Take your classic cars if you have to evacuate

[sb61fury]

To my fellow mopar and forward lookers .
If you ever have to evacuate for any reason take your classic car with you do not leave it behind . If I ever come to that situation and I have to evacuate I will take my '61 fury . I will put what I need in the trunk put my cats in the pet carrier and my bird . I will make sure my fuel tank is full also.
I remember when Flagler county was evacuating residents because of a fire . I seen on the news folks drove their antique classic cars when they evacuated because of a fire. these were restored cars for shows and cruise ins

 

[ImpJay]

I highly hope that no one faces that situation. But wishing is not enough...

 

[rapidtrans]

“Leave the Jeep, take the Monaco”
It’s got huge trunk.

 

[patrick66]

Seriously??? I'm taking my family, my dog, important papers, weapons, and enough clothes and such to last a few days. Always have a "bug out bag" ready. I have insurance to cover the loss of my old cars, I am not going to jump in one and find it won't start, all the while, the wildfire closes in at 30 mph. Screw that. Plus, my modern cars have fantastic air/ventilation systems, while my old cars don't. You want to risk your life for the sake of an old car, go for it.

BTW, I took a direct hit from a tornado rated at F4 in 2003. Lost nearly everything, including several old cars and a couple of newer cars. Guess what? I moved on, rebuilt, and got different cars! It's all just stuff. All of it is replaceable.

 

[BIGBARNEYCARS]

I like to hear someone else say "IT'Z ALL JUST STUFF". Shows real maturity, Jer

 

[patrick66]

Jer, I can't tell if you are actually agreeing with me, or being facetious.

 

[BIGBARNEYCARS]

My thinking iz that Having your home broken into and plundered counts. A home that my Wife and I designed and had built in 1978 was violated on the 12th of August 1980 and for the next 14 yearz that we owned that home it was never the same place. You don't get to be my age without someone or some event having screwed with you. Yes at the point entering my 9th decade I consider my self Mature and it iz ALL JUST STUFF, and no, Not being at all Facetious,. Just the way life iz. Yes I'd say we agree, Jer

 

[commando1]

Good gawd, if you main concern is a stupid car, you obviously don't have much else to be concerned about.

 

[fc7_plumcrazy]

I am in the lucky situation living in a country/area where there is no major danger from nature. No earthquakes, no wildfires, no flooding, no tornados, no blizzards.

You never know what happens but the above risks are small.

Despite that:
Of course I would take my classic cars. Actually my girlfriend and I would drive two old Mopars for sure.

Don't know which mechanical condition your old Mopars have but ours are reliable and I don't worry to drive them anywhere out and long distances.

And no, they are not "Just" cars or me.
If that makes me immature: fine

Carsten

 

[patrick66]

Carsten, you've obviously not been affected by this dilemma. I have, and have set my priorities accordingly. Life first, stuff last. Mechanically, my Mopars are drivable anytime, anywhere. First off, one of my Mopars is a convertible. You'd have to be a fool to evacuate in a ragtop. It goes in the fire. Another has a vinyl top. Same thing. It will be toast. My '68 D100 has the original weatherstripping and therefore leaks air like a sieve. It burns, too. My son's Buick has only floor vents and a heater. Useless in evacuating through smoke. It will die, as well. My wife's Buick and my Dakota are well-equipped for such an evacuation. They will survive. And so will my family. Shi# happens. I've replaced everything once before.

 

[sb61fury]

If I had a rare car like a '61 fury I would not leave it behind its got a big trunk . I lost 1 once and I do not plan to lose this 1

 

[Big_John]

My cars would be the least of my worries. They are insured. I would mourn their loss, but they are just stuff... It would be nice if I could move them out of harm's way, but other things are more important.

Fortunately, we just get snow here...

I watched a video once about protecting your car in a hurricane. What was great was the narrator emphasized "take care of family first", but his advice was pretty good... Go park your car in a concrete parking garage. A couple floors up, towards the middle, away from the outside.

 

[Carmine]

On the one hand, I hate the preachy "save your life" talk because it sounds like something (somebody else's) grandma would say while knitting a crying shawl. Well no ****.

On the other hand, I'm not going to judge somebody cause they took the newer car to escape X circumstance.

I suppose for me it would depend on the disaster. For one thing, I've got more old cars than drivers, so I suppose something's gonna get trashed. In certain situations the old car would be better, like an EMP blast. (And with points in my distributor, I'll make slaves of those who bought Pentronix junk) No pesky airbags going off if I need to hit zombies at speed.

