Community Forums

johnnytugs1 · 12-12-2009, 11:43 AM

i'm preparing to pull the engine on my rig and it seems that the nose is one piece of molded fiberglass. how do i get it off?
Thanks,
JT

GOLDWINGER2 · 12-12-2009, 01:25 PM

Should be bolted on at the hinges.
J

kenyonman · 12-12-2009, 02:00 PM

I had a 77 mini winnie with chevy frame and 1 piece front end. It had 14 bolts and screws holding it in. 6 were in various areas under the hood 4 along the radiator and 2 at the firewall. There were also 4 under each wheel well. The first time I took it off I just kept removing screws until it came off. Make sure to check your lights and radio antenna and unplug/remove as neded. Nothing worse than ripping out a few wires on the way.

johnnytugs1 · 12-12-2009, 02:03 PM

Goldwinger2
i removed bumper
i removed 2 under the pins that hold the hood down,
removed where it attaches to the wheel well
removed 2 below the grille

i guess your talking about the hood hinge? any idea how many there are?
ck back in a little while.
thanks
JT
kenyonman
thanks, you snuck that in while i was posting. i'm gonna go find the rest. boy do i appreciate that!

johnnytugs1 · 12-12-2009, 03:39 PM

do the hood hinges have to be removed also? i have 2 bars that run from the firewall to the radiator support. they don't seem to be connected to the nose. do they need to be removed? i think i have 11 removed from under the hood. i'm not finding anymore

.
JT

GOLDWINGER2 · 12-20-2009, 08:53 AM

JT, how is the project going?

johnnytugs1 · 12-20-2009, 03:58 PM

GOLDWINGER2 not so good. i can't get the nose off. my brother in law came over and we split 3 cords of wood, then i find out mother nature is gonna ruin the rest of my week. i had to stack the wood & tarp it. then yesterday we got 24-30" snow so i'm gonna have to go weather bound. i still have christmas shopping to do and i go back to work wed.
the good news is i did a favor for a guy a few months ago, he called to wish me a merry christmas as we got to talking he has a similar MH and has removed the nose before. next time i get home(weather permitting) he's gonna show me what needs to be done and take a look at the the water damage and give me some pointers.he mentioned something about double sided tape or chaulk between the top of the nose and the grating under the window may be holding it from coming off.
i'm hurting big time, i need to go back to work and get some rest.
JT

GOLDWINGER2 · 12-20-2009, 07:57 PM

You are pretty busy, out my way we're crying about 2" of rain. Next week we will have 60's/mid 40's, cold for us. Hope you can get back on track after the holidays. It's good that you have another set of eyes, it's always a big help. Good Luck and if you don't get to post anymore soon, Happy Holidays.
J

johnnytugs1 · 12-24-2009, 11:12 PM

GOLDWINGER2 starting to feel a little better thank god. i just wanted to jump in and wish you a merry christmas. thanks again for your support.
JT

GOLDWINGER2 · 01-22-2010, 07:00 PM

Are you making any progress on your project?
J

johnnytugs1 · 01-23-2010, 02:08 AM

wow, this is erie, i logged in this afternoon to post my update but got called away. well after all is said and done i finally got the nose off and the motor & trans out. this is how it went, from what i remember.
1) Remove grille
2) Remove bumper (Just the bumper no brackets)
3) Remove top 3 bolts that hold the front top of nose to radiator support
4) Remove screws from wheel well to nose straps (wheel wells stay)
5) Remove 1 bolt from lower nose to lower radiator support
6) Remove 4 screws/bolts from back of hood area to fire wall brackets
using 2 people shimmy the nose forward, resting on the bumper brackets
it may seem like it is still attached just @ top of nose below the rain guard vent looking thing below the windshield there were no fasteners there on mine just stuck to a rubber skirt that runs horizontally from drivers side to passenger side under the vent looking thing that blocks the leaves from getting in below windshield (that stays also)
the marker lights front and side have to disconnected from the power source but not necessary to remove just unplug the wire to them.
there are wires that go from the headlight harness that have to be disconnected and a ground that comes back out to headlight where its screwed to panel as a ground. i cut the ground towards the back of the headlight so i could comfortably reconnect with a butt connector. the screws were rusted so i had to cut the ground or chiesel the screw.(i'm lazy)
the radio antenna had to be removed at fender and the base dropped thru the hole in fender and laid to the side.
i was told that there were 14 bolts /screws holding the nose on in the engine compartment area. i think i only had 11 so it may vary (not sure)
To get to the engine..
I took the radiator support out(2 people) as one piece. containing the radiator 2 trans coolers ithink they are, a/c evaporator.
the fan shroud had to be disconnected from the top of radiator support to allow you to get to a bolt that holds the tranny lines (i believe they were) at the bottom.
The shroud was held on from 3 screws/bolts from top and one going the opposite way from the engine compartment towards where you would be standing. i had no fasteners holding in the bottom of shroud.
There are 2 bolts on each fender well forward and 2 bolts going thru the bumper brackets that hold in the radiator piece that i took out as one.
I removed the a/c lines attached across the top of shroud (e.p.a. likes you to vacum system before removing any a/c lines) and where they connect to the compressor you may not have to. there are 3 lines that go from the powersteering pump to behind the brake resevoir that have to be disconected.
I'm taking the trans out as well.
removed the drive shaft from rearend, from the center support and back of transmission. i left the yoke in the tail of the trans as not to drip fluid all over.
2 bolts to tranny mount disconnect trans lines , carb linkage some heater hoses and radiator hoses, the trans linkage and starter.

