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GMCES Work Rally at Blain & Diane Merril's [message #317810] Sat, 20 May 2017 14:25 Go to next message
Matt Colie is currently offline  Matt Colie   United States
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We are here, of the ten that signed up, nine are here and all are at least having a successful time. Some things that were hopped are not happening, that is not unusual, but most everybody is having a good time.

I can along just to help and take pictures. You may get to see some in the newsletter (and maybe not - I don't get to pick). But, I ended up doing a needed repair on my own. A window latch broke off, fortunately, I had repair buttons in coach spares, and the required Phillips #2 screw driver both. The sun is out now. This is a nice change. We had a set of nasty squall lines blow through earlier in the day.

And the tenth just arrived. I'm not sure he brought a coach, but the head count is good.

Well, break is over back to taking pictures and annoying working people.

Matt - holding on at Way West Airpark.


Matt & Mary Colie - Chaumière -'73 Glacier 23 - Members GMCMI, GMCGL, GMCES
Electronically Controlled Quiet Engine Cooling Fan with OE Rear Drum Brakes with Applied Control Arms
SE Michigan - Near DTW - Twixt A2 and Detroit
Re: GMCES Work Rally at Blain & Diane Merril's [message #317815 is a reply to message #317810] Sat, 20 May 2017 21:53 Go to previous messageGo to next message
C Boyd is currently offline  C Boyd   United States
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Matt, wish we were there. Sounds like a great time. Wait a minute.. We are there.. Nevermind. See you and Mary at breakfast.



Matt Colie wrote on Sat, 20 May 2017 15:25
We are here, of the ten that signed up, nine are here and all are at least having a successful time. Some things that were hopped are not happening, that is not unusual, but most everybody is having a good time.

I can along just to help and take pictures. You may get to see some in the newsletter (and maybe not - I don't get to pick). But, I ended up doing a needed repair on my own. A window latch broke off, fortunately, I had repair buttons in coach spares, and the required Phillips #2 screw driver both. The sun is out now. This is a nice change. We had a set of nasty squall lines blow through earlier in the day.

And the tenth just arrived. I'm not sure he brought a coach, but the head count is good.

Well, break is over back to taking pictures and annoying working people.

Matt - holding on at Way West Airpark.



C. Boyd
76 Crestmont
East Tennessee
Re: GMCES Work Rally at Blain & Diane Merril's [message #317817 is a reply to message #317815] Sat, 20 May 2017 23:42 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Ken Burton is currently offline  Ken Burton   United States
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I he gets up in the morning he will be there for breakfast. Chuck worked until 10PM on my coach and it was labor intensive work.

Thank you Chuck

I left after 11PM and most of the guys were still out the Florida Room.

I got my coach stuck and had to be towed out my Blaine's Case.


Ken Burton - N9KB
76 Palm Beach
Hebron, Indiana
Re: GMCES Work Rally at Blain & Diane Merril's [message #317823 is a reply to message #317817] Sun, 21 May 2017 10:27 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Matt Colie is currently offline  Matt Colie   United States
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Ken Burton wrote on Sun, 21 May 2017 00:42
I he gets up in the morning he will be there for breakfast. Chuck worked until 10PM on my coach and it was labor intensive work.

Thank you Chuck

I left after 11PM and most of the guys were still out the Florida Room.

I got my coach stuck and had to be towed out my Blaine's Case.

I'm still annoyed that I missed getting a picture of how he fished that one bolt (HHCS) through the frame. That was a masterful.
I do have some pictures of you with grease.

Matt about to roll from 465 to I-69


Matt & Mary Colie - Chaumière -'73 Glacier 23 - Members GMCMI, GMCGL, GMCES
Electronically Controlled Quiet Engine Cooling Fan with OE Rear Drum Brakes with Applied Control Arms
SE Michigan - Near DTW - Twixt A2 and Detroit
Re: GMCES Work Rally at Blain & Diane Merril's [message #317841 is a reply to message #317823] Sun, 21 May 2017 21:43 Go to previous messageGo to next message
C Boyd is currently offline  C Boyd   United States
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And. What a breakfast. Got to be the best waffles I ever eat. Blaine did a tech session on how to sharpen drill bits for different materials. We didn't get out till 2:30 this afternoon but are home safe with no issues. My patch kit and new valves were on the porch waiting on us. I was in the shower when Ken was getting stuck, hope you got pics of that.


