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I've got a '97 F250 4 wheel drive with a 460. I need a real truck so I dont care what the gas mileage is. I have a 60 gallon transfer tank so I can fuel myself on a long trip, like to Alaska pulling a trailer.
Useful vehicle modifications
- Thread starter Alaskajohn
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Help Support Homesteading & Country Living Forum:
I've seen those train horns advertised, I want one, or enough for all our vehicles.You forgot one. I always wanted a horn that was a train hornAlso, the seatbelt chime can go away. They connect it to the air bags in new cars so you can't disconnect it.
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There are “people” all over around here with the train horns on their heavily modified trucks. Day and night they blast those things while romping on their cruddy sounding trucks. Absolutely turned me off those horns
Before GM quit making Pontiacs they had great V-8's, the 389 and 421 engines had armor steel cranks and ran forever, the GTO was nothing to take lightly. I put together a 389 for my 39 Chevy coupe but never ran it, a friend sold me his 430 Lincoln engine and I like using them because they had 500 ft.lbs of torque and 375 hp stock, probably close to 400 hp with a Carter AFB E series carb installed, yeah the gas milage probably never was above 10 mpg even when I drove them modestly, my all time favorite vehicle was that type of engine in a 1951 Ford F-100 pickup, it was a Rat-Rod before there was such a thing. It's acceleration was downright nasty, I really wish I still had that truck as it was the most fun vehicle to drive that I've ever owned.
Seems to me they would be very good to get people awake at traffic lights, were they seemed to have forgotten they are driving and it would be nice not to have to wait two cars behind for the next green light.
I learned that many years ago back in my Road Warrior days. When you get a rental you figure those things out before you leave the parking space. Make it a habit. I was fortunate it never happened to me, but picture yourself in a strange city at rush hour meeting a stranger/business associate who says "Follow me." They take off like someone is after the rent money and as you try to catch up, it gets dark and starts raining or worse snowing. You better know how to turn on the lights and wipers at a minimum. I could name names of people this happened to, and they were not prepared.
Vehicle has limited storage so I added a steel mollie panel to the tail gate for some essentials.
I was thinking when you're behind someone who is texting and all over the road.
We had a 1965 Pontiac station wagon with a 4 barrel 389 and that sucker would fly. Such a great engine. It would beat most 1970s era neutered vehicles in late night races. When the family moved to Hawaii in 1978 the military would only let you ship one vehicle, so my dad sold it to one of my friends who used it in demolition derbies. He told me a few years later that the beast did very well at its last job in life.
389 was a BAD motor. Buddy of mine growing up had a 66 GTO. To be as heavy as it was it would fly. IIRC it had 3 dueces on it.
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Be careful using train horns. Most States have rules about how loud a vehicle horn can be which is somewhere around 100-110dB's. Train horns run in the 130-150dB range. If you do use a train horn, be responsible with it to avoid fines.
Around 1976 or so shortly after turning 16, my dad took me to what the military called humorously or correctly the "Lemon Lot." This is an area on base set aside for military members to park vehicles for private sales. Often times military members get short notice assignment oversees and they can't take their cars, or at most they are allowed to ship only one. Point being, you can often find good deals from military members in a bind trying to sell cars quickly.
On the lot was a 1965 or 1966 bright red GTO that needed a bit of work, but the engine was solid. It was for sale for something like $400. Dad was going to pay for half and he said no. I ended up driving away with a 1970 buick skylark that looked just like this below for about $900. Remember, this was back during the energy crisis, and people were dumping these muscle cars. I sold it on that same lemon lot 3 years later when we moved to Hawaii for about the same price. Fun car, but nothing like that shinny red GTO. I don't recall the engine, I am pretty sure it was the great 389 four barrel burner producing an amazing 335 HP like was in the station wagon we had.
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Twenty five years ago I told my daughter we would not leave the parking lot unless she had her seat belt on. One day I was in a hurry & started to pull out the drive way, " Dad put your seat belt on or the police will get you.
