Hi to All Class B and Restoration Fans out there!
I started a thread on my Camper Van at
Pics of My 77 Dodge Vandicraft Class B & a Tire question
Link Camper Van Pics
on the General Class B Forum so please check that out for more Pics-
This thread is about the work I need to do to make it My Future Home.
One of the few problems with the van is the windshield wipers don't work ๐
The PO (Previous Owner) believed that the motor was bad and replaced it with a junkyard motor that also did not work and he assumed that was the problem and advised me to buy a new motor. Instead I had a friend bench test the motor and found it works fine- the problem unfortunately is ELECTRICAL ๐ฎ ๐
I've been using a multimeter to check continuity and voltages and found that the motor was not receiving a fixed voltage- it was ranging from 0- 3.3 volts. I pulled the main firewall connection and probed it for continuity and when I plugged it back in I lost voltage to the motor plug- dropped to .2 volts (ouch). My preliminary diagnosis is failure of the fusible link from the battery- this would explain why the PO would say the motor turned slowly at times (low voltage condition)and why my messing with it caused more failure. Anyone who know electrical please PLEASE chime in here with any advice!!!:h
My next step is to probe the fusible link for continuity and get a tool to push the contacts out of the waterproof connector. What do you think????
As usual with any project I found more problems that needed to be attended to- the wiper linkage bushing were broken or missing in some cases and the linkage was bread wired together. I purchased new bushings and removed the linkage and installed them with lithium grease. The first one took about 1/2 hour to figure out and then they went much more quickly using a closed end wrench and a hammer on some and a vise to press the bushings onto the wiper rotors. Re-installed and it looks great! pics
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/3V7P83rl.jpg[/
]
I also cleaned a wasps nest out of a vent over the stove....
and cleaned it out!
Thanks for viewing and I appreciate your comments!
I started a thread on my Camper Van at
Pics of My 77 Dodge Vandicraft Class B & a Tire question
Link Camper Van Pics
on the General Class B Forum so please check that out for more Pics-
This thread is about the work I need to do to make it My Future Home.
One of the few problems with the van is the windshield wipers don't work ๐
The PO (Previous Owner) believed that the motor was bad and replaced it with a junkyard motor that also did not work and he assumed that was the problem and advised me to buy a new motor. Instead I had a friend bench test the motor and found it works fine- the problem unfortunately is ELECTRICAL ๐ฎ ๐
I've been using a multimeter to check continuity and voltages and found that the motor was not receiving a fixed voltage- it was ranging from 0- 3.3 volts. I pulled the main firewall connection and probed it for continuity and when I plugged it back in I lost voltage to the motor plug- dropped to .2 volts (ouch). My preliminary diagnosis is failure of the fusible link from the battery- this would explain why the PO would say the motor turned slowly at times (low voltage condition)and why my messing with it caused more failure. Anyone who know electrical please PLEASE chime in here with any advice!!!:h
My next step is to probe the fusible link for continuity and get a tool to push the contacts out of the waterproof connector. What do you think????
As usual with any project I found more problems that needed to be attended to- the wiper linkage bushing were broken or missing in some cases and the linkage was bread wired together. I purchased new bushings and removed the linkage and installed them with lithium grease. The first one took about 1/2 hour to figure out and then they went much more quickly using a closed end wrench and a hammer on some and a vise to press the bushings onto the wiper rotors. Re-installed and it looks great! pics
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/3V7P83rl.jpg[/]I also cleaned a wasps nest out of a vent over the stove....
and cleaned it out!
Thanks for viewing and I appreciate your comments!
Lots of work over the past two months on the Engine- a Dodge 400 ci V8.
The van was put to bed for winter in November and during a periodic Start/Run to warm up the engine a leak developed in the Cooling System that I believed was from the Heater Core. I started work and after draining the coolant decided to quickly change the thermostat out for a new one. This involves pulling two bolts out of the waterpump housing and sadly, the rear bolt seized- would not budge. I drenched it in PB Blaster over several days, but to no avail. Pic of Area
I tried drilling it out or tapping it- didn't work
Finally I called a Mobile Mechanics Service- Angel's Mobile Mechanics to get the bolt out. They came out and on their attempt the housing broke on the back end of the bolt hole.
Here is a pic of the housing after removal that shows this-
I purchased a replacement housing which was Used and cleaned it up.
Here is the Engine block with all the stuff off.
I also purchased a new waterpump, heater core and radiator hoses.
This took some time as parts had to be found for a 1977 engine on the internet and shipped to me. Even gaskets were hard to find for the pump housing, but eventually I had everything and Angel came back out to remove the Heater Core housing and the Heater Fan to get at the Core. Here is the whole unit in place.
