Improvise 10+ things from an old Chevy Impala

Greg Davenport

Greg Davenport

Joined
Nov 29, 1999
Messages
632
Note: Try to answer this before reading the responses of others.

(Since I believe improvising is a key component of wilderness survival...I like these kind of exercises.)

You find yourself in a longterm survival situation (reasons unknown). You have limited resources...yet you still have to meet your "five survival needs".

Following my survival step by step process you:

1. Stop and recognize the situation for what it is.

2. Recognize and prioritize your "five survival essentials" (listed below) in order of importance.

3. Improvise to meet your needs ("five essentials").

while going through the steps of improvising you inventory your manmade and natural materials. One of the things in this inventory is an old 1963 chevy impala.

question:

List at least ten things you can improvise from the various parts of the car. With each improvised use...list which one of the "five survival essential" category it falls under. You may need to find a car and look at its various parts in order to complete this exercise.

Five survival essentials"

1. Personal Protection (clothing, shelter, fire)
2. Siganling (manmade and improvised)
3. Sustenance (water and food)
4. Travel (with and without a map and compass)
5. Health (psychological stress, environmental injuries, traumatic injuries)

------------------
Greg Davenport
http://www.ssurvival.com
Are You Ready For The Challenge?
Are You Ready To Learn The Art Of Wilderness Survival?

 
Mama Mia!? I get a whole car?! Wow!!


Shelter first... Metal makes bad shelter, but I have odd and assorted upholstery that I could fashion into clothing of sorts... If large enough pieces exist, I can use them in a shelter.

If I can't find some bowl shaped piece of metal already done, I can probably bang one out of some piece I can remove, and create me a cooking instrument.

If the battery is in any kind of shape, I can find some wires, and make a fire. Even easier if gas is still in the car. I should acquire other ways soon, the battery won't last me long term. If the battery is no good, I can attempt using the head lights to focus the sun as a magnifying glass. Failing this, and having no other firemaking implements on myself, I will take some wire or cord from the car, and hunt up material for a bow and drill. If I desired, I could get spring material from the inside of the seats for the bow.

Thus done, I can make drinkable water our of any I can find. If I am having trouble finding water, I can take a large piece of glass from somewhere, and make a passable solar still. Or if I can find some plastic sheeting, all the better for the still.

Having water, and being in a long term survival situation, my next goal is easy food. Plenty of wire in the car, and with wire I can make snares.

Food and water taken care of, I can look into signalling. Aside from all the nice reflective pieces like lights and mirrors, the car itse;f is a good signal. I can scrape down to bare metal if the color is somewhat dull or unnoticeable. The tires would put off a good deal of smoke should I need it, and the gas would be a good tinder to keep on hand for my smoke generator.

Until I am very well taken care of, I probably don't want to stray too far from the car, with it's wide array of useful items, but should I want to, I can make shoes from the tires and a belt or back pack to carry all my new toys out of the seat belts. (Assuming the owner had them installed. I don't think they were factory in the '63)

I can make all sorts of needles, fish hooks, lures, cutting implements and what not out of assorted small pieces of metal.

Should I have the time and desire, I can attempt to fashion larger knife/dagger/sword out of the leaf springs. I'd need to manage to take off enough parts to get there, and fasion a hammer and anvil.

Further things I could fashion from parts of the car -- remove bench seat for sofa in my camp -- tinder from various upholstery/plastics -- boat from body panels -- jack for moving heavy rocks from car jack -- rig crank for alternator to create electricity, power any lights/radios I have -- use fuzzy dice for game of craps with imaginary friend Peaches -- hood for sled for easier travel in snow, or hauling things snow or not


All of this, should I be thinking straight, would come after trying to start the car. If the car functioned, I'd travel with it, based on my best guess of where I wanted to be, or maybe just to scout the area. Were it to work, and I wanted to stay lost, I'd save enough gas to get it somewhere hidden near where I intended on camping.


Stryver, "What _couldn't_ I make with a whole Impala?"


 
Tinder and Firestarters - upholstery, foam, gas, paper (maps, receipts, registration, etc), rubber from tires? (not sure how rubber burns, but in a survival situation I can find out
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Signaling - mirrors, detach headlight from front end but keeping wire attached to signal aircraft at night
Clothes - poncho, blanket from upholstery
Use foam to make a bed, with rubber floor mats as a ground cloth (do Impala's even have floor mats?)
Make a dish out of hubcap, if it has any.
Use hubcap as a sled
Two wheels stacked could make a seat, or just remove one from the car.
Use oil soaked in rags/upholstery for a torch.
Drinking water from radiator if in desert and no anti-freeze used.

Greg: Just out of curiosity, have you ever used this scenario as a training exercise?
 
Hi Sgt,

Yes! On special occasions or when a group desires this type of trng in their objectives...we'll get an old piece of crap from the junk yard and tow it to wherever...and build it into our trng scenario. A great learning tool on the art of adapting and improvising. :>)

Remember: inventory both manmade and natural materials. Isn't it odd how many people freeze to death each year...in a house full of furniture!