It is bad when your five year old is a back seat driver.
It is bad when your five year old is a back seat driver.
For many of us in the west we have the great open spaces where we can drive through the back roads and back hills either enjoying the day, looking for treasures, or hunting. When you are pretty much alone in the back country you don't have to worry about other traffic and usually the speeds are between 5mph and 15mph. When driving the back roads the vehicle rocks back and forth and if you wear the seatbelt the motion activated catch locks up and the seatbelt will only get tighter, you can't loosen it unless you stop the vehicle and relieve tension on the ratchet thingamabob. And, because there are many things to see and enjoy it is very common to stop every few minutes to get out and walk around.
The seatbelt warning is very annoying but the key in the ignition chime is the worst because when you turn off the engine and open the door the beeping can be heard a mile away. For cars that make it difficult or impossible to stop the seatbelt alarm most of the small town gas stations around here sell a fake seatbelt end for a few bucks so you can plug it in and the car thinks the seatbelt is fastened.
I wear a seatbelt. I always have, even before becoming a paramedic and seeing a lot of stuff first hand that would convince even the worlds biggest fool that they should wear one. However, it is a personal choice (or should be IMHO). If people want to assist with overpopulation control by not wearing one, that might be considered helpful in some cases.
None-the-less, I hate the reminder beepers. I never hear one for myself forgetting to buckle up, but I do have one specific sometimes-passenger in my car that occasionally trips the alert. Normal sized passengers, I require them to put on their seatbelt before I drive. But I have a rider who is so obese that the seatbelt won't go around him. Not much I can do about that. If we have a wreck, he's on his own with only the airbag to protect him. I've heard that airbags alone, without simultaneous seatbelt use, are more dangerous than no airbags. Don't know if that's truth or urban myth. But the dynamics of that may change when the passenger is five times the size of the airbag.
None-the-less, I hate the reminder beepers. I never hear one for myself forgetting to buckle up, but I do have one specific sometimes-passenger in my car that occasionally trips the alert. Normal sized passengers, I require them to put on their seatbelt before I drive. But I have a rider who is so obese that the seatbelt won't go around him. Not much I can do about that. If we have a wreck, he's on his own with only the airbag to protect him. I've heard that airbags alone, without simultaneous seatbelt use, are more dangerous than no airbags. Don't know if that's truth or urban myth. But the dynamics of that may change when the passenger is five times the size of the airbag.
18 years as a police officer and I saw those accidents many times myself. I also think it should be a personal choice for an adult. Just like in the states that do not require a helmet for motorcyclists, the choice should be with the adult not the government. Many, many people depend on organ donors for their survival. For normal traffic stops such as speeding or stop signs I would never write a ticket for someone not wearing a seatbelt, I would simply say it is their choice as an adult but the next officer may write the ticket for X amount of dollars, unless they were hurt in an accident and then they would get the ticket because if I had to write a report and document an injury due to not using the seatbelt I would have to write the ticket to stay within department policy for handling traffic accidents. I would tell them if they could come up with a way to convince the judge how they hit their head on the windshield even though they were wearing a seatbelt they had my support, more power to them.
As for the airbags, the airbag opens so fast it shoves the person back into the seat before the body/head/arms even have a chance to begin moving forward. Watch the videos with the crash test dummies and it shows the tremendous speed of the airbag as soon as the front bumper makes impact, and the side airbags open just as fast. Seatbelts will offer more protection but the airbags do their job in most cases. Unless the airbag hits the surface of your eyes and leaves the checkerboard pattern of the material on your cornea, or you are holding the steering wheel so tight with your thumbs gripped inside the wheel and the airbag breaks your thumb or wrist due to it's explosive power. It is very difficult to not hold the steering wheel with your thumb inside, I know better and I still forget and do it when relaxed on long drives just because it is comfortable.
