Want of the Day

"HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles" (hondasfordsvolvo)
05/13/2020 at 11:27 • Filed to: None

Truck shopping again. Found something I like a lot. The more I look at trucks the more I’m astounded by the prices. They are seriously nuts. Especially fit anything 4wd. I’m not too concerned with that. Thankfully what I really want is what ore people don’t. A regular cab, short box, RWD, manual truck in a bright color. Well this is all of that with low-ish miles.

I love this color, Pace Blue. Looks like the truck is pretty rust free too. I’m seriously considering going to look at this on Monday, my next day off.

Then ordering a lowering kit ASAP

Also did you guys know that the base model Colorado was called Work Truck? Like that the actual trim package. This one is a LS one level up So it has alloy wheels, fog lights, and CLOTH SEATS. Such luxuries.

DISCUSSION (31)

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
05/13/2020 at 11:35

Blue with manual. Whats not to like!

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
05/13/2020 at 11:37

That is one seriously nice blue. I’ve always liked Colorados of that generation, but I really don’t know much about them or how quickly t hey oxidize.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
05/13/2020 at 11:40

This is one of like 4 I could find for sale with no visible rust.

Nibby > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
05/13/2020 at 11:43

nice color and shape...

trying to find something decent near me for under $3k with an 8 foot bed and it’s hard to find one not a bucket of rust

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
05/13/2020 at 11:43

I see, I see.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
05/13/2020 at 11:45

All base model Chevy trucks have been named Work Truck for a long time

jimz > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
05/13/2020 at 11:46

I’m just mostly surprised to see an ad listing a manual transmission for a vehicle which actually has a manual transmission.

MKULTRA1982(ConCrustyBrick) > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
05/13/2020 at 11:47

I don’t know anything about these but I love it

Snuze: Needs another Swede > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
05/13/2020 at 11:48

So that should have the LLV 2.9L I -4 “Atlas” engine, I don’t think you could get a stick behind the I-5 engine. so you’re probably good. The early Atlas engines, especially theI-5 version, had some issues, but they mostly got corrected when revised engines came out in 2007, which also featured a small displacement bump (I-4 went from 2.8 to 2.9L, I-5 went from 3.5 to 3.7L).

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
05/13/2020 at 12:02

I did not know that. But come to think of it I’ve seen plenty of Silverado WTs I’d always wondered what that stood for

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Snuze: Needs another Swede
05/13/2020 at 12:03

It is the 2.9. Good to know that it’s not one with a bad reputation

shop-teacher > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
05/13/2020 at 12:12

That’s a great little truck. About the time when this was new, I considered trading my crew cab Sierra in on one of these to save money. I was single and didn’t need all that big truck. In the end I’m glad I didn’t, because the Sierra has been so reliable and has been doing family hauling duty for 7-1/2 years now, but I was perfectly pleased by the little stick shift 4-banger Colorado.

The cab of these is shockingly roomy. I’m 6' tall, and had to pull the seat up a c lick to be able to get the clutch fully engaged.

If you buy it, I would see if I could find some cheap used ZQ8 suspension bits. That was the code for the Xtreme package, with factory lowered suspension and beefier sway bars.

The Snowman > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
05/13/2020 at 12:18

The wt trim(work truck) even still had sealed beam headlights. I am finishing an ls swap on a single cab 4x4 right now and I loved the truck until the 5cyl started acting up. It was so hard to find a regular cab or 4x4 most single cabs are wt or ls .

Snuze: Needs another Swede > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
05/13/2020 at 12:33

Well, I don’t think any of those Atlas engines have a great reputation, just that the later 2.9/3.7 engines don’t have major problems right off the lot.

The biggest thing I’ve heard is to keep the oil changed on them. I don’t have any experience, but what I’ve read is that t hey have a oil life monitoring system, but it doesn’t actually tell you like a % of life left - it just lights up or beeps when it thinks it needs an oil change. GM specified “d ino juice” in these, not a synthetic, and the oil life monitor normally lets them go about 15k between changes, which is a real long time for non-synthetic.

Apparently the infrequent oil changes combined with the non-synthetic oil caused the oil to coke up, producing solid deposits, which can play havoc with the timing chains, tensioners, and VVT phaser on the exhaust cam . My advice is, out of abundance of caution, first thing to do when you get it (if you get it) is to change the oil with something like Mobil 1 High Mileage synthetic and a good filter. From there out, change it regularly at a set interval, like 10k miles by the odometer, and do not rely on the oil life monitor.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Snuze: Needs another Swede
05/13/2020 at 12:44

That’s a 2.8—earlier rims give it away. The 3.5 and 3.7 were in fact available in manual models, and even with both manual and 4wd.

