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Sat, 03 November 2012 08:32  |
Ken Henderson
Messages: 8726
Registered: March 2004
Location: Americus, GA
Karma:
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Yesterday was an interesting one, GMC-wise. Anticipating that, I woke at
2:30 AM and couldn't get back to sleep until 11:30 PM. Made it a LONG day
too. A little background:
About a week ago, a Dixielander in Montgomery, AL called to tell me about a
GMC he'd seeing in the RV storage lot at Gunter AFS for many years. The
owner's widow had just called to ask his help in selling it.
Her story was that they'd parked the coach there in 1999, running good and
with 3000 miles on a rebuilt transmission. It hadn't moved since. But
when he examined it, he found the license plate was last updated in '93 --
who knows how long had been un-moved.
When I told my engine-builder friend, John Beaver, about it, he was
immediately interested, so I agreed to help him examine & possibly recover
it. Thus our 150 mile trip to Montgomery with his PU loaded with my 6
wheels, jack, tools, fluids, etc., etc.
Our Dixielander friend met us at the RV storage lot with the GMC keys he'd
picked up from the widow, and the 3 of us launched into trying to find out
whether the GMC would run and move.
What we found was a formerly very nice '76 Eleganza with a pretty nice
paint job, that had accumulated a lot of dirt over all those years:
http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/g6220-gunter-afb-gmc.html
As the photos show, it is in amazingly good condition. Unfortunately, the
side window behind the driver's seat was left slid to the rear about 2" --
apparently since "when". That side panel is destroyed and there's likely
floor damage also. For somewhat less time, the forward overhead vent cover
has been missing. Old carpet scraps and a couple of mattresses stored
beneath prevented us from seeing whether the parquet floor has been damaged
from that -- one of the photos shows that the headliner (a nice patterned
wallboard replacement) HAS been severely damaged, as has the dining table.
Refurbishment should be pretty easy. All of the tires STILL held SOME
air. The airbags were flat, but fitted with Schrader valves (only). The
frame showed little rust with NO separation at the doubled area in the rear.
We started our recovery effort by removing the spark plugs and squirting
ATF/Acetone into the cylinders. While that acted, we replace the engine
oil and filter. The engine turned over easily with a socket applied to the
crank pulley bolt, so we hooked up the charged battery we took along. The
starter turned the engine very nicely, blowing our penetrant everywhere.
We filled the radiator, using pure water plus a "seal rejuvenator" for the
water pump and some sealant, "just in case". We haven't yet seen a leak
from the water pump or the radiator.
Disconnecting the fuel line at the front cross member, we ran a hose from
the fuel pump inlet line into a gas can. My contention is that since those
fuel tanks have never experienced ethanol, I don't want to start now
without draining, cleaning, and re-hosing them -- the ethanol is sure to
break loose a lot of accumulated bad stuff. Cranking the engine never
filled the carburetor, so I installed an electric pump in the hose to the
gas can. The engine fired up as if it had been run an hour ago! And ran
smoothly and quietly -- not even any tappet noise!
The right iron manifold leaked like crazy. Apparently the widow's
references to her husband's plan to install headers was based on fact: the
4 manifold bolts were partially backed out. The iron manifolds have
obviously been milled, at least once because there's no room for the oil
dipstick to pass between the L. manifold and the head. Instead, there's a
tube with a 90* bend to horizontal to get outside the manfold, where
there's another 90* bend to vertical. I can't imagine how they got any
kind of a dipstick past those bends. Maybe a speedometer cable?
There was a good bit of smoke, which was periodically interrupted by the
single misfiring cylinder. Then we discovered why the fuel pump wasn't
doing its job: the body was cracked and gasoline was spraying all under
the engine! Fortunately, I'd brought along an elbow (from my wiper kits)
that would fit into the carburetor, so we bypassed the mechanical pump.
From that point on, the engine always cranked and ran well, aside from
that miss. We didn't try to fix that before moving on to more urgent
matters. The smoke cleared somewhat, but I suspect the rings are sticking
some. Maybe they'll loosen. Maybe not. If it will run 150 miles, John
will be happy -- as a race engine builder, he's really not concerned about
having to rebuild it.
With the front wheels off the ground, we started checking the brakes. The
pedal was high and firm, but there was no effect at the wheels. Checking
the master cylinder, we found the front reservoir (rear brakes) contained
only water; the rear one was full of clear brake fluid. I'd brought along
a rebuilt MC, so we replaced that. Still no effect at the wheels. Seems
the caliper pistons are frozen tight. As as are the calipers in the
knuckles. We gave the calipers a good dose of ATF/Acetone for future
benefit.
I didn't mention the air bags' condition: the left one is in worse shape
than I've ever seen before: the forward and rear ends were completely
devoid of rubber -- a finger touching the fabric at the rear might have
been touching an old sock. But it held air for about an hour before going
flat again, and agan, and again. The right bag held air all day. The left
one MUST be replaced before the coach moves.
By this time, John was the new owner of the GMC, after a brief trip with
the widow to her lawyer's office. He got a real bargain on the coach,
which the widow had been ordered to get off of the base, ASAP. We've got
to go back next week prepared to replace the calipers (going to 80 mm). If
we can get the front brakes working good, we won't worry about the rears --
if they're not locked up.
The transmission engaged and drove the off-the-ground front wheels, so
we're optimistic about being able to drive it the 150 miles back here.
To cap the day, after we had dinner and visited Harbor Freight, at about 9
PM on I-85, the PU blew a tire -- on the traffic side. After finally
getting the tire off (the carcass interfered with positioning a jack (the
floor jack we'd carried)), we put the spare on, only to find it pretty low
on air. So, we cranked up the 4kw generator we also had along, plugged in
the pancake compressor we'd used on the GMC, and blew the spare tire up.
About 30-45 minutes more imposed on two old codgers who'd been up & busy
for too long!
Finally got to bed at 11:30 PM, after a GREAT day! :-)
More fun next Friday.
Ken H.
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Ken Henderson
Americus, GA
www.gmcwipersetc.com
Large Wiring Diagrams
76 X-Birchaven
76 X-Palm Beach
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