Finally got a real toad

[Redeyedtreefr0g]

Nice truck! That's awesome

[Randy Dupree]

Originally Posted by wandermore

He got to pick one toy at the flywheelers flea market in January and out of many hundreds at the various booths we visited this was the choice. He chose an IH Travelette for his little brother.

ohh i love that kid!!

[tqwrench]

Originally Posted by wandermore

He got to pick one toy at the flywheelers flea market in January and out of many hundreds at the various booths we visited this was the choice. He chose an IH Travelette for his little brother.

Hope he's not disappointed that mine is a Scottsdale. That Cheyenne is hot though! Seems like the type of kid smart enough and observant enough to pick that off.

[Blue Moon]

Our first RV ... RIP diesel ...

[Bill Pape]

Originally Posted by Blue Moon

Our first RV ... RIP diesel ...

Who is that handsome devil with all the hair and cut-off T-shirt

[tqwrench]

Originally Posted by Blue Moon

Our first RV ... RIP diesel ...

Looks like a 1979 C-10 Scottsdale. Those Olds 350 diesels then were a bit rough. Took until about '81 to work the mechanical bugs out, fully worked out by about '83 or '84 with better head bolts and gaskets and a good glow plug system in '84. Detroit gave trucks the 6.2L for '82. GM ended all Olds diesels in '85. They had built up a mess of the 4.3L V-6 and no cars to put them in. Wound up as stationary generators (Generac).

In my case, it's got the good bottom end, roller lifters, heads, gaskets. Mike knows this engine well. So do I. It will stay together.

Mechanics at the Caddy store I worked at in the late 90s told me they paid their houses off on the Olds diesel and HT4100 in the early eighties. Some even paid for boats. If you gave me a choice between an '83 Fleetwood with an HT4100 or the Olds Diesel, it's the diesel all day. That HT4100 was an abomination until Job 2 1984 when they got major upgrades.

This (Olds diesel) engine was the predicate for 17 states' lemon laws. First big breach of warranty lawsuit against a manufacturer where the consumer prevailed (Seattle - 1978 Seville). GM got cracked good for that one. Class action to follow. It got ugly.

[Mike Hohnstein]

First diesel was a 81 Bonneville Brougham, pillow seats, sweet car, had it for 10 years, lost an intake seat, required pulling the head to repair @ 51k miles. Pontiac Grand Am we had previous lost an exhaust valve @ 41k so there's that. Torque converter clutch chatter required replacement other than that no service issues. Even had the wienie T-200C transmission.
Saw an elderly couple w/an identical diesel Bonneville pulling a 24' travel trailer, that caught my attention, probably about 1983. Them was the days.

[tqwrench]

Personalized license plate is in. Zero-Lima-Delta-Sierra-Delta-Sierra-Lima 0LDSDSL. Oh and the (Old River Road) campground called me today while I was at the Orlando airport, got confirmed there and all paid up. They asked me for license plates for the coach and the toad. Hannah got a chuckle out of both.

[StarChief]

Originally Posted by tqwrench

Personalized license plate is in. Zero-Lima-Delta-Sierra-Delta-Sierra-Lima 0LDSDSL. Oh and the (Old River Road) campground called me today while I was at the Orlando airport, got confirmed there and all paid up. They asked me for license plates for the coach and the toad. Hannah got a chuckle out of both.

Very cool!

[tqwrench]

Ate up all three days of the holiday working on this truck. Got it well-sorted now. Needed a heater core. Popped the day after I got it. Over this weekend I got the following done:

• Heater core
• New batteries, one was bad, like really bad, other likely not far behind. Set for $200 at Costco, like for like, group 78 800 CCA
• New glove box insert (hinge broke)
• Turn signal switch
  • Added Rostra Cruise stalk and routed harness while I was in there
  • Lubed column bearing
• Duct seals all around
• Fixed broken mode door, vacuum hose deteriorated, one of those dual mode vacuum door things
• Headlamp switch (dash dimmer coil broke)
• Blower resistor, med-high was open circuit
• Got cigarette lighter working, had to tighten housing to make ground
• Got horn working (tough work, fuse blown)
• CLEANED it, all the ducts were coated with massive layer of dust inside & out, like someone stuck a hand grenade in a bail of hay and let it off in there
  • Pulled every single duct and washed inside and out
  • Blows perfume from the vents now
    • (more like Pine-Sol)
• Added mastic sound deadening to dash and floor pan. Diesel, what diesel? I don't hear anything.
• Rehabbed radio, hit dials and push buttons with cleaner, sent knobs into ultrasonic cleaner, look brand new! Sounds great. Mono FM on a Delco set is amazing!
• Added fuse to glow plug cheater switch
• Coolant flush, used the DEAC that came from the bus. Blessed by Polaris labs as good stuff
• Block heater - old one popped GFCI breaker. Shorted to itself. That was a real PITA
  • Had to sneak a flat blade on a socket in there to loosen it up, then a stubby to go the rest
  • Right between the block and motor mount
  • New one no poppy the GFCI, all good now
• Road tested, all HVAC modes work as designed, no coolant flowing on the floor, need to charge A/C. Truck rides like a Caddy What a treat!