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Y2K vehicle?



 
 
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  #1  
Old August 28th 06, 05:57 PM posted to rec.autos.tech
[email protected]
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Posts: 9
Default Y2K vehicle?

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.

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  #2  
Old August 28th 06, 11:12 PM posted to rec.autos.tech
N8N
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3,477
Default Y2K vehicle?


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

  #3  
Old August 28th 06, 11:32 PM posted to rec.autos.tech
Mike Romain
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3,758
Default Y2K vehicle?

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
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