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Off Topic: What components of the car were typically worn out for the whole car to typically considered done back in the day?
Engine, transmission, body.
Engines didn't last 100,000 mostly, as the tolerances weren't anywhere near as tightly controlled as they are now, nor is the metallurgy as advanced so the things wore out a lot faster. Same with the transmissions.
Metallurgy came into play in the bodies as well, largely in rust resistance. Sure, cars in the dry desert environments fared OK, and it's not uncommon at all to find vehicles 50, 60, 70 years old or even more with minimal rust in southern Arizona just like my '62. But in the rest of the moist world, bodies fell apart pretty quick compared to modern vehicles.
There was time where you could get a car or truck for about 1000 to 3000 Dollars or lower.
Now cars and trucks are expensive like a house.
A new 2015 to 16 Silverado can cost around 60 thousand and a Suburban up to 90 thousand.
Cars like a Honda or chevy sedans around 30 thousands. Plus you can't work on them like you use to back then. Now you have to take it to the dealership where it can cost you(unless you have warranty).
Also the parts are expensive . A headlight on my 90 Suburban V1500 4x4 can cost 20 to 30 dollars brand new while on a new 2016 it can cost up to a thousand of dollars.
Matter of fact one time this year I was at my buddies paint and body shop where a 2014 or 15 mustang needed a new headlight from the dealership. Headlight was 865 dollars
My 1997 chevy tahoe was listed at $32,000 in 97 with all the options it has. $32,000 back then wasn't cheap either. I agree the parts are cheaper to replace which is part of the reason i bought it. All these fancy new cars are full of technology gadgets that i have no use for. All this technology in vehicles is because of the millennials wanting it. It serves no purpose but makes them happy. Since those generations are the ones with the money supposedly the car manufacturers cater to them.
As far as the cost of a new Silverado yes 60k is pricey but with GMs history of long lasting dependable trucks you can easily figure that truck will last at least 20 years.
Metallurgy came into play in the bodies as well, largely in rust resistance. Sure, cars in the dry desert environments fared OK, and it's not uncommon at all to find vehicles 50, 60, 70 years old or even more with minimal rust in southern Arizona just like my '62. But in the rest of the moist world, bodies fell apart pretty quick compared to modern vehicles.
That's honestly a huge change even in recent timeframes. We had a '90 Honda Civic. Good car, but road salt and the rest of the climate had it rusting away badly 10 years down the road. I've got an '01 Mazda Tribute now that's only starting to rust 15 years later.
My 1997 chevy tahoe was listed at $32,000 in 97 with all the options it has. $32,000 back then wasn't cheap either. I agree the parts are cheaper to replace which is part of the reason i bought it. All these fancy new cars are full of technology gadgets that i have no use for. All this technology in vehicles is because of the millennials wanting it. It serves no purpose but makes them happy. Since those generations are the ones with the money supposedly the car manufacturers cater to them.
As far as the cost of a new Silverado yes 60k is pricey but with GMs history of long lasting dependable trucks you can easily figure that truck will last at least 20 years.
I think the 1990s and early 2000s were the past decade and era of good cars
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Quote:
Originally Posted by urbex
Engine, transmission, body.
Engines didn't last 100,000 mostly, as the tolerances weren't anywhere near as tightly controlled as they are now, nor is the metallurgy as advanced so the things wore out a lot faster. Same with the transmissions.
Metallurgy came into play in the bodies as well, largely in rust resistance. Sure, cars in the dry desert environments fared OK, and it's not uncommon at all to find vehicles 50, 60, 70 years old or even more with minimal rust in southern Arizona just like my '62. But in the rest of the moist world, bodies fell apart pretty quick compared to modern vehicles.
IMy first 4 cars were 1958 Chrysler, another 1958 Chrysler, 1967 Cortina GT, and 1964 Buick Skylark Wagon. None of them ever showed any rust at all, in the SF Bay Area. The Chryslers all started to smoke from bad rings at just over 100k miles. The Cortina had 80k when I totaled it in a head-on (two broken arms). The Buick had 125k when I traded it in, and it was still running strong. On all of these I had to change the spark plugs, rotor condenser and distributor cap every 10,000 miles. Brakes (all drum) only lasted 15-20k miles, and on the Chryslers they had to be adjusted every 4-5,000 miles. The most interesting difference though, is exhaust systems. We had to replace mufflers and/or exhaust pipes about every 30,000 miles. Since the 80s, I have never had to change any exhaust parts on a car, despite going to 130-140k miles.
