The Heartbeat of America: A 1980s Chevy Pickup Truck Review

I recently came across a beautiful 1980s Chevy pickup truck that has left me impressed with its solid build and reliable performance. This truck is what it is - a workhorse, capable of towing quite a bit, despite the occasional sticking issue. The bed liner on this beast is still in one piece, a testament to the manufacturer's attention to detail. The deep bed is spacious enough for any load, and when you close the tailgate, the sound of solidity is unmistakable.

Built in the late 1980s, this truck embodies the spirit of America - rugged, dependable, and built to last. Unlike some modern trucks that are more like heart attacks as they age, this one has stood the test of time. It doesn't have one of those flimsy rear end differentials that was made in Mexico, which is a major concern for many owners. I would have no qualms about jumping into this truck and driving from Tennessee to California and back - with reasonable fuel costs and a few nights spent in the desert at night due to the non-functional AC.

The original owner's manual for this 1980s Chevy pickup truck is still intact, with only 32 pages of instructions. In contrast, modern cars often have infotainment systems that require a whole lot more space to explain how to use them. If you're looking for a reliable ride and don't mind going back in time, this truck is definitely worth considering.

Self-Driving Walmart Deliveries: A New Frontier

Florida has partnered with tech company Argo AI to test self-driving vehicles for delivering Walmart orders. This marks the beginning of an experimental program that will kick off in Austin, Miami, and Washington D.C. The initial service area will be mapped out to minimize surprises, and the goal is to integrate this technology into existing delivery networks.

Walmart wants to compete with Amazon by offering same-day and next-day delivery services. After a failed attempt in 2017 using Domino's pizza deliveries, Walmart has now partnered with Ford to test driverless vehicles for their packages. The partnership aims to use autonomy to streamline delivery processes while maintaining human oversight.

Testing Grounds: GM's Cruise and Neuro

Walmart has also been testing out other autonomous driving systems, including those from General Motors' Cruise branch and neuro, a company that offers advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS). These partnerships demonstrate Walmart's commitment to staying ahead of the curve in the rapidly evolving world of e-commerce and logistics.

Locking Down Bolts: The Importance of Loctite

When it comes to maintaining your vehicle, one often-overlooked aspect is ensuring that bolts are properly secured. Loctite is a type of adhesive compound used to prevent bolts from coming loose due to vibration or heat. It's commonly applied to moving parts like brake calipers and other components prone to movement.

On motorcycles, Loctite can be particularly useful in securing bolts that might otherwise come loose while riding. In the past, some English motorcycle models suffered from this issue, so manufacturers now use a combination of materials and techniques to prevent bolt failure. On cars, it's less necessary but still important to apply Loctite to moving parts to ensure their longevity.

Boat Calipers: A Special Case

There are instances where Loctite is absolutely essential - like in the case of boat calipers for brake systems. These specialized components require a higher level of security due to their exposure to water and the constant pressure they endure. In such situations, a little extra help from Loctite can go a long way in preventing costly repairs down the line.

