Modern Muscle Truck (new), What's the best we can do?

In reply to Tony Sestito :

I swear I saw a brand new, bare bones spec leftover '17 Hemi Ram advertised for under $15k over the weekend . Although, of course now I can't seem to find it and the cheapest one within a 100 mile radius on cars.com is barely under $20k, but regardless the Rams seem to be consistently and often significantly cheaper on dealer lots than their competitors. 

I'm kind of enamored with this regular cab, RWD muscle truck idea as a potential next DD, and even attempted to buy (long story...) an 05 2wd RCSB Silverado with the 5.3 a few months back. It's like a Camaro/Mustang/Challenger with a few extra pounds, a tow rating, and a bed instead of a trunk, which on paper sounds great for my needs and desires. Spec-ed right, they're also just about the cheapest new tow pig options out there and seem especially reasonable after shopping the late model, low mileage used truck market.

I wonder, though, if they're not too much of a compromise, and whether I would later regret the lack of a backseat and 4wd. I also have a bit of a hangup with dropping significant money on something with an automatic, but that's another issue. I'd be curious to hear more from stanger_missle and others about their ownership experiences. 

In reply to Furious_E :

If you're ok with buying a 10 year old truck, GM and Dodge trucks were both available in V8/MT flavor before 2009. 

In reply to Daylan C :

10 years old is still practically new in my book , especially since other frequently recurring day dreams include mid 90s GM B bodies, 80s square body trucks and Suburbans, and just about everything else in between with a 5k lbs tow rating . The issue is V8/MT trucks built in this millennium are pretty much unicorns, so finding the right option combo in good condition pretty much means a nationwide search. Also, IIRC you can't get the 5.3 or 5.7 Hemi with a stick, only the 4.8 and the smaller Mopar v8 (4.7?). 

I would like to swap a proper motor into a mid-80's Toyota 4x4 pickup with a modern 6 speed manual and twin stick xfer case.

Like this... 

In reply to Furious_E :

Yes it was the 4.7 in the Dodge. I think the 5.3 was available in the GM if you got 4wd. Personally I'd be more worried about the NV3500 being a bit on the fragile side if you forget that it's a light duty truck trans,

In reply to Daylan C :

Yea, my understanding is that it's pretty marginal at even stock LSx power levels, which I think is why I'm thinking only the 4.8 got it as an option. Low ceiling for power upgrades would kinda suck.  I'll have to look into that, though, you might be right about the 5.3/4wd.

mazdeuce - Seth said:

In reply to Bobcougarzillameister : 

Other than generally liking GM trucks (which I do) why choose the Silverado?

Because Hyundai was not an option 

In reply to 2002maniac :

At least not yet....

I have the start of a muscle truck in my driveway now.  2014 GMC Sierra (I liked the Sierra front end better than the Silverado).  Single cab, short bed, 5.3L, tow package which gets me a limited slip diff.  Truck is way faster than it should be (and tows over 9K, which is what I bought it for).  I would have optioned the 6.0L if it was available, but sadly was only available with the extended cab options.  When the 5.3L finally tires out, I'll probably replace it with a 6.0L. 

Biggest issue is traction.  With traction control on, it'll scoot to 60 in just a tick under 7 seconds.  With better tires and no traction control, I could probably shave a few tenths off that.  Eventually, I'd like to customize it with a slight drop, swaybars, wider rims and tires, etc.  But, it's really a work truck for now, but much more fun that it really should be. 

-Rob

In reply to rob_lewis :

So my question to you, is this really as good an idea as it looks on paper? It's darn hard to find short box single cabs with a V8 of any flavor sitting on lots. Not impossible, but if this is such a great idea you'd think there would be more being sold and driven around. 

This is a GREAT idea to gearheads..........in my neck o' da woods iffen your not in a high end SUV then it's a F150 king ranch edition or the 4 door equivalent from the others

Get an older Ford Lightning pick up?  Or one of those Ram pickups that came with the Viper V10 in them?  $40k will go a long way towards getting a really nice one and then totally sorting it out....

In reply to 759NRNG :

But a quad cab King Ranch truck isn't a muscle truck. The wheelbase, the weight, it's a super sedan, and comfy as hell, but they lack violence. 

In reply to docwyte :

Tagging on to my comment above, the newest generation of trucks are better. Back to back between my 10 year old Silverado and a friends two year old King Ranch F-150 is worlds different. I know that one is a luxury truck and one isn't, but the differences are way beyond a bit of leather and shiny bits. Trucks keep getting better. 

If I was doing this I would look at diesels..... I am kinda bitten after driving my F450. Might be a little bit heavier truck, but man a tune wakes things up to gobs of power. Rolling into the gas to pass someone at 50mph and hitting 50 psi of boost and just taking off is kinda addicting....

In reply to java230 :

I live with that in my R63. I like it. I'm not interested in paying for or the care and feeding of modern diesels though. 

What about the half ton diesel Rams, wonder if you can get those in standard cab, short box flavor? Think I remember hearing they're good for an honest 30+ mpg on the highway. Are they reliable? Wonder what a tune would do for hp/torque figures...

mazdeuce - Seth said:

In reply to rob_lewis :

So my question to you, is this really as good an idea as it looks on paper? It's darn hard to find short box single cabs with a V8 of any flavor sitting on lots. Not impossible, but if this is such a great idea you'd think there would be more being sold and driven around. 

