The best winter beater truck ever

[AStar617]

My '93 Chevy S-10 Blazer Tahoe 4x4 with 4.3L Vortec is the best winter beater ever. 202k mi and no signs of stopping. Absolutely kicks ass in the despised northeast "wintry mix", even without snows on. Warms up very fast too.

So I noticed this morning that road salt-infused splashes had dried on my hood in a cool hotrod-esque flaming pattern... sorry for the crappy cameraphone pics but that's all I got with me at work.

The beater
Closeup of the hood
Different angle

Arguably the best $1100 I ever spent. :thumbsup:

 

[Armitage]

Wow - camera phones really suck.

 

[AStar617]

Originally posted by: Armitage
Wow - camera phones really suck.

Usually it's not as bad as these. Combination of super bright lighting (high noon on the east coast) and an apparent smudge which is all too easy to catch.

 

[SWScorch]

gotta love Detroit steel I don't care what anyone else says; I've seen more domestic vehicles pass 200k with no signs of stopping

 

[AStar617]

Originally posted by: SWScorch
gotta love Detroit steel I don't care what anyone else says; I've seen more domestic vehicles pass 200k with no signs of stopping

Yea, owning this truck definitely changed my perception of American vehicles. My primary ride is a BMW 525i and its worry-free longevity certainly didn't slow down my bigoted opinions regarding USA product, to say the least But I wanted 4wd for the winter (525i is RWD w/o traction control).

Since I bought this truck tho, all I've really done was preventative stuff you should do with any car: plugs, wires, cap/rotor, ignition coil, PCV valve, O2 sensor (code was thrown), coolant temp sensor, temperature switch (sender to the temp gauge)... Oh yea, the headlight switch cooked, replaced that in 2mins and $1 at the boneyard. And I did experience the notorious Vortec EGR clogging issue, and after a week or two of having to remove and clean it every other day, an aftermarket EGR screen gasket from Tomco solved the problem once and for all for $8.

I probably need a battery, and at $40 for an okay one, it's still the most expensive part replaced to date.

 

[AmigaMan]

Originally posted by: SWScorch
gotta love Detroit steel I don't care what anyone else says; I've seen more domestic trucks pass 200k with no signs of stopping

Fixed.

But most any new car will last to 200K as well. German cars I've heard are worse about maintenance, but that may be conjecture as well. Most properly maintained vehicles will last a while. My POS Ford Contour was doing great at 140K miles, but the CEL kept coming on and I just didn't want to keep fixing that. The car ran great, looked great, and I doubt there were any emissions problems, but the CEL disagreed with me. And if it's on, then it's an automatic failure come inspection time. Last year it cost me $500 to fix and it came back on in 4 months.

 

[shenaniganz]

Originally posted by: SWScorch
gotta love Detroit steel I don't care what anyone else says; I've seen more domestic vehicles pass 200k with no signs of stopping

My Toyota beater has 213,000 and not a single problem since I bought it--of course it does have a couple rust spots.

:knocks on wood;

 

[SWScorch]

Originally posted by: shenaniganz

Originally posted by: SWScorch
gotta love Detroit steel I don't care what anyone else says; I've seen more domestic vehicles pass 200k with no signs of stopping

My Toyota beater has 213,000 and not a single problem since I bought it--of course it does have a couple rust spots.

:knocks on wood;

I'd be a fool to criticize Toyota's longevity

 

[AStar617]

Originally posted by: AmigaMan

Originally posted by: SWScorch
gotta love Detroit steel I don't care what anyone else says; I've seen more domestic trucks pass 200k with no signs of stopping

Fixed.

Haha... agreed. There is a definite difference in 2005 between a '93 Blazer, and, say, a '93 Cavalier. :thumbsdown:

But most any new car will last to 200K as well. German cars I've heard are worse about maintenance, but that may be conjecture as well.

My '92 525i is quite reliable. Problem is, when it does break, it hurts financially. On New Year's Eve '02 my battery light came on, and I had enough juice to get me home on dim headlights. Turned out the car had the original battery from its Dec. 91 assembly still installed, and the alternator finally died from working overtime to charge it (oops!). Alternator alone cost ~$350 after core credit, then battery (a vented model due to its placement under the rear seats) was almost another $100. :shocked:

 

[radioouman]

'93 Dakota is perfectly reliable. 4x4 is great in the snow! 180,000 and going strong!

 

[CraigRT]

my old LeBaron (265,000k) was great, and my parents celebrity (300,000k) also never gave any major problems. The Celebrity had more repairs, but not many really.

 

[dataxpress]

those picks look very x-files style

(the image quality, not the actual content.)