Daily Pose

Daily Pose

Link back to the front page: Cooperative Motor Works (The Co-op)

The Co-op is proud to be a member of the elite new force of bloggers bearing their soul at the same time offering you an inside look at the things in their world through the WWW. Before a "blog" was called one, the "Daily Pose" had been here pumping out GMC owners and enthusiasts a dose of what its like hanging around our shop, seeing what we do and maybe picking up a tip or something that can maybe improve your GMC experience. Heck, I didn't know what a "blog" was, I was just having a good time showing you guys what we were doing. We certainly did not invent the blog but I will say it's good other people figured out doing it was an interesting thing to do. So here is our "blog" and for what thats worth I hope there is something here that helps you. I am most interested in your comments and suggestions.

WARNING/// This page could become habit forming!

No holes are bared, and maybe even some "holes" you would rather not see -- hey, its all here! Click on most of the pics, they blow up. Heck, you can even print them out, even tape some together and have some fun. Email and give us subjects or questions you would like talked about-- Shoot, we have no shame!

Cut & paste

Better than one of those "fashion" garage, reality wrench sit-coms, this is real and its uncut! The "mud, the blood & the beer" of renovating the 26' hot rod and you can be a part. If you have a coach here, you can follow our progress on your baby, its better than a "Granny Cam" , you can watch it happen!

I also hyperlink you to site updates and additions, its easy to keep up with what we do right here. We are proud of our progress of reintroducing the GMC as a part of the mainstream mobile society, be a part as well and join us here on the Daily Pose.

Here's a new page, click on Stories from the Road , I will post interesting pics and copy sent to me by GMC owners about how they are enjoying their coach. This will be proof positive for you that the GMC is as active and viable today as it was when they were built giving so many the chance to get out and enjoy our country. Not just a relic for the museum, this is a classic vehicle that does so much more.

Cal (and all of you) are members of the team, have the passion, have the state of mind and you will be there!
Well, if this is said to be food for the soul, lets get to the main course, I think we've grazed through enough salad for now! Enjoy the visit and thanks again for support

Jim Bounds

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Archive: To help clean up and organize our site better, go here for past Daily Pose posts. Pose Archive

Enough with the salad, lets get into the meat.
The latest post is at the top, from there previous posts are on down. Enjoy, if you have questions, let me know.

7.29.10

Trying to catch up a bit, Monday I drove Marylin's coach to her in New Port Richey, left at 2:30 in the hot hot afternoon and found myself feeling sorry for that poor motor locked up in that hot box under the floor. It was funny but while driving I got 2 phone calls about what to do about the vapor lock issue the folks who called were having. I told them I was testing out things right then being on the road in the heat myself. While talking on the phone, I dropped off I-75 to a light at the ramp, sure enough -- pulling away from the light the ole vapor lock thing came at me-- I reached over and flipped to the "aux. tank" where I have the extra electric fuel pump powered and plumbed to the output of the front aux. tank. One sec., 2 sec. 3 sec., 4 sec. and the vapor lock bucking went away. It looks like for at least this vehicle firing up the 2nd fuel pump and pushing the fuel past the vapor bubbles in the line works. Arriving, I told Marylin about the issue and after testing my theory at a half dozen more traffic lights where the engine compartment heated up past hot, firing up the aux. pump just before taking off eliminated the vapor lock bucking as I pulled away from the dead stop.

We wire in this second electric fuel pump as a "pusher pump" to throw the fuel at the mechanical pump, you may want to try this, it works on this coach-- BTW, and what a nice looking coach it is , Marylin & Ginger were pleased and after all thats what counts. Kevin had outdone himself adding in details that to me make all the difference so as the sun sat in New Port Richey, I said goodbye to a machine we are all proud to say "we did that" and hope Marylin will enjoy the fruits of our efforts . Thanks for the faith in us.

Yesterday it was funny how this hit me but George H. coach communed a bit with another good looking coach that came in for some services. Once Tammy's coach may have looked like Georges, proof there is hope . Interesting how a little paint and detail work brings the GMC into todays style . This fact is what drives our business. More folks are discovering this fact so our business plan of "reinventing" this vintage machine is not only alive and well but has created the "emerging market" we are believing is out there. George is excited on the possibilities as are we and can't wait to dig into his machine. We have other projects that need to finish up first so keep watching George, your time will come. For those of you "wannabee" lurkers who think maybe a GMC could be in your future-- your thoughts are right on the mark-- all of what you think and more can be wrapped up into this classic GMC design, they can really be cool. Hey, I'm not saying that beautiful pea green plad cloth upholstery is not awesome-- it's all good in its own way but with the style the GMC has, new colors, metallic finishes, new textures, ideas and technologies fit right into this timeless design. Thats where I feel the value is, the comfort and the use can shine. I mean if your buy one of these, bring it up to a relaible, good looking condition chances are economically speaking you will have far less in that project than if you were to go our and drop the dime on a new machine. Hey and just look at the style you can have , now sit there and tell me you would rather be seen is a beige colored toaster! I don't think so. Then think about what you have mechanically, some say I want all new drive train components-- new design and technology-- wait, is that an OBDII computer interface in your pocket or are you just happy to see me? Without a white jacket, chances of fixing a late model motor are slim. Carry a set of Sears tools and understand fuel and fire to the motor and you can work on a 455 or 403 Olds motor-- and thats a fact! I do not work on my wife's Dodge Dakota but I'll pull down a GMC drive train all day long! So tell me which machine is more servicable out on the road!