Personally, yeah, it's as good of an idea as it looks on paper.  I didn't need an extended cab (and the $8k additional price wasn't justifiable), and was just looking for the easiest towing I could do without the diesel tax added.  What I didn't expect was how fun it would be. 

I kinda "special ordered" mine with my wife's GM discount and finding a dealer willing to hunt around for all the options (or lack of options) I wanted.  The only thing it had I didn't want was the chrome package.  I wanted the black grill/bumpers from the work truck package to make an all black truck easier to get to.  But, there was only one in Texas that had what I wanted in the color I wanted.  It was rare, but consider I bought it in August of 2014 and it's a 2014.  If I'd waited for a 2015, it might have been easier to find. 

I think the big reason there's not more around is there are more options for sportyness than a truck.  Plus, dealers know that more people bought extended cab trucks than regular cabs, so they just started ordering fewer and fewer (unless it's fleet sales).  Which, from their perspective makes sense.  Same reason finding a manual transmission anything is just as difficult.  Basically you have people using them for work (so a stripped model or a diesel) or wanna be's who feel they need a truck for the two times a year they go to Home Depot, but end up getting it with four doors to put the kiddos in back.

I have a laundry list of things I want to do to it, but it's just a tow pig for now, so I'm waiting.  I think with less than $10k of parts (supercharger/suspension/tires and wheels), it would handle as good as any muscle car while still being utilitarian.  Just as long as I can get the tires to hook up.......

One minor quibble.  Although it offers three "seats" the dash extends out so much from the center, there's no legroom for the center passenger.  So, it's effectivly a two seater.  Unless you need the truck bed/towing capacity, any Mustang/Camaro/Challenger would probably fit the bill much better.  And probably cheaper....

A note about GM's.  I've always had a GM truck of some flavor (long before the wife worked there) because there are about a billion of them out there and aftermarket support just for GM's is bigger than any other maker.  As I tell people, when you see an ad for car parts that say "(insert part name) starting at $19!", 99% of the time, it's for a GM truck.  I mean, we all drool over LS motors for good reason, they're stupid cheap and everybody and their grandmother makes performance parts for them, so getting stupid power out of one is really, really easy and inexpensive.  Depending on how crazy you wanted to go, 700+ HP in a muscle truck would NOT be hard to do......

-Rob

In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :

Fair enough, I do understand the modern diesel thing, but 725ft lbs makes me smile every time.

In reply to rob_lewis :

I need to sit in the center seat of a single cab. Because we have six in our family we use the center front seat in my Silverado all the time, including me sitttin in it sometimes. The dash has changed a bit since then though and I' haven't been in a standard cab F-150 or Dodge yet. The center seat in my truck is vastly more useful than either of the back seats in a new Camaro. For me the bed and towing would be more useful than the fourth seat (I think). As an aside, if Jeep introduces a single cab version of their upcoming truck I'd probably jump on that for completely different reasons than a muscle truck. Thanks for your insight. 

I have to admit that with the proliferation of absoludicrous lifted crew cab diesel trucks everywhere that whenever I see one of those 2wd, short bed, regular cab Dodge muscle trucks with a mild drop I look like this

I don't even like pickups but damn! 

How about that Ford dealership in GA that’s making their own new “Lightning” 

http://hooniverse.com/2017/09/14/a-ford-dealer-is-selling-the-650-hp-f-150-lightning-that-ford-wont/

600hp supercharged V8 and a warranty from Roush 

Every person I know who has a Dodge half ton -hates- it.

They're all you see on the used lots around here. Very few used Ford and Chevrolet half-tons despite there being a large Ford and a large Chevy dealer in town. Seems like folks dump the Dodge fairly quickly.

Maybe if you buy it with the intention of beating it like a wayward, red-haired stepchild and getting rid of it as soon as it starts costing you money it would be ok.

Jumper K Balls said:

I have to admit that with the proliferation of absoludicrous lifted crew cab diesel trucks everywhere that whenever I see one of those 2wd, short bed, regular cab Dodge muscle trucks with a mild drop I look like this

I don't even like pickups but damn! 

Yup.  Then I drive one (stock) and think 'oh yeah, this drives like a gigantic barge'.

They may be small compared to the 4 door long bed 12" lift brodozers on 37s, but they are still big.

Trucks are getting ridiculously quick, especially the every day models. I just checked to see if Nissan offered the new Titan in a standard cab. They do, but only with a long bed. Now, it's not the most powerful truck, but that engine is much stronger than "only" 390hp suggests. Car and Driver had it at mid 14's and sub 6 second 0-60!  

I just had this quandary when I was dealing with the vw buyback...

I posted a thread back then about it. I ended up with a ‘13 Avalanche. Sure it’s still 4wd, super easy to delete, but after I tuned it; dod delete, pe enable change, trans line pressure changes, rpm limit raise, and altered shift points, it ain’t half bad for what it is. My only problem with it is the pcm os is only good until 15psi..... You can run more but it’s interesting to get to make it work.

Soon, I’ll have my Summit clearance rack lowering kit installed.... It’ll be low....