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08-12-2011, 05:07 PM
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#519
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Senior Member
Holiday Rambler Owners Club
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Dublin, VA
Posts: 391
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TitanicPilot
Thanks for the link! What is the "rubber eraser on the drill"?
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You can buy it at many auto paint stores and some auto stores. I think it's made by 3M and called an eraser wheel. It's basically an overgrown rubber 'eraser' that can be used with a handheld drill. The one caution is make sure you don't 'burn' the RV. I found it to be useful at times but the most of the decals I removed consisted of WD-40 prep and plastic blade and/or utility knife (used cautiously). Hope that helps.
__________________
Mike & Cindy, (of course with Lucy the Miniature Schnauzer & Eddie the Yorkie) Dublin, VA / Fun Finder TT / X215WSK
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08-12-2011, 11:27 PM
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#520
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Junior Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Senior Chief
My gosh, gummibear and winnebeater- gorgeous rigs!
And yes, the Fourth Law of Vintage RV ownership states every repair takes 3x as long and cost twice what you've budgeted.
And if a repair or renovation actually costs less or goes faster, something ELSE will break to compensate.
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Thanks, Sr. Chief! Very reassuring to know that I am indeed abiding by the Fourth Law of Vintage RV Ownership not to mention
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08-13-2011, 12:13 AM
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#521
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Junior Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Winnebeater
Looks like we own the same motorhome as you. We were curious if you had redone the decals on the exterior and would like to see some interior photos if you have any.
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No we havent redone anything. The "chieftain" decals show their age, thats for sure. But as far as the "W" & the stripe, they seem to be in decent shape. Pretty sure the red stripe is O.G. as some cracking is visible in the paint when viewed up-close.
Dont have any pics of interior yet. She,s in the shop getting a massive tune up. The interior is all vintage, complete with unevenly faded crimson carpeting. And the apolstery patterns are horrific; the dinette seating reminds me of sweaters worn on Family Ties or The Cosby Show!
I am really impressed with your revamping. The floors and seating are particularly amazing... great job sir.
At present we have no plans to rehab the interior. We're going to hit the road asap & hope to find a great place to land ourselves for the winter. (Hopefully write this novel Ive had seeping in my brain for the past 4 years).
Ideally I would like to change out the carpeting (except in the bathroom... no need for a bath mat & in the winter you dont have to worry about freezing your feet!) But we have to more pressing concerns:
1. Enhancing mpg economy as much as possible, however possible. (No idea how...)
2. Im going to get solar panel system to all but eliminate dependance on the gas generator. Again i dont know the hows or whens ... not to mention the Iffs & the Butts...
(As we plan on fulltiming, I view these fuel economy & solar as paramount to both independence & sucessful budgeting)
Again, great job fixing your unit up! Looks AMAZING
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08-13-2011, 12:57 AM
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#522
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Olivehurst, CA
Posts: 498
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gummibear
No we havent redone anything. The "chieftain" decals show their age, thats for sure. But as far as the "W" & the stripe, they seem to be in decent shape. Pretty sure the red stripe is O.G. as some cracking is visible in the paint when viewed up-close.
Dont have any pics of interior yet. She,s in the shop getting a massive tune up. The interior is all vintage, complete with unevenly faded crimson carpeting. And the apolstery patterns are horrific; the dinette seating reminds me of sweaters worn on Family Ties or The Cosby Show!
I am really impressed with your revamping. The floors and seating are particularly amazing... great job sir.
At present we have no plans to rehab the interior. We're going to hit the road asap & hope to find a great place to land ourselves for the winter. (Hopefully write this novel Ive had seeping in my brain for the past 4 years).
Ideally I would like to change out the carpeting (except in the bathroom... no need for a bath mat & in the winter you dont have to worry about freezing your feet!) But we have to more pressing concerns:
1. Enhancing mpg economy as much as possible, however possible. (No idea how...)
2. Im going to get solar panel system to all but eliminate dependance on the gas generator. Again i dont know the hows or whens ... not to mention the Iffs & the Butts...
(As we plan on fulltiming, I view these fuel economy & solar as paramount to both independence & sucessful budgeting)
Again, great job fixing your unit up! Looks AMAZING
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I will say one thing about ours and that is that the gas mileage is consistent..... consistently BAD. We get 5.5 MPG empty and get 5.5 MPG with holding tanks full and towing our car. I think we're domed. I have looked into a few things, upgrading to a overdrive transmission could get you 1-2 MPG better mileage. Don't seem like much but when you do the math that's 20% or better improvement. If you guys are full timing that may pay for itself fairly quick. The other thing I looked into was upgrading to fuel injection.
As for the interior I remember that well it wasn't long ago that ours looked the same. Fortunately the flooring was probably the least expensive upgrade in our renovation and definitely the most dramatic improvement. We just watched our local Home Depot till we found some Pergo that was returned and went on clearance. It was also one of the easiest things that we had done. If you've ever installed mini blinds at home before you might try that to update the look of the windows. And they are extremely inexpensive. We spent less than $100 to put mini blinds on every window. They also allow more control over the incoming light.
Sounds like your decals have the same problems that ours does, seems that your photo did a wonderful job of masking the imperfections.
Thank you for the reply to my comment and good luck to you on your future travels.
__________________
1984 Winnebago Cheiftain 27RU, P32 Chassis, 454, Banks Power Pack, TH400
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08-13-2011, 02:57 PM
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#523
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Rhome, TX
Posts: 1,031
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Winnebeater
If you decide to tackle some interior renovations and have any questions please feel free to ask. I am nowhere near an expert, but have developed some skills in this area over the last 11 months on ours. Always happy to help. I'm curious what gas engine/ trans combo you had previously and what diesel engine/trans combo you went with. How did it help your mileage?
