Battle of the Half-Tons [REVIEW POSTED]

Community Challenges & Competitions
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[size=150]Battle of the Half-Tons[/size]

PLEASE BE AWARE, THIS IS A COMMUNITY MOD PACK FRIENDLY CHALLENGE. IF YOU HAVE NOT DOWNLOADED THE COMMUNITY MOD PACK, PLEASE DO SO. PLEASE REFRAIN FROM USING MODS THAT ARE NOT CONTAINED WITHIN THE COMMUNITY MOD PACK AS THEY MAY RESULT IN REJECTION/REDESIGN.

It’s 1978, and the landscape has changed drastically for the entire auto industry over the last decade. Regulations for fuel economy and safety have been tightened across the board. Not quite so much for trucks, but other changes have been required.

For some companies, it’s time to refresh their half-ton pickup models. For others, an opportunity to delve into a field they haven’t before; perhaps they can steal a slice of the pie for themselves.

There is a secondary prize, beyond bragging rights in this thread. The top 2-4 (depending on total number of entries) competitors will be written up in a head-to-head, magazine-style review!

[size=120]RULES AND GUIDELINES:[/size]
Year: 1978
Body: MUST use the 2-door pickup body, paneling must be steel
Utility: Minimum of 130 (to simulate a half-ton truck)
Tires: 0-quality Medium or Hard only
Fuel: Must use unleaded, no higher than Premium
Exhaust: must have a catalytic converter
Aero: No lips or spoilers at all

Everything else is fair game!

EDIT: Apparently I need to spell this out… on a production vehicle, your engine reliability must be higher than 0.

There will be a calculation formula similar to Zabhawkin’s to determine points for the trucks. There will be weighting of certain stats to simulate the importance of various stats for a workhorse pickup.

Undervalue weight: Sportiness, Prestige, Practicality, Emissions
Average weight: Drivability, Comfort, Safety
High value weight: Offroad (modestly high), Utility (extremely high), cost-to-own (amalgamation of reliability, service cost, total cost, and economy) (modestly high)

Fuel cost values:
Low Quality Unleaded $1.50
Regular Unleaded $2.00
Premium Unleaded $2.25

.ZIP the 4 LUAS and send them to me. Naming format must be as follows:

(name)-Cars-Models, (name)-Cars-Trims, (name)-Engines-Families, (name)-Engines-Variants
Also, please send your company, model, and trim names in the PM with it, as well as nationality.

Examples: VicVictory-Cars-Models, VicVitory-Cars-Trims, VicVictory-Engines-Families, VicVictory-Engines-Variants
1978 Ardent A100 SE, United States

ENTRIES WITHOUT A COMPANY AND MODEL NAME WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED

REJECTED ENTRIES MAY BE REVISED ONCE IN ORDER TO CORRECT THE REASON FOR REJECTION. PENDING OR ACCEPTED ENTRIES MAY NOT BE REVISED.

[size=110]ENTRY DEADLINE: FRIDAY APRIL 10, 9AM PDT (UTC-7)[/size]

[size=120]Pending Entries:[/size]

[size=120]Accepted Entries:[/size]
BlastersPewPew - USA - Desert Motors Fjord F-100
VicVictory (Benchmark) - USA - Ardent A100 S (manual)
Leo9613 - USA - Bush Joseph V8
nerd - USA - Rado Racher
JasonPoland - Great Britain - WRM Lifter
conan - USA - BKOO Targa Truck 418
HighOctaneLove -Moldova - Bogliq Haulage
z2bbgr - Thailand - SBA Archa Super Haul
FivesAlive - USA - Shoshone Rugged Eight
Randomone - USA - Shepherd Bootstrap V8 Fleet
jdripke - USA - Ripke Ponderosa X1
SeriousSimon - USSR - Romanov Galik
Zabhawkin - DMA HT78B
NiuYorqCiti - USA - Ponni Workmate EcoLuxe
oppositelock - USA - GSI Homesteader
nialloftara - USA - Centauri Minotaur 557
Razyx - Spain - ManHell Tiramillas AFR

[size=120]Rejected Entries:[/size]
Nivracer - USA -DownForce Fuori Strada 4556IO - minimum utility not met
titleguy1 - USA - Rennen Commander MT38 - illegal fixtures causing LUA crash

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Also, I will be submitting my own design. It will be strictly a benchmark model, and is not eligible to win.

