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Home » Public Forums » GMCnet » New owner - have questions (Found a nice lady that needed some love. 1st time owner and have some questions.)
icon5.gif  New owner - have questions [message #333823] Fri, 22 June 2018 00:03 Go to previous message
bmallett is currently offline  bmallett   United States
Messages: 4
Registered: June 2018
Location: Edmond, Oklahoma
Karma:
Junior Member
Ok... I'll try to keep this somewhat concise. I've never owned a motorhome before but I've always loved the look of the GMCs. My wife found one a couple of hours away and she really liked it. I had to take advantage of that aspect. Wink

It's a 1976 Birchaven. VIN # in my sig and here:

http://i346.photobucket.com/albums/p415/bmallett2/Mobile%20Uploads/20180615_172911_zpsz0z9z5k1.jpg" border="0" alt="
http://i346.photobucket.com/albums/p415/bmallett2/Mobile%20Uploads/20180615_172911_zpsz0z9z5k1.jpg" />


Here are the options:

http://i346.photobucket.com/albums/p415/bmallett2/Mobile%20Uploads/20180620_134953_zpswy8ekh8f.jpg


Here are a couple of photos...

http://i346.photobucket.com/albums/p415/bmallett2/Mobile%20Uploads/20180615_131835_zpseptgaeof.jpg
http://i346.photobucket.com/albums/p415/bmallett2/Mobile%20Uploads/21150213_10210533191873160_3081823983758951587_n_zps3ghdkkho.jpg
http://i346.photobucket.com/albums/p415/bmallett2/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_7396.JPG_zpsy5dkswlp.jpg
http://i346.photobucket.com/albums/p415/bmallett2/Mobile%20Uploads/21105411_10210533192993188_769466308784593547_n_zpsgodrqhjc.jpg" border="0" alt="
http://i346.photobucket.com/albums/p415/bmallett2/Mobile%20Uploads/21105411_10210533192993188_769466308784593547_n_zpsgodrqhjc.jpg" />

We picked her up for $3,000. I felt that was a pretty solid deal for one in this shape. She needs some love for sure, but she runs well and is fairly solid.

I've done the basics. I've rebuilt a few old cars in my time and I always go through the same process when I get one. Filters, plugs, oil, fluids, brakes, grease points, bulbs, and wipers. I'm still working on that part. We just got her and drove her home 3 hours this week.

I flushed the a/c lines, ripped off the dryer and expansion valve, flushed the condenser, replaced the dryer and EV, then loaded her up with fresh freon. I now have air. That's a must in Oklahoma. I'm glad I did to because it was nasty. I've never seen this color come out of a condenser. I got it to flush clear though and had good flow so I kept it.

http://i346.photobucket.com/albums/p415/bmallett2/Mobile%20Uploads/20180619_154009_zpshmnlhj6z.jpg

The two vents under the dash blow fairly strong, but the other main dash vents and vents by the seats barely have anything coming out. Is this normal? If not, what would be something to look for?

My other questions are more related to what all I might be missing or what all has been changed. There is only one battery in the passenger side that's bungee strapped to a piece of plywood. I would think that I would have dual batteries. There is also a wire disconnected from what appears to be an isolator on that side. Does anyone have pictures of how this should look?

Shore power seems to function well. But the generator just spun and finally blew a breaker that shore power was plugged into. Without shore power I was not able to lock over the onan. I got to looking at it more closely and it appears the starter is bad. It kicks out but doesn't spin. I manually cranked the generator with a ratchet and it had good compression and cranked freely so I think a starter should do the trick. How do I find a replacement starter? The starter has no numbers. The onan does, but I am new with generators.

http://i346.photobucket.com/albums/p415/bmallett2/Mobile%20Uploads/20180621_185655_zps0vmayrop.jpg
http://i346.photobucket.com/albums/p415/bmallett2/Mobile%20Uploads/20180621_185716_zpsebn3y56o.jpg

Lastly, for now, there are two bare wires, they look cuthanging down below the generator. I would assume that the generator would feed one or more cabin batteries, but I don't see any anywhere. Where would a cabin battery be located? Also, what size batteries do I need?

Any and all information is appreciated. Thanks guys.


Brian and Ali Mallett - '76 Birchaven 23'
No Mods Yet.
Based in Edmond, OK
Follow us at http://ourgmcjourney.com
 
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