BOV's

2 vehicles. '82 Jeep Scrambler and a '66 Impala. I can do the mechanics. The body work and rubber I can easily get done around town. My question is what do I need to do before cranking up those old engines. Both ran when parked.

How long have they been parked and how did your park them?

Were they under shelter, gas tanks drained, batteries removed and axles on blocks?

The starting procedures for long term stored vehicles (several years) is a long series of checks to insure that the startup does not bend valves, damage pistons or spin bearings in their journals.

Plus there are seals and gaskets that will need attention before you actually drive anywhere, as well as replacement of all the hoses and belts if the storage has been for several years.

There are several good channels on you tube that feature these situations but some of them are bogus and "set up".

Budget Buildz is the best I have seen. He works through the steps carefully and gets some really old and seriously abandoned vehicles running.

Thanks. No they weren't prepped for long term storage. I really didn't think the Jeep would be sitting long (familiar story). My FIL's Impala was just a case of him doing the same thing. Now MIL wants it out of the shed.

I might have to go back to work to pay for this...

What engines are in each one Max?

the motor selections for those years were some of the best in history.

All the Jeep motors were built like bank vaults and the GM motors of that era have never really been matched for simplicity and durability.

258 in the Jeep. Straight 6. I need to go check the Impala. I want to restore these babies.

258 was one of the longest produced motors in history. Somewhere around 1955-2002. it was renamed as the 4L in the '90s and given EFI but it was the same engine. Chrysler dropped it because they could not stand for their best engine to be a 50 year old design from Nash-Rambler. They never found a better engine, they just replaced it.

I learned to drive in a 1961 Rambler with a 258ci/6. I have owned a half dozen vehicles with that engine and I got 200K out of several of them. Way over 200K out of a couple and when they died it was not the engine that went. I had two Jeeps that literally fell apart around the engine/chassis. They still ran fine but you could not open or close the doors or hatches.

A 1966 Impala is worth restoring even if it is a 4 door sedan. Engine style does not matter. It might have a 250ci six, or a 283/327 block, or even a 348 or 409. It is worth the trouble with any of the selections or a new crate engine if needed.

A salvage GM V-6 w/automatic from a junk yard would probably bolt in with no problem. Those 3.8L engines from the 1990-2000 series GM cars were getting 30mpg in full size Caprice, LaSabre and Olds Cutlasses.

Sounds like an excellent project for a guy in Florida that can work out in the shed all winter.

Well that's me. I'm happy to have these prizes. I hope to not f them up. My old dog thinks I'm dumb. Hope to prove the stinker wrong.

If I called my wife that, they would be payin' her $300 bucks a month not to shoot anyone else. Just sayin'.

LOL. My wife is the best. Ask Crash. I don't deserve her.

Getting expensive maintaining 4 vehicles road legal. Might hafta reduce the big boy toys.

Vehicle taxes and insurance will rob you blind!

It got to the point a couple of years ago that my vehicle insurance bill was my largest monthly expense!

Add to that the personal property tax and the road tax and I was being taxed for the value I was wishing I could get out of the vehicles and not what I could actually sell them for.

I took a "loss" on two of them, selling them for less than their value, and trimmed things down.

I had decided that I really did not need an "extra emergency vehicle" when I never went anywhere in the main vehicle. I put 12k miles on the Jeep in the past 4 years and 1700 of that was one trip.

The insurance agent asked me if I wanted "full coverage" on the Jeep. It is a 2006 model.

Full coverage was $1200 a year above minimum legal, with $1000 deductible. Kelly insurance value of the rig was only $3500. Deduct the $1000 from that and you have $2500 for their payoff. I decided I would take my chances and after 2 years I would be ahead of the cost/use factor. All I had to do was not total it for two years! That was 4 years ago.

If I had taken the "full coverage" I would have paid the insurance company twice the value of the Jeep at this point. You have to think these things out or they will snag you.

And that is why I'm a pedestrian. It's cheaper to use public transportation when I want to go somewhere. I live with people I choose to live with because I like living with them, but if we didn't have a household that splits expenses, I'd be off the grid for real!

I have a BOBP (Bug Out Back Pack).

Wolf, I used to be able to hump a huge pack all day. But now I can barely hike 3 miles unencumbered. Bugging out is not feasable. Bike or truck. Or just bug in. Which is the best choice right now.

careful Careful CAREFUL!! My automotive experience (oops almost said "expertise") ended with a '50 Ford Flathead V8. Just wait.

Madmax, I'm getting there.

Luckily I've lost about 40 pounds on the last 10 years, so hoisting a backpack full of groceries just gets me back up to weight.

Don't worry. You won't have to bug out very far in your vehicle after you start getting taxed for the miles you drive in addition to the gallons you buy, your license plate, your inspection, your drivers license, your toll fees, ..... When we're all walking we'll have to wear step counters to track our steps to be taxed. Then we'll be taxed for standing still.

Alan

When they start taxing our toes and fingers we use to count the taxes, I'm quitting. They'll be a quitting tax, too, I'm sure. I think I'll head to Mexico then cross the border to get back in. That way, everything will be free. No mandates and a free apartment. No habanero Eglasias, per favor. That should convince 'em. Heck, I can probably live in Alan's back yard for a while. Until they get the apartment ready.

They'll likely make me live back there and let you have the house....

Alan

I am not afraid of the government. I WOULD be afraid of #1 wife. Just sayin'. I ain't near as dumb as I look. I know...hard to believe.