Project BigB... a 1977 Dodge Van 6x4!
- Thread starter Keyblazer
- Start date
Keyblazer
Adventurer
Slammed day!
Loaded up the new wheels, tools, jack, and supplies.
Drove the 80 miles in my "old Faithful 87 Suburban, and arrived there at midday.
I hit the ground running.
New plugs, oil and filter... never that easy tho..
The oil was like black water and stunk of gas... BigB has been sitting for 5 years. Drained that and then discovered that the filter I had was not correct, a dash to Pepboys gave me the correct one. Plugs were changed and she fired up like a champ.
Those of you that know the smell of really old gas.... its smelled sweet... So I will take 10 fresh gallons over next visit, but the 2" rubber tank couplings look toast... leaky! Need to do the fuel filters too.
A close look at the Oil pressure had me concerned... about 10psi showing... then slowly rose to 30 psi... WTH?
I think/hope the gauge is bad, not sure if its a mech or electronic.
Tonight, a look though the STACK of receipts the PO gave me shows a complete engine rebuild in 1996, at odo reading of 104k miles.
Bill was for $6100.
Odo now reads 118k. :smiley_drive:
PO says the transmission had $2k spent on it less than 1000 miles ago, so fingers crossed on that!
Running the engine, and messing with the engine A/C I had another win... the compressor kicked in... meaning that the unit still has charge! :victory:
Couldn't feel it blowing cold, with the engine cover off...
Battery for the Engine is recent and a hefty big one too, but the Generator battery was DOA. I brought a freshly charged Battery from home(Temporary til I get a pair of Deep Cycles), and 3 punches on the starter, and away she went!
Took me a few mins to figure out that the Gen breaker was off, as was the onboard breaker set... I reset them and allowed the gen to warm up.
Turned of the rooftop A/C and was rewarded by a Generator laboring and ice cold air form the vents! :victory:
YEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSAAAAAAAAHHHHH! :wings:
So, then I mounted the wheels to see.....
I will let you Judge.... But I think it now has ATTITUDE!
Yes, I know the fronts stick out too far.... also they touch the rear of the wheel arch at full lock... I think this is the legacy of the Pathfinder conversion...
I am thinking that maybe some 16x8's on the front....
Loaded up the new wheels, tools, jack, and supplies.
Drove the 80 miles in my "old Faithful 87 Suburban, and arrived there at midday.
I hit the ground running.
New plugs, oil and filter... never that easy tho..
The oil was like black water and stunk of gas... BigB has been sitting for 5 years. Drained that and then discovered that the filter I had was not correct, a dash to Pepboys gave me the correct one. Plugs were changed and she fired up like a champ.
Those of you that know the smell of really old gas.... its smelled sweet... So I will take 10 fresh gallons over next visit, but the 2" rubber tank couplings look toast... leaky! Need to do the fuel filters too.
A close look at the Oil pressure had me concerned... about 10psi showing... then slowly rose to 30 psi... WTH?
I think/hope the gauge is bad, not sure if its a mech or electronic.
Tonight, a look though the STACK of receipts the PO gave me shows a complete engine rebuild in 1996, at odo reading of 104k miles.
Bill was for $6100.
Odo now reads 118k. :smiley_drive:
PO says the transmission had $2k spent on it less than 1000 miles ago, so fingers crossed on that!
Running the engine, and messing with the engine A/C I had another win... the compressor kicked in... meaning that the unit still has charge! :victory:
Couldn't feel it blowing cold, with the engine cover off...
Battery for the Engine is recent and a hefty big one too, but the Generator battery was DOA. I brought a freshly charged Battery from home(Temporary til I get a pair of Deep Cycles), and 3 punches on the starter, and away she went!
Took me a few mins to figure out that the Gen breaker was off, as was the onboard breaker set... I reset them and allowed the gen to warm up.
Turned of the rooftop A/C and was rewarded by a Generator laboring and ice cold air form the vents! :victory:
YEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSAAAAAAAAHHHHH! :wings:
So, then I mounted the wheels to see.....
I will let you Judge.... But I think it now has ATTITUDE!
Yes, I know the fronts stick out too far.... also they touch the rear of the wheel arch at full lock... I think this is the legacy of the Pathfinder conversion...
I am thinking that maybe some 16x8's on the front....
Rbertalotto
Explorer
Just put spacers on the rear........"Tude"..........That wil give it serious Tude!
oil pickup screen may be clogged. Get a true mechanical gauge on there. You can yank the dog box and put a gauge right on the back of the block, then just run it with the dog box off. Any decently healthy old Mopar should have a lot more oil pressure than that. What weight oil did you put in? Hopefully the old stuff was just that gassed down. As a reference, my very tired 87 360 in my van goes over 50 on startup and down to about 15 at a very hot idle in gear. This motor will be getting yanked before long. My Dad's 72 318 in his Powerwagon is all orginal and it never drops below 30.
If it needs it, please do not pay a shop to rebuild your small block!
If it needs it, please do not pay a shop to rebuild your small block!
wanderer-rrorc
Explorer
MAN that looks GOOD!!
I always underestimate the power of diffrent rims n tires!
your pressure gauge might have an airbubble in it too...Ive had them do EXACTLY what you describe..just needs the line at the gauge opened a smidge and the nasty oil and air to run out a bit...
I always underestimate the power of diffrent rims n tires!
your pressure gauge might have an airbubble in it too...Ive had them do EXACTLY what you describe..just needs the line at the gauge opened a smidge and the nasty oil and air to run out a bit...
Keyblazer
Adventurer
I am certain its a pressure gauge issue.
The gauge seems to go down a long way, then climb really slow, reving the motor does not make it move hardly..
Assume this is the sender..
Other issues to be looked at..
Brakes...
Front hoses show plenty of cracks in the outer, but I have driven unknowingly on much worse!
Concerned about the calipers being stuck, so will have to see. Rotors look bad but I know they will clean up with use... NOISEY tho!
Wanderer: Thanks for mentioning the tag axle brakes... yes, they are hooked up! Parking brake on that axle is not... I want it to be, so will figure that one out later!
The gauge seems to go down a long way, then climb really slow, reving the motor does not make it move hardly..
Assume this is the sender..
Other issues to be looked at..
Brakes...
Front hoses show plenty of cracks in the outer, but I have driven unknowingly on much worse!
Concerned about the calipers being stuck, so will have to see. Rotors look bad but I know they will clean up with use... NOISEY tho!
Wanderer: Thanks for mentioning the tag axle brakes... yes, they are hooked up! Parking brake on that axle is not... I want it to be, so will figure that one out later!
Root Moose
Expedition Leader
It always amazes me what a tire/wheel upgrade will do to the looks of a vehicle. Looks great!
wanderer-rrorc
Explorer
if ya want a REAL shocker....
get the mothers powerball and some ALUMINUM rim polish (dont use anything that says CHROME!!...it will stain your rims...)...those dude will BLING-BLING!!
get the mothers powerball and some ALUMINUM rim polish (dont use anything that says CHROME!!...it will stain your rims...)...those dude will BLING-BLING!!
great find and very unique, where did you find the combo toilet /shower? I am looking for something like that.:elkgrin:
I don't know if you found out anything about this shower/toilet combo. It's one of the Thetford cassette toilet models. It's basically a built in porta-potti that is common in pop-up campers. The shower base is sold separately from the toilet unit. I've never been able to find the base online. http://www.thetford-europe.com/web/show/id=99622/langid=42
The problem is they are pricey. I put one in a cargo trailer conversion I built but got it slightly used from a totaled pop-up camper. Otherwise, it would have been out of my price range.