------------------
Greg Davenport
http://www.ssurvival.com
Are You Ready For The Challenge?
Are You Ready To Learn The Art Of Wilderness Survival?

 
1. Wheel makes a cooker.
2. Plastic resovoirs make water holding containers, not sure I would drink from them directly though even if well cleaned.
3. Seats provide material for shelter, if not using car body.
4. Belts make tie straps and cordage
5. Tires make smoke for signaling when birned
6. Tons of wire in the harness for tieing, snares etc.
7. Windows make nice walls for shelter, barrier walls, or even a green house
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.
8. Jack makes a comealong if needed.
9. Battery , wire and bulbs make signaling devices, light.
10. carpet makes blanketing
11. Seats make nice bedding off the ground
12. Hood makes a sled, or travois
13. Seat belts make cordage
14. Rear Axel makes the start of a cart or trailer.
15 Air Cleaner makes a cook pot
16. Batterie and wire make a fire starter.


Thats a small list of what I could think of off the top of my head.


------------------
Lee

LIfe is too important to be taken seriously. Oscar Wilde
 
Seat covers as shleter, bedding, clothes, foot ware, used with tires to make sandals, use wiring to make snairs, use cigarette lighter for fires, use seats as seats or beds, mirors for signaling, any metal pieces for pots, tools, knives etc, hub caps for pots and water carriers, tires to burn for signaling, metal pieces also can be made into hooks, spear and arrow heads, doors torn off and used as shelter, a ton of possibilities. Geoff.
 
I love these too, GREG! They get people thinking and really seeing what is around them that can be used for multiple uses!

Here's my list: (Now I don't know much about '63 Impalas, too young!
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)
1) Wiring can be used for cordage for several uses-snares, lashes for shelter, repairs-multiple categories!
2) Headlights-water bowls!
3) Windshield/windows-shelter building.
4) Roof liner-sleeping cover.
5) Seat stuffing-tinder and insulation.
6) Seat itself-sleeping PAD.
7) Oil filter-tinder.
8) Seat springs- cooking pot holders and fish hooks.
9) Fenders and hoods can be used for shelter building.
10) Sections of sheet metal from body parts can be pounded into cooking pans, bowls and skillets.
11) Sections from the sheet metal can also be used to shape cutting tools, broadheads and digging tools.
12) Tires- fuel for fire and smoke generator for signaling.
13) Oil-fuel for fire and smoke generator for signaling.
14) Mirror or the parabaloid reflector from the headlights for signaling.
15) Tire iron-digging/prying tool.
16) Tire rim-fire platform to keep the fire off the ground due to wetness or snow.
17) Ashtray-water holder, cooking pot.

That's about all I can come up with, I guess I went over 10! LOL
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18) OOPS! I almost forgot the battery, if there is one, maybe with some wire you can start a fire or light a light for signalling.


------------------
Plainsman
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primitiveguy@hotmail.com




[This message has been edited by Plainsman (edited 13 December 1999).]
 
BTTT.

Just wanted to give new board members a chance to challenge their improvising skills.

Best,

------------------
Greg Davenport
http://www.ssurvival.com
Are You Ready For The Challenge?
Are You Ready To Learn The Art Of Wilderness Survival?

 
This thread reminds me of a TV show I've seen called "Junkyard Wars". The show pits two teams against each other in a junkyard, the goal being the use of scavenged parts to construct an item specified by the show's host. At the end of the show, the finished products are tested and the team with the best performing item wins. So far I've seen them make one person gliders and cannons.
 
I would just start it up and drive back to civilization! It was not stipulated that the car was disabled, out of gas, had flat tires, or was otherwise inoperable.

Walt
 
Walt is thinking like captain kirk hehehe
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.
BTW if the battery isn't dead why not try using the cig lighter to start a fire?
 
Chevy Impala ’63:

If it still has a running engine but is not in driving condition it might be turned into an emergency SOS transmitter system. How? Well, that’s where we would need Ron Hood, since in a post a link was given to an Australian newspaper about a year ago at the peak of the Y2K heap. It was about Ron and describing the know-how of the method. If I can find it I will give the link.

Tire: smoke signal, rubber for sling shots and fixing up things. Making soles for sandals or boot repairs.
Wheel hubs and signaling (mirror), eating, cooking utensils.
Upholstery: for makeshift clothes, insulation, shelter materials
Carpet: sleeping mat, improvised vest.
Cables: wire for snare and sewing.
Mirrors for signaling and fish lure.
Battery: magnetizing needle compass, with beams, use as flashlight or for signaling.
Gasoline: to start fire. Motor oil: to burn, make lantern, waterproof things.
Glass from beams: glass bowl.
Sheet metal parts (if they can be removed): surface for cooking, to build fire on when ground is wet, hammer with stone into bowl to use as a pot, use as large hot plate to melt snow.
Smaller sheet metal pieces: sharpen into chopping, cutting tools, spear and arrow points.
Tubings washed and cleaned: to get water out of rock crevices.
Radiator as barbecue grill.
Metal tools as clubs.
Finally, mandatory fuzzy dices make great earmuffs.

Best,

HM
 
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