An old vehicle has many graces, but some sad realities, one being that plastic/fiberglass parts get brittle. In taking the Heater Core Box off a large section broke off. Angel and his assistant were able to use a fiberglass repair kit and re-fabricated the Box for me so that it is stronger than ever! Picture showing the box repairs:
When the old Heater Core was removed you could see where it had failed and leaked into the Box. After it was removed and the Box was repaired things went quickly and all was put into place.
The engine was difficult to start and we needed to put a jump box on it, but when it was running there were no leaks! Yea!!! After a short run the engine ran easily and smoothly and the heater began putting out very hot air from the Defroster vents. Victory and after spending $ 300 on parts and $ 450 on Labor I now have a Cooling and Heating System that is new except for the radiator.
Now to re-insure for the season and get out on the road!
Thank you for following my restoration of this fine old Class B!
The van was put to bed for winter in November and during a periodic Start/Run to warm up the engine a leak developed in the Cooling System that I believed was from the Heater Core. I started work and after draining the coolant decided to quickly change the thermostat out for a new one. This involves pulling two bolts out of the waterpump housing and sadly, the rear bolt seized- would not budge. I drenched it in PB Blaster over several days, but to no avail. Pic of Area
I tried drilling it out or tapping it- didn't work
Finally I called a Mobile Mechanics Service- Angel's Mobile Mechanics to get the bolt out. They came out and on their attempt the housing broke on the back end of the bolt hole.
Here is a pic of the housing after removal that shows this-
I purchased a replacement housing which was Used and cleaned it up.
Here is the Engine block with all the stuff off.
I also purchased a new waterpump, heater core and radiator hoses.
This took some time as parts had to be found for a 1977 engine on the internet and shipped to me. Even gaskets were hard to find for the pump housing, but eventually I had everything and Angel came back out to remove the Heater Core housing and the Heater Fan to get at the Core. Here is the whole unit in place.
An old vehicle has many graces, but some sad realities, one being that plastic/fiberglass parts get brittle. In taking the Heater Core Box off a large section broke off. Angel and his assistant were able to use a fiberglass repair kit and re-fabricated the Box for me so that it is stronger than ever! Picture showing the box repairs:
When the old Heater Core was removed you could see where it had failed and leaked into the Box. After it was removed and the Box was repaired things went quickly and all was put into place.
The engine was difficult to start and we needed to put a jump box on it, but when it was running there were no leaks! Yea!!! After a short run the engine ran easily and smoothly and the heater began putting out very hot air from the Defroster vents. Victory and after spending $ 300 on parts and $ 450 on Labor I now have a Cooling and Heating System that is new except for the radiator.
Now to re-insure for the season and get out on the road!
Thank you for following my restoration of this fine old Class B!
Getting the van ready for winter and more projects. I've drained the water tank and filled the gas and will put a fuel additive in to prevent condensation.
I got the cooling system flushed and new coolant
Also took out broken and rotting door panels and used a jigsaw to cut out new panels from a sturdy fiber board.
Old Panels:
Door metal behind looks good, just needs cleaned and some wax!
Cutting out the Fiber Board replacements from a pattern of the original panels:
and testing the fit:
I cut out the center pieces and everything fit well, next step for a rainy day will be buying vinyl material and covering the fiber board!
In the last weeks I have also replaced and repaired my instrument cluster circuit board and got all my instruments working except temperature(ouch!). I knocked the needle off the gauge while doing some soldering and can't get it bact on properly or have broken the gauge. Sad day!!! I will get an aftermarket temp gauge and mount it in the near future.
New challenge- something is wrong with the drivers side suspension!
It is not sitting up high enough- maybe a spring or shock issue???
I won't know until I can get it up on jack stands, but probably not this week. Sigh...old vehicles.....always something!
Thanks for checking in, please comment if this is interesting to you.
I got the cooling system flushed and new coolant
Also took out broken and rotting door panels and used a jigsaw to cut out new panels from a sturdy fiber board.
Old Panels:
Door metal behind looks good, just needs cleaned and some wax!
Cutting out the Fiber Board replacements from a pattern of the original panels:
and testing the fit:
I cut out the center pieces and everything fit well, next step for a rainy day will be buying vinyl material and covering the fiber board!
In the last weeks I have also replaced and repaired my instrument cluster circuit board and got all my instruments working except temperature(ouch!). I knocked the needle off the gauge while doing some soldering and can't get it bact on properly or have broken the gauge. Sad day!!! I will get an aftermarket temp gauge and mount it in the near future.
New challenge- something is wrong with the drivers side suspension!
It is not sitting up high enough- maybe a spring or shock issue???
I won't know until I can get it up on jack stands, but probably not this week. Sigh...old vehicles.....always something!
