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Pros and Cons of your Ramcharger

4K views 27 replies 15 participants last post by  snowfighter10 
#1 ·
What are the pros and cons of owning a Ramcharger. Did you fix the cons or leave them
 
#2 ·
The only cons are the ability to find parts. There are some, but not a fraction of the parts available for chevys. Other than that, these trucks are bullet proof and a joy to drive. Especially the 70's convertibles on a warm summer day.
 
#3 ·
Pros - solid axles, strong engines, parts interchangeability

Cons - fuel mileage, lack of parts availability, some electrical circuit issues (that can be fixed if interested in reliability)
 
#7 ·
My dad bought his F-250 new in '79 and babied the crap out of it, you could eat off of it, it was always so clean and it looked like Swiss cheese by 1993/4. He had all the rust repaired and it came back again by 2006. Then he wrote it off. Triple face palm. Lol.
 
#9 ·
The biggest con i can think of is the roof design around the windshield. I know that is where they can rust bad on the trucks. The pros are like everybody else has said.​
 
#10 ·
Pro- Reliable, capable, all around cool.

Con-With the exception of two years, the engines are pathetically weak, some parts are impossible to find used and not manufactured anymore and a general lack of quality replacement sheetmetal.
 
#11 ·
Just curious, what two years are you referring to? The 383, 400, 440 were available till '78. That's 5 years of production. Plus even the old LA 360 was no dog to me. My 440 in my old Ramcharger was a beast, especially in 4LO.
 
#15 ·
The 383 was never available in a Ramcharger, it died in 1972 and since no big blocks were available in '72, no 383. As for the 400 and 440, they were powerful compared to the small blocks of the time, but pathetic compared to the late '60s and early '70s big blocks. With nothing but de-tuned and emissions choked engines, they were not very impressive by even small block standards. They had torque, but no real ass to them and usually fell flat on their face in higher RPMs and speeds. Same with the '80s era small blocks. Very anemic compared to the competition. The Magnum engines were about the only engines that were remotely interesting as far as power for their size.
 
#12 ·
Pro- I bought a running/driving 76 RC in 2004 for $500. Had big tires, LDS, good running 318, headers. mechanically sound.

Con- Needed paint, tailgate didn't match, after 6 months I stupidly traded it for a 78 D100 SWB that had a knocking slant six.

Bucky
 
#18 ·
Pro... one of the more rare pop top version supports. Just don't see many of them.

Con... Definitely harder to find and harder to find parts for. For me the hunt is half the fun though.
Eric
 
#21 ·
Sorry, I didn't mean to include the 383 as I knew it was gone by '72. Habit. In comparison to the older big blocks, yes, the mid to late '70's engines were smog choked and down on power compared to the 60's/early 70's engines but they still had some jam. My old 440 was mostly stock and it would smoke most hot cars out of the hole and to the other side of the intersection - not bad for a smog engine. But I do agree that they could have used more power. Also if you compare the Ford's and Chevy's of the same era the Dodge's were still more powerful than them guys 😁
 
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#22 ·
On yeah.
My friend had a 460 pherd truck back in the early 70's. He bought it soon after I bought my truck.
My Power Wagon with it's stock 360 could stomp all over his truck.
He was so upset he sold it and bought a Dodge. :)
Dodge owes me so much money for all the trucks I sold for them.
 
#23 ·
That's funny. So true though, but I do understand what Lanty is saying also - compared to a HP big block - they are not as powerful. I was still impressed with the power my old '77 Macho 440 Ramcharger had though, because for a truck with a completely stock engine it would smoke all of my friends muscle cars till just past the other side of the intersection so they would be passing me in 3rd gear, that's not bad for a heavy vehicle with a smog engine. I used to laugh at them all that they couldn't beat my truck out of the hole. It launched hard. Lol. In fact, the kid that bought it from me crashed it hard after only owning if for two weeks. He launched it coming out of a pub parking lot (drunk of course) and got it right sideways and rolled it on the street. I'm tellin' ya, it had some jam! RIP '77 Macho SE 440 😭
 
#24 ·
Pros. I haven't shined a piece of chrome or had a can of wax in my hand for 14 years.

Cons... Like any full size 4x4 there's places it won't fit without tearing the body all to hell, and line of sight can make wheeling without a spotter a bit risky. I have a camera on the front and an LCD screen on the cage so I can kinda sorta tell if I'm fixin' to die.
 
#27 ·
Can't remember which magazine it was but they did a drag test of the big three's mid 70's 1/2 ton big block pickups. No surprise, the 440 beat the 454 and 460. All three were automatics.

Back in the 70's a freind of mines Mother had a '73 C20 with a 454/auto, my Dad had a '74 D200 with a 440/435. Both were bare bones ranch trucks. Dad and David were always racing each other, and one or the other always won by a bumper. David was about 15, Dad was in his 40's and I still find that pretty funny.

Usually came down to who could get some semblance of a bite with 6.50-16 tires and peg leg axles on a chip sealed farm to market road. Dad launched in granny gear and was surprisingly handy at rowing the stiff shifting 435. Always lots of arguing and excuse making from both. The 70's were a great time to be a kid, even if one of them was 40 some odd years old.
 
#28 ·
Pro: Uniqueness of our trucks. We definitely turn heads wherever we go. Bench seat in my truck. Leaf spring solid axle front end. Simple, no frills W100, no power windows. Large engine bay, easy access to everything!

Con: Uniqueness of our trucks. Parts are getting harder and harder to find.
 
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