Will a 1970's Wagon SURVIVE 2,100 Miles with NO REVERSE? 

i loved this, can't wait to see what that engine looks like from the inside.

The engine deserves a full rebuild and the car deserves a full refurbish. That thing woke up from the dead, was asked to do a Lord of the Rings journey, and it somehow survived.

I can't wait to see the teardown. I'm curious to see what the engine is really like inside.

That engine really deserves a rebuilt for getting you that far!

Anyone who’s had to make time on long roads will understand the madness that slowly sets in until you reach your destination lol

This is the first time Mom was genuinely concerned knowing how the trip was going, knowing you were coming into Sub-Zero temperatures with a race against the clock for the start of a whiteout blizzard, all while breathing propane fumes. I might have a new gray hair now. I was so happy to get the phone call that you made it home! This video was awesome!

Love the wagon and the episode. Nothing like a good old fashion road trip. You were worried about showing some people your exit and address but you left a liquid and vapor petroleum based trail from California to your front door that you can track from the International Space Station! 😮😆

The oil pressure getting better when you let off the gas is pointing to a wore thrust bearing. Your crank is walking back and forth. We had a auto hobby shop back on NAS Oceania Airbase when I was in , it was a badass place.

That wagon was so solid even the engine was solid😂. Pleasure having you my friend!

This Windsor has earned a second chance at life. I'd love to see the teardown and rebuild. This old gal is wonderful.

After surviving the drive getting you home. This engine most definitely deserves getting a full rebuild and lease on life with way better oil maintenance. May you and Mook and the family have a great and safe new year's

It’s journeys like this that make you glad to be a car enthusiast. If only you had someone to enjoy it with. It’d be awesome to have a friend on a trip like this.

I'll join the choir and say that I can't wait to see the insides of that motor! After making that trip it totally deserves a rebuild if it's at all salvageable. As for the wagon itself, it would make one hell of a rad cruiser for Power Tour!

After surviving that trip, that beast *deserves* a complete overhaul. Congrats on making it home.

That tear-down is going to be your best video today. Calling it now. That engine should get some love and get redone because it got you home, survived as long as it did, and over all still kept you going.

u left a 2100 mile oiltrail trough the country that must be somekind of record i think u count as ecological desaster now

After refusing to die and getting you that far, that 351 deserves to be rebuilt with some real nice go fast parts

This car is a survivor, the fact that it got you home is amazing. Please give it some of the TLC it really deserves

I realized why I enjoy this channel so much: I get all the suspense and worry of distance-driving time-bomb automobiles without any of the consequences. Thank you, from an ex-volkswagen driver

This video is better than any Netflix movie ive watched in the last 2 yrs , maybe more. The suspense has me drinking wine at 11:30 am. Im not a drinker but its Sunday and this trip has me on the edge of my seat ( no pun intended) . I just found this channel this morning. Sometimes the youtube algorithm will bless you. This is some shit my father would have done except he would have had me and my brother along on this ,what i deem a terrifying ride !!❤❤❤❤😊😊😊😊 rip daddy ! I miss you !

Reverse is optional, just park with something solid in front. When you need to leave drive forward, drop it into neutral before impact, and let the bounce propel you backwards.

That engine deserves a full resto and rebuild! What a legend!

I think that engine deserves a rebuild after that heroic effort of getting you home

Yup. 1977 Chevy Impala for my first car. Carried a case of oil in the trunk, put a quart in every two to three days. It got me through college (it was ten years old when I bought it), and then something broke loose and I had to replace it with a newer car to move for my first job. I still miss that old urban battle cruiser.

Whenever folks try to say how "solid California cars are" I always try to tell em "just the metal is solid, everything else will be gone" LOL .. thanks for bringing us along on the ride, glad you beat out that insane storm front.

Had a 91 Bronco with the 351 in High School. All 4 years, never saw more than 2psi of oil pressure. Last 6 months of it's life, it had virtually no oil pressure, and still got me to College. Lol. I swear those 351s will run on hopes and dreams

Man to be 25 years younger... I'll just live vicariously thru you Kevin. Well done.

You gotta save her. She deserves a rebuild and restoration. Such a beautiful beast can't be left to die

I know it wouldn't be worth it, but I feel like that engine deserves a rebuild. The end says it all, when you floor it in the snow and it sounds like a monster, blasting black smoke out the exhaust, and it's still going!

That valet dude was chill af 😂

Man, I hope it's not too late, but before you tear it down, you should try running different engine cleaners through the oil and see how much it improves, like Seafoam, BG EPR, automatic transmission fluid, etc. I'd LOVE to see what happens to it, how much it actually cleans up, how it affects the oil pressure.