My sister in law was involved in a car on train accident with my two nieces and my nephew in their Chevy Venture minivan, vs a Union Pacific mixed freight. The train clipped their front bumper. If she had stopped two inches shorter the train would have missed them. They all survived. Nephew had his eyes open when the bags blew and said the amount f sparks he saw from the airbag charge was about as scary as the accident itself. He got a broken nose and collarbone from the bags and seat belt. Sister in law somehow ended up with her left arm pinned behind the driver's seat and her shoulder ligaments all tore up. Older niece in the second row had seat belt bruises and that's it, no other injury. But youngest niece in the back row had no seat belt on. She went around the minivan like a pinball and took the window out of the rear hatch with her head. She didn't even know where she was when the ambulance got there. They kept her in the hospital for a few days because of her concussion.
Moral of the story is, the one in the safest place in the vehicle got the worst injuries because she wasn't buckled in. Wear your seat belt. They save lives. In conjuction with bags, they're even safer. Those old all steel cars that everyone likes to think are so safe? They're really deathtraps...
Moral of the story is, the one in the safest place in the vehicle got the worst injuries because she wasn't buckled in. Wear your seat belt. They save lives. In conjuction with bags, they're even safer. Those old all steel cars that everyone likes to think are so safe? They're really deathtraps...
Anyone who survives that has got quite the story to tell !I had one encounter with a train back in college. It was in the middle of the sticks. A dark forest, heavy tree cover. Nighttime. Dirt road. Uncontrolled rail crossing. What I was doing out there, I have no idea now, but there I was.
I approached the tracks, stopped, and dutifully looked both ways. Probably two or three times each way. Clear. As I pulled out onto the tracks, the train horn blew. Yeah, it had just turned a corner from behind trees 1/2 mile away and probably wasn't going all that fast - no real threat to me - but that horn had me crap my pants so bad it was like an airbag going off underneath me. I think I bashed my head on the car ceiling I rose up so fast. My foot must have had that accelerator smashed to the floorboard for the next five hours until the car ran out of gas, died, and coasted to a stop.
Trains are scary!
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Back to OP…two-way radio.
A 2 way could be useful. I've long thought that the little hand held 2 way radios like you can get from Bass Pro might be useful in certain situations too. Like if you're traveling with two vehicles, you wouldn't need to mess with a phone to communicate.
Does anybody use CB radios any more?
That looks like a BTech UV-25x2. Those are inexpensive and tiny but reach out really well.
Handhelds are very limited in a vehicle because the antenna doesn't punch through a car too well. If you had a roof-mounted antenna and used a handheld, you'd be OK.Spikedriver said:
Yes, CB radios are still in use but nowhere near the way they were 40 years ago.
We have one in our radio shack and I have one in my shop. Once in a blue moon we hear someone transmitting on what appears to be an illegal amplifier.
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A light tap on the horn works as well.
I would like to be able to switch off all of the nanny state crap, when I wanted to, a tiny percentage of the time it is handy but mostly not,
Fuel economy is not a function of engine size, it is a result of sweet spots, back in the late 70s, the most economical pick ups were the ford 460 1/2 tons, because they were, accidentally set up correctly. tiny engines are ok in light machines, never taken to highway speed, I efi was designed for actual engine performance, rather than sort of decent running mileage numbers would be way higher, most north american pickup trucks get poor mileage due to the average owner thinking that the transmission should never down shift on a grade, or be able to hold top gear when pulling a trailer. and thus far to deep of gearing.
Fuel economy is not a function of engine size, it is a result of sweet spots, back in the late 70s, the most economical pick ups were the ford 460 1/2 tons, because they were, accidentally set up correctly. tiny engines are ok in light machines, never taken to highway speed, I efi was designed for actual engine performance, rather than sort of decent running mileage numbers would be way higher, most north american pickup trucks get poor mileage due to the average owner thinking that the transmission should never down shift on a grade, or be able to hold top gear when pulling a trailer. and thus far to deep of gearing.