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I appreciate the offer to help me though the interior problems I'll come up against. I'll probably start on it for my Winter Project.
The engine swap is a long story, so I hope ya'll don't mind if I go through it all as it was quite an undertaking to get it to where it is now.
For the repower we went from a EFI 460 Gas motor with a C-6 3 speed transmission that on a good day got 6 mpg. 5.5 mpg if we ran the generator! 10 years ago I installed a 5.9L Cummins bumped up to 350 horses and an Allison 542 4 speed automatic. This got the old girl into the 10 MPG range, but barely. The Allison is a non lock up torque converter with a 1:1 high gear. The rear end was geared to 4:88's and that was just too low for this engine.
So, I regeared the rear end to 3:56's with a limited slip and that got me into the 11.5 to 12's in mpg. It really needed 3:07's to work with the Old Allison but those gear ratios arn't being made anymore. It's better since I doubled my fuel mileage and I've been living with it. Recently I added a second small fuel tank so I can actually run WVO in it if I choose. WVO in the big tank and regular diesel in the small one for startups and shut downs.
My next step is to put in a manual Isuzu MLD6Q 6 speed transmission. This transmission works well in my application as it has a granny 1st (6.70:1) to take off uphill in the backwoods, and 5th is 1:1 with 6th gear at .76 overdrive. This should put me in the 13 to 14 mpg range if I can keep my foot out of the turbo. I should point out that the MLD6Q is a cable shift transmission so it will work well with the basement that's between the floor and transmission. No gear shift lever sticking up throught the floor. I can mount shifter on the dog house.
The radiator and intercooler are out of a Ford 7000 Series truck so it will never overheat or blow hot air in the intake. That will make more power all over.
That about covers it!
__________________
1990 Fleetwood Limited Edition, Converted to Diesel. Pulling my toy box, a 93 Isuzu Rodeo 4X4.
Life is for the Adventure not the problems!
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08-13-2011, 07:39 PM
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#524
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Senior Member
Vintage RV Owners Club Fleetwood Owners Club
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: CA
Posts: 1,265
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Curtis in TX
For the repower we went from a EFI 460 Gas motor with a C-6 3 speed transmission that on a good day got 6 mpg. 5.5 mpg if we ran the generator! 10 years ago I installed a 5.9L Cummins bumped up to 350 horses and an Allison 542 4 speed automatic. This got the old girl into the 10 MPG range, but barely. The Allison is a non lock up torque converter with a 1:1 high gear. The rear end was geared to 4:88's and that was just too low for this engine.
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How is the level of engine noise from the change over?
J
__________________
1988 PACE ARROW
P30, 454 ENG, TURBO 400 TRANS
TOWING '80 WING OR 2006 AVALON
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08-14-2011, 06:52 AM
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#525
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Rhome, TX
Posts: 1,031
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GOLDWINGER2
How is the level of engine noise from the change over?
J
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Not bad! It helps if you're a little hard of hearing of course! JK!
My step son was a car stereo installer when I did this swap and he helped me put some sound deadening around the engine area. (Dynamat)
You can hear it, but it's not obtrusive. Especially when it's moving.
I have the same engine in my pickup so I'm used to it!
Any FERD is going to be a little noisey when you have to sit in top of the engine.
__________________
1990 Fleetwood Limited Edition, Converted to Diesel. Pulling my toy box, a 93 Isuzu Rodeo 4X4.
Life is for the Adventure not the problems!
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08-14-2011, 01:08 PM
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#526
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Southern Wisconsin, USA
Posts: 144
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Curtis in TX
....
The engine swap is a long story, so I hope ya'll don't mind if I go through it all as it was quite an undertaking to get it to where it is now....
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Any pictures of the swap?
__________________
Dave & Marilyn - Southern Wisconsin
1985 33' Pace Arrow "Titanic", 454+.040", Thorley Tri-Y
Quadrajet, Torque Cam, TH475 w/Cooler, No Dash A/C
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08-15-2011, 07:09 AM
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#527
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Rhome, TX
Posts: 1,031
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TitanicPilot
Any pictures of the swap?
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I haven't labeled every picture and many of the pictures are duplicates, but you are welcome to look through the Photo Albumn!
Motorhome Rebuild pictures by Curtis-J - Photobucket
I got so involved with the build I wasn't able to take pictures of every nut and bolt. You see I did this swap in 110 degree heat by myself. Other than the sound deadening where my camera died during that part when Joe was helping me.
But, you'll get the idea. It was like building a full sie ship in a bottle. Not something I'm anxious to repeat.
__________________
1990 Fleetwood Limited Edition, Converted to Diesel. Pulling my toy box, a 93 Isuzu Rodeo 4X4.
Life is for the Adventure not the problems!
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08-15-2011, 08:54 AM
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#528
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Senior Member
Vintage RV Owners Club
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 218
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you stoled my heart. I luv these fortravels. as far as I am concerned, they are the best on the road. yours is nice. thanks for the pic's.
Outlaw
__________________
John & Colleen Weston & Cassie(our cat) -Olympia,WA
1978 GMC Midas Class A 30FT-454 Engine, 400 T
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08-16-2011, 11:50 AM
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#530
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Junior Member
Vintage RV Owners Club
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 11
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08-16-2011, 11:51 AM
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#531
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Senior Member
Vintage RV Owners Club
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 128
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RockyJ
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Nice find! 440 dodge?
__________________
1972 Wayfarer in restoration
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08-16-2011, 12:16 PM
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#532
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Junior Member
Vintage RV Owners Club
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 11
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yep has the dodge chassis and 440-3 engine. Has an exhaust leak but not sure if it's the very common manifold leak or not. I going to be asking for a lot of help on here so i'm gonna say thanks in advance lol.
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