10 Vehicles for the Apocalypse, page 3
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ATS Members have flagged this thread 4 times


reply posted on 16-3-2008 @ 10:27 AM by northwolf
reply to post by Sharker524



Take a Mercede Benz 2.0l diesel engine from 1980-1990, those bastards seem to be able to run forever with no maintenance. They are a lot better than VW diesels of the time. And they will run on just about any flammable liquid. Or a Toyota hiace diesel...


reply posted on 10-1-2009 @ 06:06 PM by Ranger23
reply to post by Vipassana


Assuming that the apocalpyse we are talking about is nuclear, it would be best to stay indoors and not use any vehicles at all. However, if we are talking I am Legend, I'd choose a Ferrari any time.



reply posted on 12-1-2009 @ 02:55 AM by Northern Raider
Here is a new british vehicle that will meet the needs of most survies

news.bbc.co.uk...

www.skycarexpedition.com...

By flying car from London to Timbuktu

By Jude Sheerin
BBC News
A voyage to fabled Timbuktu in a flying car may sound like a magical childhood fantasy.
But this week a British adventurer will set off from London on an incredible journey through Europe and Africa in a souped-up sand buggy, travelling by road - and air.
With the help of a parachute and a giant fan-motor, Neil Laughton plans to soar over the Pyrenees near Andorra, before taking to the skies again to hop across the 14-km (nine-mile) Straits of Gibraltar.
The ex-SAS officer then aims to fly over the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, above stretches of the Sahara desert and, well, wherever else the road runs out.
But forget Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - this flying machine is based on proven technology.
Touch of a button
Designed by a young British inventor, the Skycar enables its driver to pilot the vehicle at the mere touch of a button as though it were a microlite.
The team behind it calls the Skycar the world's first road legal biofuelled flying car.
Mr Laughton's destination is the west African country of Mali and its city of Timbuktu, a place which has had a mystical, "middle of nowhere" reputation since the heyday of Victorian exploration.
The daredevil 42-day expedition will pass 4,000 miles (6,400 km) through France, Spain and Morocco, head into the Sahara by way of Mauritania and Mali, before returning home via Senegal.
He had also hoped to make the 22mile (35km) flight across the English Channel, but that plan was vetoed by civil aviation officials.
Even Mr Laughton - who has scaled the highest mountains on seven continents and trekked at the North Pole - admits his latest "boy's own" adventure is a little eccentric.
"I like variety and thought this would be an interesting challenge," he told the BBC News website. "Also Timbuktu is an iconic and quirky destination."
The father-of-two says his long-suffering wife's initial reaction to his latest feat of derring-do was "unprintable", but she is now fully behind the charity mission.
Ultimate boy's toy
As he prepares to set off from central London on Wednesday morning, Mr Laughton is optimistic the Skycar's maiden voyage will go smoothly.
"Clearly the reliability of the car is crucial. We're going to have to cope with wind chill temperatures as low as -30C and blistering heat up to 50C. But it's been fully tested at a secret location and it 100% works."
With the help of sponsors, the team has invested about £250,000 ($380,000) developing the vehicle.
The brains behind the two-seater Skycar is 29-year-old inventor Gilo Cardozo, who will join Mr Laughton as co-pilot for the African leg of the trip.
The self-taught engineer's Wiltshire-based firm, Parajet, manufactures the industrial paramotors that propel the Skycar once it is airborne.
He has been dreaming of creating a flying car - the ultimate boy's toy - since childhood.
"The inspiration came from realising we can drive and we can fly, so why can't we do both? The problem all along has been the wing technology, which we think we've cracked with the Skycar," he said.
Mr Cardozo built and co-piloted the powered paraglider which took British TV survivalist Bear Grylls over the summit of Mount Everest in 2007.
He plans to sell the Skycar commercially to the public at £50,000 per vehicle, if it can prove its mettle on the Timbuktu mission.
'Unsavoury people'
The team is keenly aware, however, it is not just the environment which could prove hostile.
In 2007 the annual Paris-Dakar rally was cancelled amid reported threats from Islamic militants in Mauritania.
Mr Laughton said: "Sadly the political situation in some areas on our route is not good and there are some unsavoury people about so we must be careful."
On the road, the Skycar takes barely three minutes to convert into an aircraft.
The driver unpacks the special nylon wing from the boot, before unfurling the parachute on the ground to the rear.
The powerful fan's thrust propels the buggy forward and provides enough wing lift to take off at just 45mph (70km/h), from any "airstrip" longer than 650ft (200m).
Once airborne, the driver uses pedals in the zero-carbon vehicle's foot well to steer the Skycar by tugging cables that change the wing's shape.
Should something go wrong, the pilot can launch an emergency parachute, which should allow the buggy to drift safely back to earth.
A convoy of support vehicles will accompany the team every step of the way.
What the nomadic camel caravans of the Sahara will make of the flying machine is anybody's guess.
Story from BBC NEWS:
news.bbc.co.uk...

