N8N wrote:
>
> wrote:
> > I realize Y2K didnt really amount to anything, but what car would you
> > like to be in if a disaster scenario was unfolding and you had to
> > travel across the country with few possessions and needed reliable
> > transportation?
> >
> > The car would have to be
> >
> > -dependable
> > -solid engine and transmission
> > -easy to repair if something did go wrong
> >
> > On the same note, what spare parts would you keep in your car that you
> > might want to have on hand? replacement thermostat, battery, spark
> > plugs, oil filter, oil, transmission fluid, water?
> >
> > I had an 88 crown vic with a 5.0L that seemed to want to run forever,
> > until I realized the cooling system was terribly corroded and turned
> > green coolant brown even after having the system flushed. But it would
> > run and run and if it overheated it would just chug and stall, and
> > start right back up a few minutes later so you could drive it another
> > mile. Then two or three freeze plugs went out and I gave up.
>
> For a real "armageddon car" I would probably want something built
> between the mid-late 50's until the mid '60s or so. Why? because
> before then, there weren't many highways so cars weren't designed so
> much for modern, high speed travel, and after that there started to be
> electronics here and there, like in the ignition systems etc. which
> might not be repairable in a true "collapse of society" type event.
> Also an older car would be immune to EMP type weapons, should the worst
> happen - even the radio might work (tubes, you know) even if there
> weren't any stations to receive. Finally, there was a period in the
> late 40's where engine designers thought that there would be great
> breakthroughs in fuel technology that never actually occurred... they
> apparently thought that 100+ octane fuel was something that would
> become commonplace eventually, and spark ignition engines were designed
> strong enough to hold 13:1 or higher compression ratios in anticipation
> of this. Good examples of this would be the original Cadillac V-8 and
> the very similar but smaller Studebaker V-8 that followed shortly.
> Other early OHV engines were similarly stout, like the Olds Rocket,
> Rambler 250/287/327, or the Packard 320/352/374 family, but by 1955
> when the ubiquitous small block Chevy was introduced it was clear that
> these fuel breakthroughs weren't going to happen so engine blocks went
> on a diet and it was clear that ludicrously oversized bearings and
> forged cranks only added weight, drag, and/or cost. Therefore later
> engines are adequate, but didn't have the same factor of massive
> overkill as the earlier ones. Sure, the later engines had better fuel
> delivery systems (but swapping carburetors is easy) and better port,
> manifold, and combustion chamber designs - but we're not talking about
> drag racing here, we're talking about getting your butt around for as
> long as possible after the collapse of civilization.
>
> Yes, I do think about these things. Weird? maybe. Paranoid?
> Probably not - I don't think this is really going to happen. I'm
> running an "orange box" ignition in my Studebaker, but maybe I should
> keep that original distributor on the shelf just in case...
>
> nate

Don't forget Jeeps. The CJ 4 and 6 cylinder block will accept tons of
varieties of components to keep it running.

I can easily retrofit my 1986 carb engined Jeep with points. They even
still sell new distributors set up that way for them.

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's
Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view!
Jan/06 http://www.imagestation.com/album/pi...?id=2115147590
(More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page)