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08-05-2019, 11:11 PM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 170
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My 1973 Dodge Titan Project!
So I figured I'd start this thread for my '73 Titan motorhome project. I got this thing for free along with a 1972 Dodge Titan, but I'll post about that one later. This thread will mostly be about the '73. I've already started doing a bunch of work on this motorhome and I'm going to try and keep it as original as possible. Most of the problems with it are from it sitting untouched for the last 10-15 years. But all we had to do was put in a fresh battery and dump some gas in the carburetor and the beast fired right up! So I believe the milage, which is currently at 77,400. She running strong so far, but I've got to figure out a pretty bad oil leak before I truly take it out on the road for the first time.
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08-05-2019, 11:45 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 170
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 1970s Titans
So I figured I'd start this thread for my '73 Titan motorhome project. I got this thing for free along with a 1972 Dodge Titan, but I'll post about that one later. This thread will mostly be about the '73. I've already started doing a bunch of work on this motorhome and I'm going to try and keep it as original as possible. Most of the problems with it are from it sitting untouched for the last 10-15 years. But all we had to do was put in a fresh battery and dump some gas in the carburetor and the beast fired right up! So I believe the milage, which is currently at 77,400. She running strong so far, but I've got to figure out a pretty bad oil leak before I truly take it out on the road for the first time. Attachment 255904
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So the day we got this running was also the day we tried to move it. Everything was working fine and I had just gotten the brake pedal unstuck the day before. So driving it down the hill was very sketchy. But the brakes seem to be working fine, so it was going pretty smooth. Unfortunately we only got about halfway down the driveway before the front drivers tire did this.
This ended up resulting in a very sketchy tire change. I had to steal one of the wheels off of the '72 Titan, which was difficult because it had sunken so far into the ground, and the dirt underneath was very soft. I had to dig under the axle so that there was enough room for the jack, and then set the jack on a piece of wood. It was a super tight fit getting the wheel on the '73 once I finally got it off the '72 though. The '72 Titan has smaller 16' lock ring style rims and drum brakes on the front. The '73 has 17.5 single piece rims and disc brakes on the front. So that wheel just barely fit on there. But it was fine for just driving it up the street to my house. This last photo is when I finally got the wheel on there.
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08-06-2019, 06:01 PM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 170
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Here's some more pictures of the Titan.
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08-06-2019, 06:06 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 170
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08-07-2019, 05:30 AM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 1,152
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Exterior looks to be in amazing condition for setting so long.
First thing I would do now is check the caulking on all the seams, lights, etc. so water does not get in and ruin the interior.
Then you will find just about endless items you need/want to do to it.
All the old hoses for drivetrain, brakes and propane system will need to be changed out.
No end to the fun you will have! LOL
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08-07-2019, 08:54 AM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Texas Hill Country
Posts: 1,793
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I'm guessing that is a M300 chassis?
Plan on replacing the rear wheel cylinders as they will probably start leaking and could soak the rear shoes. This tends to happen after years of sitting and drying out. I would also want to replace all 7 tires with new ones as well as all things rubber throughout the chassis.
Consider dropping the gas tank to clean it out in order to head off any issues that a contaminated tank will bring.
It's good to see an old coach getting new life!
__________________
2017 22K Bounder 415/6spd/5:38s
2018 F150 Lariat 502A 4X4 Toad & Tow Vehicle
2023 Rockwood GeoPro 20BHS
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08-11-2019, 10:25 AM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 170
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Quote:
Originally Posted by leadman
Exterior looks to be in amazing condition for setting so long.
First thing I would do now is check the caulking on all the seams, lights, etc. so water does not get in and ruin the interior.
Then you will find just about endless items you need/want to do to it.
All the old hoses for drivetrain, brakes and propane system will need to be changed out.
No end to the fun you will have! LOL
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For sure! And I've already completely resealed the roof and started tearing down the bad ceiling panels in the back where it had the worst damage. I'll post pictures about that soon.
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08-11-2019, 10:30 AM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 170
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 77Travco
I'm guessing that is a M300 chassis?
Plan on replacing the rear wheel cylinders as they will probably start leaking and could soak the rear shoes. This tends to happen after years of sitting and drying out. I would also want to replace all 7 tires with new ones as well as all things rubber throughout the chassis.
Consider dropping the gas tank to clean it out in order to head off any issues that a contaminated tank will bring.
It's good to see an old coach getting new life!
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I'm pretty sure the chassis is an M300, but I'm not 100% sure just yet. And yeah, I've already started looking into new tire options. Luckily for me as well the gas tank was completely empty when we first started working on it. But I agree that it would still be a good idea to drop it down and clean it.
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08-11-2019, 03:07 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 170
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08-12-2019, 11:32 AM
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#10
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Texas Hill Country
Posts: 1,793
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Sweet!
__________________
2017 22K Bounder 415/6spd/5:38s
2018 F150 Lariat 502A 4X4 Toad & Tow Vehicle
2023 Rockwood GeoPro 20BHS
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08-16-2019, 01:30 PM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 170
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Here's some engine pictures. This is either Chrysler 318 or a 360, I still haven't figured out which.
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08-16-2019, 01:37 PM
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#12
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 170
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Here's the generator as well. It will take some work to get it running through. The whole choke is missing and there's been other weird repairs done to it that need fixing. Also, the base that it sits on is sagging down really far and is being held up by wires, so the generator actually sits about six inches lower then it's supposed to. I need to fix this right away because I would hate for that thing to just plop out while I'm driving down the road.
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08-31-2019, 10:55 PM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 170
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I took the Titan out for it's first test drive yesterday! We never exceeded 30mph, because my tire situation still isn't great, but it fired right up and was ready to go! Unfortunately though I discovered that it has a burnt valve, so I'll be getting that fixed as soon as I possibly can.
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09-01-2019, 02:55 PM
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#14
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Willard, Ohio
Posts: 287
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I think you will find that your engine is a 318. Our first mh was a 1973 Pace Arrow that had a 318. When you get the valve checked make sure they look for a crack that these engines would get near the valves between the middle two cylinders. Unfortunately the 318 used in the motorhomes and the car 318 were not the same and finding a replacement cylinder head was almost impossible. I ended up finding a machine shop in Cleveland that specialized in welding/repairing cylinder heads. We had the mh at least 5 years after the repair and never had another issue. Good luck.
__________________
John & Diane
2015 Windsport 27K, Sumo Solo's front, CHF front &rear, DIY rear track bar, Roadmaster rear add-on sway bar, and 5Star tune. 2014 Captiva toad and Ready Brute tow bar.
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