an@hou2h.UUCP (A.NGUYEN) (03/22/84)
-- With all this talk lately for forming various Owner's Groups (BMW, Volvo, GTI, etc), I thought I would venture forth and propose an Owner's Group for Oxcarts. Before you dismiss this as yet another frivolous proposal on the Net, I should point out that there is an overwhelmingly large majority of Oxcart owners out there, but they are unfortunately almost as overwhelmingly silent. Nonetheless, they are enthusiasts just like you, and often more so, if only to make up for their vehicles' lack of enthusiasm. A very large concentration of Oxcarts in this country can be found in and around Lancaster, PA. There is much that need to be discussed about Oxcarts. Performance is a prime topic, as always. Performance figures for Oxcarts are particularly hard to come by, because of the automotive intelligentsia's refusal to test such lowly vehicles. Even private individuals have a hard time doing instrumented testing of their 'Carts, because facilities and equipment are often specifically NOT made available to them. At the drag strip for instance, hot 'Carts would run in the 2 minute / 7.67 mph bracket, therefore in the time it takes to make one 'Cart run, the track owner could have dozens more runs of more conventional vehicles. Simple economics keep Oxcarts from using tracks. Shop manuals are similarly hard to find. The usual sources, eg. Haynes, Clymer's, Chilton's, simply refuse to publish anything on 'Carts. Seems these publishers are not convinced of the need for a shop manual for something that hardly has a couple of dozen nuts and bolts and cotter pins in it. Mechanical knowledge on 'Carts is mostly folklore, passed from father to son. The stodgy image of 'Carts, rivalling that of a certain Swedish marque, is another ill-founded misunderstanding. 'Cart owners are often very flamboyant drivers. A spider-bodied 'Cart doing a four-wheel drift around a corner is an unforgettable sight to those who have seen it. Corners that have enough ice and snow to make professional Rally drivers want to consult the "I Ching" before negotiating can be taken flat-out in top gear! 'Cart safety, contrary to popular belief, is excellent. With well designed crush zones in the bodywork, Oxcarts can withstand impacts that would turn ordinary cars into hamburger. Brakes are extraordinary by automotive standards. Where conventional cars must rely on the idiosyncrasies of rubber to generate braking forces, a 'Cart has positive hookup between vehicle and road surface, in the form of anywhere from 4 to 16 hoofprints. Gas mileage is so amazing that 'Cart owners have been known to take their vehicles into areas where there is no gas for miles around. Oxcarts have a good thirst for water however. They never did do well in the Barstow-to-Vegas desert race. If the need arises, I would be glad to serve as moderator for this Group. Happy driving to you all .. Au Nguyen "Have you heel-and-toed your Oxcart today ?"