Hey Scotty! I want to know which trucks or cars that I could buy that have no modern electronics that I would have to worry about? How far back do I need to go? I have a 1984 Isuzu pickup with no electronics and a 1996 Ford Ranger pickup with an ECM. So when did electronics/ECMs start showing up in cars and trucks. Looking for a bug out vehicle. Thanks!
I was waiting for this!
It depends on the make and model. I'd say late 1970s, early 1980s is when it started mainly for emissions control. However back then they were mostly carbureted vehicles that could still be returned to a pre-electronics state with some rewiring and parts substitution.
I think pre- 75, engines didn't like unleaded fuel and you then had to get hardened valve guides.
You can get a lead substitute but how much of a problem it is really it depends on how much and how hard you drive the vehicle. I've never have not had any problems with unleaded gas in my older cars (1960s and early 1970s vintage) but they're not subject to heavy-duty use. (Unleaded Amoco gasoline was being sold decades before the lead ban but of course most people did not use it regularly.)
I'd say the best car to buy without computer/modern electronics would be anything before 1995, because if I remember correctly that's when they started putting major computer components in cars. They already had computer systems in the cars before 1995, they just weren't as major, but it is also possible to have devolution done to your car, while being expensive and time consuming it is possible.
In 1968, Volkswagen introduced the first vehicle with a computer controlled electronic fuel injection system. Known as the D-Jetronic, which was manufactured by Bosch. And ECU's have become a standard device on most cars since the late 1970's when they became necessary due to increasingly stingy government emission standards. So if you want something without any computer devices of ANY sort, the majority of cars before 1972 should be what you're looking for.
"Volkswagen's electronic brain. It's smarter than a carburetor." - VW, 1968