Remembering the Importance of Proper Maintenance

Finally, when it comes to maintaining your vehicle, there's no substitute for good old-fashioned elbow grease. Don't be afraid to get out there and take care of those bolts - whether it's tightening them up or applying a dash of Loctite for added peace of mind. And don't forget to ring that bell the next time you're watching one of my new car repair videos!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enrev up your engines here we go the last of the great gm pickup trucks the last of the 80s technically this is a 1990 boat it was made in the end of 1989. so it's still an 80s pickup truck and to make a long story short the guy got a fantastic deal he only had to pay 2 700 bucks on it because the third owner was paying a note and he was stuck and the guy said hey if i pay off the rest of your note will you give it to me so he did so he got this nice looking truck for 2700 bucks and you can't argue that now you're always taking something a gamble buying a truck this old 220 000 miles on it i do have to say the interior is immaculate it's almost like a new car man this thing was taken care of there's no arguing with that but the first thing you want to do is road test it transmissions are probably the weakest link so we'll start it up starts right up with that big v8 and we'll back it up no backup camera on this baby now realize reverse is often the first gear to go out so make sure it backs up good in this case it backs up fine so nice truck high up in here shifts really smooth so far and even though it's got 220 000 miles i don't hear a bunch of hydraulic lifters tapping so this engine's been taken care of it's not just the excellent seats that we're taking care of in this case the whole truck's been taken care of that's happened too the ac doesn't work anymore the system has leaks which you're going to find in an old truck like this you might put a lot of money into ac in an old truck windows are cheap and easy roll them down now you may say what the heck the single ego's 85 miles an hour well that's because it was built in 1989. you go a lot faster than that but that's what they made the speedometers do by law to try to slow people down so they had to guess if they went over 85 miles an hour this thing would go a lot faster than 85 but let's see what this old engine still has we'll stop it and step on the gas still got plenty of horsepower left spinning those wheels this baby does not have traction control it just goes but even when we're taking off hard downshifts good off ship's good maybe a tiny bump but with all that mileage that's to be expected it still handles good has plenty of power bearings aren't making any noises front or back they're quiet i gotta say this guy got his money's worth buying this truck this cheap this v8 engine can last a long time and speaking of it let's take a look at it but before we do that it still tracks good it's not pulling to one side or the other suspension's in pretty good shape for a truck this old so let's look under the hood it's a five liter v8 engine these are virtually indestructible engines if you keep cooling in them and oil in the engine they're push rod engines simple technology but being a 90 even though it was made in 89 it's got throttle body fuel injection so this is a fuel injected car you're going to get a lot better gas budget with this baby than you're going to get with one that's got a four barrel carburetor on it a lot better if it runs as good as this and see they're a lot simpler than the modern fuel injection systems their throttle body inside okay see this system it's only got two fuel injectors one here for that bank and one here they're very easy to just unscrew and replace so you got two fuel injectors they're so easy to change they're readily available you can easily swap them out by yourself with simple hand tools and they're pretty decent systems when they're working a lot of guys are wrong to buy truck like this they'll rip it all off to put on a carburetor maybe because they just understand carburetors and nothing else but this is a better system i would leave it on because it's not hard to work on you only got two injectors not eight you gotta take a bunch of stuff off no take the air filter off there it is you can take it off put it on just do it on a cold engine so you don't start a fire do it first thing in the morning before you started the thing up it's not hard to work on these and of course parts are readily available here's an alternator this is an auto zone alternator somebody put on brake master cylinders all that stuff's easy to get the one thing you always have to look for in these all truck says look for rust they could be rust buckets these are not the unibody crap that a lot of stuff is made on take the new ford maverick truck it's not a truck it's unibody doesn't have a frame but never real solid frame like this does this thing obviously didn't find much of its life any real rust in place because these will all rust at the rear wells you can see they're not rusted at all probably been a southern vehicle its whole life the back still got a spare tire here's the frame again solid as can be said upgraded shocks put on solid rear end no leaking at any of the wheels showing brake problems and look at this they used to know how to make chrome plating it's dirty but you can polish it up you can see here they didn't chrome plate the latch that well the rear tailgate the chrome's coming off it's not rusting underneath it's just plated the doors make sure they're not hanging because a lot of times they'll rot right on this end where the hinge is and then they won't close but this that is one solid truck and of course be lyria guys who do crazy modifications this one's still pretty much stock it doesn't have fancy headers it's got the stock exhaust system present owner told me about the previous owner who was kind of going through his middle age crisis and he was talking about blacking it out putting headers on it suping up the engine putting a racing transmission in you can do whatever you want but this is a good solid work truck the way that it is the guy who owns it now has a good transportation truck which is what it is you can tow quite a bit on one of these they do stick and you can see they did a good job on the bed liner it's still in one piece got a nice big deep bed on it and even when you close this this baby's heavy this is no lightweight tailgate the sound of solidity this one built in the late 80s definitely was the heartbeat of america unlike some of the modern ones that are more like heart attacks as they age this baby was solid built it doesn't have one of those chincy rear end differentials that was made in mexico i would have no qualms of jumping in this thing and driving from tennessee to california and back i just had to bring a reasonable amount of money for gasoline and i'd have to drive to the desert at night because the ac doesn't work anymore but if you run all your chocks look for rust make sure it's shifting good not leaking oil all over the place you find a truck like this for twenty seven hundred dollars you better hurry up and buy it before somebody else beat you to it this one even came with the original owner's manual since they were simpler there aren't that many pages it's 32 pages long i've seen modern cars just the infotainment system it's more than 32 pages long to try to tell you how to use the stupid thing now you may not want to go back to the 1980s for those crazy hairstyles with all the perms but there's nothing wrong with going back to an 80s chevy pickup truck and here's some bonus questions and answers well it looks like self-driving ford vehicles might deliver your next walmart order florida's partnership with the tech company argo ai you know artificial intelligence right and they're going to kick this off experimentally in austin miami and washington dc now of course they start in a defined service area so the computer mapping is all in the self driving forward so there's no big surprises going on now it's called our go self driving systems a walmart wants to try it out because they want to try out same day and next day delivery like amazon they want to make it their delivery to reach that of course they're competing with amazon walmart was the huge box company and now the boxes are getting out of the box so they're trying to join in that too tried this before 2017 they tried dominoes to test out driverless pizza deliveries obviously didn't work out too well i've never seen them deliver any around any place i was now the domino cars still had a ford employee inside to watch now their new partnership with argon walmart with ford they want to use autonomy for the test but they still have to have a person in the car because this is a test after all and of course walmart i didn't put all their eggs in one basket if you follow the news at all they've been trying out gm's cruise self-driving branch and also had a program with neuro their driving system you might see some of those ads on tv with the neuro and a nerd thing that crazy stuff that they have so maybe you're going to have a ford delivery of walmart deliveries to your house in austin miami or washington d.c within a delimited area kaizen says is locked tight or similar glues necessary are they necessary for bolts or waste to monitors torquing to spec sufficient things are made to be torqued to a certain specifications right but some things require loctite if you look at a lot of late model fords you ever do a brake job when you take the caliper bolts off you'll see there's loctite on them because they do not want the bolts coming off on your brake system because there's vibration all that pressure all that heat you don't want the brakes to fall off and get killed so those are built with loctite on them some specifications need lock type i used to have english motorcycles these old ones i got a new one now it's different but the old ones shook like mad and sometimes even loctite wasn't good enough so what you would do would be you drill a hole in the boat then you put mechanics wire and you twist it around and then tie it on so you had an actual steel stainless steel wire drilled through the nut and bolts so it can't come off unless you take the wire off right you can go pretty far sometimes but on cars you don't have to go that far but there are some things like boat calipers for your brakes that really are supposed to have loctite on them so you know for most things you don't really need it but if you got a vibrating part yes and especially if it ever came with one put something back on so if you never want to miss another one of my new car repair videos remember to ring that bell you\n"