ready to release a diesel car on the US market. I almost bought a VW diesel Golf 5 yrs ago instead of my little work car. With my old work commute, I used to get close to the rated highway MPG, about 90% of the rated 32. It would have helped if I slowed down 5-7 mph.

Another co-worker had a Jeep Liberty diesel. He ended up letting his wife drive it daily. I was shocked when he said he only got 22 MPG with it. When I drove my old '96 PSD 4X4 to work I'd get 18-19 almost year-round. I went over 10,000 miles one summer over three months and never averaged less than 20 but I had to draft a L-O-T some weeks to make up for little "Indescretions" with the right pedal on earlier days.

I think a little diesel pickup like the old VW Rabbit p/u with 35-40 MPG potential would sell like crazy. If I had to buy a new commuter work car right now it'd be a VW Jetta Sporstwagon TDI. Think it's rate 41 mpg hwy. And I've heard they sometimes do better than rated.

Hybreds are great for in-town driving, but there's no way your going to beat a diesel on a long highway cruise.

 

[kmcconaughey]

My 1981 4x4 diesel Chevy Luv (re-badged Isuzu P'up) would get mid 30 MPG in all around driving. The best mileage I ever got on a tank of fuel was 45 MPG. That was on a trip driving back from the cabin (~100 mile trip) in a snowstorm with it in 4WD going an average of maybe 45 MPH. It probably would have been even better mileage had the first half of the tank not been used driving the 100 miles or so up to the cabin, as that was in 2WD but at 55 MPH, well maybe I drove that speed

... Dang I miss that little truck. It had a whopping 62 or 65 HP. It really could have used a 5 speed in place of the 4 speed though.

Photo circa 1983 or 1984.

 

[T-Mo]

Kraig,
I love the old Chevy Luv pickups - I wish I had one. My dad had an earlier version, 1980, 2WD Automatic with the 8 foot bed. My brother got it in 1994 when my dad passed away, he drove it for about a year. But the frame was rusted almost in half by that time.

 

[aaytay]

It looks that that Jeep Truck "could" actually be a reality.

More info about the Jeep truck here...

Jeep Truck Info

More Jeep Truck Info

If it does come-true, there WILL be one in my garage!

 

[kmcconaughey]

I've wanted that Jeep Gladiator ever since 2005 when I first saw the concept photos. I sure hope they don't screw it up too much if it makes it to production. Would be cool if they put a diesel in it.

 

[kmcconaughey]

Speaking of Jeeps:

JEEP TEAR DOWN AND REBUILD

 

[aaytay]

Kraig-
If the websites I listed are correct, and this thing is consistent with past history of any other "concept vehicle", I would guess it's going to be nothing more than a 4-Door Wrangler (mini-van engine and all) with the a cab-and-truck-bed instead of the regular 4-door body.

If that holds true, then it's not going to tow any decent sized load (the 4-door above only tows #3000-#3500 if my remember'er is correct), but it would be a neat rig for daily-driving.

I wouldn't bet on a diesel-engine in this country. It seems nearly impossible for American Auto companies to build and sell a small diesel engine. Not sure why....?
Hopefully they would make it with a removable top like a regular Jeep Wrangler....

 

[dfrisk]

TERRY - I bought a "slightly used" '74 LUV the fall of '78, 2WD gas-powered truck, 4-spd. It had sat for a year or so, think it had 20-25 thousand miles. PARTS were totally unavailable for the thing. Parts counter guys at all my local Chevy dealers laughed when I said what I was looking for parts for.

The clutch, transmission (After I changed out the old oil with Hy-TRAN), and rear axle were fine. Thankfully I never put enough miles on it to need brakes. But the engine fried two exhaust valves, burned them BAD, some sort of debris would plug up the main fuel needle in the float bowl of the carb. I think it was part of the float itself, it was foam of some sort. The engine would sputter & die even with the choke out. The frt side of the carb float bowl was glass and it would be full of gas, just couldn't get any into the cylinders. If I couldn't find used replacement parts off a Datsun or Toyota that would work I couldn't keep the thing running.

The second fall I owned it, the fall of '79, I took it out to Dad's place and patched up ALL the rust holes in the cab with galvanized roof flashing and RTV, I could sit in the driver's seat and SEE the road fly by in 3-4 places just by turning my head. Some of the holes were big enough I could stick my ARM thru them.

