Survival is defined as "living or continuing longer than, or beyond the existence of, another person, thing, or event; an outliving."
The new Bug Out Vehicle is a 1978 Ford Fiesta. These small tough cars were made in Germany and very much remind me of the old VW Beetles or early generation Rabbits. The car is very speedy, maneuverable and fun to drive. This ugly little orange beast has a 1.6 liter engine with a 4 speed manual transmission and gets about 44 miles to the gallon.
The Fiesta is one of several ultra fuel efficient models delivered during the oil embargos of the 70’s. Automakers quickly responded to the skyrocketing gas prices by building and delivering economical automobiles based on high fuel standards. They were small, simple vehicles built soundly and offered to the public at a reasonable price.
A survivalist does not simply prepare for the future downfall of our social/economic structure by stocking beans and bullets. They must be flexible enough to adapt to the environment as it comes apart…adjusting until a time when we remove ourselves from the ruins and zombie hordes. Stay ahead of the curve.
Staying ahead of the curve is exactly what I hope to accomplish with this small old car. By cutting my monthly fuel cost by 80% I can continue buying those beans and bullets.
Many people are considering the purchase of a new hybrid…I would recommend against this. This is unsupported debt in a time of unparalleled economic turmoil. The Prius for instance may get slightly higher gas mileage than the Fiesta…but I picked up the Fiesta for $500!
Craigslist.com is a great resource; it’s where I found the Fiesta. I called soon after the posting and went to test drive the car. Ten other people had called by the time I got there. Apparently older fuel efficient cars are in demand today.
The truck is staying but will only be used for hauling.
The auto industry really should dust off these old blue prints and start producing inexpensive fuel efficient vehicles again.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Survival Car
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7 comments:
Bear- Great find. Now just put some eyes on the hood and you have the great pumkin, charlie brown. The real point is like you said staying ahead of the curve and move away from sheeple.
http://foragingprepper.blogspot.com/
Working on the moat...
Rook
Good sense. Even if you did have enough dough for an SUV, why waste the money and resources? Better spent, as you say, on food and ammo.
Put a bike rack on the vehicle and extend your range come SHTF.
Smart man - not only an inexpensive buy, but totally innocuous appearance and won't gain attention. Well - current color sort of grabs the eye :o), but a cheap paint job would take care of that. Put a roof rack on top for extra cargo. Maybe a strengthened steel front - rear bumper (trailer hitch for light trailer?). Pair of spare tires, aired and ready to go.
One thing to know and this is on memory here so I may be wrong. But I think these cars have a reset switch near the rear gas tank that turns off gas pump if a strong enough bump occurs. My wife had a Ford Sunbird years ago (I think) and a pothole was all it took to render car helpless - it just died and she had to pull over and . Luckily, tow truck operator knew his stuff, opened trunk and reset switch - back on track.
A Volkswagon Thing would be great in this same type of car, but not sure if parts availability is worth it now. My Dad had a '76 Rabbit - awesome vehicle. Reliable as hell - it never left us stranded by the side of the road.
Hope this helps.
1978. those were the days! if it has electronic ignition i would store an extra module for it in an ammo can somewhere, along with a voltage regulator. some cars of the era were also starting to carry computers, not a problem except in a bad EMP situation.
great find.
...irishdutchuncle
'nother thought occured to me. Instead of having trailer hitch on the car, maybe buying one of those detachable hitches to secure to your truck bumper would make more sense.
Treat the car like a trailer, filling with supplies (leave drivers seat open) and hauled off behind your truck. That way, when you run out of gas in truck (hopefully a long way to destination), you take car off and continue on your way.
The Sunbird was made by Pontiac (GM), rather than Ford, and was a genuine P.O.S. if there ever was one (unfortunately I've had two).
Most vehicles manufactured since the late 1970's have had an emergency fuel cutoff device installed. On my Ranger, it's under the passenger's side kick panel.
The front hitch is a good idea.
Forget the hybrids, they're not the least bit eco-friendly nor do they retain their longterm value, thanks to all the short-lived and toxic nickle metal hydride batteries in them. In addition, the batteries start losing charge potential almost immediately, down to just 30% within 5 years (how long do you rechargeable tool batteries last?).
A 1991 Geo Metro (51mpg EPA) gets comparable gas mileage to a brand new Toyota Prius (48mpg EPA) with a fraction of the complexity, cost, or weight (1/2 as much).
I see you found something similar, way to go!
Bear, I had one just like it when I was in school, mine was gold. Great little car, the back seat lets down for extra storage or what ever a 16 year old boy would want to do. lol I had almost forgot about that car, thanks for the reminder. Great purchase if you ask me.
Chris
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