What do you love about your truck No. 1: John Hoover and his F-150

TH BLOG of that Filtz Guy will be doing a series of timeless features this second half of the year 2015. John Hoover of Finleyville, Washington County, Pa., was the first to step up to the plate. Specifically, we will be interviewing truck owners about their trucks all around Western Penn.

While some working men use their trucks to carry fuel to construction equipment, John Hoover uses his sparingly
o help his kids move to new houses, and to haul of a bit of mulch for occasional mulching."

Hoover, who also owns two newer small SUVs, owns a 1989 Ford F-150 4x4 long bed, as pictured. He has put around 20,000 miles on the truck's odometer, which be bought from a friend somewhere around 2000-01. It's total mileage is right around 70,000 miles, which is read from a standard old school odometer.

It has locking hubs for 4 wheel drive, has no modifications, and a torque-rich big 4.9-liter six cylinder engine. It, as well as the close gearing of the 5-speed, help with work and hauling furniture. Its drivetrain has had no issues, as like other old school Ford 4.9s, it has been reliable for him.

While it's not for sale, Hoover said he has some some funny experiences of his ownership with it. He said when was helping haul a glass-topped picnic table, he said the table actually felt right out of the truck's bed around a sharp turn. "It was in the West End of Pittsburgh," he said, "and thankfully the table did not fall too far away from the road." Hoover said that he was thankful he did not have to clean up the mess, because he placed the table back in the bed, and was good to go afterward. There were no issues with it nor the truck.

He has only gone through one battery since bought it 15 years ago from a friend, and the motors for both of the windows do not work anymore.

Despite the Ford's wear and tear issues, 

"Once you own a truck, you will never want to go back to a car, or even a van."

While Hoover may not drive the truck on a regular basis, he does find enjoyment in helping his family, and driving one of the rare manual transmission trucks on American roads today.

21st Century of Guts: Why I still remember the forgotten GTO

8/3/15

I have been thinking about the sleek looking modern Pontiac GTO from about a decade ago. 
I have been thinking about its strong, somehow poetic 350-horsepower engine.
I think that the car kicks ass. But why did it go?

Who can forget such a car. The 2004 Goat boasted a 5.7 liter engine lifted from the Corvette. That car boasted a 0 to 60 time of a good 5.3 seconds for the stick and 5.4 for the automatic. Fast, but the auto's acceleration felt a little slow.

Source: Net Car Show website

Seeing the car lose its guts, all of its sales, and its availability for the American market.

It was kind of beautiful, if a little on the plain side. But I sure do miss seeing them on GM dealer lots.

I miss seeing them rumble quickly past everything in sight, only Corvettes and Subarus and other serious performance cars strong and light enough to keep up.

I miss the no-cost 6-speed manual option, one of the very few cars to offer such an option. I miss hearing those 'boxes clutches engage and then disengage, and then continue to wildly accelerate onto a freeway ramp. 

I have been thinking lately perhaps I will own such a car someday, used, with plenty of miles. And, just for kicks, an automatic car to mod it.