73-87 road trip worthy?

[75shortysocal]

aside from the gas cost....in all honesty, im sure almost everyone here has daily drivers... but has anyone taken road trips in their truck?.. like 500 miles plus... reliable? what parts should be checked? what would usually be the first problem with these trucks on long trips?

would most people here trust their trucks to make a 500 mile trip?

[pilotj]

I've made 3 round trips to From VA to TX (2700 miles round trip) in my '79. Two of those trips I was towing antique cars on a trailer (both ways). I actually got pretty good mpg, but that was when I had 3.73 gears (now have 4.11). I Wouldn't hesitate to hit the road in mine. It's my daily driver so I'm used to all the quirks it might have. At the beginning of every road trip over 100 miles, I've come to expect some kind of belt problem. No matter how well I check my truck over before the trip, it always throws one of the belts within the first 50 miles as if in protest! After I replace the belt (I always carry spares), I have no more problem for the rest of the trip. I did have to replace the ujoints in TX once, but I knew they needed it before the trip. I'm always nervous when I start my road trips, but after a few hours on the road and my belt swap out of the way, it's really a relaxing drive. I've been on smaller trips to the beaches in SC too, but gas prices keep me close to home now.

[streetstar]

I have a '75 that i purchased in Dec. 2004 when my '97 Ford had some problems. I did not have the financial means to get a new truck, so i wanted to get the best older truck i could that was "finished". Backstory is, i am an independent insurance adjuster, so when i limped my ford home from Florida for Christmas, i was attempting to repair a major water leak, when a fitting at the back of the block broke.

That was all the excuse i needed, so i withdrew $6k from the bank and went truck hunting. I wanted a '67 - '72 with all the options, but quickly ran into sticker shock. I bought my '75 for $2800 with a 350/350 combo and a fresh paintjob. I ran it around Oklahoma City for a few hundred miles to make sure it was up to the task, installed a new cd player and high output amp and speaks, then after New Years, drove it to West Palm Beach (maybe 1500 miles) -- then put another 12,000 miles on it in the 3 remaining months i was there. Other than getting 10 -12 mpg , and eating 2 sets of spark plugs and an exhaust donut, it was trouble free. My FL customers loved it, too, as the beach air eats up older vehicles like candy and seeing an insurance dude driving an antique was different.

My truck has the stock bench seat, so i sit bolt upright in it. I also have a paunch, so if i tried to relax, my belly would hit the bottom of the giant stock steering wheel (no tilt) and the truck would start veering all over the road. It also does not have cruise, so i had to watch the speedo most of the time. On my way back to a conference in San Antonio in March, the brakes started acting spongy, by the time i had reached New Orleans i had had enough, plus i was on a tight deadline and my back hurt for sitting upright the last 3 months, so i left the truck with a Louisiana relative and bought a new Ford F150 to continue my journey.
3 months prior, i did not have the financial means for a new vehicle like that , so i guess you could say the truck earned its keep and then some. I will try to find pics of the thing on the beach in Daytona -- sometimes i had a blast

Said relative carefully drove the truck back to me in OKC a couple of months later. It was just the master cylinder. Now the truck is living the quiet life as a project vehicle and is waiting for a big block engine transplant and new front fenders and maybe a bedside(rust never sleeps and dont trust a fresh paintjob unless you had it done yourself)

So yeah, i would say the trucks are trip - worthy --- i mean, hey, 30 years ago, folks had no choice. They had 'em, they drive 'em. I will be the first to admit that i wouldnt do it again with that particular truck because of the seating , but my '88 Blazer has tilt and buckets, so i am trying to restore it enough to be a work vehicle for me occasionally.

I carried a toolbag with me just in case, along with spare thermostats and coolant and belts. I live by the motto, "nothing will break if you are prepared for it, but let your guard down for a second and there it goes"

Make no mistake though, and i am not trying to down these trucks for daily use if you have to, there is a reason GM has an engineering and development team. Our trucks are infinitely cooler, but the new vehicles are just so much better in a lot of ways -- ride, handling, towing, reliability, etc. -- i have been driving my brothers '07 2500 HD with a 6.0l gas engine and the Allison tranny and love it because its so quiet.
However, i remember a time when i had to pick up my new Ford from a window tint place, my uncle went along with me in the 75 to drop me off. On the way back to my house , he was in front of me on a long straight country road and wanted to get frisky. Before i knew it he was 10 car lengths in front of me, so i floored it thinking that 300 sae horsepower and 3.73 gears would quickly reel in the old dinosaur, and it gained a little, until i hit the Ford speed governor at 98 mph and that old '75 just kept pulling away. That was a priceless moment.

