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Don Juan de Fuca
Newbie
Posts: 6
Registered: 3-12-2017
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Gonna get me a Mexico war wagon
Ola,
Mentioned this idea on another post and thinking it needs its own thread. Just registered on the site today and recently returned from Loreto and am
now planning on driving trips back. So with all due respect to John Wayne and Kirk Douglas I'm gonna get me a Mexico war wagon with good clearance,
robust shocks, reliable and inexpensive, or in other words, a de-commisioned Ford Crown Victoria police interceptor. Crown Vic's have higher than
usual clearance and robust shocks for driving over curbs (rough roads), cooling systems designed for high speed pursuits (desert driving), robust
transmissions for jamming through the gears at high speed (busting bandido roadblocks). They were fleet maintained and lots of parts around and there
are reasons the police regard them so highly. I see a lot of them up here in Canuckistan and everyone on the road behaves themselves as they think
it's a cop so you drive around in a bubble of safety. Apparently to make de-commissioning cheaper they leave the kevlar in the doors so they are
partially bullet proof. The front seats also have kevlar in them so you don't get stabbed through the seat. Some even have a fire suppression system
for the gas tank. And lots of cargo room in the trunk. Ram bars on the front would be a bonus for animals on the road. The ones with cloth seats were
detective driven and therefore less likely to have been in crashes. Basically they are trucks that look like cars with police grade modifications.
Bonus is that everyone around you will think you're a Federale and back off. Install ballistic film in the windows to withstand gunfire and lots of
other DIY armoring options for a car set up to both scare and outrun the bad guys. Stuff the doors with phone books? Get those nifty run flat tires in
case they get shot? It's often said that if you want trouble you can find it but sometimes it just finds you anyway. So why not a real bad ass Mexico
war wagon that everone will think has Federale's behind the wheel. A black one with ram bars would be a nice ride near the border. And if you want to
race a gasoline truck through the mountains you're good to go! Thoughts?
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philodog
Nomad
Posts: 163
Registered: 10-9-2010
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You don`t want to have anything that looks like a police vehicle in Mexico. It will only get you in trouble. The Feds and army get real nervous with
vehicles that look like they are impersonating something official. A friend had a great 4wd decommissioned ambulance and got so hassled he sold it. On
the other hand they might not recognize a Crown Vic as a cop car as quickly as any gringo would. But I would still get a 4wd truck over any sedan for
Baja travel.
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Don Juan de Fuca
Newbie
Posts: 6
Registered: 3-12-2017
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Some very good points. Forgot about the cartlels and their home armored vehicle and such.. But I do like the idea of kevlar in the doors and
ballistic film in the windows so if I do go with the Crown Vic, it may be best to ditch the ram bars and get one with a plainclothes detective kit so
it looks like a civilian grade car but is police grade under the hood. When I drive through the army checkpoints I always have my windows down, sun
glasses off and hands where they can see them. Appreciate your comments
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AKgringo
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5807
Registered: 9-20-2014
Location: Anchorage, AK (no mas!)
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Mood: Retireded
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If you are trying to blend in, you need a white F250 Ford pick up with side rails. An empty 55 gallon drum and a bale of hay in the bed will complete
the image!
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8921
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
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Mood: Black Trans Lives Matter
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Are you thinking about the Baja peninsula or cruising around the backroads of Sinaloa?? Baja travels require 4WD, good mud-terrain tires, and low
gearing for when the going gets rough - as in Spring 2017 with all of the storms that have damaged the dirt roads. Here is the perfect Baja war wagon
- a STRETCHED Jeep CJ-5 with matching trailer. Built to take you there, and back!
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chuckie
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6082
Registered: 2-20-2012
Location: Kansas Prairies
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Mood: Weary
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A beat up Crown Vic will go any place a Jeep will go, cheaper and a lot more comfortable. AND way more places than a Takoma...AND it stands out,,
something that is important these days...Love the KEVLAR option...I have noticed that the claws on the Chupacabras get longer every year. A set of
tires from OK Rubber welders is the hot set up..ENJOY....
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pacificobob
Super Nomad
Posts: 2237
Registered: 4-23-2006
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i love the crown vics! see below link to a song by the same name.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0UcAtQsw3U
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bajagrouper
Senior Nomad
Posts: 964
Registered: 8-28-2003
Location: Rincon de Guayabitos, Nayarit, Mexico
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Mood: happy and retired
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I believe the Mexican Federal Police use 2016/17 Dodge Chargers...
