Welcome to another Shitbox Showdown! Today, in my contuing efforts to spread the pins in the map out a bit, we’re heading to the Midwest, to look at a couple of Iowa farm trucks.
But first, we need to see which weird engine layout you’re leaving Delaware with:
I’ll be damned. From the vocal support for the Suzuki in the comments, I expected this one to be closer. But that’s about as big a blowout as we’ve ever had.
The middle of the country is a big flat enigma to a lot of coastal natives; they just can’t grasp why anyone would choose to live there. There’s the boring scenery, the harsh winters, the hot summers, the rust, the massive distances to cross to get anywhere… actually, maybe they have a point. But what the heck, I’m a proud Midwestern native, and I have a lot of fond memories of what so many others blithely call “flyover states.” So let’s head for the plains, and check out a couple of weather-beaten pickup trucks.
1995 Chevrolet S-10 – $2,750
Engine/drivetrain: 4.3 liter overhead-valve V6, four-speed automatic, part-time 4WD
Location: Hubbard, IA
Odometer reading: 253,000 miles
Runs/drives? Yep, and quite well, it sounds like
Chevy’s second-generation S-10 pickups were often overshadowed by the Ford Ranger and Toyota trucks, and unfairly, I think. They were handsome trucks with two good engine options that no longer included the anemic and trouble-prone 2.8 liter V6. Instead, the optional engine in the later S-10 was a 4.3 liter V6, basically a small-block 350 minus the front two cylinders. This one sends power to all four wheels on demand through a four-speed automatic.
Now, I know this crowd well enough by now to know that the automatic will draw a lot of complaints. It won’t last, you’ll say. It’s a ticking time bomb, because you don’t know how well it was maintained. But here’s the thing: this truck has already passed a quarter million miles. If transmission troubles were going to happen, they have happened already and been remedied. Pull the dipstick, look at the fluid, and if it looks good and doesn’t smell burned, you can probably safely assume it’s fine. If you just don’t like automatics, that’s fine too. Just sit tight; the other truck is a stick.
The ad for this little Chevy includes a laundry list of recently-replaced parts, and the seller says it runs fine. The inside isn’t trashed, either, like so many hard-working truck interiors are. So what’s the catch?
Ah. Right. That old Midwestern automotive nemesis. Rust has not slept, nor even taken a minute to rest its eyes, when it comes to this truck. The driver’s side rocker panel and back cab corner are gone. Not even there any more. And the passenger’s side isn’t far behind. The gap between the can and bed looks all right, so nothing is sagging, but it might be wise to fire up the welder and put some metal back where it belongs, not to make it pretty again, just to hold it together.
1986 Ford F-150 – $2,500
Engine/drivetrain: 300 cubic inch overhead-valve inline 6, four-speed manual, part-time 4WD
Location: Dubuque, IA
Odometer reading: 273,000 miles
Runs/drives? “No problem” the ad says
Need something a little bigger than an S-10? How about big blue here, all nineteen and a half feet of it? This extended-cab, long-bed version of Ford’s venerable F-series has a wheelbase longer than a lot of economy cars’ overall length: 155 inches. Maneuvering this beast around must be a real chore; it probably has a turning circle the size of Madison County.
Propelling all that massive length is an equally long engine, Ford’s classic inline six, here with a one-barrel carburetor and its accompanying rat’s nest of vacuum lines. It’s backed by a four-speed stick and 4WD for getting out of muddy fields and snowdrifts. With a six in this truck, you can expect tectonic plates to beat you in a drag race, but few engines will chug along as relentlessly. Even better, this is a remanufactured engine with fewer than 10,000 miles on it.
This truck has clearly been worked hard, and has earned its keep. The five-digit odometer has been around twice already and is well into a third trip. Based on the toolbox and what looks like drywall dust on the seat, I’m going to guess this truck was used by a contractor instead of a farmer. The seller says it spent most of its life down in Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweeping down the plain (I’m in a musical mood today, I guess), but the trucks don’t rust as badly.
But still, it ain’t pretty. There’s a sort of grandeur to a well-worn truck like this, however, that’s as attractive and comforting as Midwestern home cooking. The bumps and bruises are like a scar or a broken nose in a kindly face: they tell a story, and it’s a hell of a tale, best told sitting at a bar. How much of that story is true? You decide.
Midwesterners are a frugal bunch, and it shows in the sky-high odometer readings of these two. Both of these trucks have put in lots of hours, but they still have some life in them. Which one is more your style?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
I’m old enough to remember that Ford-supplied carbs generally sucked.
