Chevy trucks have become one of the most popular four wheel drive vehicles of all time. The Chevy truck was born in 1918 when Chevy became part of the General Motors Company. The Chevy truck was part of the plan for General Motors to compete with Ford. The first Chevy trucks were very basic work vehicles that transformed over the years to accommodate the needs of various people and the uses they had for the vehicle.
These Chevy trucks of the early years did not change very much until the mid 1950’s when the larger straight six engine was put in front of the automatic transmission. This was also the first four wheel drive truck to offer independent front suspension that allowed the truck to ride like a car. With these changes the Chevy truck became very popular to the average person who could comfortably use this truck as a daily driver.
The newer C/K series Chevy truck was the choice for four wheel drive models all the way up to 1998. The C/K series four wheel drive could be purchased in several models depending on what you needed from your vehicle. The half- ton model was great for hauling lighter loads and being used as the daily driver. This was also the choice for building the recreational four wheel drive such as the rock crawler or the of road racer.
The larger models such as the ¾ ton or 1 ton typically had larger engines and heavy duty transmissions for hauling heavy loads especially in adverse weather conditions when the four wheel drive would be a great option.
In 1998 the Silverado took over and the C/K series was retired. The Silverado can be seen around every corner, race track or just about anywhere you would expect to see a four wheel drive vehicle. The Silverado come in sizes that fit all. The most popular are the 1500, 2500, and 3500. The 1500 Silverado four wheel drive trucks are half ton and generally have eight cylinder gasoline engines that are considered flex fuel engines being able to burn gasoline and the greener ethanol. These are the choice for the daily driver that needs a four wheel drive truck for hauling lighter loads.
The 2500 and 3500 series Silverado are ¾ and one ton bigger brothers to the 1500 and offer a larger towing capacity and the ability to tow larger trailers. The Larger four wheel drive trucks are also very popular choices for making school buses and other box style trucks for a wide range of uses. These Silverado trucks can have four doors and all the comforts of the nicest luxury car. Moving the whole crew from job site to job site or taking the family out for the weekend fishing trip will be easy with one of these four door crew cab trucks.
Chevy trucks have won various titles over the years from best sellers to most dependable along with being in the winner’s circle at events such as the Baja 500. Being able to not only compete, but win some of these types of races shows the dependability and durability of the Chevy truck.
I still like the older models as well. Finding one of these older models to restore will be easy as they have stood the test of time. General Motors mass manufactured parts for the C/K series trucks and with the amount of parts manufactured makes them affordable as well. Affordable parts means the price of rebuilding one of the older Chevy trucks will be substantially lower than some other brands. Having all these General Motors parts available also keeps you from having to buy a lot of aftermarket parts that may or may not work perfectly.
