Amen brother!!

The 2.2 lawnmower engine in my DD '02 S-10 truck has NO torque at all ! It eats gas like a 6-cyl Vortec engine though! I travel 40 miles each way to work every day and use a 1/4 tank of gas a day. I've had several mechanics take a look and they just said that engine sucks...in more ways than one!  It does look pretty outside, though, like you said.

When you turn on the A/C compressor ( the other engine - I've heard some folks call it) It cuts your power in half! I constantly have to turn off the A/C to accelerate, or pass other vehicles on the highway at 70 mph. It sounds like it's going to blow up at 80 mph.

I wish I could trade it in for a 70's or 80's short-bed Chevy with a 305. I would probably use the same amount of gas I do now for a Daily Driver truck.

Is glad that the Big F350 got picked but why wasn't the 66-77 Bronco's picked?  

Lets not forget 73-79 f150-350 fullsize trucks that i think was way better looking than chevy's. I own a 76 Hiboy that has a 390 in it with plenty of power along with a NP 435 and NP 205. The front axle is a D44HD with a D60 in the back and i use it on the trails. Plus i didn't have to put a lift on it to run 35's like chevy's have to as i have seen.  

They are capable offroad i have driven my Dad's 01 Ranger 4x4 at a local ORV Park and it came from the factory with 4.10's and limit slip F/R and it does have flex.  

Last i knew a Ranger is a Truck maybe not the best truck around but a truck any way you look at it. and it is capable offroad.  

Hate to tell you this but V8 diesels have been in Big Rigs for a long time not as long as a inline and they can put out just as much or more power than an inline 6. Every diesel has it's pro's and con's but it's what a person prefer's that matter's.  

That's strange how come you heavily modify a gas engine to get alot of torque.But a diesel you don't.  If you take two identicle trucks either 2x4 or 4x4 one with a gas engine the other with a diesel with the same HP which one will more torque?  

A friend of mine that lives out in Cali runs a Ford diesel drag racing and he is knocking on 10 sec 1/4 times.  

I think we are all forgetting three important digits when it comes to offroading....     ZR2 !!!!!!

Only joking, I must say that all 73-87 Chevy Fullsize Trucks are great but one year stands above the rest. 1987......why you ask......Factory TBI w/ solid axle. 

Yea, torque on the street, but if I wanted that, I'd get a '68 Camaro or same era Nova II ! Why anyone would want to race a truck is beyond me! If I had the money to blowon a new car, , I'd get a new Corvette, Dodge Viper, or the only Ferd I would ever consider buying - a GT-40. Although I hear the GT-40's can't be had for love, or money these days. Ford's not keeping up with the high-end demand for these jewels.

As far as trucks - you take two identical factory trucks, one diesel, and one gasoline, and throw then in da mud, ( what trucks are MADE for ), and we'll see which one ends up with it's nose, and all that "factory torque" buried in the deep stuff, and which comes out the other end of that bog.

Like I said, who da hell cares about racing a Diesel truck! Why not put a big bolt-on wing on that brick and make it more aerodynamic! You might run into the 8's after that mod !  The perfect analogy are the 70's Dodge Daytona's and Plymouth 'birds. They were killer on the street, and on Nascar circuits for a while, but no one wanted to buy those dogs at the dealerships!  Diesel trucks have their place, and I respect them, but don't try to make it something it's not, even if it can be made that. You can put all the Viper stuff you want in a 'race truck' but it will NEVER have the 'soul' of the Dodge Viper! ( ....and yes, I know the original Dodge Viper engine was a modified Dodge truck engine ).

I can build up a killer 'AMC Gremlin', or a beast of a 'Yugo', too, and run in to the '10's on the drag, but why the heck would I put any money into those dogs either! 

 - just my opinion - I know, 'opinions are like a-holes, everybody's got one' , and my opinion ain't no better than the next guy's. ....other than that, I don't feel strongly on the subject.

I'll stick with my Holley 750 CFM double pumper ( OVERKILL ), Thanks. You be sure to wave when I pass you on the street too !!

Solid axle all the way!!

I'm surprised on how I come into a forum regarding offroad trucks and the everyone is talking about fast cars and who will beat who on the street. 

 I love my fuel injection, she aint the fastest or the flashiest but she gets thru the mud.

My first mudder had the "superb" Rochester Varijet II.   I hated everything about it.  It did fine unless you needed it.... the second I was bouncing a mudhole and needed power, it would start coughing and wheezing and farting and there I was stuck (and usually cranking on the starter to get fired up again).

Here's another hot botton....auto or stick for offroading?  Redbeast, I'm sure you will have an opinion in the matter.  I hated the manual in the old Ford I owned for a short stint.  It seems that either I was overrevvin the old pig and couldn't get the wheel speed to clear the tread or else I was bogged down.  I love the 700R4 in my current truck.  I can fling mud and also with the overdrive, not burn all my gas on the ride out to the trail.

Hey, I didn't start this pee-fest about dragging, I'm just the da bearer of bad news, and have to drag some 'o these folks back to reality, and into da mud with me. It's all just good fun, - hope no one takes it personal.

See, I never had any of those problems with my Holley carbs, My Rochester 4MV, or my Carter AFB's ( the last on type on my off-shore boat ) - I know, now I'm hi-jacking the thread to off-shore. I'm sorry, but the comparison to bouncing around on big waves and bouncing around in the ruts and gullies is comparable. I never had a problem stalling out in either case with the Holleys or the Carters. The Rochesters I only experienced on street cars, so I can't speak to how they would do in the mud or off-road. I have heard good things about them from others, though, ( the 4MV's anyway ).

I love stick for off-road and street. Stick is not so good when it comes to rock crawing though, I have heard. Not too many rocks down here Florida way. Whole sh$t-pot of mud, though! Oddly enough both my current beasts have automatics TH350's. I know all the purists are gasping right about now! , but that's just the cards I was dealt - fate & finances - just as sure as the other two - death & taxes.

I think most folks out there who prefer automatics don't know how to drive stick, and never found out how much fun they can be. It is personal prefrence though, some people just don't like stick, that's all - nothin wrong with that either. A whole lot more control of the engine and drive-train, with stick, in my opinion.

For cruising around town....I definately prefer a stick.  For a tire shredding good time, nothing beats a stick for lightin up the rear tire(s).   But in the mud I've never seen good results.  It is entirely possible that I don't know how to handle a clutch in the mud. 

Just once, I would like to hear someone tell me how great they are with a clutch off-road and then go out there and prove it.  It seems to me that every time that I've been out in the woods with someone who has a stick.  They have experienced the same issues I have.  Having to over rev the piss out of truck or being in too high of a gear and bogging down or worse yet, someone decides that they are too good for 4-low and smokes the clutch.

I enjoy the pure fun of driving and manual and the inherit durability of of the transmissions but when it come to offroad situations, I find it to be a much less stressful experience with an automatic.