 [20] Survnet: SURVIVAL_ORIENTED TOPICS (9:2500/0)  SURVIVAL_ORIENTED 
 Msg  : 85 of 99                                                                
 From : Terry Buyers                        9:2400/7        Tue 09 Nov 93 22:25 
 To   : All                                                                     
 Subj : UAV power                                                               

Been meaning to get to this for a while and got unusually busy... sorry for the
delay.

    When you build/find your Urban Assault Vehicle, you have to consider what
sort of powerplant you want... unless you want horsedrawn or plan on pushing the
thing.

Some considerations: Parts availability, power, reliability, life expectancy,
how hard is it to fix, is it esthetically pleasing (important if you plan on
living with the thing for a _long_ time).

There are some good 4 cylinder motors out there. The Chevy stovebolt (cast iron)
4 is about the best. Forget anything with an aluminum block or head. The old
Datsun 210 is another stone reliable motor. But... ghod are they underpowered.
Same with the Jeep 4s. You can make up for that with a good gearbox - which the
Chevy and the Jeep have. But, parts are getting hard to find in the junkyards.
Not a bad choice for economy.

I'm real fond of the 215/250ci Chevy inline 6. Fair amount of torque but not a
clutchblower. Has an access plate on the side of the block so you can get at the
entire valve train without pulling the head. Coupled to a 4-speed gearbox with
granny gear first, you can climb trees and drag dinosaur around. In the late
60s/early 70s pickups you can stand in the engine compartment and close the hood
and work on the thing in the rain. Not bad on fuel economy. Some of the Chevy
drivelines have a 2 piece drive shaft with a central thrust bearing. Extra set
of U-joints to go bad, but on the good side it is harder to blow or wring the
drive shaft. Everything is heavier than it needs to be. Watch out for small
radiators in a lot of the pickups. They are OK until they start to clog a little
- then they overheat in a hurry.

Never been fond of the Ford 6 cylinders. Always seemed to be fussy and
underpowered. Also, solid lifter motors are a pain in the tail to adjust, unlike
most others with hydraulic lifters. You just tighten them down until they quit
rattling. Solids you have to adjust with feeler guages. The big Ford truck 6s
are a heck of a lot better, but not as good on fuel as the big Chevys or Dodges.


Dodge made a 300-odd ci (escapes me but I think a 310) 6 that ended up in a lot
of International trucks. Low compression, stone reliable, unfortunately hard to
get parts for these days. Plenty of low end torque and Chrysler has always built
good transmissions. Change heads and it becomes a diesel. A big, heavy, ugly pig
of a motor... but worth it.

--- Squish v1.01
 * Origin: Schrodinger's Catbox(803)652-3760 PRNet/SC SURVNet (9:2400/7)

 [20] Survnet: SURVIVAL_ORIENTED TOPICS (9:2500/0)  SURVIVAL_ORIENTED 
 Msg  : 87 of 98 + 92                                                           
 From : Terry Buyers                        9:2400/7        Tue 09 Nov 93 22:48 
 To   : all                                                                     
 Subj : power/2                                                                 

For practicality and all around use, you will probably end up with what is
called a 'small block' V8. Most are somewhere in the 300 ci range. There are
really only 3 practical choices here: the Chevy 302/327/350/396, the Ford 302
and 351, and the Chrysler 318, and occasionally, 396

Ford has one advantage the others don't.There is a water passage between each
exhaust port. So if you run the motor hot and then shut it down, that water
jacket absorbs the heat, preventing hot spots from developing. So when you
restart the thing there is no sudden area of cool water and hot block creating
potential warping of heads or cracking blocks. The 302 is frequently found with
performance parts to make up for lack of displacement. Easier to break and
economy suffers. The newer Ford motors are computer controlled with a pile of
electronic sensors and stuff that can't be easily eliminated. When something
blows it usually takes other parts with it - an expensive repair. Avoid them if
possible. The 351 Windsor motor is better built than the Cleveland - although it
does have a heavier block. Look for the data plate. A relatively easy motor to
build up and parts are easy to find. They seem to run badly forever.