Sorry for being a little long winded, but this subject hit home for me.

[gchemist]

The 305 in my truck made at least 5 1000 mile trips at 70 MPH. One 300 mile trip and several under 200 miles or less. I had no fear. If it broke then it was due. Now with the ZZ4 the I'll be doing the 1000 mile trips again to visit my folks.

Drivetrain is the most important. Tranny, brakes, fuel supply and hoses. If you can trust the maintenance and conditions of the parts you're okay. If the engine fails then it was just time. A SB chevy can turn up to 3400 RPMs all day with proper cooling. One thing to note are the miles on a stock timing chain. The nylon gears can go at any time!! Just check my webshots of the 305 timing chain that finally did in the SB.

[68GMC454]

since i use mine for a daily driver i know whats wrong with it, and would hesitate to jump in it and go across country in it..now i know it needs alittle work,,and would probably eat a couple tires on the right front, but i would go in it if i needed to....since she has never left me along side of the road im not worried...

[Mickey_D]

I've put my old '81 through hell so many times it can give you written directions there and back.

The only thing that keeps me close to home is pump shock. $45-$50 to fill it and I only get around 140 miles out of that. So when we're talking about 1/10th of my paycheck to do a 70 mile trip and back, I tend to shy away from it.

But if someone else was paying the gas bill? Oh, hell yeah. I'd be gone in a heartbeat wherever I needed to go.

[75shortysocal]

awesome news guys......i just needed to hear that they are reliable.."maintance plays a big part" im asking because ive only had 2 trucks of these years, my first one.......

75 longbed

1) 70 mph, when the freeway curves, and i took the corner at 70, the rear end would hop and try to fish tail me,

2) steering box busted THROUGH the framerail

3) wheel bearing imploded and the spindle got wedged and wheel gave out and got smashed under wheel well, at 75 MPH in traffic on the freeway, i spun out from fastlane to slow lane, witn no seatbelts i slid over to the passanger door...

4) noticed a vibration on front end, after about 2 weeks i finally dicided to jack it up and take a look, only to find out almost all the bolts holding my drivers side suspension in was hanging on by the last threads..

5) heater core cracked

thats why i keep freaking myself out , thinking i cant use it to go far..... but after readin u guys's posts, seems i was wrong, im glad to hear it can be very trustworthy....

im thinking edlebrock 600
700r4
freeway gears
spark multipyler

and i should be getting some "better" MPG's?

[68GMC454]

maintance plays a big part, but its also having put enough miles on the truck to know what its gonna do and not do..but then you got to know that stuff happens....you never know when somethign out of the clear blue is gonna just decide its had enough and break...

[streetstar]

Originally Posted by 75shortysocal

2) steering box busted THROUGH the framerail

3) wheel bearing imploded and the spindle got wedged and wheel gave out and got smashed under wheel well, at 75 MPH in traffic on the freeway, i spun out from fastlane to slow lane, witn no seatbelts i slid over to the passanger door...

4) noticed a vibration on front end, after about 2 weeks i finally dicided to jack it up and take a look, only to find out almost all the bolts holding my drivers side suspension in was hanging on by the last threads..

?

Wow. Your lucky to be alive!

The good news is you can rebuild the front end for less than a couple hundred bucks in parts --- then add a poly bushing kit for another c-note and the old trucks will ride tight again.

Spend the equivalent of an average guys truck payment (5-600 $) on it for a month and reap the benefits in reliability.

[killthewabbit]

I've had my 78 for 5 years now, and have been driving it daily (70-75 miles roundtrip) for the last three. I've been replacing parts as needed, which includes new engine, tranny, u-joints, blablabla. It was pretty beat when I bought it, and I'm so accustomed to it that I like it to look beat and I want to keep it that way. I do recommend a radio, which is on my to-do list. A/C might not be a bad idea either, if you're driving someplace like here in the summertime.