So I’m going with the fuel-injected Chevy on this one. If the Ford was one year newer, it would be a fuel injected version of the 300 cid I6 and a bunch of other improvements… and then I would have gone with that.
Just get that S-10, put a wood-shingled camper top on it, put a “BOL-L-GOL GARDENING” sign on the door, and tell people you bought the new S-10 to replace the older S-10 that was totalled in an unfortunate mishap at the steel mill involving a T800, a T1000, and a liquid nitrogen tanker truck: http://imcdb.org/i005702.jpg
I put many, many miles on long, base model Ford trucks in the late 80s. Not a huge fan of their highway manners or maneuvering ability, but the slushbox combined with ample ankle-ventage rules out the S-10
This is a hard one! Both have excellent drive trains, but not desirable packages. The s10 would be the winner if it was an astro or full size truck, the Ford would be better if it was any generation of truck that engine came in besides that one; they age like warm milk here in the Midwest. Frankly I’m surprised there isn’t a significant v shape between the cab and bed like every other one. The only way to win today’s game is not to play.
That stick in the Ford has more twists and turns than the Mississippi! Love it!
I’m not buying a vehicle that rusty ever again. Neither.
Not a fan of rust, and not a fan of carbs. Worked on both plenty in my misspent youth, and don’t want to anymore. So where does that leave me? I’m going Ford because bigger & stick.
With that kind of scratch, you could buy BOTH trucks. You’re skewing our data sir, begone.
Damnit, Mark! Give me a 4.3 S10 that is an actual contender already! I love these handsome little trucks with that motor, but just cannot vote for this one. Actually, I’d settle for anything with a 4.3 that is a contender. The 300 Ford shows up, and it always seems a foregone conclusion which is getting old.
Congratulations on picking two awful vehicles today. I’ll go with the bigger uglier one, I guess, on the condition it comes with the required PPE just to sit in it – Tyvek suit, respirator, gloves, etc.
I honestly wouldn’t take either of these. I feel like the first time you actually use them for hauling anything they will break and be a shitty side lawn ornament for my house. The S10 had a cleaner interior to help you forget the exterior mechanical shitshow going on so it got my vote but if neither was an option it would be the right choice.
“in my contuing efforts”
In your what now?
Whoops, surprised my wife didn’t catch that one…
I’ve been reading too many David Tracy articles. My first thought after seeing those S-10 pics was “hey, not much rust”.
So, instead of beer goggles, you are wearing DT glasses?
The S-10 fits most needs but it is one hard stop from separating itself. By the time you fix the rust, you just buy a new truck.
The Ford is in better condition with much smaller rust repair, or so it seems.
While I like trucks with Manuals, a work truck is a beat until it fails so that really don’t matter.
First question: Why do people even choose to live in the Midwest? The weather is god-awful for half of the year. Absolutely miserable winters. As far as these two trucks? They are rusted to death. No thanks to either.
The Midwest is bigger than Iowa. It isn’t all just wind-blown, flat farmland. There are many beautiful places to live that enjoy a low cost of living and have plenty of things to do, especially if you are an outdoorsy person. I have lived in Missouri and Illinois, and they are great places to live if you are reasonably close to a major city – St. Louis, KC, Chicago, etc. There is also something to be said for farm life, and God bless those folks who choose to do that. We all gotta eat!
To be clear, I am not saying that Iowa is just “wind-swept farmland” either. I don’t want to generalize, myself!
I grew up on a farm in the rural south. So I was never in an area that got THAT cold. I then moved to Boston. According to people I’ve run into from the Midwest, the weather in Boston is nothing compared to where they lived. I suppose weather ius subjective. But as someone who liked being outdoors I hate winters that are so cold that it is miserable to be outside. In Boston that was like 7 months out of the year. I later moved to California.
Yes- its good some people choose to live in the Midwest and work farms that produce a lot of the grain we consume. I guess god bless em’…
Because I can own a home and support a family of four on the salary of a middle school shop teacher here in the midwest.
As an old co-worker of mine in St Paul used to say, “the cold keeps out the riff-raff.” After 18 years on the west coast, I think he was onto something.
I’ll take the S-10 because the cabin is cleaner. I don’t care about the rust because either truck is only a stopgap transportation measure that will be abandoned at the first sign of trouble.
Neither of these trucks are worth more than a bucket of warm spit in their current state. The S-10 looks like it will lose a chunk of metal every time you go over railroad tracks. The F-150 has lots of nearly 40 year old vacuum lines. I guess I’ll go with the Ford because I think it has more life left in it than the Chevy.
