The Paranoid Prepper Bug Out Vehicle (BOV): Part 2

The BOV Saga: Part 2

I’ve actually been through one car restoration previously.  That was before I was a prepper.  The car was an antique Porsche.  If you go back far enough in Porsche history, the cars are basically hopped up Volkswagens.  I learned that a typical car restoration takes about 6 years.  Yes, you read that right.  ☹  Might as well get started!  I should be finished with my BOV by the time the town resurfaces the streets.  😊

My dream BOV  😊

This is Part 2 of my BOV story, you can read about Part 1 HERE.

Keeping the price down

My shop owner started looking for a parts car to keep the restoration price down.  We figured out where to get the long range fuel tanks!  Cars were moving through restoration, including Corvettes, a couple Vipers, a 50’s Cadillac, etc. 

Time went by and the tires went flat on the Suburban, but this was the deal I struck.  We also weren’t finding a parts car, which was going to provide a newer interior, axles and brakes, etc. so the project was somewhat “challenged”, or “Murphied”.  Maybe the Mercedes would have been a better choice?  At least the car would blend in at the shop!

Then the shop’s lift broke.  ☹  Ever tried to pick up a Suburban without a lift?  Not recommended.

Despair? Never in life!

As I was beginning to despair that my project would ever start, a 1981 VW diesel Rabbit became available, due to a broken ball joint.  This was a total POS, so I bought it.  I figured if my Suburban project got done, the Rabbit would be the “scout car”.  I might not have a Mercedes, but I would be the only guy on the block with a fleet of running vehicles after an EMP!

Part of the deal was the seller had to deliver it to the restoration shop.  He got it towed to the shop where the front wheels fell off, . . . literally.  While the seller was trying to move a car with no front wheels, I told the shop owner I was going to fill his lot with ‘80s diesel junkers until he restored one.  He’s still trying to figure out if that was a joke, or if I am serious.  😊

The funny thing is that as bad as both vehicles are, the engines run, so maybe my choice of diesel engines was not a bad idea.  Of course, the wheels falling off is an issue.  ☹

Two projects with little to show for them… so far… 

Now I had two really awful restoration projects, that would produce absolutely valueless vehicles, when complete, and free storage at the restoration shop.  Would you want a fully restored diesel VW Rabbit?  Neither does anyone else.  Well, actually one guy saw the VW, sans wheels, as he was driving by the shop and asked the restoration shop owner if it was for sale. 

I figure he was the other People’s Republic of New Jersey prepper.  The shop owner made sure I knew there was an offer.  If you’ve ever done a car restoration, particularly on a car for which there is limited interest, you might have a sense of the futility of such an endeavor.  The sheer pointlessness is mind boggling.  😊  Murphy loves car restorations!

This is going well, right?

With junkers accumulating, the shop owner decided he was on board with the program, and found a Suburban parts/donor car, bringing the Paranoid wrecks in his yard to three.  Unfortunately, the only work so far has been to fix the VW ball joint so he could roll it from one side of the lot to the other.

So that’s my BOV saga to date, 2 Jeep Grand Cherokees, 2 Suburbans, and a VW Rabbit, and if an EMP hit tomorrow, I would not be going anywhere.  Murphy wins a round.  Check in around 10 years from now for the conclusion.  Maybe I’ll have a Mercedes by then.   😊