Crown Vic ground clearance = 6.0"
My Subaru Outback clearance=8.7"
I hear the whales song
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chuckie
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6082
Registered: 2-20-2012
Location: Kansas Prairies
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Mood: Weary
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If you go fast enough, you don't need ground clearance...
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gnukid
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4410
Registered: 7-2-2006
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A good car is an SUV with AWD economy and AC
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chuckie
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6082
Registered: 2-20-2012
Location: Kansas Prairies
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Mood: Weary
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I am always amazed when people take a post like this seriously....
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micah202
Super Nomad
Posts: 1615
Registered: 1-19-2011
Location: vancouver,BC
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.
....make sure yer fix the cigarette lighter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yil9wlfa0yo
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DawnPatrol
Nomad
Posts: 357
Registered: 11-19-2013
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he's "On a Mission from God" a la Blues Brothers
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chuckie
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6082
Registered: 2-20-2012
Location: Kansas Prairies
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Mood: Weary
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NOBLE!
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Don Juan de Fuca
Newbie
Posts: 6
Registered: 3-12-2017
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Respecting the prior post. Go ahead, don't take it serious. But Mexican bad guys will. And so I maintain that a cheap and uber reliable Crown Vic.
with police grade clearance, shocks, tranny and coolent system is an obvious winner as a Baja cruiser. And bearing Philodog's points, one with a
plainclothes kit is all the better, so as not to give the authorities the willies. And then there's Ken's awesome rig, how badass is that! Though
sadly I note that it lacks both armor plating and a gatling gun, and so I'm not so sure it actually meets the John Wayne/ Kirk Douglas War Wagon
standard. Check out those Libyan and Syrian technicals on youtube. Buddy in Kansas get's it. Which brings me to the issue of kevlar in the doors and
up-armoring, say with ballistic window film etc. It's Mexico! (Ok not mainland Mexico) Now I'm not saying that I want to go tear-assing around Baja
like a mescal fueled pendejo. Okay, maybe a little bit. But I had a few scrapes with Mexican machismo back in the day, though mostly on the mailand.
And leaving Mexico aside, why not have a certain level of protection against say road rage in general or say if a big chunk of rock or concrete was
kicked back against your windshield and ballistic film would save the day. Or simply getting caught in the crossfire of the proverbial wrong time
wrong place. Unfortunately car armoring is a huge industry in TJ and you can go online and buy a kevlar t-shirt. So anyhow, all I'm saying is Crown
Vic's are tough as nails, eminently suited to Baja driving and already partially bullet proof. Mine will have a secret ignition kill switch under the
dash.
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bajadogs
Super Nomad
Posts: 1058
Registered: 8-28-2006
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Are we at war with Mexico? Why the fear? Stay home if it's that much trouble.
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bajabuddha
Banned
Posts: 4024
Registered: 4-12-2013
Location: Baja New Mexico
Member Is Offline
Mood: Always cranky unless medicated
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I own yet another Ford product, not too proud to say. However, if it were me, I'd custom out a '78 El Dorado Biarritz w/ front wheel drive and 427
cu.in. sitting on the drive train, with air chocks on front and rear... I used one in places I didn't even know there were places, plowed 18" of snow
with the front bumper. I'd guarantee when you reached your off-road destination you would be refreshed, and ready for that 5:00 martini.
Víva Cadillac. There IS a difference. ¡Víva la diferencia!
I don't have a BUCKET LIST, but I do have a F***- IT LIST a mile long!
86 - 45*
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Don Juan de Fuca
Newbie
Posts: 6
Registered: 3-12-2017
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I'm not at war with Mexico but I don't want my head in the sand either given realities. And given what potentially could happen, if I can have a
reliable and discreetly up-armored vehicle both on the way to Mexico and while there it simply seems prudent. Near the end of the movie Unforgiven one
of the deputies remarks that he doesn't want to die for lack of shooting. Well in Mexico guns are a bad idea and I dont want to die for lack of
protection. Put another way, since Crown Vic's are awesome and already lightly armored why not go with it? Of course you could go for decades without
any need for such precautions. Or not.
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Don Juan de Fuca
Newbie
Posts: 6
Registered: 3-12-2017
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Not my first War Wagon! Had a 59 Fleetwood sedan and slammed into a car running a light. Came away completely unscathed and the other car was done. US
steel. Anothr thing about the Crown Vic's is they're designed to be easily straightened out after the expected routine crashes.
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chuckie
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6082
Registered: 2-20-2012
Location: Kansas Prairies
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Mood: Weary
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AND: They have the advantage of being pretty inexpensive...Gummint auction sites used to have lots for sale, fewer now since the cops arent buying as
many...
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