My first car was a 1979 LTD Ford with a 351 Windsor engine: it was a big, blue boat of a car. I wish I still had it now. That engine always started, it would pass everything but a gas station, went through PC Valves once a month, and always had fresh oil in it. That engine was indeed bullet proof.

The "that would be some Ken Block stuff" hit me pretty hard. Rest easy legend you will be missed. Kevin rebuild that 351 but remember if you modify it, that's a 9.48 deck. I think.

Oh man, this might be your best video to date! The diesel smoke at the end had me crying😂 Merry Christmas!

Literally the best commercial for Lucas of all time 😂😂. You’re a brave hero. Great video and great job with it.

Whatever happened to this car?

You got better gas mileage than oil mileage. Love the road trip videos.

Definitely keen to see a teardown of that engine. Maybe even a cheeky rebuild if it's salvageable. That thing deserves another chance, it wants to live lol

I laughed out loud when you went through Pendelton with the expired CAC. Gotta love our tight security lol. Second, I actually loved how the base had a place where you can rent a space to work on your car. It's a DIY guy's dream come true. Back when I was in 29 Palms I would go do work on my Jetta which saved me a ton of money. Honestly don't know why they're not more common as they could really be a good business. My guess is the EPA stuff would be too expensive. Great video Kevin! Love this stuff.

So much of this is instantly relatable to me. I still own and drive a 1969 Ford Galaxy 500 4dr. It was my first car; a handmedown originally purchased by by grandfather I've had since '87. Wish it still looked as good as this wonderful wagon ! Shame about the hood but the same thing happened with mine about 30 years ago. I "flattened it's ears" as best I could and filled with JB Weld. Not perfect but it passes. If that engine is original to the car it has definitely earned a rebuild ! By the condition of the balancer, it probably has around 300k miles. The cam should be inspected as well. The 302 in mine still ran very smooth with a rounded off cam lobe on the exhaust. The only noticeable symptom was crankcase oil tinting dark soon after changing. I found the sludge when I pulled the timing cover after noticing chain noise. The lube ports had nearly closed off as well which probably lead to the chain wear which I'm now greatful for ! It had given me warning in enough time. She got a new cam, lifters, timing kit, balancer, front crank seal, and the best cleanings I could manage without pulling the block. A couple of oil changes later and she was good to go. This was back in 2014. I think your in for about the same on this "wonder wagon" but an original engine is worth it ! It looks like this thing is in very solid condition, better than mine which is beat to death but still drives and rides great. Please note that the AM/FM STEREO radio in this is EXCEPTIONALLY RARE and should definitely be kept and restored ! The "cockpit" style instrumentation in these cars is beautiful even though it rendered the gloveboxes virtually inaccessible 😂. Enter through the passenger side to check the contents of the latter 😅. The front dash is usually destroyed in these old cars and that's up to ones own enginuity 🤔 but, on the bright side, there's seldom much to lose 😅. All in all, this is a comfortable riding, good driving keeper ! Give her a chance and you'll love her! Just hope for better driving conditions 🥶.

Dude! We freaking LOVED this one! EXACTLY our kind of journey! Huge huge kudos to you and the car for the commitment it took to make this happen. As fellow ridiculous road trip people we felt this one in our bones! Definitely looking forward to you bringing this big bad boat back to life and you are right this would be an EXCELLENT Power Tour car!

It’s wild seeing fresh oil come out black black within 200 miles. I’d rebuild that 351, it deserves another chance for sure. Happy New Year Kevin and Mook

Junkyard digs out here giving us the Roadkill content MT took away cuz of greed and doing it better! Lets get some more of this!!!!

lmao the thumbnail had me rolling • NO REVERSE • NO OIL PSI • NO HEATER • NO CHOICE 😂😂😂

Awesome! That engine deserves to be rebuilt, she got you almost 2000 miles home!

What a legendary car. After so many years it still did what its supposed to do. Insane.

The literal black smoke at the end made my jaw drop🤯 Lucas got that motor back home. Awesome video

This was my first video I ever saw of yours, and I still come back to it now & again because of how insane this little engine that could really was. She definitely deserves a rebuild after making it home. Cannot wait to see inside!

Those old station wagons are great to drive on long road trips. I want to see the autopsy on the engine soon.

Love the 70's wagons! Beautiful styling. Great job keeping her alive for that long trip home ! I worked on many of those in the late 70's and 80's. It was common to find engines of that era jammed with baked on sludge. I cleaned out many oil drain holes while replacing valve cover gaskets. People just didn't have the cash to change the oil every 3.5K. Also, You could have a clogged pickup screen in the oil pan after seeing the sludge up top. I've seen a lot worse during my career and that was common too. It could have been that gasoline was much dirtier which it was, and or engine oil in the 70's didn't have the high detergents that the modern oils have. And that the owner assumed that the factory engine oil was good for the life of the engine. lol.( a customer of mine actually thought this and ruined her engine at 30,000 miles!) There was NOTHING in the pan but 3 inches of baked on oil ! Oil Well That Ends Well i guess!

