hobietony
Explorer
Truckstop!
AmboVan Restarted
- Thread starter hobietony
- Start date
Truckstop!
hobietony
Explorer
No love for the reruns?
How about some new content then...
We'll call this post 'Places that Ambovan has been recently'
Early May - Puerto Penasco, MX, for a Hobie regatta
Waiting for the border to open
Setting up at the RV park
Happy to be here!
A little poking around in Cholla Bay
A local
How about some new content then...
We'll call this post 'Places that Ambovan has been recently'
Early May - Puerto Penasco, MX, for a Hobie regatta
Waiting for the border to open
Setting up at the RV park
Happy to be here!
A little poking around in Cholla Bay
A local
hobietony
Explorer
Two weeks later, Expo
The woods outside of Mormon Lake, Sat am
There is a human in there too...
Early Sat arrival
Just to catch the ends of the spectrum...
Who is that good lookin' dude?
After that Expo party on Sat night, I was a bit like this
Set up in the far corner of the field on Sun am
The boys
Clearly she had less tequila than I did...
And of course, I HAD to stop and get a cup of coffee at this place
Old ambulances, so useful!
The woods outside of Mormon Lake, Sat am
There is a human in there too...
Early Sat arrival
Just to catch the ends of the spectrum...
Who is that good lookin' dude?
After that Expo party on Sat night, I was a bit like this
Set up in the far corner of the field on Sun am
The boys
Clearly she had less tequila than I did...
And of course, I HAD to stop and get a cup of coffee at this place
Old ambulances, so useful!
Hoosier Daddy
Observer
Great pics, thanks for sharing!
hobietony
Explorer
So this is how my updates go, a month or two total silence ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqIGiVLOY4E ), and then a flurry of pictures.
So, on the way back from Expo, on the long pull out of the Verde Valley, I started getting some overheating issues. Granted, it was hot, I was hammering with my foot to the floor, my EGTs were high, and I wanted to see what would happen, but still...
I have heard of people having some issues with the Aluminess bumper blocking airflow to a big chunk of the radiator, and seeing how much was actually blocked made me want to do something about it. So, I made a scoop for under the bumper.
Lots of cleaning, including acid prep, and carefull attention to positioning, has made my aluminum welds suck just a little less. Not quite ready to trust them in a structural application yet, but getting closer.
Placing for drilling the mounting holes
Tucked up close to the radiator bottom
Paint
Installed
Not sure how much of a difference it made, on the long desert hills crossing to San Diego, I still needed to be aware of EGTs, and not just hold my foot to the floor. Good to know where that limit is, and having the scoop can only help.
So, on the way back from Expo, on the long pull out of the Verde Valley, I started getting some overheating issues. Granted, it was hot, I was hammering with my foot to the floor, my EGTs were high, and I wanted to see what would happen, but still...
I have heard of people having some issues with the Aluminess bumper blocking airflow to a big chunk of the radiator, and seeing how much was actually blocked made me want to do something about it. So, I made a scoop for under the bumper.
Lots of cleaning, including acid prep, and carefull attention to positioning, has made my aluminum welds suck just a little less. Not quite ready to trust them in a structural application yet, but getting closer.
Placing for drilling the mounting holes
Tucked up close to the radiator bottom
Paint
Installed
Not sure how much of a difference it made, on the long desert hills crossing to San Diego, I still needed to be aware of EGTs, and not just hold my foot to the floor. Good to know where that limit is, and having the scoop can only help.
Last edited:
SWbySWesty
Fauxverland Extraodinaire
Looks great! Smart idea.
hobietony
Explorer
I think the cap is fine, but I pulled the one off the doner van in the alley to see if that makes a difference. Crossing out to Cali again this weekend, this time for a week-long regatta in Sausalito, so we will see how it does on the trip. Should be my last trip of the the Spring/Summer, so only van stuff after that.
Goal is to get the interior complete enough to register it as an RV before I take it down to Mexico again in October - I am fairly dramatically underinsured, especially for a > 15yo vehicle. (Max collision coverage for mex insurance is $5k) Having it registered as an RV gives the insurance companies a bit more leeway in valuation, and Progressive insurance will cover the full insured value in Mexico. So, got to get it registered as an RV.
hobietony
Explorer
Updated my for sale thread, got the engine/tranny available from the doner van.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...-parts-99-Minnie-Winnie?p=1138123#post1138123
So, I have it posted in the Phoenix and Tucson craigslists, and here, any other suggestions? Thought the v-10 engine/tranny would go right away, but no takers yet.
In the meantime, racking up the miles, getting more and more confident of this on the road - Tucson to San Francisco, 15 hours each way, pulling my little sailboat, no probs, and got 12-14 MPG depending on the terrain. Also good to see diesel is back down to the same price as regular, at least around here. No further updates on actual work performed (since there hasn't been any...)
http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...-parts-99-Minnie-Winnie?p=1138123#post1138123
So, I have it posted in the Phoenix and Tucson craigslists, and here, any other suggestions? Thought the v-10 engine/tranny would go right away, but no takers yet.
In the meantime, racking up the miles, getting more and more confident of this on the road - Tucson to San Francisco, 15 hours each way, pulling my little sailboat, no probs, and got 12-14 MPG depending on the terrain. Also good to see diesel is back down to the same price as regular, at least around here. No further updates on actual work performed (since there hasn't been any...)