But... my minivan is better for junk hauling. So I get to keep more stuff.

I suppose if I knew a non-emp Disaster was coming next week, I'd just go buy the most badass diesel 4x4 Dodge Ram I could find.

You'd never get me to live a weather/fire/earthquake disaster zone anyway. I'm prepared for excess cold with a layer of fat and excess sun with a decent amount of melanin. So in a disaster, I'm probably driving a foreign POS rental and will consider it open season to commit as much damage as possible before burning it.

 

[LocuMob]

I have a fleet to worry about. If I had one right there that started, ran, and drove, I'd take it, but I could live with all my crap in the world disappearing, as long as I'm alive. I just have to worry about tornadoes and snow, so I don't worry. My life is more important than any inanimate object, no matter how.much I may like it.

 

[stubs300]

This is a joke, right?

 

[The Goose]

In certain situations the old car would be better, like an EMP blast. (And with points in my distributor, I'll make slaves of those who bought Pentronix junk)

LOL !!! That’s pretty funny.

Remember the nice thing about most rentals is in a disaster it provides at least 5 days worth of pre made campfires ( if it comes with a full size spare tire ).

 

[Yeahrightgreer]

I don’t understand some of you.

I think I can go ahead and speak for the OP in saying that - he’s not suggesting you sit there tinkering with your car, hurryingly spraying starting fluid down the carb or try and replace the alternator while a deadly wildfire is scheduled to come to your house.
He’s not saying either to just leave all of your things and only worry about the vehicle. “Screw my wife. I’m hoping in the Plymouth.”

Obviously if you have a lot of umpteen cars, this post doesn’t apply to you
If your car doesn’t run. This post doesn’t apply to you.

For some people - it’s not “just material”. For some people - it’s the car they grew up in, learned how to drive in, the last shared memory between them and a loved one, a father, a mother. It’s nostalgia. It’s a part of life just like all the family photo albums, and baby pictures.

If you KNOW your car is reliable. Grab the keys. Grab your family. Grab everything you can and leave. Yes insurance can replace it. Just like it can replace the house. But the car has wheels. The house doesn’t. Save something and don’t lose everything. Can insurance replace memories?

Rant over.

 

[MrMoparCHP]

1. Know YOUR risk factors, for me it is the potential of a dam breaking, yes there could be an earthquake but I wouldn't need to evacuate.

If there was an issue with the dam we'd have about 30 minutes from the point of failure, at that point I grab my bug-out bag and a mountain bike and throw it in the back of my Diesel Ford F-250 Super Duty and head out. Bicycle alone I could be in a safe zone within 15 minutes, in this town I feel the three points of entry (all bridges) would be overwhelmed with traffic real quick so unless you are one of the first you probably not going to make it out in time so grabbing the car wouldn't be wise.

Alan

 

[The Goose]

I don’t understand some of you.

I think I can go ahead and speak for the OP in saying that - he’s not suggesting you sit there tinkering with your car, hurryingly spraying starting fluid down the carb or try and replace the alternator while a deadly wildfire is scheduled to come to your house.
He’s not saying either to just leave all of your things and only worry about the vehicle. “Screw my wife. I’m hoping in the Plymouth.”

Obviously if you have a lot of umpteen cars, this post doesn’t apply to you
If your car doesn’t run. This post doesn’t apply to you.

For some people - it’s not “just material”. For some people - it’s the car they grew up in, learned how to drive in, the last shared memory between them and a loved one, a father, a mother. It’s nostalgia. It’s a part of life just like all the family photo albums, and baby pictures.

If you KNOW your car is reliable. Grab the keys. Grab your family. Grab everything you can and leave. Yes insurance can replace it. Just like it can replace the house. But the car has wheels. The house doesn’t. Save something and don’t lose everything. Can insurance replace memories?

Rant over.

One thing to remember is what you leave in is gonna be your house for a few days weeks or in the case of montecito’s mud slides (actually it was boulders from a creek overflowing that got em) it was 3 months plus. My 69’s probably comparable to a nice 4 bedroom ranch style home with a bitchin’ deck if you include the trunk.

 

[stubs300]

1. Know YOUR risk factors, for me it is the potential of a dam breaking, yes there could be an earthquake but I wouldn't need to evacuate.
If there was an issue with the dam we'd have about 30 minutes from the point of failure, Alan

Yeah, and by the time the dam bursts and the incompetent ENS gets the word out, how much time ya got then?