The factory exhaust rusted apart, the only exh. I could find was from J.C. Whitney, and it was so loud you could hear that little 1.8L 4-cyl. 5 MILES away running 50-60 mph.

It never got better than 20-22 mpg Hwy, and about 14-15 city. The winter of '78/'79 in Moline, IL was so cold & snowy, I had to add a block heater AND hook the battery charger to it every night so it would start in the morning. And then had to drive 2-3 miles in 1st or 2nd gear until the trans oil warmed up so I could shift to 3rd & 4th, but Hy-Tran fixed that! I had to put a used alternator on it that winter, but that was mostly my fault, I jumped it or hooked up the charger backwards. I also had to change & flush coolant every 4000-5000 miles because it was leaking OIL into the anitfreeze and it would over-heat. No antifreeze ever got into the oil, and the A/F always stayed up, it just turned black and looked/smelled like used motor oil.

Finally in April of '80, I bought my '78 F-150 SWB 4X4. I took the Pioneer AM/FM/Cass stereo My Wife gave me for X-mas out of the LUV, put the OEM AM radio back in and parked the LUV in the frt yard. I paid $1300-1400 for it, and got $350 for it and was scared to DEATH the new owner would walk back after it died and demand his $$$ back. If I remember right the truck had 40,000 miles on it by then, I'd put maybe 15,000-20,000 miles on it in 18 months and done Countless amounts of work on it, like the valve job I had a local shop guy do because he said he'd worked on a couple of those odd-ball 1.8L engines before. WHAT a disaster!

At least IZUZU painted my truck the correct color, Faded LEMON YELLOW.

I worked with a guy 20 yrs ago who had a '78 or so LUV. We were talking about trucks one day and I told him about my "LUV Affair". He smiled & laughed and told Me he'd never known ANYONE who would admit to owning one of the things before. His luck with his LUV wasn't much different than mine. But his CC 102 was BULLET-PROOF.

 

[kmcconaughey]

Art, the 4 door Wrangler is rated to tow 3500 lbs. I was looking at buying one a year or so ago but that tow rating and the gov bailout of Chrysler kind of soured me on it...

Denny, Isuzu sure improved things by 1981. My Luv was a good one. The body was still prone to rusting some. The cab was in very good condition when I sold it in 1991 but the box was rusting badly due to it having been rear ended when it was parked in front of the apartment building I was living in at the time. The impact pushed it over 8 feet and it was parked with it in gear (don't recall what gear) and the parking brake was set. (I did get the guy's insurance company to put an allowance in the settlement if the transmission had any issues within a year... it never did have a problem.) Thank fully there wasn't a vehicle parked in front of it. Some guy with a history of drunk driving hit it and drove off. It was the opener of the trout fishing season and he'd been fishing and drinking all morning. He later returned while I was speaking with a police officer. The impact was mainly to the left rear corner. It folded the corner of the bumper under and into the quarter panel and broke the seams in the box. The rust started almost immediately in the seams. I should have kept the truck and converted it into a flat bed. Hind sight... I sure wish Isuzu was still making the Rodeo, I'd buy a third one, I loved my 1991 I really like my 2001 and was hoping to buy a 2011 Rodeo but alas they don't exist. Isuzu last made the Rodeo in 2004. Not sure what I'm going to replace the 2001 with when it's time to replace it. My 15 year old daughter wants the Rodeo when I get a new vehicle.

Not sure I'm ready for her to have a drivers license.

 

[aaytay]

Kraig-
I considered buying one of those 4-door Jeeps as well, but thought the same thing about the tow rating (and don't get me started on the bail-outs!). I guess the pick-up version could make me forget about all of that though..

If your daughter does end up with your Rodeo, at least you know it's good in a roll-over.

 

[kmcconaughey]

Art, yep, while the roll over capability of the '01 Rodeo has yet to be tested. It can roll on it's side quite well.

Dang that road was slippery!

Two Rodeos the 2001 is on it's right side in the photo, the 1991 is on the right side of the photo. The 2001 had less than 3000 miles on it when I tipped it. It now has around 150,000 miles on it.

 

[aaytay]

Kraig-
OK... My bad... "Tipped" over.. LOL!

 

[proessler]

Hey , Kraig is that a whitetail leg sticken' out under there or a tailpipe?

 

[T-Mo]

Dennis, Kraig,
My dad's Luv took the abuse - and never failed him until around 1991 or 1992. The engine went, my older brother put in an engine from an Opal Kadette - fit perfectly. It ran good until the frame rusted in half about 1994/1995 time frame. It got around 28-30 miles per gallon - gas engine.

 

[kmcconaughey]

Paul, that would be the tailpipe.

 

[dfrisk]

TERRY - I can't remember what the stock gearing was in my '74, something like 4.11's but with the tiny 14" tires it was s-l-o-w. Mine only had a speedometer, gas gauge, and I think only warning lights for everything else. I put a Sun Super II tach, water temp & oil PSI gauges in it. They ended up in the '78 F150 as well.

Seems like the engine ran around 2600-2800 at 60 MPH. Wife & I took it from Moline to Hastings Neb during the worst of the gas crisis in '79. She'd only let me drive till the gas gauge showed half a tank, and 55 mph all the way. I seem to remember only getting 23-24 mpg. Many gas stops on that trip. I seem to remember the little 1.8L engine had a staged two-bbl carb, and it was tough to tell where the primary stopped and the secondary barrel started.

Throwing rods thru the sides of the block must have been a common thing with them. One of my local dealers when I had mine had a '75 behind his shop with the same problem. The dealer wasn't sure if the BANK still owned it or person who's name was on the title & registration, so it sat!

The "Original" Opel Kadette was German if I remember right. Buddy of mine from college had one. Cute little car. But I think later IZUZU did build them for GM.

The frame rust issue is still around. I know Toyota has the same problem. It effects all vehicles actually. I know there's some parts getting REALLY thin on Son's '93 Lightning, Like the frt coil spring buckets & radius arm brackets. We've already replaced the rear leaf spring mounts on both sides. The driver's side pulled apart and the rear end of the spring was resting on the underside of the box.

 

[T-Mo]

Dennis,
That Luv was slow and you could easily overworked it with even a light load. But with the 8 foot bed, you could carry a full piece of plywood (above the fender wells) and a full 2 x 4.

I know Toyota trucks has an issue with frames rusting through. And it seems like any Japanese truck made in the 70s/80s and early 90s has a rust issue, especially in the bed. The older beds with the seams going down the middle of the bed was a big rust prone area.

Opal was GM Europe and some were made in Germany, some in Korea. Good little cars. If I remember correctly in the late 60s and early 70s GM set up Opal dealerships, mostly in Buick dealerships. Correct me if I'm wrong - that's been 40 years ago.

 

[dfrisk]

TERRY - My '74 LUV even had a seam running down the sides of the box. The walls were doubled on the lower maybe foot, then single wall on the top 4-5 inches.

I would set a 1X10 or 1X12 in front of the wheel tubs in the box and fill the frt section of the box with rock for weight in the winter. Had to keep it on the double wall portion or I would "Dimple" the sides.

Yep, Opel was sold thru Buick as I remember it too. Funny, but when I was about a Soph. in college, first year I had my car @ school, A Buddy conned me into driving him around town one afternoon. We ended up at a Buick dealership. They had a contest going on; "Guess the weight of this '74 Buick Apollo and win a color TV". We, My car was a '70 Nova, didn't have near the options, but I guessed the weight of the Apoloo within 50-60 pounds. Two sisters who were in to have some service work also entered. The one got the TV, I got second prize, a gas Bar-b-que grill, the other sister got a 16 ft canoe. Whats a college kid going to do with a Bar-b-que grill? Dad traded it for a pair of studded snow tires for my car! They were 14" snow tires and they eventually ended up on the LUV.

I'd go one step further on your comment about rust & Japanese trucks from the 70's & 80's. I;d say ALL CAR & TRUCKS rusted, Domestic, Japanese, European, they ALL did.

 

[lhinds]

I was needing a trailer for hauling cub cadets. My son and i bought a fully operational concession stand for very cheap, and salvaged all the accesories from it . We tore the building off of it and found a very good 16 ft. cub cadet hauler. We need a floor, tie downs, and brakes, and maybee a paint job. Am going to paint the frame with POR 15 before the floor goes down. Trailer is like new.

 

[lhinds]

I would love to haul cubs with this.