Picked up a 1970 GMC C3500 dump truck that needs some TLC

[RobertN]

As much as I would TOTALLY agree with you, you have to consider a fair number of those "foreign" vehicles are made here in the US. The Tundra is a full on US made truck. I remember reading a couple years back that Toyota and Honda actually had better quality cars made in US than in Japan. Toyota, Honda, BMW and other manufacturers build here, motor plants and all.

I remember being a kid around 1970(when OP truck was made) seeing the early Datsun and Toyota trucks(mini trucks). And Land Cruiser's; heaven forbid, everyone my family knew had Jeep's(ours was war production '42 Ford GPW at the time), and we called Land Cruisers "Saki Suckers"!

The other thing is, how much is US? Even my wife and I Harley'('84 and '93) started out with Japanese starter, carb, shocks, ignition just for beginners. A friend has a late '90's Kawasaki Vulcan, made in Kansas or Nebraska; it was in the magazines etc back then how the Vulcan cruiser had more US content that Harley's.

I like Dodge(have one) and Ford trucks, and Harley's(have two).

I do not really care if a person buys a GM, Ford, or Dodge truck as long as they buy American made and are happy with their new truck. What does bother me is the proliferation of the Japanese trucks. The hype of the Toyota Tundra pulling the space shuttle down the road from Dulles International to the Udvar Hazy Aerospace Musuem was enough to make me vomit. I mean, come on, the size/power of the normal vehicles that escort planes as large as a 747 pales in comparision to any conventional 1.5 Ton rated truck.
-Stu

 

[ultrarunner]

Mom and I watched her Toyota being made at the Fremont NUMMI plant by Union United Auto Workers...

Pontiac, Chevrolet and Toyota running down the same assembly lines...

It was interesting because the same plant turned out GM trucks like the poster's 3500 back in the 70's...

These days a nameplate has little bearing on the components used or where assembled.

 

[bcp]

Disc brakes on railroad cars:

Railway Technical Web Pages - Home Page



TGV brakes:

 

[ericb2400]

Well living in the Washington DC metro area, on the Virginia side, VDOT is not afraid to lay down tons of salt. Last year, they made what I believe to be a marked improvement. Instead of using salt and sand, they treat the roads with a brine which is less harsh and adheres to the roads better.

Talk to any boat owner that runs their boat in salt water. Every time they unload/load their boat at the ramp, their trailers are submerged in salt water. That wreaks havoc on hubs, bearings, wiring, tubing - you name it. That is why they are constantly doing some sort of fix.
-Stu

Brine is salt water ;-).

Sent from my iPhone using TractorByNet

 

[Gem99ultra]

I suppose that the short answer is that it's a global economy these days. And there are good ones and bad ones of every make, model and type of product on the market. IF there were proper standards that everyone met, we'd all be better off.

The thing that bothers me is that if I buy a Chines made widget, it blows up and injures me, there probably is no recourse. In fact, I'd be real lucky to ever even find out exactly who made the product. For 'US Made' goods, tracing the origin is not a problem. Not that there are any 'US Made 100%' products out there... there aren't many. Best we can hope for is Assembled in the USA.

We have major components of Ford and Chevy being made in Mexico and Canada. Dodges in Italy, Jeep engines being made by a joint venture of GM & Fiat, Nissan by Dodge. I'm not 100% sure if any of those references are fact, but that's what I'm reading. So, in my mind, the Ford vs Chevy vs Doge, etc. arguments are baseless. And yes, I have owned all of the brands mentioned and loved 'em all. Every one had some foreign made parts , including my Harleys, and their share of problems. There is no "Best" - only a "Best of this specific model on this specific day".

 

[bcp]

The thing that bothers me is that if I buy a Chines made widget, it blows up and injures me, there probably is no recourse. In fact, I'd be real lucky to ever even find out exactly who made the product.

We send our scrap to China, where they process it to remove the "s" and send the remainder back to us.



Bruce

 

[JJZ 109]

Nice. I see that the last 7 posts before this one have absolutely nothing to do with the OP's 1970 GMC dump. Quit hijacking and stick to his thread. Find someplace else to post the totally irrelevant, like maybe Rants & Raves on CL. :yawn:

 

[Stimw]

Nice. I see that the last 7 posts before this one have absolutely nothing to do with the OP's 1970 GMC dump. Quit hijacking and stick to his thread. Find someplace else to post the totally irrelevant, like maybe Rants & Raves on CL. :yawn:

X-2 This seems to be on going on this site.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

I think the unstated rule is after 72 hours and/or 20 posts posting on any subject is OK.

 

[JJZ 109]

I think the unstated rule is after 72 hours and/or 20 posts posting on any subject is OK.

Darn! I've got to read the forum rules a little closer! :confused3: