Forget all of the temporal paradox issues, and what his contemporaries think of a car from the future, etc.
My question is, how long could he keep it running? Assume that he has a job at a war plant and that he uses the Impala in a carpool, commuting about 50-60 miles a day, with light usage otherwise (there is a war going on, you know.)
Also assume that Gramps has access to a real prodigy of a mechanic, who can move heaven and earth to fabricate replacement parts as they wear out using 1940s equivalents. How quickly will, through normal wear, he run across a repair that is simply beyond available technology?
So how long until the air conditioner is toast? Is it possible to bypass electronic ignition and fuel injection? Can the car be adapted to even use gasoline from 1942?
I think the biggest problem would be the relatively primitive motor oil. As I recall, those were the days when oil change intervals were something like 500 miles, maybe 1,000. This car calls for 7500/3750 mile (normal/severe) intervals, with modern 5W30 dexos1 spec oil. In 1942 you couldn’t get 5W30, and while of course dexos spec oil wasn’t even remotely conceived of, this preceded not only the current SA/SB/etc. specs but also the long outdated ML/MM/MS specs.
You could probably get several tens of thousands of miles on the factory oil fill. I’m not sure if it would be better or worse to change the oil with what’s available in 1942, but I suspect worse, even with a 100 mile interval.
Other stuff could easily go 100K miles, except maybe the air filter (called for at 45K) and spark plugs (see below).
A/C lasts indefinitely, until something wears out/breaks or a leak develops. Could be years. No R-134a available, though. Any fault that requires opening the system would be death knell.
Old-style conventional ignition system could be installed IF there’s a hole in the block for a distributor to go into and IF the camshaft has a distributor drive gear. Probably be pretty tough to come up with spark plugs that would even fit, much less work well.
Fuel injection could be replaced by carburetion. Until then, onboard computer system would minimize octane-related problems. Leaded gas would foul spark plugs in 10-15K miles.
Mostly academic, though, if the oil is as unsuitable as I fear.
In 1942, his big problem is going to find enough gas to drive 50 miles a day. Gas rationing, you know. But let’s assume he gets an “A” classification because he’s a defense worker driving other defense workers.
His 1942 gas is going to be leaded, which will ruin the catalytic converter. That won’t cause the car to break down immediately, however.
The motor oil available won’t be up to today’s standards, but that won’t cause an immediate breakdown.
I don’t think the alternator had been invented yet, but there were 12-volt batteries, so you could keep the ignition going.
Your biggest short-term problem may turn out to be something like power steering or brake fluid, or antifreeze. WWII era fluids weren’t nearly up to today’s specs. I can easily see a contemporary aluminum radiator not liking 1942 antifreeze made for copper radiators.
In the long-term, once a control module goes, the car is likely to become road sculpture. Solid-state technology simply didn’t exist in 1942 and I’m not sure how many of those systems Gramps can hotwire.
I don’t think the old fuel nozzles will fit the new tank filler tube…I’d think electronic issues would also be an area of concern - what if the computer craps out, or you even lose the (microchip containing) key?
The biggest problems will be the quantity and quality of the gas.
First the quantity. Factory workers were Class B drivers and got 8 gallons of gas per week. Assuming a round-trip distance of 60 miles a day, and assuming that it’s all highway driving, (the Impala is rated at 30mpg on the highway), that’s 2 gallons a day, which leaves you a day short.
At 50 miles a day–and assuming that Grampa is an early hypermiler, he could probably up the gas mileage to 35–that’s 1.43 gallons per day, or 7.15 per week.
HOWEVER, now we come to the quality. As near as I can tell, the best gas of the time had an octane of only 80, and some gas was even less.
I don’t think the computer can compensate for the lower octane for very long at all, especially since the leaded gas is going to foul up various components quite royally.
So the consensus is that Gramps starts getting into trouble starting with the first fillup. But what if the mechanic is also a chemist. Can the lead be removed from gasoline? Could methanol then boost octane?
Pure ethanol (no water in the alcohol) could be used to boost octane, assuming he could get it. The catalytic converter does not affect the performance of the engine, just the exhaust. It might be possible to reprogram the computer (before you send it back in time) to ignore the EGO sensor and still get decent performance.
Aviation gas might be the answer, but I’ve no clue as to the octane ratings in '42. Anyway, I imagine avgas would be difficult to impossible to obtain for a car in wartime.
Probably it would be easier to swap the engine with one of that era that would fit, but trying to hook it up to the Impala’s front-wheel-drive transaxle would be near impossible, unless Cord parts could be made to fit or even provide hints.
Staying with the engine-swap idea for a moment, there would be fewer problems if a rear-wheel-drive car had been pushed into the time tunnel. I’d send back something like a '72 Pontiac with the 400-cubic-inch engine or Bullitt-chase-scene Mustang or Charger. All three burned leaded gas.
Gadzooks. Imagine the dropped jaws if a '59 Cadillac convertible appeared in front of the malt shop.
Tires were rationed, too.
And according to my parents, that was even more of a problem than gas rationing. They talked about taking the old, worn rubber tires off farm wagons (replacing them with wooden wheels!) and putting the rubber tires on cars. That they were old & worn didn’t matter too much – speed limit was 35 mi/hr anyway, and pretty strictly enforced.
Which brings up another problem with this idea.
The distance mentioned wold be about 2 hours of commute time every day. That would be really a lot for that time. Especially as a lot of defense plants were running overtime shifts regularly. A 10-12 hour workday was fairly common; adding 2 more hours of commute time makes a really long day.
And why such a long commute, anyway?
So many men were overseas that there was lots of housing available; workers just moved close to the defense plants, and went home 1-2 weekends a month, if they could. Tough, but there was a war on, remember.
I live in metro Atlanta, and I was thinking of my own experience - a 50 to 60 mile commute per day was nothing to me. You’re right; commutes a fraction of that was more the norm back then.
So what was the average miles per year for a car back then?
Also, with a speed limit of 35 mph, modern tires would probably last four years or more, leaving fixing flats the only issue with tire care during that time.
Cool question! I thought about the same thing myself.
Without reading what others have posted, the short answer: anything sent back in time from 1972 or earlier shouldn’t have too many problems. Later, and you’ll have issues.
In 1942, Gramps would be getting coupons for gasoline rations. He’d be lucky if he’d get enough gasoline to drive 50 miles a well, much less a day.
Anyhow …
Oil: motor oil from the era was primitive. Multi-grade oil wasn’t available. Machining tolerances are far greater in today’s engines, and they require far less viscous oil than what was seen in the past. You may have to dilute the oil with Marvel Mystery Oil, and change it frequently - every 500 to 1000 miles. As-is, you can probably get 5,000 miles out of the 2012 oil, maybe a bit more if it’s a synthetic. With no expressways, and highway congestion being far worse in the 1940s than now, the car will be running on a severe cycle. You might need a special filter that can be cleaned and reused, like a K&N.
Gasoline: problem. Gramps would have to live in an area with Amoco stations, which sold unleaded gasoline. If “ethel” is unavoidable, cut the catalytic converter, dilute the gasoline with some moonshine, unplug the “Check engine” light that would otherwise always be on, and cross your fingers.
Other fluids (transmission, brake) may be a problem, due to formulations that are more corrosive, or which might congeal or break down under conditions not found in cars from the era. Even in today’s cars, if you use the wrong type of transmission fluid, you’re going to have problems. Air conditioning could be recharged with the refrigerant of the era, but it might be more corrosive, and the tools might not be available. Antifreeze: use distilled water during the summer, and a water/moonshine mix during the winter.
Suspension: Roads in the era were rough; more brick pavement, streetcar tracks, and deferred maintenance from the Great Depression. The shocks, springs, struts, and strut mounts will go bad fast; probably 50K You might be able to have new mounts fabricated at a machine shop. The car probably won’t get that much use, considering gasoline rationing.
Transmission: Automatic transmissions are EXTREMELY complicated, and the most skilled mechanics of the era might not be able to make sense of it. I don’t think you can get a manual-equipped Impala, so consider a Cruze instead.
Battery: Cars of the 1940s had a 6 volt electrical system. Modern cars have 12 volt electrics. He’d need two batteries wired in series, should problems arise. Not enough room under the hood for them, so batteries might need to go in the trunk.
Electronics: modern cars are VERY reliable compared to those of the 1940s, but if there’s problems with the electronics, overriding them may be a problem if it’s a drive-by-wire system. It would be more of a problem in the Northeast and Midwest (rough roads, salt) than out West. Not even Cuban levels of jerry rigging will be enough to overcome a drive-by-wire system should something go wrong. It probably won’t, but if it does, Gramps is screwed.
Tools: Your mechanic will need metric tools, even considering it’s a modern car made in the US. Metric tools will be EXTREMELY difficult to find, and searching them out will open your mechanic to suspicion that he’s a German spy. Specialty tools won’t be available.
Other:
GPS won’t work. OnStar won’t work. Electronic diagnostic tools to read engine trouble codes won’t be available.
The radio will sound terrific on AM, but FM will be useless until the late 1940s, and then programming will be limited to AM simulcasts and classical music.
The car and its parts will be much less susceptible to corrosion than other cars of the era, but it should still be washed frequently given the obscene level of air pollution in that era.
Broken glass would need to be specially fabricated, and it won’t be safety glass.
Another option might be to send back a Ford Crown Victoria, Mercury Marquis or Lincoln Town Car; the last Panther-body cars rolled off the assembly line in 2011. Its body-on-frame construction will also deal better with the rough roads of the era.
No, don’t send back an Impala, send a Toyota, Honda or Nissan and make it clear that it is a Japanese made car, that will make the folks from 1942 think that Japan ended up winning the war.
Especially disturbing because it will almost certainly be built in the US. Clearly after conquering the US, the monsters are forcing us to build their cynically-named “Honda Accords” at some sort of forced labor camp in deepest occupied Ohio.
