The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Changing Attitudes

Funny I was reading LimeyC10’s ending comment in the small world post:
“Has anyone else on here been behind the wheel of my ‘66 and if you have why didn’t you give it a squirt of rust retardant every now and again to help me out now?”
And I chuckled because my observation is that when a truck is new, we all want the best for it, wash, wax etc. but if it’s a fleet vehicle, no one cares.
And when almost any truck gets 10 – 15 years old, who cares anymore. Only after a truck survives 30+ years and is in reasonable condition will anyone give it a second look. In fact I notice that folks see new styling changes, hate them and it takes years for them to accept the new changes. I’ll bet there were plenty of [censored] off individuals in the fifties when the new trucks didn’t have running boards anymore. And what about fleet side beds? And for a while I’m sure square headlights were considered ugly. Will my ’97 GMC ever be considered a classic? It’s already referred to as “the old body style” in parts catalogs. If they only knew – lol.

I remember when the "new" body style came out in 88....the local Chevy dealer had a light blue regular cab they parked on the pedestal. The truck must have arrived in January of 87. It was a 4x4. I was not sure what to make of that truck...thought it was a mid-size like the Dakota.. I wonder if that was what it was like when they went from the Victory to the AD's....

46 in prgress!

Great thought! I remember vividly, as an 11 year old kid, when they changed over to the AD design. I was devastated to tell the truth. I thought it was the worst looking thing that I had ever seen! I was so in love with that design that stayed through WW2 and into the spring of 1947. (Guess that's why I have my 46 2 ton) Eventually I came to like the design almost as much as the earlier one. I think it was the 1950 model and later that I liked. 1954 was my favorite of those years.

Happy Holiday. Geo.

Good post, I have two trucks , for some reason I keep better care of my old one, the 52, the I do the newer one, 70 international...enjoy driving both of them though,,,,Fred

I just bought an 87 to haul stuff around in until I can get started on a good project. BUt everybody says its in pretty good shape for an old truck needs inner and outer front fenders and cab corners. it runs great 305 fi 4 spd on the floor. maybe I could fix her up until I get my real project maybe it would be good expierience since Ive never restored a truck before. I geuss things change and sometimes you dont realize you like this change until the next one I geuss thats what I'm getting at.

When the '88 Chevy truck came out, they reminded me of a then-current Thunderbird with a bed on the back! Still think they're an ugly truck. They never did get the dash right, either.

The '04-'05 trucks are pretty good-looking, though. The Chevrolets and Dodges from 1973-1986 (Chevy) and 1972-1993 (Dodge) were such good-looking trucks that when their replacements were announced, it sure created attention, both negative and positive. The 1994 Dodge was a great truck in many aspects, one of which was shake both GM and Ford from their complacency and design some really nice trucks.

I have the old style 87 still square with wing windows and all

My daily driver is a 1988 GMC 1500 4X4 355 V8 blue and silver. Nice truck bought it 4 yrs ago. Had it repainted and fixed a lot of things.

Now it is showing rust around back fender wells, had bed Ryhno lined but using it for paint truck has taken its toll. When they first came out I thought the hood looked like a scoop shovel but now I think those years are pretty cool! Ben

popcorn The Truth is Out There (Ok breaks over back to Christmas decorations)

Trucks were roundish in the 50s, squared in the 70s, roundy again in the 90s, now getting squared and angular again. Heck, nowadays trucks aren't even trucks anymore, kindof a cross between truck and SUV and station wagon (remember those?).

Trucks used to cost about 1/2 of what cars cost - today they cost more. Gone are the days of "Dad's work truck". Todays trucks have to fit the whole family, drive the kids to school, pull the family camper or landscape trailer, and at the prices they command, they better do it with A/C and look good too. They have to be comfortable and easy enough for "Mom" to use - if need be.
Many people dont have room for more than 1 or 2 vehicles in their driveway, if they even have a driveway.
"Dad" figured out that it was better to have a truck than a station wagon, but if he was to get a truck, it was going to have to do a lot more than yesterdays "work only" truck did. It was going to haul wood on the weekends, go off road for fishing and vacations and go to school and the office during the week. It was going to do it safely, at highway speeds with a full load in the bed.

Sidenote - My wife's '99 Pontiac Grand Am GT has the key on the dash. - How cool is that?

Bill, that's the truth! I remember when trucks were plain and work-a-day. One of my fellow haulers of produce for the wholesale Mennonite produce growers just bought an '04 1-ton dually with the crew cab and the vinyl seats and vinyl floor mats, roll up windows and am/fm radio. He had to special order it that way! Seems that all the duallies going to the dealers these days are all these King Ranch edition yuppie limosines with leather interiors, dvd players and sun roofs that will never see anything but a garage and pavement!

How far we've come...

Me? I think the '04-'04 GM trucks are Butt UGLY!

John

Butt ugly,,,now that might depend, well never mind,,

I think the auto industry has come full circle. Never has anyone done a "retro" look on a previous type car or truck before, and now days all of them are. Are people loosing their imaginations? Even the music industry is redoing old songs to get by. The most technological time in our history, and we look heavily back on the "good old days" for inspiration, pretty sad,
Scott

What's old is new again, '03-'05 Chevy truck front ends(cats eye headlights) being called ugly by some reminds me of the '60-'61 (cats eye hoods) being called ugly by some, then and now. I opted to rebuild a '61 instead of buy a new '03 at the time. Maybe in the year 2034 I'll be reading threads on the "Vortec page" for tips on restoring my '03 Silverado

One thing that is for sure is that in the year 2034 there will still be people restoring old Stovebolts. There will be this guy in AZ named MT jr. selling parts etc.
But a bulletin board for '03 trucks? I doubt it.