A fine line.

It's a fine line between my accomplishing something and wasting time... A blog to accomplish this, really? The more I consider it, it makes sense that if I got this off the ground, a blog would be a natural progression; however, using it as motivating factor may still come into play.

Dividing my time between work, work and PS3 is a tough job, but one I will have to get over if I want to accomplish anything in the near future. It seems quite easy to fall into the normal routine of doing nothing and going nowhere.

I've spent over a year back in Canada after what I'll call my 3 year adventure in Thailand. I've spent over a year trying to figure out what I'm doing and where I'm going. I have 3 major passions in life - philosophy (Objectivist Philosophy to be specific), economics/business, and mechanics (motor vehicles predominantly). What better way to spend my mid-20's than travel the world by vehicle, engaging communities around the world and building contacts and continuing my studies toward a Doctorate of Philosophy?

So it's settled then - TransGlobal Car Journey it is! Now to get down to brass tacks....

Where to start and where to end?

Slow Start

Slow start to a blog, I know....

Lets just into the car I want to take!

1988 Honda CRX Si

Isn't she a beauty? Front wheel drive, 1.6 litre DOHC engine and just shy of 148 inches long, she just eats up the corners. Our US editions may have been somewhat lacking in the BHP (108bhp) department, but a few minor modifications would solve that problem, or better yet, dropping in Honda's 1.6 litre VTEC (150bhp) from their Japanese models. And at just one ton, this car is the very definition of eager.

How in the world would a CRX make it around the world?!? My first step would be to reduce the weight even more. Replacing the hatch and back windows with lightweight plastic would be just a start, along with a proper winch for the front. An extended mileage gas tank would be key.

I'm also very certain at this point that 90% of the journey can and should be completed without any forced induction... But lucky for me, strapping on a turbo to a CRX is like, errrr, well it's really quite easy. To reduce additional engine wear and all the other fun problems associated with turbos, it would only be attached when required.

With the proper tires, its size, weight and power there isn't terrain that I can think of that it couldn't traverse.

Stock vs Modified

Didn't foresee this issue, but in hindsight, it does seem pretty obvious...

Looking around at the availability of various Honda's around the world (and biasing my search for 88-89 series CRX's) it is becoming a little difficult to track down non-modified cars. Everyone and their grandmother is strapping turbos and messing with suspension....

There are a number of reasons that this poses a problem. The main reason this is an issue is Honda doesn't outfit their vehicles with these options for a reason. I'm all for getting your fingers dirty, and there are loads of cars that warrant a few modifications (coming from the American in me), but Honda built what they did for longevity, something most tuners forget when they start having to repair their Hondas bi-weekly. So a significant trend toward unreliability with aftermarket parts means a trans-global journey would be best to avoid such parts. The second issue is that with all the parts replaced with aftermarket pieces, finding stock replacements in various parts of the world may be harder than I'd originally anticipated.

I can also see plenty of places where a turbo would be oh so handy - is it smart to set out with a naturally aspirated 4 cylinder engine?

First blog, I'm quite lost

So needless to say, this is my first attempt at a blog. And to make matters worse, I decided to start it with an event in mind, and not just a general discussion that I would add to regularly. It'll take me a bit to get into the swing of things, learning what type of discussions people are interested in having on the topic.

Has anyone done a long distance trip in an old, used vehicle before? Any insight for someone who's taking shots in the dark at the moment?

I know I have all the ambition and dedication it will take to make the trip, but the more important part is to find a myriad group of people who also have an interest in the outcome.

Any and ALL suggestions are welcome, and indeed requested!

(Loving that the spell check built into Blogger.com doesn't recognize the word 'blog')

So what vehicles should it be?....

When I talk about going around the world in a Honda, in full disclosure I do not mean just one vehicle. Honda is a manufacturer of all sorts of vehicles, and the ultimate journey would showcase everything that Honda has to offer. This means 4 wheels, 2 wheels and no wheels!

So lets talk dream vehicles before I have to get the nitty-gritty of it all and be practical.... Honda S2000, Honda XR 650L, Honda NSX, Honda CBR1000RR.

Okay, dream time over, let's get talk realistic choices.
The cars with the most common Honda parts and engines will end up being the Civic line, that's almost a given. The 4WD setup of some of the later Civic's would be very beneficial in many circumstances; however, more moving parts means more that can go wrong. The FF (Front engine, Front wheel-drive) setup of the some of the shorter wheelbase variations would make for a simple drive train and far more simple repairs and modifications when needed. The FF setup maintains the benefits of the engine above the drive wheels for optimal traction.

I would be lying if I claimed I wasn't a bit biased in choosing a Honda CRX as the car platform to run the trip on. But the more I consider it, the more sense it makes. 1988-1989 CRX Si - typical and common engine, improved suspension over earlier models. Low weight, nimble and a winch could pull it up a cliff...

Common motorcycles: Honda CB400 Super Four or a Honda CRF 250-400cc. Versatile and common, easy to repair and can go just about anywhere.

Presentation?

One very important idea to me is to hook up a constant feed/video from the car's perspective to record the entire trip.... the entire thing, which means loads of data. But that alone wouldn't be entertaining to anyone. I'm very interested in the myriad presentation ideas that will spring up by simply proposing the question. If you had to present a round the world trip (or to watch a presentation), what would you like to see??

Challenges?

A round-the-world trip is self-explanitory... but why waste the opportunity to do as many 'firsts' along the way as possible? Any ideas about challenges that can be attempted anywhere in the world along the way? Something a car hasn't done yet, and you think it can?