I have a small fleet of domestic full size pickups. Mostly GM but I did buy a Platinum F150. All of the trucks go 100K miles+ before they are ready to move on. The trucks are driven by employees (which I would consider "harder" miles than if driven by me). In 25+ years here is what sticks out in my mind:
1989 S10- was my only "small truck" vs. full size. Ran 80K miles for me, another 120K by a friend I sold it to. Starter motors were bad, probably changed 4-5 of them. Truck developed a rear main seal leak and needed a quart between fuel fillups. Eventually the oil got too low blue smoke was ever present.
1995 1500- 5.7 motor- 120K miles in 5 years. Sole failure was the rear end, it lost a few teeth. Did a patch weld on the intake manifold just before I sold it. Occasionally still see it on the road today.
2001 1500 4.3- 120K miles as of today. Brakes, tires, batteries. Not a single repair.
2003 2500 diesel- 170k+ miles in 8 years. 106K miles water pump, 155K warranty covered injectors, then just brakes/batteries/tires. AC still blew cold, every part still worked. New owner reported at 200K miles he replaced the gauge cluster ($25 used part off ebay).
2004- 1500 tranny needed rebuild at 84K miles. It was about $1500 and this shocked me as I had never actually put "hard parts" in any of these trucks. Chalked it up to a fluke. 30K miles later truck was totaled in an accident.
2010 Ford F150- 59K miles. One set of tires/fluid changes. Pet peeve, fuel door spring broke resulting in a loose fuel door. Bad design, Ford wanted $68 for the part yet it is the same bad design!
There were more trucks in the fleet but these stood out in my mind as the one's with issues whether big or small.
IMy first 4 cars were 1958 Chrysler, another 1958 Chrysler, 1967 Cortina GT, and 1964 Buick Skylark Wagon. None of them ever showed any rust at all, in the SF Bay Area. The Chryslers all started to smoke from bad rings at just over 100k miles. The Cortina had 80k when I totaled it in a head-on (two broken arms). The Buick had 125k when I traded it in, and it was still running strong. On all of these I had to change the spark plugs, rotor condenser and distributor cap every 10,000 miles. Brakes (all drum) only lasted 15-20k miles, and on the Chryslers they had to be adjusted every 4-5,000 miles. The most interesting difference though, is exhaust systems. We had to replace mufflers and/or exhaust pipes about every 30,000 miles. Since the 80s, I have never had to change any exhaust parts on a car, despite going to 130-140k miles.
and in comparison - my 2005 Ram. The _only_ things I've had to do to it since owning it - new EGR valve, one set of tires, one set of brakes, one set of spark plugs at just over 100K, and normal fluid changes. It now has almost 130K miles on it, and I'm about ready for another set of tires. Technically, I wouldn't even have had to do the plugs, but it started developing a slightly funky idle, and most people likely would have never even noticed it. It's entirely possible I could have pushed the plugs out to 150K, lol. The brakes wore a bit faster than normal, due to routinely putting 8K+ pounds on a trailer behind the truck, otherwise I'd probably still be on the factory brakes too..
Off Topic: What components of the car were typically worn out for the whole car to typically considered done back in the day?
Quote:
Originally Posted by urbex
Engine, transmission, body.
Engines didn't last 100,000 mostly, as the tolerances weren't anywhere near as tightly controlled as they are now, nor is the metallurgy as advanced so the things wore out a lot faster. Same with the transmissions.
Metallurgy came into play in the bodies as well, largely in rust resistance. Sure, cars in the dry desert environments fared OK, and it's not uncommon at all to find vehicles 50, 60, 70 years old or even more with minimal rust in southern Arizona just like my '62. But in the rest of the moist world, bodies fell apart pretty quick compared to modern vehicles.
Back then it was easier to yank out the engine and transmission for a rebuild or to simply replace it with one from the junkyard. A relative had a 70s era Datsun (Nissan). At one point he had the engine rebuilt. It continued to trudge on. Things other than the engine were falling apart, though.
About the bodies of cars back in the day, I'm guessing they had undercarriage coatings available. Not sure, thugh. And if a particular part of the chassis was rusted out, it could be fixed.
That's honestly a huge change even in recent timeframes. We had a '90 Honda Civic. Good car, but road salt and the rest of the climate had it rusting away badly 10 years down the road. I've got an '01 Mazda Tribute now that's only starting to rust 15 years later.
I think what is bolded is what some from the Southeast and California don't realize. In much of the country cars are put through the wringer due to winter and road treatment (I personally believe that the new brine treatment will prove to be really hard on cars).
Cars prior to say the 1990s showed environmental caused issues within a very few years. Today it's maybe 10 years or so (I have an '02 Taurus wagon and an '03 F150 which are both now showing some rust around the rear wheel wells).
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