[updated:LAST EDITED ON 26-Nov-01 AT 02:37 AM (EST)]Anybody see the 2 hour "Mega War" tonight on TLC? They had a US team, a British Team and Russian team competing to build the ultimate off-road vehicle. It had to do a 3 mile speed lap in the salt flats, a rock climb and a 1 mile amphibious course. I was really jacked when the US team picked out what looked like a 78 or 79 4X4 V6 (???) flareside pickup as their base to build from. Then the idiots pushed it back and brought in a 4X4 Ch*vy short box fleetside instead! Supposedly it had something to do with the fact that it was easier to make a "lincoln locker" with the GM diff than the Ford diff but I think the producers must have intervened and made them choose the Ch*vy because they would have just run away and hid with the Ford.

It's being rerun on Wed night so if you haven't seen it and don't want to know how it ended stop reading now!!






Of course the Ch*vy frame cracked at the steering box after the first speed run and the engine overheated when it was half submerged in the water but the boys from the good ol' US of A still won it. The Brits came in second in a Land Rover based rig with an auxilliary outboard motor and the Russians were dead last in a boat with a motorcycle front end and a Toyota motor.

 

Yeah, I saw the show last night, but was really disappointed when they pushed what looked to be a 79 out the door in favor of a ch*vy. When they said that they cracked the frame on the ch*vy I told some friends it was probably at the steering box, and sure enough thats where it cracked. I do believe it was a jeep cherokee that the british used. At first they were going to use a land rover but they picked the jeep for a reason I cant remember. It was a pretty good show I enjoyed it. BTW Petersons Offroad mag. had a little article on the show.
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f

 

They probably used the C&**y because they didn't want to see a good ford truck being tore apart and abused like they did the c%$$y .

If they would have used the Ford, the steering box wouldn't have cracked, that straight 6 (V6?) would have carried the machine up and down those rocks like it was flat ground. Also the engine probably wouldn't have overheated and died in the middle of the lake , like that C$*&y motor did.

 

>I do believe it was a jeep cherokee that the british used. At first they were going to use a land rover but >they picked the jeep for a reason I cant remember.

Yeah I was flipping back and forth between the pod race in Star Wars: Phantom Menace (I love that scene) and Junkyard Wars during the building phase so I missed where they switched to the Jeep.

 

Perhaps the judges told them they have to use the ch&*# because using the Ford would be unfair competition...

James Kern
1970 F250 4x4

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 27-Nov-01 AT 12:49 PM (EST)]I am probably going to get into trouble here but I think that the russians should have won on originality alone!!

 

>I AM PROBABLY GOING TO GET IN TROUBLE WITH WHAT I AM
>THINKING BUT HERE IT GOES!!!!!!
>THE RUSSIANS SHOULD HAVE WON ON JUST BEING THE MOST
>ORIGINAL!

I'd have been more impressed if they had built their original design with the 6 rear wheels, 3 per side in a triangle pattern, for off road capability. As it was all they built was a boat with a self propelled trailer.

 

I liked the concept of the Russian vehicle but it could have been improved upon like Bill said. What seemed strange to me is when they were in the water they were paddling the “boat” backwards.

Barry

 

I really wanted to watch it, and was lying on my hotel bed anticipating a good show... BUT I fell asleep. HUH! I am not fond of hotels for that and other reasons - watching television on a bed is not conducive to successful viewing.

I did get to see the latest Rush Hour movie with Jackie Chan. It was not very good, in my opinion.
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I don't know what kind of junkyard they are in, but those vehicles didn't look in too bad a shape. The chevys usually are rusted, but that one didn't look too bad. And if you think about it, they didn't do anything to the chevy except take the body off, and weld some pipes on it. And I still can't figure out why they took the radiator fan off when they went to the lake. That's why it overheated. I told my wife sitting there watching it, I think I would have taken the lower radiator hose off and stuck it down in the lake. I thought maybe the waterpump would have pulled water right out of the lake to cool the engine. You have to admit though, most every show they use some little foreign car or something, and to hear that v8 when they first started it roar to life was neat.

 

Good point franklin2, I've heard that they "seed" the yard.

Barry

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 28-Nov-01 AT 10:14 AM (EST)]They don't necessarily "seed" the yard, but they do "pick-n-choose" the junk that goes into it. On Friday night they had a JYW bloopers and behind-the-scenes show. It was on at 8 or 9, in between some of their marathon shows. It was interesting to see what goes into making a show. It is clear that the technical consultants and other engineering types that populate the show's staff do give some input to the teams to keep them on track. Obviously, when they drag in cars, vans and trucks, the may not necessarily make sure they run but will look for stuff that atleast has the possibility of running. The Brits scrapped the Rover because they would have been faced with taking the jeep engine and tranny and transplanting it.
There are some shows where special "parts" are placed about to help things along - the monster mudders from the monster-truck show for instance.
The Russian design was doomed to failure from the outset. The fact that it held together as well as it did is amazing. The fact that it actually made it over the rock stage was equally amazing.

The most amazing part of that show as a whole is the complexity of the machines. Even teams that start out with the KISS principle tend to the heavy as time goes by.

And for the record - Cathy Rogers is a total babe.

 

Did the russians actually make it over the rocks? I thought their chanin came off once, and then broke. And I agree it's odd they chose to but the boat backwards to the drive train.

Anyone see the US vs British show awhile back with car crushers? Another great show.

 

I would have to imagine that they make sure the motors are at least not seized up before they place them in the yard. I always find it amazing that every motor turns over and usually starts right up. When I was watching the season finale episode with the trucks that had to take the wall down, I was impressed by the clutch linkage that they came up with on the crane truck.

James Kern
1970 F250 4x4

 

Again, I think the junk they pull in they check for some rudimentary things. Does it turn over for instance? It seems they have quite a stock of automotive batteries available to the teams. But I don't think that it was a given that that boat motor the brits snagged was a guaranteed runner.
Yes, the Russians did make it over the rocks. I am surprised that no one noticed the gearing ratio they created when they took that big truck rearend, a small toyota engine and tranny and hooked a small sprocket to the trans and a larger one to the rear diff...... No wonder it wouldnt go anywhere. And I don't recall that they showed how the Russians were propeling thier boat in the water. I recall seeing a prop but how were they driving it?