This is an excerpt from a Newsletter I started back in January 2008, the first edition. I hope you enjoy reading. There is a video link below on how to recover one if you ever lose one of yours.
This is a feature Collector Story Submission
1972 Civic Submarine Test
FROM: Earle Horton
SUBJECT: Re: Expedition engines can ingest Water Spray
DATE: 22 Nov 1998 02:10:13 GMT
ORGANIZATION: AT&T WorldNet Services
NEWSGROUPS: rec.autos.4×4
A lot depends on engine design. Some engines will bend a connecting rod, while others will crack or break the cylinder walls. Others will simply stop running once driven into water but work fine if drained and refilled with lubricant.
I drove a 1972 Honda Civic into a pond once. The year was 1976. The car was totally immersed. Then Bernie and I got the dump truck, pulled the car out, drained the water out of the oil, popped out the windshield, and tried it again. We had so much fun we went back into town and got Ralph.
Ralph is about 6’4″, Bernie is about the same, and I am a mere six-footer. We induced Ralph to get in the middle of the front seat by offering him beer. We drove around the Montague flats a while to give Ralph a false sense of security, then took off up the power line right of way. About a half mile up, a right turn leads to an embankment that straightens out and leads down into the pond. The last two hundred yards or so is a straight shot into the pond.
About halfway down, Ralph realized what Bernie and I had planned. Ralph is strong, but the beer had slowed him down and Bernie and I had the doors locked and were securely belted in. About the only way out for Ralph was the windshield opening, and he went for it. The created a very large disturbance in the front seat area of the Civic, to say the least.
Luckily, there wasn’t enough time for Ralph to escape. As the Civic entered the pond, a wave of water which looked to our beer soaked minds like a tidal wave crashed in over the hood and we took Ralph for a short but memorable submarine ride.
A group of local hippies was on the other side of the pond smoking dope. One of them laughed so hard he fell down but wasn’t hurt. As we were standing on the roof of the Honda, we realized that the portable winch and (more serious) the beer, were in the back seat of the car. Bernie, ever the gentleman, headed underwater to fetch the necessaries for pulling the car out. Not a single bottle of beer was lost. The Honda was good for two more immersions before the motor gave out.
My wife keeps in touch with Bernie’s wife. He drives a bus for musical groups on tour and has put four children through college. I left the commune, went to college, and wound up programming computers for Big Bad Microsoft. I had to retire from that because it gave me enough money to afford lots of toys but not enough time to enjoy them properly. I don’t know what became of Ralph, but I am sure he hasn’t forgotten our little ride into the pond.
I don’t do much off road driving now. It tends to tear up the environment and annoys wildlife and hikers. If you see mud on my tires, it comes from the parking lot at the trail head. I leave it on because I like to tell myself I am impressing people who must work for a living.