Hey Kevin, do you think that the Titanic could have turned around that iceberg if it had QA1 suspension? 🤣

the beanie you bought ( 1:03:00 ) is the exact same my best friend used to wear years, he sadly passed away last summer on drugs, 20yrs old. i just was full lean into that fantastic video and then that little spark of him in your video made it even more perfect to me.

After all that, I think the engine has earned a rebuild.

Dear Kevin that engine truly deserves to live on, may I suggest a budget rebuild, the way cars used to be back in the good ol days, bearings bushes hone re-ring and valve grind. Thanks for a great video best wishes to you and Mook ❤

70's big wagons are just absolutely beautiful.

That engine deserves to be preserved, I can't believe it made it so far. Found this video, loved it, so subscribed :) love this type of video!!

Hey Junkyard Digs! Ive been watching for a year or 2... or maybe something like that, but Im about 3 hours west of Ames in Iowa, and youve been an inspiration for me. Ive started buying old things, mainly motorcycles and dirt bikes, but non the less ive learned many things on my journey. Thank you for the content!

I drove a VW Baja bug for about six months with no reverse, but that is a MUCH easier and smaller vehicle to push! Yes this vid reminded me of some of the early Roadkill vids. Thank you for doing this for us lowly subscribers entertainment rather than just taking a first class airline flight back to Iowa. :) Furthermore, thank you for being from a place like rural Iowa and representing us upper midwest guys! Don't ever change. (except your underpants)

It's a good thing you ran over 30 Quarts of oil through the engine to clean it out. That might have saved it. I agree it'll be intersting to see the teardown. My sympathies about the hood as I've done the same. I'm sure you'll find a way to save it or another hood. Very cool roadtrip vid across half the country. Happy New Year!!!

Oh man, that was entertaining. I had a '72 Cougar with a 351 Cleveland engine. It was a beast and shocked the Hell out of guys who challenged me with Corvettes back in the day. Very strong powerfull engines that could take a beating and not surrender. Thanks for the great video!

Love the cruiser idea for power tour, take the motor and tear it down, almost forensically. Could be very interesting and a great teaching point on the motor. Why it survived and why it happened. Happy new year Kevin and Mook!

This one was crazy. I don't remember watching anything lately that I enjoyed this much. It had everything from sight seeing to adventure, tension, crazy folk doin' crazy things and... crocs xD Well done and thank you for the content!

I think you should try all of the snake oil stuff to clean an engine like the 5 minute motor flushes, Sea Foam, Marvel Mystery oil, Transmission fluid, see if anything will clean up the crud.

Even a year after this video being posted I still find myself coming back to it and rewatching it. I think this is rewatch time 4. I’m not 100% sure. But I’ve rewatched it many times

That engine earned the respect and now deserve the dedication of a full rebuild.

Dude, you know exactly what that oil pressure shit was about. The engine was clogged in multiple passages and the sensor was one of them. It just cleared itself better than before. As long as you kept feeding the engine more oil, it kept chuggimg after the clearance. We all know you lucked out and got it to clear the issues. You'll find that blockage later in another area, be it the pan or another part of the block. Love ya bud, be safe.

This 351 is a trooper!!! and deserve a rebuild and go fast parts to stay in the car!!! Amazing journey Kevin!!

Part 2 Please. Engine teardown, im sure i speaks for most of us here that we want and need to see the inside of that engine in more detail!! :)

I wanna see the oil filter. Might have also contributed to pressure being so low.

This was beautiful. Yes repairing the main seal would probably have been a good idea but it would have been a really boring drive home. I'm amazed it made it the whole way and can't wait to see the rest of it. Love wagons❤️ thanks for a very good video!

The oil pump pick up screen was probably plugged up with all of that sludge. I can't believe you made it all the way home. That's amazing

45:28 even the music reflected what Kevin thought was gonna happen lmao

Gotta say I am seriously impressed by the reliability of that 351 Windsor given how horrible the rocker gear (And no doubt the rest of the internals will look). Excellent video and a cool old wagon.

So, I just found your channel Kevin thanks to Donut. I actually passed you on 35/80 when you were almost home and loved seeing the station wagon - thing is clean! I’d love to see an engine rebuild and getting the thing tip top. Instant subscribed!

I was at Camp Pendleton about 5 years ago it was my first trip to California and now I know why people want to live there even though the cost of living is insane! First off Kevin thank you for your service! I was at Camp Pendleton because my son is a United States Marine. We are truly proud of him. He is currently an active duty and married and I have three grandchildren by him and his wife. I love the video!

