[Amc-list] For Starters...Hi Miles, Lo Miles, etc, etc..

["jerijan baldwin" <jerijan@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

OK, Gang..
With my own eyes, I've seen:

Highest Miles on an unrebuilt or 'virgin' engine is 375,000 on a Honda
Civic.  Verified as true.  I'm Impressed! 
 
Worst Engine I've ever owned.  1974 Vega.  2500 on the engine when I
installed it into my Vega with 36,000 miles.  It hardly got another 1,000
miles on it when it, with absolutely no warning, let a rod drop and the
crank broke it clean off, followed by a second rod doing the very same thing
such that I had two new holes (one on each end of the engine) thru which
connecting rods had tried to exit the engine.  This occurred at about 40 MPH
and went from start to finish in a matter of a few seconds.  Naturally the
engine has hard to start after this.  So hard to start that, in fact, it
never did.  What caused this?  I never found out; the Chevrolet guy
(corporate) I contacted to get an explaination told me, essentially, it did
not happen (as in, it 'cant happen that way').  I would be inclined to
disbelieve this story just as he did were it not for one factor...I was
driving the car.  How do TWO rods 'take a dive' nearly simultaneously?  Not
the slightest idea.  The magic words to assist in figuring out the where's
and wherefores here appear to be simply, 'VEGA'.  Worst engine EVER.

Another 'rod' story; when returning from FortDix in NJ driving a knocking
sidevalve six, it was clear it's life expectancy was fairly short.  I just
wanted to get home.  It knocked all the way.  At the last turn to go up the
block I lived on, I heard the offending rod 'give way'.  (they DO make such
interesting sounds when they 'get off'.)  Oddly, even though I knew It just
'died', it kept a goin'.  So put a bit more 'go' into my toes (when it went
from a 6 to a 5 cylinder, it developed something of a skip (to say the
least).  So to get the rest of the way home, I put it into low and gave 'er
hell.  It knocked everybit as knockey as it had before which surprised me
some (I was only 17 or so at this time...I was still in 'asshole' training,
so I didn't spent lots of time guessing it might be more than one rod a
thumpin'.  DUH!!).  Anyway, revvvvvvvvvvvvvving my way up the block...rod
number two decided it's time had come as well and 'got off' with more
interesting sound effects...The final sound emmited as the end of this
process indicated that it was unlikely to be a cheap or easy fix (like I
really cared).  What was amazing to me was it was still running (albeit not
really that well).  I found a fairly large and easy to get into parking
place in front of the house, revvvvved up the skipping and sputtering engine
(and it was STILL knocking!!) and reveled in the joys of not having had to
walk home.  I then shut it off.  Tried to restart it.  Not successful.  This
baby had given up the ghost.  Opened up the hood and found my 4 cylinder
sidevalve engine quite hot, with two new caves where once the side of the
block had been.  That Sidevalve 6 dropped two rods clean off (like the Vega
would do many years later), busted up the block.  But it DID still run which
was quite impressive for an idiot in training.  It never did start again,
but the point is...
With the bearings in the engine past their 'end of the line' time, it
knocked, but ran and did get me home.  (made it run fairly hot too.  Thin
oil did not help this process in a positive manner, but it DID affect it
positively....positively expedited it's demise...)  Throwing one rod and
running is worth a brag, chucking two and still running does make for
interesting tales.  How far would it have gone after this had I had to go
somewhere?  Ummmmmm...I doubt it would have gone 'round the block one more
time as no water and no oil definitely does diminish life expectancy of an
engine. 
 
Refer to Daughter's Gremlin story regarding 'how far does a Gremmie go'
after it's death.  With one unharmed lobe on the entire camshaft, the fact
it ran IS impressive.  In sub zero weather stunning.  For as long as it did
starts to require a stretch of faith in believability.  But it DID.  And I
DO think it attests to AMC's addition of 'Love' somewhere in that Gremmie's
heart for my Daughter.  The Gremmie should NOT have gone on...and on...and
on...and........like the EverReady Bunny.  That was a nice trick, Gremmie,
and for that it shall always live on in our hearts as 'The Car That Could'.

I have no high MPG stories except for the 30 Rambler Miles per gallon in my
'55.  It was close enough to 30 'for real' to be believeable, and even by
today's standards, that car WAS good on fuel (sidevalve 6 with 3 on
tree/OD).

18 miles on one gallon from Bennington to NorthAdams, MA was achieved in my
'63 Ambassador with a 327 lo compression.  That, any way you cut it, is
GOOD.  I can live with that.

My '62 with 4V 327 is, has always been, horrendous.  10 to 13 MPG.  Does not
get better, and there is nothing to fix.  Using the odometer of the car with
205-14's (Radial, of course) and always 'topping it off' just won't improve
the figures.  Ever.  It nearly 'touched' 14 once or twice, but...that is
just the way of this beast.  Worse yet...GourmetGas ONLY.  Road milage with
regular drops the MPG so that the increase in consumption offsets the cost
difference.  You MUST feed 'er 'Super', lots of it, and often.  In return,
you get smooth running, great sound effects from the 'stereo' tailpipes
(ceramic no less), neck snapping acceleration, immediate attention from
anyone not deaf, and a great cruise (into the nearest gas station).  Give
'er regular and you'll get sputter, spits, skips, and humiliation and you'll
be immediately sorry you put that crap into the tank.  NO solution except
'acceptance' of the facts.  HiTest, quantity, and go.
But it does hurt the wallet.  
(But there is NOTHING even close to that sound; the 327 fixin' to breath
fire, sounds like it is running on testosterone, and you can tell this car
is in a hurry.  I gotta admit...it IS my favorite driver of the whole fleet
because it's fast, furious, fun.  Fun 'cept for the gas.  Along with my '60
Olds Super88 with a 396, the WORST fuel consumers I've ever owned.  (my '74
Pontiac LeMans with 350 4V could swallow some volume too.  But it wasn't
fun..so it doesn't count.  I sent it down the road FAST.)
The WORST fleet member?  My '56 Packard Carribbean with EnginousGinourmous
topped by a pair of Rochester 4V caves.  PLENTY of power.  Fuel consumption
in the league of the Saturn-Five Booster for the Shuttle.  This car could
bury you in the seat (it weighed twenty bajillion tons and could consume
fuel in the Gallon per second league).  (OK, those are exaggerations.  Truth
be told, weight exceeded 5,000lbs (for a passenger car, that's a lot), and
disposed of fuel at the rate of about 6 miles per gallon.  I do NOT think I
ever got over 10MPG with it, but I did have trouble keeping my toes out of
those Rochesters.  It had 'good sound', and I was always wantin' to 'light
them up'...  That, along with some other bad habits I'd not yet outgrown
made it difficult to keep fuel in the tank.  Fun driver, but the worst fleet
member to this date.  I've had worse (Dodge Plow Truck, for example), but
passenger cars, this was the guzzlerest.

I will try to recall other excesses to report in the cause of amusement;
meantime, I think I've said plenty enough!

Party On, Folks...
I'm outta here!

Jj



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