I’ve got a 2002 S-10, it’s a great little truck. S-10 all day long.
Six in a row, ready to tow, move furniture for all your bros, when will it stop nobody knows, it’s a giddyup and not a woah, so shut up and take my money yo!
Iowa is a great record. The raw energy of Slipknot’s earlier albums holds up to this day. While some of their newer stuff isn’t necessarily my cup of tea they still put on a remarkable show and I respect them for evolving as much as they have. It’s better to take some chances and miss than take no chances at all…and hell, a lot of those chances have gone well. I think in the end they’ll be mentioned in the same conversation as other undisputed greats like Metallica and Judas Priest, even of old heads aren’t willing to admit it yet.
Wait…what are we talking about? Oh. Okay. Shitbox trucks IN Iowa. God I really have no interest in either of these…they’re just at the opposite end of the spectrum compared to what I enjoy personally. But I drove a shitbox Suburban for SEVEN YEARS (when you’re broke a family hand me down can be a lifesaver) and other than the brake lines failing a few times, which was a common failure point on that generation of cars, it really never had any significant issues and I did exactly 0 preventative maintenance since I was an ignoramus back then. So I’ll go S-10. Long live the mini truck.
If I’m going to get a ratty old truck, I want it to be a big one for maximum effect. Plus who can turn down that 300, manual trans, 4×4 combo.
Me.
My heart says Ford, my mind says I don’t want to deal with a carb and that much 35 year old rubber tubing. Day to day life would be easier with the smaller vehicle but the extended cab of the Ford would give me secure storage even if it is a pain to get to. Going S-10 today but only by a hair.
The intake is pretty much the exact same as earlier models, an early carb will bolt up and then other than the vacuum advance and a few others, you just erase all those pesky vacuum lines (the Feedback Carb system worked kinda nicely when everything was hooked up, but I agree after 30+ years its not worth futzing with.)
Or, you know… https://www.ebay.com/itm/225345395779
Did they make a TBI for these engines? Or some other kind of fuel injection conversion?
Yes… the 300 cid I6 had TBI from 1987 and on.
No it did not. Ford never did TBI with the 300.
Multi-point fuel injection was the standard from the point that Ford introduced EFI onto the 300.
Come to think of it, I don’t think Ford ever did TBI. I’d have to check, but I don’t think I can think of ever seeing a TBI setup on any Ford.
You can basically unbolt the cylinder head and distributor from a late model EFI engine and bolt them onto the carb’d block. You actually gain a bit of compression from what I remember, half a point or so?
Stock EFI heads had different shaped combustion chambers which allowed for different burn characteristics, and the stock ECU is programmed to expect those characteristics.
Or you get a late model EFI intake, bolt it onto the carb’d head, and run megasquirt or some such and then you get to introduce tunability into the programming
Holley’s Sniper systems would be a good out of the box conversion with that manifold I linked to above.
An EFI 302 V8 from any Ford/Lincoln/Mercury would bolt right in. And fuel injection wiring is pretty simple on those. Recover the whole thing from the donor car and there’s only a couple wires to hook up to the chassis.
Are the earlier intake/exhaust manifolds any easier to line up/bolt in? I had to take the head off of my 94 inline 6 twice, and it was a BEAR to get the manifolds back on every time. Man-handling that heavy-arse head by myself is also something I don’t ever want to do again, either…
Nah, pretty much they all sucked. The single exhaust may be argued to be easier than the EFI exhaust setup as then you’ve only got one set of bolt holes to play with instead of two, but its the same issue just spaced out.
It takes one long afternoon and fifty bucks or so in parts, to replace the vacuum lines on that Ford.
There’s too much rust on the Chevy to pay more than parts value for it. Even $800 would be a tough sell to me in that condition, in today’s market. Any more than that and I’m doing an fly & drive to get a truck from a low rust state.
I like those little trucks, so I chose the S-10
I’ll be 100% honest, and this is Mr Asa here, the loves-the-Ford-300-so-much-he-is-fabricating-a-head-for-it,-no-I-said-fabricating-not-rebuilding,-he-is-actually-welding-cut-up-GM-heads-together-for-it-not-porting-and-rebuilding-a-stock-head, based on the pictures in the opener I was gonna go S10. I just don’t like big trucks.
Unfortunately, that rust is horrible, and even more unfortunately and just as unforgiving, GMs of the 80s-2010ish all twist my knee around until anything more than half an hour driving them is torture.
But, rust and torture-device level ergonomics make the Ford the winner here.
That 300-I6 will be running fine long after the heat death of the universe.