Thanks for checking in, please comment if this is interesting to you.
Finally fixed my wiper motor problem by ordering a vintage 1977 B van motor on Ebay
I took out the remanned motor and put this one in, plugged the connectors on and BINGO- low and high speed wipers work and return to neutral position when turned off! Awesome- should have done this a long time ago. Sadly, the mechanics I had work on it managed to break my instrument cluster circuit board so I lost my gauges for fuel level, oil pressure and engine temperature. Sad Day! Now I am looking at ordering a board on Ebay.
On the plus side, O'Reilly's stood behind their warranty and gave me full credit for the reman motor that failed. Van is going into winter storage now and will work on the interior including removing old carpet, new paint and new flooring. I will post updates as things develop! Thanks for checking in on this project.
I took out the remanned motor and put this one in, plugged the connectors on and BINGO- low and high speed wipers work and return to neutral position when turned off! Awesome- should have done this a long time ago. Sadly, the mechanics I had work on it managed to break my instrument cluster circuit board so I lost my gauges for fuel level, oil pressure and engine temperature. Sad Day! Now I am looking at ordering a board on Ebay.
On the plus side, O'Reilly's stood behind their warranty and gave me full credit for the reman motor that failed. Van is going into winter storage now and will work on the interior including removing old carpet, new paint and new flooring. I will post updates as things develop! Thanks for checking in on this project.
I go to the U-Pick-Em Junkyard from time to time and I found some window covers for the side doors that allow light but give some shade and privacy as well.
Had to screw some mounts above each window
Proof of concept
and all done- works well!
Thanks for checking this out!
Had to screw some mounts above each window
Proof of concept
and all done- works well!
Thanks for checking this out!
Baby got new shoes today! Kumho Pathfinder Sport S A/T's.
I went up one size from 235/75 to 30/9.5's and now have a 6 ply C1 class tire which feels really good on the road and should work well on the dirt/gravel roads as well.
Pics:
We are going camping near Ketchum, Idaho on Friday for 3 days to watch my 82 year old Mom run her yellow 2000 C5 Corvette over 170 mph at the Sun Valley No Speed Limit Road Rally. If that sounds interesting to you check out GoGrannyGo Corvette Facebook for her updates and last years 166.3 mph run. This year we put new headers on and a larger air intake and the car dyno'ed at 181 mph!
I went up one size from 235/75 to 30/9.5's and now have a 6 ply C1 class tire which feels really good on the road and should work well on the dirt/gravel roads as well.
Pics:
We are going camping near Ketchum, Idaho on Friday for 3 days to watch my 82 year old Mom run her yellow 2000 C5 Corvette over 170 mph at the Sun Valley No Speed Limit Road Rally. If that sounds interesting to you check out GoGrannyGo Corvette Facebook for her updates and last years 166.3 mph run. This year we put new headers on and a larger air intake and the car dyno'ed at 181 mph!
It's been a busy few days here....got my range hood on Saturday and it had clearance issues. It was longer front to back which is not that bad, but also had sides that extended beyond the top of it (which was flush on my old hood ๐ ). My neighbor is a welder and metal worker and he helped me trim and pound down the sides so it will fit flush. Yeah!!
My Mom reasonably pointed out that I should do my back-splash and paint mods BEFORE I mount the new hood so a trip to Lowes was in order....Pics below and I will add more when I can get them off the camera lol.
Here is the Kitchen "Before" Pic
First I had to clean out the ancient shag carpet and remove the light that was on the wall behind the range.....
I will use the lights wiring to wire in the new hood...
much cleaner now.....
New range hood
Fan and light, yeah!
One clearance problem solved!
Here are the Backsplashes- I am going with adhesive tiles on the right hand wall and paint above them and putting a panel behind the stove:
Then I had to shape patterns and trim to fit the area:
and check the fits:
Then masking for the paint:
I chose a light colored simulated stone finish:
two coats applied and when dry I carefully attached the tiles and painted to their borders:
They attached easily! Then the panel and for this I bought double sided tape which was NOT easy to work with- almost impossible to get the backing off of it because it was so thin!!! Then when you got the backing off it would stick to itself and try to ball up. Frustrating!!
Tomorrow when I know the paint is Really Dry I will install the hood and show pics of the completed project
Ok Day 3 on this project....the paint is still a little tacky because of the heat and humidity, but I think it is dry enough to install the new range hood!
First connect the wires and check the fan and light, I use Butt connectors to attach the wires from the old light fixture to the hood:
All Works!
Then I used boxes to hold it in place while I got the first couple of screws in and it was tough to do solo, but I got it in!
Cleaned up and in- project finished!!!!!