[Ivan D.]

It's all about maintenance really - when I got my truck I gave it new front bearings, rotors, calipers, and pads, all new brake hoses, all new brake lines, a manual brake-bias valve (makes a huge difference when towing), new master cylinder, and a good-condition 1-ton hydroboost module from a diesel truck, and I didn't cheap out on any of that either - end result is I'm very confident in my brakes, and my rusty old farm truck can out-brake many much newer vehicles. I also have a rebuilt engine that likes burning oil and fouling plugs, but is otherwise very reliable, and really I just found the oil-burn issue and I'll be taking care of it this week. I have lightly used tires on it, they are massive and strong and I hardly ever go off-roading, so they're less likely to suffer from a road damage. Heater core got replaced, and I installed a restriction washer on the inlet side so even in the high rpms it don't try to balloon on me. Wiring got all checked and redone where needed, so no shorts expected either. Really the only thing that's left is the front ball joints and the rear end bearings, but those will get taken care of in due time.

So yeah, the things I've mentioned, take out whatever is new or known to work well, and go over the others before the trip you're planning. I love driving my truck to my buddy's place, it's a 150-mile trip every other weekend, and while truck ain't fast by no means it's extremely comfortable to drive, and if it weren't for gas mileage I'd be taking that on road trips over my hot-rod Lincoln any day - unfortunately truck gets around 18-20mpg freeway, while the 5.0 luxobarge pulls well over 26-28mpg consistently, so I can afford to take the truck only on short trips...

[Russell]

I used to daily drive my 80, and went on many long distance trips with it. I always carried some new parts, but never really needed any of em

[Pyrotechnic]

As of now, I have no radio, no carpet, and glasspacks bolted to my headers. 240 mile trip on tuesday. Oh yeah did I mention there is no motor in the truck as of tonight ? Thats going to change early tomorrow morning though.

[knightlife]

when I PCS'd from Sheppard AFB in Witchita Falls to Charleston AFB (here in south crapalina), drove my truck THE entire way. 18 hour trip...my legs were so cramped up I couldnt hardly move once I got here, that was fun tho.

[Ivan D.]

Originally Posted by Pyrotechnic

As of now, I have no radio, no carpet, and glasspacks bolted to my headers. 240 mile trip on tuesday. Oh yeah did I mention there is no motor in the truck as of tonight ? Thats going to change early tomorrow morning though.

I drove my truck around with just headers and turndowns for quite a while, and I have a pair of 6x9s in the middle between the seats and a pair of small speakers in the cab's back top corners - needless to say my hearing ain't as good as it used to be, but oh well, sacrifices need made I should probably also mention that my driver side floorpan consists of steel cross-bracing and a 1/4"-thick rubber mat over it, no sheetmetal whatsoever

[Ivan D.]

Originally Posted by knightlife

when I PCS'd from Sheppard AFB in Witchita Falls to Charleston AFB (here in south crapalina), drove my truck THE entire way. 18 hour trip...my legs were so cramped up I couldnt hardly move once I got here, that was fun tho.

the longest trip I've taken in my truck was 3-4 hours, and it involved some dirt roads... well, lotsa dirts roads really, and not smooth ones either - never felt tired or stiff or anything, truck was just gliding over everything. I do realize it has to do a lot with the seats, I got some kind of buckets that I ain't got no clue what they are from, they are low-back buckets and t driver side one can go up and down too, and they're extremely comfortable! I y'all want real comfy seats tho, and don't mind a lil cross-breeding, go junkyard hunting for a pair of front seats off a late 80's Lincoln Town Car, preferable a Signature Series or Cartier ones - those are like lazy-boy chairs on wheels, they not only have two separate handrests (vs. 1 for cars like Caprice and Caddy Eldorado), but the headrest also flip forward so you can have it so you still use it even with yer head straight up. If my truck didn't have the seats it has, I'd have ripped whatever was in there before long time ago and replaced it with said Lincoln seats.

