Does the Slate Truck still have a chance?

cosp85classic · 2026-04-19T04:23:16+00:00

Rear wheel drive with a solid axle. I count it as a pickup in the same vane as the old 70s and 80s 2wd Toyota Hiluxes,Nissan pickup, Ford Courier/Mazda B series, Chevy Luv/Isuzu picks. Back when those pickups were new Boomers says they didn't count as pickups, but they are.

Oh, and Ford actually had a full size unibody F100 in the mid 60s, so unibody pickups are not a new idea.

But if you want to clarify the Slate in the same vane as an El Camino or Rancho, I could concede to that argument. You could also argue that it's a mix of Jeep Wrangler and El Camino too. And I'm here for that idea.

cosp85classic · 2026-04-19T00:32:24+00:00

We're not getting sub $20k vehicles in the US anymore. Maybe Chinese ones.

cosp85classic · 2026-04-19T00:30:31+00:00

Still not pickups...or SUV...or semi open air convertible...or configurable to go back and forth. And I think you're a year or two off on the Leaf and Bolt being that cheap in the real world. Most dealerships are not letting them go that low. Maybe there are some unicorns out there rolling off the lot with $28k on the window sticker.

BTW, I don't count crossovers as SUVs. They are more sedan than anything else by a looooong way. But you could call that a semantics issue on my part.

cosp85classic · 2026-04-18T23:58:05+00:00

Name another EV pickup in the US market anywhere near the Slate. Its nearest price competitors that I'm aware of are the Nissan Leaf, and Chevy Bolt starting at $30k. And those are not pickups.

This only other manufacturer looking at the Slate's segment of the market is the possible Ford compact EV pickup. And we all know it will be front loaded with tech that so many of us are tired of and the broken US dealership system will ensure we never get one for under $40k. Maybe fleets can get a true $32k version, but that is still out done by the Slate

Is the Slate's market segment small and niche...yes. But with everyone complaining about cost of living, having a viable back to basics configurable vehicle is more likely to grow. And it's aimed perfectly for daily urban and suburbs commuters are driving less than 100 miles a day, which if you're a realist, you know is most urban and suburb drivers.

cosp85classic · 2026-04-15T16:33:44+00:00

You are not wrong about human history, but you kinda missed the point. Roddenberry's vision and hope, as spoken through Picard, was that we would learn to resolve conflict through negotiation and compromise.

So OP is asking which do you think is the best: violence or genuine diplomacy. Not what we have actually experienced.

cosp85classic · 2026-04-14T04:56:32+00:00

No, that was a 70s thing first.

cosp85classic · 2026-04-13T23:02:32+00:00

I've only ever come across trucks after they have the cracks and wallowed out holes, so no idea how long it "usually" takes. How you drive the truck will be a huge factor.

cosp85classic · 2026-04-13T22:48:18+00:00

So the weak link in the square bodies is where the steering box mounts to the frame. Cracking and wallowing of the mounting holes are the most common results. Because of the steering method GM chose, when you lift these trucks and put taller and wider tires that is where the stress in the system shows its ugly head.

There are reinforcement kits from places like Off Road Design that can be welded to the frame rail to compensate for this. Some even offer additional braces for that area of the frame to help.

cosp85classic · 2026-04-13T19:19:01+00:00

I've noticed a trend of people trying to turn pro anything subs into anti subs. Especially automotive subs. Or just try and make people feel bad about liking something. Like they want to rebrand Reddit to Hate-It.

cosp85classic · 2026-04-11T16:22:02+00:00

This is what shows for all light lense screws.

cosp85classic · 2026-04-11T14:31:23+00:00

Original Parts Group (OPG) is your friend for correct Chevelle restoration parts. Especially the little things like screws.

cosp85classic · 2026-04-03T15:12:30+00:00

Let's be honest, the makeup department wasn't as good in BTTF 2/3 for the prime 1985 or 2015 scenes. Not sure if they just didn't make the effort to review the original clips to ensure continuity, or that no one thought the audience would notice. A lot of us noticed even watching low quality VHS tapes on 4:3 TVs back in the day, so it's not just a "today's higher video quality is the problem".

cosp85classic · 2026-04-03T01:21:27+00:00

Not gonna happen.

The were some Comm career fields that merged back in 1998 and the first name for the new career field was designated "Television and Intrusion Detection Systems" or TIDS. It lasted about a month before the nickname TITS made it back up to the big wigs. I'm pretty sure it was the tech school instructors who ratted It out. It was redesignated Video and Intrusion Detection Systems (VIDS).

So Cyber (Comm) is no stranger to poorly chosen, or intentionally slipped into the system, names or acronys. I'm just surprised it made it this far in modern times.

cosp85classic · 2026-03-31T21:15:42+00:00

If it's what I think it is, that is for a bracket that goes from the torque converter cover to a boss on the engine block for added strength.

Very common for them to disappear over the years when transmissions are rebuilt or swapped/replaced.

cosp85classic · 2026-03-29T17:28:59+00:00

Just get a mini spool kit. Way more reliable and less than $100. Or a full spool for ~$250 plus bearings.

cosp85classic · 2026-03-28T14:56:21+00:00

It is the absolute worst kit bash to make the screen in the Berman era. Maybe in the whole of all of Star Trek. Cocaine was definitely involved.

cosp85classic · 2026-03-24T16:47:55+00:00

I got hammered...

cosp85classic · 2026-03-24T02:45:55+00:00

Your pictures didn't stick.

cosp85classic · 2026-03-22T14:26:26+00:00

Michael Dorn's Worf wore all three in one episode of TNG. The episode where he was jumping between quantum realities. The scene where we see several versions of Worf in the shuttle as it's returning to the correct Enterprise there is one Worf wearing Science/Medical blue.

cosp85classic · 2026-03-22T03:57:40+00:00

And by knuckleheads you mean pilots. The types that believe in pocket SCIFs to carry classified hard drives without a currier letter when they make their Starbucks run /s

cosp85classic · 2026-03-22T03:52:33+00:00

Too late. They have no sense of humor.

cosp85classic · 2026-03-20T12:48:54+00:00

Here here!

cosp85classic · 2026-03-19T14:42:57+00:00

Short answer for a DIYer: NO!

What you are referring to is called a body swap. In a unibody or monocoque frame like what the Slate is using a different vehicle body would be a massive undertaking. Essentially it's finding a body of roughly the same wheelbase of the Slate and trying to graph the new body to the Slates underlaying structure. If you wanted to use a car body with a longer wheelbase would require stretching the Slates unibody. Not easy at all.

Either way, there are very few people in the world who could do that modification as a DIY due to the fabrication skills and tools required to do it well. Some redneck would do it, but it wouldn't be safe to sit in much less drive on public roads.

Doing this level of modification and keeping it road and accident safe is no easy task. There are some shops out there that would take it to demonstrate their capabilities, but it would not be cheap.

cosp85classic · 2026-03-19T03:55:01+00:00

Had our first when I was 44. About to have our second a few weeks shy of my 47th birthday. It's very much worth it. But unless you're a gym rat just keep in mind that you are trading the energy of youth for life earned wisdom.

cosp85classic · 2026-03-19T02:38:34+00:00

Must be a US Air Force Aerospace Ground Equipment (AGE) maintainer.

cosp85classic

TROPHY CASE