Matt Colie wrote on Sun, 21 May 2017 11:27
Ken Burton wrote on Sun, 21 May 2017 00:42
I he gets up in the morning he will be there for breakfast. Chuck worked until 10PM on my coach and it was labor intensive work.

Thank you Chuck

I left after 11PM and most of the guys were still out the Florida Room.

I got my coach stuck and had to be towed out my Blaine's Case.

I'm still annoyed that I missed getting a picture of how he fished that one bolt (HHCS) through the frame. That was a masterful.
I do have some pictures of you with grease.

Matt about to roll from 465 to I-69



C. Boyd
76 Crestmont
East Tennessee
Re: GMCES Work Rally at Blain & Diane Merril's [message #317842 is a reply to message #317841] Sun, 21 May 2017 22:39 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Ken Burton is currently offline  Ken Burton   United States
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Location: Hebron, Indiana
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It is Sunday night and 3 of us are still here. We have one coach to work on tomorrow. Hopefully it will be fixed and on it's way to Cleveland tomorrow. Larry will be back on Tuesday to do some more work on his coach. I hope to get out of here tomorrow. We have to get this guy's coach fixed first.

Thanks again Chuck for all of the work you did on my coach. That was a bigger job than I expected when we started it.

I'm not going to say thanks to Matt for his pictures of me.

It is midnight and I need to get some sleep.


Ken Burton - N9KB
76 Palm Beach
Hebron, Indiana
Re: GMCES Work Rally at Blain & Diane Merril's [message #317880 is a reply to message #317810] Mon, 22 May 2017 23:09 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Ken Burton is currently offline  Ken Burton   United States
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Well, I'm home. The last coach to be worked on was running good on a test run after fixing a fuel delivery problem. I left around 4:30 PM and the owner was making some minor adjustments like idle speed when I left. So he should be on his way or leaving in the morning.

Also Larry came back today and got his FI running after fighting is all week end. He was still there when I left but I assume it is fixed now.

Richard was still there helping everyone.

I was there for a week working on my stuff.

Blaine and Diane spent a couple of weeks getting ready for us and another week putting up with us. A big thanks need to go to them. Everything thing or repair part we needed all week was in stock or made by Blaine and Diane. Lot of projects were completed including my two major ones. A few people, like Matt for example, just showed up to help others.

Again a big thank you needs to go to Diane, Blaine, and Eastern States for hosting this event for a second year.

I think if we do this again that we need to get a few volunteers to help in the preparation and clean up. Like cutting grass ,or scrubbing floors of the Florida room, or moving things under Blaine and Diane's direction.


Ken Burton - N9KB
76 Palm Beach
Hebron, Indiana
Re: GMCES Work Rally at Blain & Diane Merril's [message #317911 is a reply to message #317880] Tue, 23 May 2017 11:10 Go to previous messageGo to next message
rjw   United States
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Ken Burton wrote on Tue, 23 May 2017 00:09
Well, I'm home. The last coach to be worked on was running good on a test run after fixing a fuel delivery problem. I left around 4:30 PM and the owner was making some minor adjustments like idle speed when I left. So he should be on his way or leaving in the morning.

Also Larry came back today and got his FI running after fighting is all week end. He was still there when I left but I assume it is fixed now.

Richard was still there helping everyone.

I was there for a week working on my stuff.

Blaine and Diane spent a couple of weeks getting ready for us and another week putting up with us. A big thanks need to go to them. Everything thing or repair part we needed all week was in stock or made by Blaine and Diane. Lot of projects were completed including my two major ones. A few people, like Matt for example, just showed up to help others.

Again a big thank you needs to go to Diane, Blaine, and Eastern States for hosting this event for a second year.

I think if we do this again that we need to get a few volunteers to help in the preparation and clean up. Like cutting grass ,or scrubbing floors of the Florida room, or moving things under Blaine and Diane's direction.