Published: 2009/01/12 02:33:27 GMT

© BBC MMIX



[edit on 12-1-2009 by Northern Raider]


reply posted on 12-1-2009 @ 06:09 AM by citizen smith
reply to post by Northern Raider



Now THAT is an example of british shed-engineering at it's finest!




reply posted on 12-1-2009 @ 06:18 AM by Northern Raider
Originally posted by citizen smith
reply to
post by Northern Raider



Now THAT is an example of british shed-engineering at it's finest!


Its simpler and more usable than the one being launched in the US this week.
business.timesonline.co.uk...

www.foxnews.com...


[edit on 12-1-2009 by Northern Raider]


reply posted on 24-1-2009 @ 03:06 AM by Anonymous ATS
reply to post by ShadeWolf



That ugly heavy thing has the ground clearance of a Toyota Corolla and would bog down in mud 6 inches deep.


reply posted on 24-1-2009 @ 08:03 AM by Dar Kuma
Originally posted by citizen smith
My candidate for vehicle for the apocolypse...the
electric narrowboat





good call, you could even protect it from an EMP by attaching a thick grounding wire to a heavy spike or small anchor, If something happens just throw the spike 20 feet onto the bank where it will embed into the soil.

[edit on 24-1-2009 by Dar Kuma]


reply posted on 27-1-2009 @ 08:05 AM by ignorant_ape
OK - i am not going to get into the ` should i even have a vehicle `side of this thread

but if you do want a vehicle - hear are some random blatherings on engines / fuels

first engine choices

1 - fuel technology - deisel , deisel or deisil

2 - no electronic fuel pumps / electronic throttle or other crap - what you really want is a fuel pump with a mechanical cable cut off - but if you have an electronic solenoid tupe - you vcan either just take out the plunger after the emergency - or if you think ahead - construct a replacement mechanical cut off device that will just screw in where the electric one sat

3 - direct injection prefered - indirect injection usually relies on glowplugs or other pre heat devices to start - try to avoid anything with electrovic pre heat

you can get / build a flame pre heater system - that will run on pretty much any flamable liquid / gass

4 - hand crank starting FTW ! the ability to restart your veichle when the electronivs a fried , is a god send - worry about ` how do i drive in the dark ` later - lol

second sources of fuels

think out side the box - i know its a trite cliche - but every idiot and his dog who wants fuels is going to petrol stations , haulage contractors yards , oil refineries etc

in no particular order :

1 - hospitals - every idiot will raid the hosital er for drugs and medical supplies - go round the back and find 2 areas :

a - the heating plant - it will either run on oil or natural gas - it its oil fired boilers - you will find multi thoudand litre tanks of " 35 second fuel oil " - can be mixed upto 75 % in a blend with deisil - more if you add a small quanity of sump oil to aild lubrication in the fuel pomp

b- the back up generators - all deisel engine powerred - and each has an independant fuel tank

2 - schools again the heating plant will be oil or nauural gas [ lpg etc ] fired - if its oil - you have scored

3 - wholesale food suppliers - yes they are going to get pillaged - but most people looking for food are not going to take the pallet after pallet loaded with 25l drums of cooking oil and vegatable oils - again only really of use as 25% or less in a blendded fuel - but its all about making your stock of deisel last longer

4 - anywhere who stocks bulk engine oli [ sump oil ] - a deisil will not run on 100% brand new sump oil - but you can put 15 tp 25% in and mix vigorously

thats all for now - hope it helps

[edit on 27-1-2009 by ignorant_ape]
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