The Chevy motor mentioned above is one basic block with variations of heads,
carbs, cam, crank, pistons.... etc. In general, displacement was varied by
changing the stroke through crankshaft variations, different combustion chamber
geometry, and different heads. Lots of parts out there and lots of
horsepower/torque modifications are possible. The strongest of all the series is
the 4-bolt 350, so called because the main bearing caps are heavier and use 4
rather than 2 bolts. J.C.Whitneys has new long blocks for about $1600. There are
lots of junkyard parts around. Suffers from the above mentioned 'hotspot'
problem so you have to let it cool a bit before you shut it down. Easy to adapt
to older style non-electronic ignition. Also, GM makes a '1-wire'
alternator/regulator combined that bolts on which eliminates a lot of under the
hood wire... just run one to the battery from the alternator and don't worry
about field and ignition and stuff. My favorite mainly because the thing was
designed for the old muscle cars and is rugged without being a clunker. Responds
well to tweaking without totally screwing up your gas milage. Avoid the diesel
350 -especially the first few years when it was a gas motor with diesel heads.
It ain't that strong. Will suffer from a lack of regular maintennance, but will
run forever with a little care.

Chrysler makes the 318ci. This is sort of the ultimate engineering feat of V8s -
especially in the pre-1972 wide block variation. The 72 and later is still a
strong engine but has more and more pollution control and electronic stuff on
it. The old model came in truck versions, marine motors with wet exhaust, was
used by Bluebird and Flexible to run busses, and by International in a whole
bunch of things including farm machinery. Not a lot of hot rod parts available
but regular parts are everywhere. Take off one head, pull the 4 pistons, put a
blank plate over the hole (available from the factory) and cap the 4 outlets
from the intake manifold on that side. Then you pull every other plug wire out
of the distributor. You now have one of the ugliest 4-cylinder motors ever made.
Rumor has it you can rebuild the motor with a couple of crescent wrenches and a
hammer. Bothered badly by infrequent oil changes. The hot rod version of the
wide 318 was the 396 hemi - frequently found with multiple carbs and a high gas
bill. Want to be tinkered with constantly to run well. Suck gas when out of
tune.

I've ignored the big block 8s. These are for someone that doesn't worry where
their next tank of gas is comming from. If you need to pull a big trailer or run
an RV you might need one. But if you aren't in a big hurry you can do the same
thing with a little creative gearbox use and save gas the rest of the time.

Personally, I run a 327 Chevy based on the 4-bolt 350. It was a bolt-in
conversion into the 69 Impala 2-door that is my 'work car'. Only car with a
bigger trunk was the 67 Chrysler Newport. What folks from Chicago used to call a
6-body trunk. By using a 4-barrel carb with mechanical secondaries I can get
performance if I want it, or disconnect the secondaries for economy. Generally I
keep my foot out of the carb and get around 18 mils to the gallon around town.
The Powerglide auto trans is destined to be replaced with a Chevy 3/4 ton truck
4-speed (actually 3 gears for everyday usage and an ultra low - granny gear -
for pulling). The rear axle is double mounted to prevent it from twisting out
from under the car under acceleration. Double coil springs in the rear with air
shocks all around. Flat steel plate welded inside both bumpers and extra 2"
square steel bracing for the front and rear end. 4" iron pipe welded inside just
behind the front seat from side to side. 2" square tube extra crossbars added to
the frame and all frame joints angle gusseted. All chrome painted flat black and
the front end is converted to a 4-light rectangular halogen headlight setup with
grill replaced and lights protected by expanded steel mesh. Wheels were changed
to 15" pickup truck drums and drum brakes. Wheels are Camaro mags for vanity,
with wide profile all terrain tires. Mounted 4 generic 130 watt halogens, yellow
wigwags and strobe and 50 watt fog lights in front of the radiator behind the
mesh. Rear strobes are drilled into 2 of the tail lights. Not satisfactory and
I'm still exploring alternatives. May build them into the headrests of the back
seat - which was a front seat from an 85 Ford Crown Vic in another life. Buckets
in the front with Camaro belt setup. Floor, front inside dash, rear firewall,
and inside doors and sides have laminated plastic bullet proofing. Glass is
stock. Siren is an 8-tone, Moose JDS108 - includes air horn and scream linked to
horn button and activated via hidden switches. Stereo is cheap. Electronics
include scanner (Radio Shack programmable) and CB with weather channels. Dash is
currently a mishmosh of parts that we had and stock Chevy. Replacement is built,
mostly out of Z28 Camaro instruments with some electronics. I work out of the
car on a daily basis to a lot more attention was paid to creature comfort than
would be necessary on a true boonie vehicle. Paint is silver-grey Rustoleum
enamel, semi-gloss, looks flat at night

