guidolyons
Addicted to Gear Oil
Man that thing is so ugly, it's cool.
"No More Projects!", says I. And then...1972 Superior 2200. Couldn't pass it up.
- Thread starter dwh
- Start date
Bigbertha72
New member
We are working on a 72 Superior 2000. I had to get the outside looking good to keep the neighbors from calling it in at our last house. We still have to do the whole interior.
dwh
Tail-End Charlie
We are working on a 72 Superior 2000. I had to get the outside looking good to keep the neighbors from calling it in at our last house. We still have to do the whole interior.
Ooh. Nice. That color scheme looks cheerful.
dwh
Tail-End Charlie
No, next I'm gonna shift all the plug wires over one hole counterclockwise. After turning the distributor to and fro, I'm getting a sneaking suspicion that maybe the #1 mark on the cap might be in the wrong place.
Nobody had a cap for that specifically, but the 413 was listed in like a '65 Imperial so that's what I got. Which is apparently the same cap for a 440. Except the 413 "industrial" has timing gears instead of a chain, and the distributor rotates counterclockwise instead of clockwise like the 440. So the cap has two different holes marked '1', with arrows to indicate which is for clockwise and which for counterclockwise.
So maybe the two different holes marked '1' on the cap works for the standard 413 and the 440...but might be wrong for the "industrial".
OR, maybe the marks are right - but that giant water pump on the industrial limits the rotation of the distributor to like a quarter turn.
If so, since I can't turn it far enough, I'll have to shift the wires over one hole.
I'm hoping anyway. Haven't had time to mess with it the last couple of weekends. That's the problem with buddies who help you out...they seem to expect that you'll return the favor...
But I have another 3-day weekend coming on the first and nothing planned for the whole 3 days.
dwh
Tail-End Charlie
Oh.
And I ran into a Thermo-King field repair tech at one of our locations and asked him about that dash a/c system. He told me it's no problem. There is a new synthetic freon called "Freeze-12" that works in older systems. He said you have to purge and clean the system and replace something - dryer I think he said - then fill with the Freeze-12.
Said it comes in a kit with the freon and dryer. He did it on his '58 Imperial and it works fine.
Said the T-K shop could make me any replacement hoses and get me any parts I need.
So I might be keeping that dash a/c. Though I'll still be looking to get that commercial condensor unit off the roof.
And I ran into a Thermo-King field repair tech at one of our locations and asked him about that dash a/c system. He told me it's no problem. There is a new synthetic freon called "Freeze-12" that works in older systems. He said you have to purge and clean the system and replace something - dryer I think he said - then fill with the Freeze-12.
Said it comes in a kit with the freon and dryer. He did it on his '58 Imperial and it works fine.
Said the T-K shop could make me any replacement hoses and get me any parts I need.
So I might be keeping that dash a/c. Though I'll still be looking to get that commercial condensor unit off the roof.
guidolyons
Addicted to Gear Oil
Don't get stuck on the distributor cap being marked #1. Neutralize the distributor so you have room to advance/retard. At TDC on compression stroke, the terminal that the rotor is pointing at (or almost pointing at) is #1. Arrange the plug wires as appropriate for the firing order from there.
It's pretty simple to convert R12 systems to R134A. Your buddy is right, flush the system to get the ester oil out, change the dryer (and maybe expansion valve if you can find one) add some new PAG oil screw on the R134A port adapters and recharge with R143A.
It's pretty simple to convert R12 systems to R134A. Your buddy is right, flush the system to get the ester oil out, change the dryer (and maybe expansion valve if you can find one) add some new PAG oil screw on the R134A port adapters and recharge with R143A.
pappawheely
Autonomous4X4
I hate to do this to you but they had these on sale at Cabela's for $249 and free shipping.
dwh
Tail-End Charlie
Many years ago, I built a metal box on the back of my old camper van to hold a generator. At the time, I was thiking of adding a 5k BTU window shaker a/c unit. So I bought a Honeywell 2k inverter gen and built the box big enough to hold that.
Well, the Honeywell didn't work out. After going through 3 of the things, none of which worked right, they finally just gave me my money back.
By that time I had decided I didn't need the a/c after all, so since I only needed a gen for battery charging, I wanted the smallest possible generator. And I didn't need an inverter gen.
So I bought a 1200w Champ. Great little gen which would run 14 hours (one complete battery charge cycle) on 1.2g of gas. It eventually wore out.
But even 1200w was more than I needed for battery charging, so I replaced it with something even smaller, the Harbor Freight 2-stroke. Went through a couple of those and decided to go back to a Champ.
I would have bought another 1200, but this model is the same size, with the same engine, but a slightly beefier alternator. And fits perfectly in the generator box on the back of the old camper van.
If need be, I could also carry it around in the generator compartment of the Superior, though I'll most likely install an Onan 2800w MicroQuiet there. Just big enough to run a/c and charge batteries. No bigger. And runs off the vehicle fuel tank.
So sure, I could have bought a bigger gen. But I don't want one. All I need a gen for is battery charging. I want the smallest I can get.
That 5k Champ certainly wouldn't fit in the gen box on the back of the van, nor in the gen box on the Superior.
And I sure don't need a beast that burns a gallon of fuel per hour just for charging batteries.
dwh
Tail-End Charlie
Actually marked #1 in two different places. Which probably would work except for the giant water pump on the "industrial" version getting in the way.
Been there, done that. Time for some lateral thinking.
Actually, I'll most likely rip it all out, replace the compressor with a second alternator, buy a big inverter and just install a new roof a/c. That could run off the main engine, generator or shore power.