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FYI there is only Regular Unleaded in 1978 so we only have 2 fuels to choose from, Low Quality or Regular, no Premium.

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You are correct there. Oh well. … no huge deal there. Just means a little more uniformity.

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Just made a pretty sweet pickup to show the efficiency possibilities of huge v8’s… Looks like I know what I’m making for this :slight_smile:

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Also, I just edited the main post because I forgot to mention that total cost is a factor. While there is not a “limit” on total cost, this will prevent wanton, frivolous use of quality sliders. Any sliders that ARE used are going to have to be carefully weighed for cost vs. benefit.

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Entry sent, hopefully passes inspection. Anyway here is what I have sent in:

Desert Motors is proud to present the perfect work truck for almost any need, the 1978 Fjord F-100.  This version shown is the basic work truck, it comes equipped with a 300ci inline six cylinder engine putting out 125HP@4300 and 217lb·ft@1600RPM, off idle torque is just over 200lb·ft.  The engine features 7, 4 bolt main bearings supporting a forged steel crankshaft, forged H-Beam connecting rods for superior strength under load and hypereutectic cast pistons for greater emissions reduction. The work model features extra heavy duty cooling for those long uphill grades where other vehicles are prone to overheating or when engine (and thus fan) RPM is low the system can still dissipate the extra heat.  The engine is mated to a 3-speed manual transmission powering the rear leaf sprung Fjord 9-inch axle with a manual locker for increased traction on the work-site, this combination allows superior rear wheel traction in gravel, mud, snow or sand.  Up front you will find a fully independent front suspension to give that comfortable ride quality and predictable road handling you have come to expect from Desert Motors.

Inside you will find a UV stable vinyl bench seat that resists fading and cracking with rubber floor mats for a truly "hose out" interior, don't be afraid to put your muddy boots inside.  While the single speaker AM radio may not provide the best in auditory entertainment it IS better than listening to nothing all day long or your co-worker talking for 3 hours non-stop.  Standard safety features include a collapsible steering column, lap belts for every passenger, front laminated safety glass, side/rear tempered glass and plastic knobs and buttons that can stand up to everyday use but during a collision with a moving object will shear off instead of penetrating said object.  The all steel body has been coated in zinc infused paints and primers whereas the frame has been fully galvanized, this ensures that your investment will be around for many years to come.  

With a MSRP of $4,495.06 (wall break here, this would be the cost in 1978 USD accounting for inflation, production cost in Automation multiplied by 2 for profit with -72.2% for inflation to get a more “realistic” cost in the current time frame, look here [usinflationcalculator.com/](http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/) for more info and to give you an idea how much your car would cost when in the USA at almost any time.) and yearly maintenance between $325 and $400 per year (normal service only, "severe service" requires extra maintenance) this will surely appeal to even the stingiest of accountants in your company.

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I am probably doing something wrong, but at this point, I have no idea what. It is impossible for me to get anywhere near the required utility of 130. The best I can do is 65, so that’s really far away. Halp?

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You probably need a bigger (more powerful) engine, because power is considered “practical” :wink:

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Is there no other way? Really?

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What are you using for your rear suspension?

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Torsion Beam.

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You’re making a FRONT wheel drive truck? That is why you cant get any utility, it needs to be RWD for any hope of getting over 130.

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Go rwd with either a leaf or coil solid axle

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Well, I tried switching it up of course, gives me 67 Utility.

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If you were trying to make a vw caddy style pickup I’m guessing a small 4 cylinder engine? Go solid rear with at least a 5 liter v8.

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Hm, if that’s the only way to get the utility, then this competition is not for me, sorry. Thanks for the help though!

18

You need to use a ladder frame, not monocoque.

19

Oh! I forgot about that totally. My bad. Thank you, oppositelock!

20

Yep. Ladder frame is going to be necessary to get the utility necessary. You CAN still put in a small-ish motor and get the specs (I got it to go with a 2.1L I6 in one of my balancing tests before hand). Just remember - fuel economy is on a bit of a bell curve, if that’s what you’re looking for. Weight of the truck is very important when factoring that. Too small or too large of an engine will not give great results in that category.

Also think of what stats are weighted. Sportiness is almost useless, while utility is very heavily weighted.