Side view showing my new Oregon Scientific Indoor/Outdoor Thermometer- I am using the Outdoor sensor in my fridge to monitor temperatures:
As you can see, my fridge is working really well on house power on this quite warm day!
Hard work, but very rewarding to lighten up the all wood paneled interior and start to put my stamp on my rolling home.
Thanks for checking in with me as I restore and remodel this classic old B!
My Mom reasonably pointed out that I should do my back-splash and paint mods BEFORE I mount the new hood so a trip to Lowes was in order....Pics below and I will add more when I can get them off the camera lol.
Here is the Kitchen "Before" Pic
First I had to clean out the ancient shag carpet and remove the light that was on the wall behind the range.....
I will use the lights wiring to wire in the new hood...
much cleaner now.....
New range hood
Fan and light, yeah!
One clearance problem solved!
Here are the Backsplashes- I am going with adhesive tiles on the right hand wall and paint above them and putting a panel behind the stove:
Then I had to shape patterns and trim to fit the area:
and check the fits:
Then masking for the paint:
I chose a light colored simulated stone finish:
two coats applied and when dry I carefully attached the tiles and painted to their borders:
They attached easily! Then the panel and for this I bought double sided tape which was NOT easy to work with- almost impossible to get the backing off of it because it was so thin!!! Then when you got the backing off it would stick to itself and try to ball up. Frustrating!!
Tomorrow when I know the paint is Really Dry I will install the hood and show pics of the completed project
Ok Day 3 on this project....the paint is still a little tacky because of the heat and humidity, but I think it is dry enough to install the new range hood!
First connect the wires and check the fan and light, I use Butt connectors to attach the wires from the old light fixture to the hood:
All Works!
Then I used boxes to hold it in place while I got the first couple of screws in and it was tough to do solo, but I got it in!
Cleaned up and in- project finished!!!!!
Side view showing my new Oregon Scientific Indoor/Outdoor Thermometer- I am using the Outdoor sensor in my fridge to monitor temperatures:
As you can see, my fridge is working really well on house power on this quite warm day!
Hard work, but very rewarding to lighten up the all wood paneled interior and start to put my stamp on my rolling home.
Thanks for checking in with me as I restore and remodel this classic old B!
Traveler7 wrote:That paint looks amazing for its age. Great job.
Weather finally allowed me to finish the polishing and waxing...I had to work and then put everything away because of rain for the last two days. Here are some pics showing the new shine! The paint is all cleaned up- no oxidation and color restored. It is a color called Russet Sunfire which is metalflake with orange, gold and black flakes- really very pretty!
Shiny even in cloudy flat light
I can see my reflection finally!
Paint is almost like new except for the crappy gold stripes that were painted over the good paint. The gold is just coming off and no saving it sadly....
Now that I have all the color codes I will order some touch up paint and a rattle can or two and see what I can do....
Thanks for watching!
Ok- today was back to cleaning the Doghouse! Last week I bought a gallon of Klean Strip Adhesive remover because it consistently got a 4 star rating by people removing carpets and I must say it worked really well. You can see some before pics in a previous post. Here are pics of the Klean Strip's effect:
Klean side on the right
Really works well and quickly, I poured some on and spread it with a glass razor and gave it five minutes or so...
Then I scraped lightly and large chunks slid off and took about an hour to clean it all.
All clean now...I think this stuff will work really well when I pull up the carpet from the cockpit ๐
Tomorrow will be sanding it and prepping for a prime coat...final plan is to pad it and cover with naugahyde fabric (I think)...
Klean side on the right
Really works well and quickly, I poured some on and spread it with a glass razor and gave it five minutes or so...
Then I scraped lightly and large chunks slid off and took about an hour to clean it all.
All clean now...I think this stuff will work really well when I pull up the carpet from the cockpit ๐
Tomorrow will be sanding it and prepping for a prime coat...final plan is to pad it and cover with naugahyde fabric (I think)...
Weather finally allowed me to finish the polishing and waxing...I had to work and then put everything away because of rain for the last two days. Here are some pics showing the new shine! The paint is all cleaned up- no oxidation and color restored. It is a color called Russet Sunfire which is metalflake with orange, gold and black flakes- really very pretty!
Shiny even in cloudy flat light
I can see my reflection finally!
Paint is almost like new except for the crappy gold stripes that were painted over the good paint. The gold is just coming off and no saving it sadly....
Now that I have all the color codes I will order some touch up paint and a rattle can or two and see what I can do....
Thanks for watching!
Shiny even in cloudy flat light
I can see my reflection finally!
Paint is almost like new except for the crappy gold stripes that were painted over the good paint. The gold is just coming off and no saving it sadly....
Now that I have all the color codes I will order some touch up paint and a rattle can or two and see what I can do....
Thanks for watching!