this shows where fasteners( bolts,screws, etc) that need to be removed are located

notice red highlighted area the bolts are actually above that highlighted area. i highlighted the bumper bracket sorry

Here are some pix

motor & trans removed......yaho0o0o0o

as it stands now, i brought the motor to my buddies house he will change the gaskets and seals, i just have to find a place to ...
1. rebuild the a/c compressor
2. rebuild the tranny
3. replace the calipers and rubber brake lines
4. tackle the interior
piece of cake...........right!
thanks for all the good wishes and especially to GOLDWINGER2
i'll keep you updated.

GOLDWINGER2 · 01-23-2010, 04:25 AM

This is a good time to convert the a/c to R134, for the a/c compressor see if you can toss the old one and update to the new style unit, I believe it's called a Sanderson.
Don't pass on the radiator while it's out, no double work. With the a good manual you could build that trans, I could talk you thru the fine points. You would build one clutch pack at a time. I taught a buddy of mine how to do a front wheel drive auto, and now he's in school for transmissions. The experience really got him pumped. I have a 400 here and the manual for it. There is a site on the net for all of the parts.
Brake parts should be no problem, you might be able to rebuild yours, pop the pistons and check the bores. Compressed air will push them out, go slow and use a wood block so it does'nt fly out. Well, I asked if you have made any progress, yes you have! Good pics, hope you have a lot of them, helps a lot for reassembly. A buddy of mine just bought a '92 Dodge class-b rv and we are going thru it right now, water pump, radiator, fuel pump, pwr steering box, and we will do a complete brake job on Sunday. Check with me if you need any tips. Happy wrenching.

J

johnnytugs1 · 01-23-2010, 08:17 PM

GOLDWINGER2 any idea on what the upgrade will cost? i tried googling a/c unit for 77 chevy lt truck but found NOTHING. would it go where the old one was or does it have to be moved? as far as the tranny goes, bro i don't have the sack to tackle that. at least not yet. they scare me. there was a blind guy that i used to know that rebuilt trannys back in the late 70's.
what should i do with the radiator? i'm hoping you say flush it

i was thinking about leaving the pistons in the calipers and sand blasting them, your thoughts? then pull the pistons and see what it looks like.
i was told that the tranny may be a 350 turbo hydromatic. i guess i have to ck the pan and see the shape.if i remember from back in the day one was square and the other had a corner removed (so to speak).
so what do you think about coming out to new jersey on the 4th drink some beer and play some motorhome games

if you leave now you can get here in a week

.
JT

GOLDWINGER2 · 01-23-2010, 10:32 PM

I wish I could come out, I'm retired, DW is not. I have so many honeydo's you can't imagine. On the rad, make sure it is clean and flowing good. I would have a shop rod it out at least. Brakes, clean the outside good, then pop the pistons. Sand is not a good idea, too gritty. A cleaner like Simple Green does a good job, I use a product called Awesome from the Dollar Store, it's yellow. The 350 has a kickdown cable and the 400 uses an electric solonoid. The cable is connected to the carb linkage. The a/c unit that you have is what Ford used a lot in the 60's and 70's. I'll have to look up the cost to upgrade. That looks like a Tecumseh/York that you have now, is it locked up or is the clutch bad? Did you try the a/c when you had it running? A lot of people run the roof air off the gen when the dash air plays out. The dash air is $$$ to repair correctly. Do know if there is a Pick ur Part Auto wrecker in your area? You could upgrade with the same compressor but the Sanderson will save fuel. The old 70's stuff sucked plenty of fuel when you turned them on. R-12 gets ice cold, r-134 is ok, I use an additve to make the 134 system blow colder. A lot of your a/c parts may be on Ebay.
In SoCal there is tons of old stuff still around. Let's get your engine and trans sorted out first, I'll be on the look-out for the a/c stuff. Have you found a place that can build the trans at a good price? Is that a/c factory or is it an add on system? When you opened the a/c system was it chaged? The Sanderson compressor would go in the same place.
J