Photo: Wikipedia
Back in mid-October, I wrote here on autoevolution how one becomes a fanatic of one automobile manufacturer over all others. I was specifically referring to the American market, and in the States, we are born into either favoring Ford or Chevy.
In my case, it was Ford. As a young boy, I had the whole kit, whether it was spring, summer, fall, or winter. I had a Ford jacket, a Ford beanie, a variety of Mustang shirts, and Ford decals on my bicycle. I really did not have a reason for liking Ford over Chevy, but I did know I was supposed to.
Not until I started wrenching on my father's 1970 Bronco did I formulate any sort of connection with the brand and why. That connection grew when I purchased a 1967 Mustang Fastback, and virtually single-handily brought the virtual barn find back to life over the course of my high school years.
Most of the people at my school who had cars were wed to their Chevys: Camaros, Novas, Chevelle et al., however, they knew nothing about maintaining the mechanical fitness of their cars. Even the kids with rich parents who drove old suped-up Chevy pickups didn't know the difference between a pushrod and a push-up. I did and was often recruited for advice or to help with a tune-up or brake job.
The opportunity to work on both Ford and Chevrolet engines gave my love for Ford some credence. I had finally developed an opinion based on experience rather than birthright.
I immediately recognized how easy Ford cars were to work on. (Yeah, Yeah, I can sense all the Chevy readers out there saying to themselves, “It is because Ford made cars easy to work on because they are always needing to be worked on.”) In high school, kids would always say Ford was an acronym for 'Found On Road Dead.'
I had tuned up my father's Bronco and my Mustang on several occasions. Both had small block V8s; the Bronco had a 302 (5.0L), and the Mustang had the smaller, shorter stroke 289 (4.7L), both a piece of cake to work on. Small block Fords all had distributors in the front of the engine, making replacing and adjusting points a snap.
Chevrolet small blocks were an absolute hassle because the distributor was located on the back side of the motor. You literally would have to layout over the fender with your whole torso under the hood to tune up a Chevy. They had a huge distributor cap that had a little door that could be opened to adjust the points with the cap on, but it was still a pain in the backside. Heaven forbid you were to drop one of the small screws that held the points in place on a Chevy!
Fords throughout the years have been designed with a starter solenoid that is separate from the starter itself and mounted on the side of the engine bay near the battery. Jumping the solenoid was easy and often a simple way to troubleshoot starting problems. Sure, an extra cable was necessary, with one coming from the positive battery terminal to the solenoid and one going from the solenoid to the starter.
Chevrolet engineers have long mounted their solenoid directly on top of the starter, subjecting it to the extreme heat coming from the exhaust manifold directly above. Jumping a Chevy solenoid meant you were on your back, under the car, and a candidate for bloody knuckles. In addition, the Chevy starters weighed a ton and were bolted up into the bell housing requiring shims to maintain a proper tolerance with the flywheel. The shims were a hassle to deal with; trying to hold the starter in place to get the bolts started while banging your head on the frame.
These examples may seem trivial to some, but they make a huge difference to the guy holding the wrench.
The only drawback of being a Ford guy was the cost of Ford after-market performance parts, not OEM parts. After-market performance parts such as Holley Carburetors, Edelbrock manifolds, and even internal engine parts like pistons, lifters, and bearings were often much more expensive than Chevrolet parts. Even Mr. Gaskets' chrome parts, such as water outlets, rocker covers, and air cleaners, were more expensive for Fords.
That being said, I never would migrate to the other side, and while my life as a pirate has taken me away from my love of Ford automobiles, I remain loyal to the brand that played such a critical role in my life.
Not until I started wrenching on my father's 1970 Bronco did I formulate any sort of connection with the brand and why. That connection grew when I purchased a 1967 Mustang Fastback, and virtually single-handily brought the virtual barn find back to life over the course of my high school years.
Most of the people at my school who had cars were wed to their Chevys: Camaros, Novas, Chevelle et al., however, they knew nothing about maintaining the mechanical fitness of their cars. Even the kids with rich parents who drove old suped-up Chevy pickups didn't know the difference between a pushrod and a push-up. I did and was often recruited for advice or to help with a tune-up or brake job.
The opportunity to work on both Ford and Chevrolet engines gave my love for Ford some credence. I had finally developed an opinion based on experience rather than birthright.
I immediately recognized how easy Ford cars were to work on. (Yeah, Yeah, I can sense all the Chevy readers out there saying to themselves, “It is because Ford made cars easy to work on because they are always needing to be worked on.”) In high school, kids would always say Ford was an acronym for 'Found On Road Dead.'
I had tuned up my father's Bronco and my Mustang on several occasions. Both had small block V8s; the Bronco had a 302 (5.0L), and the Mustang had the smaller, shorter stroke 289 (4.7L), both a piece of cake to work on. Small block Fords all had distributors in the front of the engine, making replacing and adjusting points a snap.
Chevrolet small blocks were an absolute hassle because the distributor was located on the back side of the motor. You literally would have to layout over the fender with your whole torso under the hood to tune up a Chevy. They had a huge distributor cap that had a little door that could be opened to adjust the points with the cap on, but it was still a pain in the backside. Heaven forbid you were to drop one of the small screws that held the points in place on a Chevy!
Fords throughout the years have been designed with a starter solenoid that is separate from the starter itself and mounted on the side of the engine bay near the battery. Jumping the solenoid was easy and often a simple way to troubleshoot starting problems. Sure, an extra cable was necessary, with one coming from the positive battery terminal to the solenoid and one going from the solenoid to the starter.
Chevrolet engineers have long mounted their solenoid directly on top of the starter, subjecting it to the extreme heat coming from the exhaust manifold directly above. Jumping a Chevy solenoid meant you were on your back, under the car, and a candidate for bloody knuckles. In addition, the Chevy starters weighed a ton and were bolted up into the bell housing requiring shims to maintain a proper tolerance with the flywheel. The shims were a hassle to deal with; trying to hold the starter in place to get the bolts started while banging your head on the frame.
These examples may seem trivial to some, but they make a huge difference to the guy holding the wrench.
The only drawback of being a Ford guy was the cost of Ford after-market performance parts, not OEM parts. After-market performance parts such as Holley Carburetors, Edelbrock manifolds, and even internal engine parts like pistons, lifters, and bearings were often much more expensive than Chevrolet parts. Even Mr. Gaskets' chrome parts, such as water outlets, rocker covers, and air cleaners, were more expensive for Fords.
That being said, I never would migrate to the other side, and while my life as a pirate has taken me away from my love of Ford automobiles, I remain loyal to the brand that played such a critical role in my life.
Google News