Fortunately, I've got years to decide, so I'll explore various options before making a final decision.
NorthwestNorthernOntario
Observer
I am getting a real kick out of this read. I resurrected a 1978 GMC Royale and faced a lot of these exact challenges. Yes, it had the "poop burner" into the exhaust and the hot water heated off the engine. I sold some of the original hubcaps on Ebay and went for some 16 inch Alcoa wheels, mostly to get away from the 16.5 tires, which were getting hard to find and spendy. I think the GMC was a lot easier to work on, because there are clubs that had seminars, many expert owners, shops that specialize in them, new upgrade parts specific to them, etc. Dropping both fuel tanks to renew the socks and seals and hoses was a couple days of fun, but if you don't do that, you can burn them down with a leak. With the Superior, you are out there in uncharted territory, but you have a great base to work from, much better than something made of sticks and staples! The only thing you have to watch is how much $ you throw at it. I got all mine back when I sold the GMC, but I certainly had a lot of hours in it, which is what makes a guy say things like "No more Projects". Ha! :coffeedrink:
guidolyons
Addicted to Gear Oil
A buddy of mine posted this comment in one of his Scout builds:
:elkgrin:
Sometimes it's the journey not the destination, and who says it has to make any sense?
:elkgrin:
Sometimes it's the journey not the destination, and who says it has to make any sense?
NevadaLover
Forking Icehole
Didja give up already? back burner this bad boy?
dwh
Tail-End Charlie
No progress to report.
My plan was to spend the three day New Years weekend working on it, but a visit from Mr. Influenza sidetracked that. I had a mild flu last year and went to work anyway. I do that. This time, I missed four days of work and should have stayed in bed longer. Felt like crap for another week after. Took almost a month for the lingering cough to finally clear up.
Also picked up a 2000 Mustang from a buddy for $600. My supervisor at work is a Mustang freak and bugged and bugged me to swap it for a '97 Thunderbird LX he got off his cousin for $500. I finally gave in and swapped him. But the tbird had a check engine light so I had to pickup an OBDII reader (bluetooth to phone app) and start learning all that crap so I could fix it and get it smogged. Got it narrowed down to an evap cannister valve and a couple running lean codes. So far I've also pulled the wheels and inspected the brakes - they were good but glazed and a little session of panic stop practice cleared that up, replaced the serpentine belt and both idler pulleys, cleaned the mass air flow sensor, and did a hunt for vacuum leaks (none found so the running lean is either fuel filter (likely original with 132k mi) or sticky EGR valve).
At this point I just want to get the car past smog and sell it. I figure I should be able to break even on it - and keeping my supervisor happy is a side benefit.
Also been looking to pick up a newer van. Checked out a few. I'd like to junk the old one before it comes up for registration again in May. Might even be able to get California to pay me to "retire a gross polluter" (which is not and never has been a gross polluter, but is old). But I'd have to strip off the bits I want to keep first, like the solar, battery bank, 12v fridge, and propane tank. I'll need a vehicle capable of hauling around crap like that, and I'm a van guy, so I'm looking. Problem is, all the dorks in SoCal seem to think a van with 200k miles is "low miles" and worth more than blue book. Um...no. Prices are more reasonable in Vegas, and I have a buddy there helping me look.
Plus we're short of drivers at work, so I've been working overtime the last few weeks...
So the Superior has been neglected, it's true. But it was always going to be a "little by little" long term project, so I'm cool with that.
Still...I'm hoping to make some time for it "real soon now".
My plan was to spend the three day New Years weekend working on it, but a visit from Mr. Influenza sidetracked that. I had a mild flu last year and went to work anyway. I do that. This time, I missed four days of work and should have stayed in bed longer. Felt like crap for another week after. Took almost a month for the lingering cough to finally clear up.
Also picked up a 2000 Mustang from a buddy for $600. My supervisor at work is a Mustang freak and bugged and bugged me to swap it for a '97 Thunderbird LX he got off his cousin for $500. I finally gave in and swapped him. But the tbird had a check engine light so I had to pickup an OBDII reader (bluetooth to phone app) and start learning all that crap so I could fix it and get it smogged. Got it narrowed down to an evap cannister valve and a couple running lean codes. So far I've also pulled the wheels and inspected the brakes - they were good but glazed and a little session of panic stop practice cleared that up, replaced the serpentine belt and both idler pulleys, cleaned the mass air flow sensor, and did a hunt for vacuum leaks (none found so the running lean is either fuel filter (likely original with 132k mi) or sticky EGR valve).
At this point I just want to get the car past smog and sell it. I figure I should be able to break even on it - and keeping my supervisor happy is a side benefit.
Also been looking to pick up a newer van. Checked out a few. I'd like to junk the old one before it comes up for registration again in May. Might even be able to get California to pay me to "retire a gross polluter" (which is not and never has been a gross polluter, but is old). But I'd have to strip off the bits I want to keep first, like the solar, battery bank, 12v fridge, and propane tank. I'll need a vehicle capable of hauling around crap like that, and I'm a van guy, so I'm looking. Problem is, all the dorks in SoCal seem to think a van with 200k miles is "low miles" and worth more than blue book. Um...no. Prices are more reasonable in Vegas, and I have a buddy there helping me look.
Plus we're short of drivers at work, so I've been working overtime the last few weeks...
So the Superior has been neglected, it's true. But it was always going to be a "little by little" long term project, so I'm cool with that.
Still...I'm hoping to make some time for it "real soon now".