EDIT: NVM apparently I’m wrong about the 2.8 . For some reason I thought the engine upgrades happened at the same time as the brake upgrades. The rest still holds though.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
05/13/2020 at 12:52

Paint on rear fenders and bumper on mine are chewed to shit, but then I take gravel whenever possible. Actual rust so far isn’t huge but it’s coming.

In any case, these are starting to get up there in age and it isn’t easy to find a pristine one without spending a ton. And they aren’t worth spending a ton on in the first place, so...

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer
05/13/2020 at 12:52

I feel like I haven’t seen you around here much lately. Thanks for chiming in.

What do you think about reliability of these? I’ve heard the early ones were horrible, the newer ones are better but still not great. The biggest issue is keeping the oil changed regularly. Any truth to that?

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > shop-teacher
05/13/2020 at 12:54

Should add to this, the FRONT seat is decently roomy. The rear is limited, even at 5'7", and what room you have is gained mostly by the seatback being almost vertical. Of course, that’s not a concern in a reg cab

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer
05/13/2020 at 12:55

My brother had an auto V6 6 and it was lots of fun to drive until it grenaded itself . I can see where you are coming from.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Snuze: Needs another Swede
05/13/2020 at 13:04

That’s because I haven’t been! :)

I don’t know a ton because I don’t have any of those engines, but from what I remember when I was looking, the earlier motors had issues with warping heads. I *think* that problem was solved in the 2.9/3.7 engines.

In any case my engine of choice ( obv. outside the 5.3) would be the 3.7, it’s power curve is just better than the original. I’ve seen plenty of complaints about the 3.5 being a bit like shearing a pig—lots of noise, not much wool... de spite the fact that it produces what should be adequate power.

^All that is second or third hand forum browsing info though, so ymmv

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
05/13/2020 at 13:11

No V6 in these guys. I4, I5 or V8. I imagine he had the I5? Do you happen to know what went wrong ? The early engines had issues with head warping.

It is fun though. In some weird, twisted way, but still counts as fun.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer
05/13/2020 at 13:16

He had the heavy iron lump of a V6 in his 08 Mazda Mazda6 sedan. It understeered like a pig but it was a riot and had a massive factory wing . If I recall it was timing failure on an interference engine in a cheap car that did it in. No sense in repairing it.

shop-teacher > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer
05/13/2020 at 13:18

I’ve never sat in a crew cab version, but was shocked at how roomy the regular cab was. Regular cab S-10's and Rangers I consider to be torture devices. The Colorado is WAY roomier.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
05/13/2020 at 13:22

Oh, I see... thought you were saying he had one of these trucks.

Weird handling is fun, as long as you can keep it headed roughly where you want.. . p erfect handling is boring. I enjoyed driving our old family vans, but a friend’s Golf R... well, let’s just say it’s so clinical that it really needs an extra 100hp to make it a little bit hairy. Didn’t enjoy it.

...come to think of it, maybe I’m the problem...

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer
05/13/2020 at 13:24

I’m in kind of the same boat - I’ve looked at a couple of these trucks over the years, but never pulled the trigger on getting one. So my knowledge is all what I remember from forums and such.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer
05/13/2020 at 13:32

I was about to ask how a V8 would come even close to fitting. Wait, the Ranger derived trucks?

I agree with the perfect handling thing. That 6 had too much power for its own good really and had about half the handling to back up it s sleeper straight line performance. Those handling idiosyncracies really give a car personality.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
05/13/2020 at 13:44

LS engines fit a nywhere! :)

I think the engine would be a bit shorter than the I5, and there’s enough width in the engine bay so it’s not a big deal. People were swapping them before GM decided to have a go themselves.

It does make changing spark plugs a pain in the ass, though... because the trucks were never originally designed for V8's, the access through the fender is very tight. They weren’t expecting to have to change plugs through it.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer
05/13/2020 at 13:59

I was reading back through the thread and realized I think I just responded to the wrong person. That’s the misunderstanding.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Snuze: Needs another Swede
05/13/2020 at 14:36

Oh I never trust oil life Monitors. My wife’s Fit has one too. I if I went by what that says I’d probably be doing changes every 8,000 miles, which for here would be like once a year. That’s no bueno

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Nibby
05/13/2020 at 14:45

Yeah that sounds just about im possible.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
05/13/2020 at 14:48

The newer ones seem to be better. I rely on the one in my Cruze and it’s gone 149k thus far with no oil related issues (just normal Cruze problems). Granted mine shows a % and I change it early, usually around 20%, which for me is still probably around 8k miles. I’ve had the valve cover off a few times (Cruze problems) and the top end looks immaculate.