Climbing Pike's Peak

My first truck was one of those back in 76-77-78 and I used it to deliver news papers to about 15 kids routes and then a 160 paper in downtown seattle. Had a lot of fun with that torque monster.
I rebuilt a 292 for it and got a set of tri-y headers for it. Two headers and all I could afford to finish the exhaust was a couple slightly used turbo mufflers and a 2" set of pipes I made from an old swing set. Young and broke equals the mother of invention. That engine would pull as much as I wanted and actually got decent mileage but gas was cheap then so big whoop.

When you do get to the top of Pike's Peak, be sure you force yourself to keep breathing deeply. Shortness of breath will creep up on you so keep deep breathing. You will not hyper ventilate. Also somewhere near there is a really neat fossil site which is one of the few in the world that is from the age of insects. There are also some really cool old towns in the area. Try to make it down to Canon City and take a drive along skyline drive. A super max prison is also there. Lastly, try to go for a ride on the Royal Gorge Scenic Railroad there too. Such a neat area to visit and no shortage of stuff to do.

Before I had a transmission temp gauge...I wouldn't hesitate. Now that I've seen the abuse the transmission takes on those fully loaded hill climbs....I'd have to have a really good reason to want to do it. I've got a HUGE tranny cooler, but it struggles to keep temps under 190 on torturous hill climbs with the camper loaded.

During that era, GM also made a 300 c.i. inline six for their 2 and 3 series pickups. Big 'ol pistons and a very long stroke. It was a gas guzzler but made a LOT of torque. Maybe it was one of these? Your D.Max will motor right up to the top (if they allow it at all) because of the mongo torque and turbo that works well up high. Now if it were still all gravel, I would think about doing it. But, paved all the way? No thanks.
jefe

+1 on on the coming back down part.....brakes and tranny will be tested.

I drove up there once, but won't do it again.....Just walking around up there makes you feel goofy, and they actually have a foot race from the bottom to the top.

If you want a really scary experience, take the train up.

skipnchar wrote:
The only thing that's special about Pikes peak is the altitude. Normally aspirated engines will be short on power at that high altitude. Grades are not that difficult with MOST of them being less than 8% which is not uncommon in the big mountains or even the Eastern mountains. With the turbo diesel you should have no problems though not sure what you'll want a camper up there for since there is no camping on the peak.
Good luck and have a great trip / Skip

Where am I supposed to put the camper for the hour I'm up there?

The only thing that's special about Pikes peak is the altitude. Normally aspirated engines will be short on power at that high altitude. Grades are not that difficult with MOST of them being less than 8% which is not uncommon in the big mountains or even the Eastern mountains. With the turbo diesel you should have no problems though not sure what you'll want a camper up there for since there is no camping on the peak.
Good luck and have a great trip / Skip

mleekamp wrote:
Big difference between a 68-72 GMC and a 1977 350 V8. The six cylinder, most likely a 250 cu in, had gobs of torque and was "free flowing"...no emissions (pollution pump back in the day) to get in the way. They were also geared for pulling....great engines.

GMC in that vintage had a 305ci V6 truck engine , lots of low end grunt, it was also used in their med. duty trucks , the Chevy's got the 250ci or 292ci straight 6 .

Just think. Hundreds of people ride bicycles to the top every year!

My turbo diesel with exhaust brake just laughs......

nomadictxn wrote:

If you go out to the Continental Divide there are steeper and narower roads crossing passes at 11,000 and 12,000 feet that will really test you.

I've crossed the divide 4 times now with about 10k lbs on a trailer and 2k lbs in the bed. I know I topped 10k feet a few times, and thought I got up to 12k feet, but wasn't sure. Either way, the truck didn't seem to care at all. Of course, that was on an interstate highway.