Firat of all a BIG THANKS to Blaine and Diane for putting us with all of us, their hospitality and opening up their terrific facility for the rally.

I left shortly after Ken and had an uneventful ride home. I got in about 1:30 AM this morning. Sadly, that was not the case for the occupants of a car on the WB side of I-94 in Michigan that I passed while going EB at around midnight. That car was on the side of the road, totally engulfed in flames. Hopefully, everyone got out OK. It was quite a sight with the raging fire and all the red and blue lights of the first responder's vehicles.

I have not heard if Cary and Larry got to their respective homes OK. Cary had to abort his trip home after his engine started to overheat, backfire and run rough. Ken and I both stayed an extra day to help troubleshoot the cause of his problems. Hopefully, we got it fixed and he got home OK. I really enjoyed sitting around with fellow GMC motorhome owner wackos, talking about possible causes and solutions for the problems. Cary did all his own work but had some adult supervision from Blaine and Ken.

Larry finally got his new EFI to run and it sounded great before I left. Installing that was a pretty ambitious project to attempt at a rally, but he got it done.

I got a few things done that I had been procrastinating doing for the past few years. One of the jobs was overdue. In the 19 years and over the 100,000 miles that I have owned my coach, I had never changed my transmission fluid and filter except by changing that stuff when I installed a Manny Tranny 40,000 miles ago. Since I was due, I figured this rally would be a good time to finally learn how to get it done. With a bit of coaching from Blaine and others I got the pan down and about a gallon of fluid drained and the filter out. While I was doing that, magically a Ragusa pan materialized (it had been used as a pan gasket storage fixture)and was offered to me. I agreed to buy it and proceeded to install it, along with a new filter and a gallon of fluid. I donated my old pan for use as the new pan gasket storage fixture.

Between access to the lift and just about every tool known to mankind, there is not much that can't be done at Blaine and Diane's place. Yes, they do have a nice inventory of parts and can make parts. For example, when it was realized that the hard line between Cary's carburetor and the fuel pump was a toast, a replacement line was located on an engine that was sitting out in the hanger. Several new fuel pumps were also in stock and one of them was installed. So there was no need to run out for parts.

I always learn things at work rallies. This time, besides getting a better understanding of fuel delivery in our motorhomes, tranny oil and filter changes, etc. Blaine gave Chuck and me a hands-on lesson on how to sharpen drill bits with a belt sander.

If Blaine and Diane decide to do another rally, I will plan on being there and getting there early to help with whatever I can do to try and take some of the load off of them. I know Ken will have already been there for a few days helping.

Between this rally and Bean Station, this is the best time of the GMC season for me. I love going to work rallies.




Richard
76 Palm Beach
SE Michigan
www.PalmBeachGMC.com

Roller Cam 455, TBI+EBL, 3.42 FD, 4 Bag, Macerator, Lenzi (brakes, vacuum system, front end stuff), Manny Tranny, vacuum step, Tankless + OEM water heaters.
Re: GMCES Work Rally at Blain & Diane Merril's [message #317916 is a reply to message #317810] Tue, 23 May 2017 12:24 Go to previous messageGo to next message
SteveW is currently offline  SteveW   United States
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Location: Southern California - Ora...
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Senior Member

Bean station and a Work Rally at Blaine and Diane's have just been added to my bucket list. Big time.

Steve W
1973 23'
Southern California


Steve W 1973 : 23' Southern California
Re: GMCES Work Rally at Blain & Diane Merril's [message #317933 is a reply to message #317916] Tue, 23 May 2017 17:32 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Matt Colie is currently offline  Matt Colie   United States
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SteveW wrote on Tue, 23 May 2017 13:24
Bean station and a Work Rally at Blaine and Diane's have just been added to my bucket list. Big time.

