the KISS method, KEEP IT SIMPLE SON.

 

Different times. Back then I suspect gas was cheap, oil was cheap, parts were plentiful, and could be bought from the dealership if nowhere else. The trucks were new. Rust free, wear free, free of brittle wiring and fuel tank sediment.

Also from an engineering standpoint leaded gas was a key feature in how reliable and efficient those old trucks were. Pull a classic anything made before hardened valve seat and modern piston ring material out of a field and watch it loose compression in a few thousand miles. Run it on winter fuel and watch all of the rubber hoses and seals disintegrate.


On the other hand our modern oil is a lot better than what they would have had back then.


Fairbanks was small. It still kind of is. When I go visit family up there it feels like everything is remarkably close. Compare that to Anchorage where if you want to go somewhere downtown you have to drive twenty miles.

It's also exceedingly flat. Which why the 71 wasn't so terrible in terms of bad mileage and handling. In Anchorage even with studs I didn't like climbing and descending some of the steeper hills in that thing. Fairbanks though? Drive 30 mph for a few stop lights and you're there.

I wish everyone still had a CB. That's one cool thing I missed out on. I put them in all my trucks and they all have scan functions, but all I ever hear is road crews and the occasional trucker. Atmospheric skip signal every now and again, mostly errant signals from Hawaii and California.

 

heck i think anchorage is 8-10 miles across!

 

You obviously don't work for the Chamber of Commerce.

But you're painting a very negative picture....albeit true.....it's not as bad as you depict.

My buddy lives up in Fairbanks, has so for 17yrs, with a 79 F150 300-6 and he does just fine....."user error" is the typical culprit of motors.

 

Geezzz... I love stories about Trucks and Alaska...

When I was 19 or 20 years old ... I drove my '72 Mustang up the Alcan hi way all the way from Houston,TX to Anchorage, AK. It was around Sept or October I think. The only mods the car got was a set of studded snow tires that were put on at a Sears Auto somewhere in Seattle. By the time I hit the Alcan hiway and saw my first snowy / icy hiway, I think my studs were 1/2 worn down. About 10 miles into the Alcan (just outside of Dawson's Creek), I felt the need to pull over and install the chains I got with the tires. As I struggled with putting them on a hippie looking fella came up and helped me. He then asked for a ride up the road... which I offered. He got out in Whitehorse which was like 870 miles and it took use a couple of days to get there. I think I camped outside a closed gas station for the night because I was too scared to pass one up without fueling up.

I survived alright and it was an experience I'll never forget. When I left Anchorage years later in 1986, I drove back to Houston in my '83 Mustang GT. The road I think was nearly all paved by then except for a few stretches. I survived living in Alaska during the winters by driving beaters, none of which were 4WD. My first was a 70 Ranchero with a 429. Loud glass packs and not a straight body panel on it but it did run good. I always kept a few sacks of concrete in the back to help with the traction. I eventually put that motor into my 72 Mustang (first engine swap) and crushed the remains of the Ranchero with a Dozer. Damn that was fun. My next beater was a 66 Ford Fairlane wagon that was straight and rust free except the engine did not run and it had a busted back glass. The 302 motor from the Mustang replaced the sick 289 and with a new exhaust (glass packs of course) went into the wagon. That was the best winter vehicle ever! I paid $300 for the car plus the cost of the exhaust work and piece of plexi-glass for the back, my cheapest investment ever. It had manual steering but the heater worked and seemed to get traction okay in the snow and had plenty of room to haul stuff in. I kept this for several years and it never let me down. Sometimes I wish I still had that old wagon. Dang seats still looked like new.

Granted I lived in the big city and not in some remote area but I think you can get by just fine with an old vehicle (even a two wheel drive one) if you take care and keep it in good shape. Remember to always travel with some basic survival gear, some tools and spare parts.

Oh, you might need to get some cardboard to stuff in front of your radiator to help keep it warm and besides a block heater a battery blanket too. A CB radio might be a good idea too.

Have fun!

 

Thanks for the clarification....

Alaska can be nasty...but it doesn't have to be....

Depends on the person/truck.....

 

20-ish miles round trip. It's about 13 miles from the hillside to downtown. That's still a long way if you're driving back and forth every day. Worse if you live out in the valley and commute.

 

Poo Poo artist....live and let live.....

 

i go from lower hillside to midtown and i'm at nearly 10 miles one way(9.Somthing depending if i take New Seward or Minnesota). 15-20mins on avg in rush hour.

i would blow my brains out if i had to drive any farther/longer. family just bought a house in wasilla(very nice place) but they both work in town and the wife just moved here so she does not know what shes in for on the glenn in the winter...i did try to warn her though.

 

That could be said for any major city.... San Fran. to Miami.....

 

100% true and confirmed by my trip to Seattle last winter for training, but our winter conditions can make a "quick 30 min commute" into a nightmare.

i have two co-workers(both always early and VERY reliable) who live in Wasilla and commute in. at least 10ish days out of the winter they where late due to wrecks. more then a few days it was HOURS late....count me out!

 

These are relevant. If you've never watched it Roadkill! is a really fun youtube series Motortrend puts on. In this series they take a cheap 1968 Rancharo, build it into a racer in a few days and attempt to drive it to Alaska for ice racing in the winter. Hilarity ensues.

 

the reason people live in the valley and drive to anchorage for work, is anchorage you dont have freedom to do what you want on your property like shoot, or have roosters... and to top it off your neighbors houses are so close to yours people think they are your buildings too! like a big old housing project.

thats what i call anchorage anyhow. the projects.

 

explain why the everyone around me has goats,horses,chickens and roosters, cows,sled dogs. i cant see my neighbors houses through the trees across my land...need i go on. the picture you paint is of a very different place then where i live. you could not pay me enough to live anywhere else in this state.

not all of anchorage is Mt View or fairview...

 

man i see your neighbors houses in the pics you post. and yes its against the rules of anchorage to have ROOSTERS. or butcher livestock in anchorage, and no matter how many acres you have, you cannot shoot a gun