Kevin, This is exactly the way that you make memories and great stories. By doing crazy things and actually pulling them off. My wife I drove a 1985 Jeep CJ (which we traded her son for my 91 Chevy extended cab truck to have a reliable vehicle for his new daughter to be safer in) from Detroit Michigan to southern Texas doing exactly the same thing as you. When the oil pressure gauge started fluctuating I would stop, add 4 to 5 quarts of oil in the motor and fill it up with fuel, My gas stops were dictated by the oil pressure and lack of oil in the engine. We made it 1400 miles without dying or breaking down. Was it an adventure, yep, but we survived with a great story that we laugh at today, we aptly named it scary jeep as the front end was toast and would throw the jeep all over the road when you hit a bump. We weren't the brightest bulbs in the pack for doing it, but it was an adventure we talk about to this day. Great content on this one as usual, thanks for entertaining us with your crazy adventures.

Only a man who can quote Python's 'Holy Grail' could possibly attempt that drive in that car. I salute you Sir!

I've always heard from the old timers that if you put a couple gallons of kerosene in an oil-sludged up motor and let it sit for a few days, you can dump all the trash of the pan as the kerosene will break up all the gunk. I think that motor may be a good candidate if you're down to try it. :-)

That engine is a trooper. It held together. Give it the love and respect of the rebuild it deserves. Nice car. Hopefully a good body guy can fix that hood.

I just sat here an entire hour and watched this video from beginning to end. I don’t even have that kind of attention span for movies! Awesome video

Wow. This car is crazy. I feel like after all this it deserves to live. It has proved it is a durable car.

I'm genuinely stumped on how that engine ran so good and quiet on that wagon

Pretty admirable that the old car got you home despite the obvious years/decades of neglect.

Loved your video! When I was young I didn't have any money and drove several junkers. I fully appreciate your anxiety trying to get across country before a storm. I was in the AF and once had Leave for Christmas, so I drove from Albuquerque to Galveston,Texas in a standard drive 2-cylinder Honda Coupe. I wasn't that good at driving a standard then, I was just learning. So you can imagine my white knuckles going up and down the hills and wondering if my little car could outrun the storm. I made it, but on the return trip I drove on ice from north Texas to Albuquerque. It took me two days to calm down once I reached Albuquerque. Oh, the good times. I'm 73 now.

Yes make it the ultimate road trip car. It’s just too awesome to die. Make it reliable and take us along on how you do it. I’m sure I’m not the only one who would love to see that Windsor come apart, see what’s going on inside and be revived again. Think of the coolers you can stack in the back. Wagons are so underrated.

Kevin I think this video ranks up there as one of your best. Wildly entertaining and impressive how you persevered.

Incredible. Man that engine fought hard. Modern engines with tight tolerances can run for hundreds of thousands for sure. But I don't think there's anything else that would've done 2,000 miles on like 15-20 psi of oil pressure like that.

What happened to the motor tear down?

That motor absolutely DESERVES to be rebuilt. What a machine!

Love these old wagons. A '70 Chevelle wagon is one of my dream cars. For the build you should go full on luxobarge. Nice carpet interior, smooth engine and perhaps a repaint.

@1:06:24 that's insane! Also the performance of the 351 was pretty impressive considering the circumstances.

I watched this channel a couple of times ages ago and I forgot about it. It popped up again and all I can say is wow. I absolutely love it. Well done junkyard digs with all your content and journeys. Fantastic channel. Thank you for all you do. Keep up you're fab work.. Many thanks...Shane from the UK. Keep safe.

I’m so glad the success you’ve guys had with your channel. You guys deserve it all. Such an underrated channel. Say what you want about California but socal is beautiful just don’t go all Hollyweird on us!

This was one of if not the best episode on a car yet! I personally LOVE american boat wagons. I think it would be a great car for a budget restoration. Also myself and probably a lot of other people would love to see that engine from inside. I think it's worthy of at least some sort of cleanup, if not a rebuild! Keep up the freaking amazing videos Kevin! Stay warm and much love from Serbia!!

where is the teardown?

I can't wait to see what's inside that engine. It deserves to stay in that car after that trip.

When the Cash For Clunkers crap was going on. We had to drain the oil. Add water and this stuff called liquid glass to the engine. Which in the case of European and Japanese cars would seize the motor in seconds after starting the motor. Had a 351 Windsor in a Bronco that went over an hour, even with us red lining the motor to get it to pop. Those 351's are tough old birds 😆

Outstanding! The very definition of Adapt and Overcome! This old Mud Airman salutes you! That battle wagon deserves to be saved! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

where is this car now?

Absolute legend Kevin! I can't believe you made it home in time for Christmas. Epic!