[Mickey_D]

Also Dodge Grand Caravan Town & Country seats are ideal. I've been tempted many a time to put a set of casters on the bottom of one and use it for a computer chair they are so comfy!!

[D-Day]

I've taken my 73 crew cab to St. Louis round trip twice (470 miles one way), and that was with a bad brake rotor and failing starter. And weak battery. And a myriad of other things that could have worked against me, but my truck didn't let me down. Had a TH350, so I was doing about 2800 RPM at 65mph. It was running nearly non-stop (void rest stops and gas) for about 9 hours.

[knightlife]

I like your thinkin ivan...makin me miss my burgundy beast now...88 TC with air ride..b!tch was bangin! miss it badly...

[Ivan D.]

Originally Posted by knightlife

I like your thinkin ivan...makin me miss my burgundy beast now...88 TC with air ride..b!tch was bangin! miss it badly...

yeah, that's what I got too, an '88 Executive, and the air ride does work too, but other than that car ain't a typical Lincoln by no means - check out its SuperMotors web page if interested, you may be surprised what you'll find there

[Ivan D.]

Originally Posted by Mickey_D

Also Dodge Grand Caravan Town & Country seats are ideal. I've been tempted many a time to put a set of casters on the bottom of one and use it for a computer chair they are so comfy!!

Actually folks from my school's machine shop did that for their office area, them seats are real nice and comfy indeed... need 12V power tho

[Pyrotechnic]

Originally Posted by Ivan D.

I drove my truck around with just headers and turndowns for quite a while, and I have a pair of 6x9s in the middle between the seats and a pair of small speakers in the cab's back top corners - needless to say my hearing ain't as good as it used to be, but oh well, sacrifices need made I should probably also mention that my driver side floorpan consists of steel cross-bracing and a 1/4"-thick rubber mat over it, no sheetmetal whatsoever

Well I have the engine in the truck now. I gotta do some a few last minute deals and then early tomorrow morning it will be time to fire it up and start the cam break in. Well, who knows if it'll start but it's nice to think so.

I figured that trip is going to be very boring without tunes, so I think I'm gonna take my old Sony CD boombox that takes a bazillion D batteries and strap it down to the seat with the seat belt. I have a real system all ready to go, but the drive train stuff kept taking priority and I'm out of time at least for a little while.

[navybear70]

The truck was a 69 but the topic is right, sooo...
I sold my 69 after doing some work to make it road-worthy. (The truck had been restored by two monkies with a twelve-pack ) It had a '73 350 and a 3-spd. Gov-lock rearend with brand new duals w/Flo 40s. The current owner put the front wheels up on a tow dolly in Charleston, SC and made it to GA before the tow dolly broke. What's a guy headed to Cali to do? Why drive it there of course! He said heck with it and let his wife drive the Durango. The only problem the truck gave him was a fusible link blew at a pit stop in OK, I think. He said his teeth never stopped rattling, but the looks he got were worth it. Here's some pics from when I owned it...

[bb1979]

Yeah regular maintenence and double checking every nut and bolt before you go is usually enough. I've been on three 500+ mile trips in the last 6 months in my C20 hunting for parts trucks towing a car trailer, having said that I also rack up about 250 mile a week on it as well.

My usual pre trip checks are front suspension, fluids change, plugs & leads, belts. I also carry spare belts, plugs, fluids and a full tool kit. Hardly anybody knows how to work on Chevs over here.

Having said all that I can vouch for the total reliabilty of a small block 350/Turbo 400 combo. Two of the trips have netted a C20 and at least a full load of spares on the truck and the thrid netted me a 1929 Oldsmobile 2 door sedan for my next hot rod project and been done in 10-11 hrs flat only stopping for fuel and pit stops.

[68Stepbed]

I drove my 86 from Sevierville, TN to Harrisburg, AR (about 500 miles) last year. It went well. I averaged 17 mpg with a pinging 305/TH350C/3.08 gears. The Flowmasters got on my nerves after a while though. I didn't have any problems. The only reason I would hesitate now is because my engine is pinging even worse then before. My truck has been very reliable. I'm still shocked I haven't had to do any more work to it than I have.