Steve W
1973 23'
Southern California

Steve,

While your plan is admirable, you do realize that you are looking at five road days to get to either venue.
I suggest that you keep a watch for an equivalent by one of these chapters:
GMC Western States
GMC Mountainaires
GMC Cascaders
GMC Saguaro Jetset
GMC Pacific Cruisers
GMC 49ers
Golden Gate GMC Fleet

You also have another situation. If you do not have manual X-7425, download it. It seems that when the 73-23s were being made, they didn't quite have everything figured out. Most of the things you have to know are in the manual. That is the only book that has the right way to take the BF Onan (4.0) out of a 23. The drive line and structure are not all that strange, but the electrics, plumbing and fuel system have some difference. Most can be accounted for in the length change.

Hope you can make the GMCMI in Tucson next year.

Matt


Matt & Mary Colie - Chaumière -'73 Glacier 23 - Members GMCMI, GMCGL, GMCES
Electronically Controlled Quiet Engine Cooling Fan with OE Rear Drum Brakes with Applied Control Arms
SE Michigan - Near DTW - Twixt A2 and Detroit
Re: GMCES Work Rally at Blain & Diane Merril's [message #317944 is a reply to message #317810] Tue, 23 May 2017 22:22 Go to previous messageGo to next message
SteveW is currently offline  SteveW   United States
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Location: Southern California - Ora...
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Senior Member
Thank You Matt !!

I'm a member of both the Western States and Pacific Cruisers and have participated in their events... Not all of them but quite a few.

And I'm aware of the distances involved to go to Bean Station and/or the Merril's. Some long range motorhome travels are in my retirement plans - maybe even a trip through Southeastern Michigan to hear some stories about the heydays of the auto industry Smile I lived in Dearborn for two or three years.

I have the manuals along with plenty of printed pages from various websites and newsletters... And I've tweaked quite a few things on my old 73.

Sure would be nice to cross paths sometime. Sounds like that may happen in Tuscon !!

Thank you for all of the contributions you've made to the community. I certainly have benefitted from them.

Steve W




Steve W 1973 : 23' Southern California
Re: GMCES Work Rally at Blain & Diane Merril's [message #318090 is a reply to message #317944] Sun, 28 May 2017 05:27 Go to previous messageGo to next message
CLawson is currently offline  CLawson   United States
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Location: Wellington, OH
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Junior Member

FYI - I made it back to Cleveland in fine shape.
This was a terrific rally. I learned a tremendous amount and all the folks there where the best there is.

A new fan clutch is now in place so that should help with the overheating.

If Blaine and Diane host another rally count me in to show up early to help with mowing, cleaning, and whatever.

Many thanks to everyone for all the help in getting the coach back on the road!


Cary Lawson 1975 Glenbrook, 455, Rochester carb Wellington, Ohio
Re: GMCES Work Rally at Blain & Diane Merril's [message #318103 is a reply to message #318090] Sun, 28 May 2017 15:51 Go to previous message
Matt Colie is currently offline  Matt Colie   United States
Messages: 8547
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Senior Member
CLawson wrote on Sun, 28 May 2017 06:27
FYI - I made it back to Cleveland in fine shape.
This was a terrific rally. I learned a tremendous amount and all the folks there where the best there is.

A new fan clutch is now in place so that should help with the overheating.

If Blaine and Diane host another rally count me in to show up early to help with mowing, cleaning, and whatever.

Many thanks to everyone for all the help in getting the coach back on the road!

Cary,

You are now up to two...
You also have a real good idea of the value of our Group, Family, Cult, Asylum.
You already have a good sigfile, but you still need to welcomed here.

As I you have seen first hand, this is a helping and supportive group that wants to see you enjoy your coach as much as we all enjoy ours. And what do we hope in return? Only that you will be a part of this community and helps others when and how you can. Because this community is so like that of the watermen of my world, I have taken to welcoming new owners here much as a new owner or vessel is welcomed there. So,

May the Good Lord bless this coach and all those that set forth within her.

Welcome Cary

Matt


Matt & Mary Colie - Chaumière -'73 Glacier 23 - Members GMCMI, GMCGL, GMCES
Electronically Controlled Quiet Engine Cooling Fan with OE Rear Drum Brakes with Applied Control Arms
SE Michigan - Near DTW - Twixt A2 and Detroit
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