Ok, I am one of those doomsday people and my opinion is that the economy is really fragile right now. I was reading an article http://www.survival-spot.com/surviva...tina-collapse/ about the collapse in Argentina. The author was mentioning how the quality of gas was greatly reduced. I figure the same could be for gasoline. So do you think efi or a carb will run better on lesser quality gas? Or would they be the same?

I already have an 80 4x4 pu with the 20r and I am looking into another truck and was looking at an 84 with the 22r but after reading that article would efi be better?


Mike

 

I think carbureted would be better. Easier to change filters, less electronics, advancing/retarding timing affects less, carb parts are small and easy to carry. Ever seen an iraqi's toolbox? Bout 20 tools in it, maybe. But they'll put that hilux back on the road with it. For doomsday scenarios, diesel is best, as gas runs out first, but for choice of gas fueling, carbs are more reliable and simple. My $.02.
Edit: a 20/22R is also less susceptible to EMP if you're inclined to think that way. I have spare ECU for mine.

Sent from my iPhone using YotaTech

 

Get a diesel. You can stockpile fuel if you're so inclined, and it won't go bad. An old diesel, like the early '80s Toyota diesel pickups, will also run on #1 heating oil. You could even do a veggie oil conversion and run your truck on used fry oil from restaurants, assuming McDonalds is still in business after civilization collapses.

Edit: I read the article. The gas the author was referring to is natural gas, not gasoline, and it brings up a very important point--unless you have a woodstove and a good source of wood, cooking gets very difficult in a doomsday scenario. If you have a propane or gas cookstove, you can't count on the gas company piping gas to your house or filling your tank. Fill stations might very well run out. If you have an electric stove, you're out of luck during power cuts. Even if you have a generator, nothing will burn through your fuel supply faster than an electric stove. I lived in Gambia, West Africa for two years, and I've seen this problem firsthand. Third world countries are permanently in the fuzzy edge of the kind of scenario the author was describing, and there would be months when no dealers in the entire country had gas cylinders for sale. The only way to cook was to buy charcoal or firewood and build a little fire in the backyard or the charcoal burner. If you could find gas then, it would indeed be "bad gas," cut with water or compressed air, and it was difficult to even boil water with it. Gasoline was never as much of a problem there. I think that in the US we would run out of gasoline long before supplies went bad, since that takes over a year. He's also right about rats and roaches. Here's one you haven't thought about-- what do you do with your garbage when there's no garbage trucks and you don't want to waste fuel hauling your trash to the dump?