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Long winded! Seat belts on country roads? Been there.
I do have a little experience driving in the country on rough roads, and wearing seat belts. I don't think the early seat belts had a noise maker connected to them though. I think the noise makers have been added on over the years, to remind people to buckle up and other safety features.
If you have ever ridden in one of the safest cars, if not the safest, Volvo's, there are certainly many more bells and whistles that go off when you are driving them. That is part of what makes them the safest vehicles. They do brake by themselves if you drive too close to another vehicle.
I grew up in South Dakota and I'm a little older than you, I think. Since I lost my parents as a child, I spent much of my off school time with my aunt and uncle in the country after my grandparents moved to town, 26 miles from their local town. Uncle was a go getter. He got up at 6 in the morning and did chores for an hour or more, then breakfast, then field work, or other. He sold seed and feed from a building he owned across the road. A semi would deliver there as needed, and local farmers would come buy what they wanted and needed. The thing that he did that earned him good side money, was to sell insurance. He was a very social guy, and probably an alcoholic, so he went to town every evening and met with clients at the local VFW. He became quite wealthy and with one son, owned 2600 acres where they raised hogs, cattle, wheat, milo, corn, oats, rye, and a variety of other grains. He like raising odd things like blue corn. He always had a field for experimenting with these kinds of odd grains. He put all 6 of his children through college, but they had worked on the farm for him growing up, so they earned their education from him. He invested in the first internet in South Dakota with his oldest son, which made the son wealthy at a fairly young age. He also had a very busy hunting business when he got older. They bought a building in town that they set up with 30 beds for hunters. At $300 a head per day, they did well, in spite of hiring help for hunting weekends.
All of this to say, he always had the latest and the greatest. They married in 1958 and the first thing he did was to have a new house custom built while they rented a duplex in town. New house had a dishwasher and double oven in it. It was the first dishwasher that I knew about at the time. He had great cars and pickups (and RV's, etc.). He had the first air conditioned car (and house) I knew of and he was the first person I knew of who had seat belts in his vehicles, that were used by his family. Maybe other cars of the 60's had seat belts, but I mostly rode in older cars that didn't have them. Living in the country, they had quite a stretch of gravel road on rolling hills to drive before they got to the black top.
He also had a car with a button in his glove box to open the trunk, which became very useful at a family reunion at a park where he took a trunk full of beverages, adult versions and lots of pop for all the kids (30+ grandkids in the family). Somehow, his keys were locked in the trunk by one of the kids, and we popped the trunk open with that button in the glove box. Good times. He was always kind and generous to all the family with food, drink, family gatherings. We always looked forward to hanging out at their place.
They lived 26 miles from town. When I got my license, they always allowed me to drive one of their vehicles to go home for a weekend or to go out with friends for an evening.
At some point in time, he decided Cadillacs were the cars to drive (the latest and the greatest!) so he got a new one and as each of his 6 children became of driving age, they also got one from him, although, probably not new, but used. Foreign made cars were not a thing in South Dakota because there were no dealerships nor mechanic shops for them. He was the first person I knew of who had a Cadillac, and in the country, at that time, that was prestigious. So with 7 Cadillacs in the family and driving in the country on gravel and dirt roads, the hub caps would come loose and fall off. They had their name written inside the hub caps so if they lost one, the finder could return them. Another uncle lived about 5 miles away, and I stayed with him sometimes after I graduated from h.s. I did farm work and other kinds of work for him, but so did my brothers. One day, while driving a tractor with a plow to plow a field, I found one of those hubcaps on a rutted dirt road, the road the aunt and uncle and their children would have used when driving to uncle's place.
They also had their own buried fuel tanks with pumps by the garage that was filled by a local service periodically, so I never had to pay for gas when I stayed with them. They could fill their vehicles and farm equipment there.
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