Recently built up a 75 Suburban to order. 350 4-bolt, 270 degree duration high
lift cam with 4-barrel carb with vacuum activated secondaries. Frame left fairly
stock except for gusseting. 2" lift to the suspension to accomidate 15" rims
with oversize off-road tires. Turbo 450 auto trans with stock transfer case and
Warn auto front hubs. Front and rear bumper fabricated out of 1/8", 1/4" steel
plate and 2" square and 2" round tube. 4-roller winch mount on front with Warn
monster winch. Dual batteries with 1 wire alternator. Skid nose plate and extra
protection added under oil pan, transfer case and gas tanks. 4 tanks with manual
transfer valve, 125 gallons max. Constant flow fuel system dumps into the main
tank no matter which tank it is drawing from. Electric booster fuel pump just
ahead of the selector. Engine will run on either or both pumps. Dual inline fuel
filters plus inside carb. Remote oil cooler with filter instead of on the block
filter. Remote transmission cooler. Towing package radiator with flex fan and
electric booster fan. Fog lamps/driving lamps on the bush bar/winch protector.
Separate control relays for lights for constant brightness. Idiot lights
replaced with guages. Electronics include CB and cellular phone. Built for an MD
- rear seat folds down and clamps for a standard transport stretcher are built
in. Flourescent lighting inside the rear - not up to exam room but bright when
they are all on. Also put cigarette lighter type DC sockets in the rear for hand
held lights or whatever. Brackets and cabling run to front right of cargo
section to add 2 additional deep discharge batteries on isolation circuit.
Clamps behind those for a combination incubator/infant transport unit (County
hospital auction) and defib/ekg unit. Clamps for small O2 bottle on one side
wall, fire extinguisher on the other. Interior is set up to have all equipment
pulled out and be hosed out at the quarter car wash. Lock box welded to the
floor on the rear center hump for drug transport. Federal Signal mag mount Kojak
ight and hand held halogen. Matching trailer from the rear of a Chevy pickup for
load transport. Paint is a custom color mixed from Rustoleum paints - 1 gallon
Silver Grey and 1 pint Royal Blue. Sort of an electric light blue. Extra wide
swing-flat outside mirrors on the doors and a wide angle inside mirror. Another
cheap stereo. Keytronics alarm system with remote arm/door lock, disarm/door
unlock. The doctor in question has a bum back so we put air lift assists on the
hood. Gun rack overhead mounted behind the front seat back. Luggage rack has a
steel mesh bottom and can be used as a viewing/shooting platform. All wiring put
in protective sheathing and under the hood cleaned up and detailed. 50 cal ammo
cans welded on top of the front bumper for tools and winch control cable.
Headers and glass pack mufflers, the thing is loud when pulling in low gear but
horsepower showed a significant increase when we changed the exhaust system.
Sort of ugly, all the old Suburbans were. Very functional.


--- Squish v1.01
 * Origin: Schrodinger's Catbox(803)652-3760 PRNet/SC SURVNet (9:2400/7)