Man, where did all this come from! Guess the 2 grapes this morning at breakfast may be pointing to an energy filled day! OK, thats enough, I have work to do and the sun is already burning the pavement-- gotta go. Stay tuned, we have more going on, maybe paul's motor will show up today-- come on guys, I'm waiting!!!!!

Thanks for the visit, we'll be back tomorrow

7.28.10

Sorry bout being away , it was probably a good thing in that John D. said he wanted to clean up some of my mess on the site Hope it will move a little faster with all that crap out of the way-- thanks man.

There have been many important things going on I've been pretty bush keeping it all lumped together! Could be good news soon. On several things at the same time! The are some news on our motors coming soon. We're trying a pyro shield product to insulate the fuel delivery vapor lock issue. Rob is having a blast getting greasy on his coach. So much else is happening. Gonna go over to Walters maybe to see whats happening over there-- the tension mounts!

I'll try and put up some neat pics in the morning. See ya.

7.26.10

Sorry for the time away but we have been pushing hard the weekend. Kevin & I have blown our weekend getting Marylin's coach ready to roll. I'll be driving it to New Port Richey today to her. I've been teasing her on putting up pics of the coach. OK, here it is and Kevin & I have the scars to prove this is so much more than a pretty face. Take a Look-- I have so many things going on around here-- Butch D. came in from Mpls. after only being able to drive at night to battle his vapor lock issues-- he have Pauls coach, Ken's, Raymonds, Marks and Rob M. , Sam's and others around here so you can see my delima. Take a look at these pics and we'll talk to ya later

Pealing away the bags, a new butterfly is about to emerge. Washing it for the first time we also verified we see no water leaks Now THIS is what I'm talkin bout! (cut-n-paste) Close up looks as good as far away Kevin just can't stay away from it with his buffer-- it's so nice working with a finished machine to this level! So Marylin, I'll see ya later toady

7.23.10

No brag, just fact-- So I'm working out in the lot on this machine , you can see the shadow of the original working thermometer on the side of the coach. We did a dual bag suspension -- good thing Neville brought the coach in from MS, his original bags were long past giving everything they had BTW, those bags were still riding on plastic cones! I rewired his ONan ignition circuit, installed a new compressor, rewired that and I just happened to look up at the thermometer-- the needlw was slapping the stop above 120 deg.! Ouch! Don;t know if the weatherman said we hit the record but I do know it hit a record for me!

Just so bloody hot it is slowing everyone down. Marylin, here is your coach the beginning of the day yesterday, Kevin was pulling the bags to see what we had . We rebased and cleared the entire coach-- basically an all new paint job. Here is the coach @ noon yesterday Kevin & I will be putting the coach together today after he finishes the color sand & buff step. Also tomorrow we'll be on it so we should get it together by then-- that is if the heat doesn't bake our brain first!

Hey Ken, the front of the 23d is back together, the headlight bezels will go in today Guys, now if that machine isn;t cool looking-- well I don't know what! I'm going to get it inside today and it along with the 26' Duramax can have work done away from the sun.

So the frig at the shop reviels a bit of what it's like doing work in the open lot, in the sun in the summer down here. Now we save the liquid refreshment on the top shelf for after work of course-- the main feature for us "southern boys" is the big green thing in the middle and of course the half eaten box of good ole fried "Dixie Chicken"! That mellon will be in our bellies come lunchtime today!

OK, enough of all that, Kevin was here when I showed up, Rob just staggered in so guess it's time to go. Enjoy the day, I will as soon as I break the first sweat of the day-- which will happen now...

7.22.10

I know I said there would be no complaining about heat this summer after the cold of last winter and I do not call this complaining but the heat around here has become how about robust! The guys are just swimming in their own sweat-- me too! Recently we had discussed finding a new shop with more covered work space and lord knows something like that could only be a good thing. 12 years of working in the lot, when it rains you get wet, winters you are cold and now summers you get a great tan and I know the guys would be more effective with a better work environment but hey-- are we nuts! When it seems like our country is in an economic stranglehold here we are looking to expand. I guess that says volumes about the GMC community and the interest in our classic coach but still, there is reality and the prudence in jumping out there and tripling your overhead. As the song goes, "you don't get what you want, maybe sometimes you get what you need-- so on we go, sheltering our tools from the sun so they won;t burn our hands grabbing them, changing the water bottle daily to keep up with demand and looking for shade under trees, beside walls and coming in early to work before the sun bakes your brain to a mush pie. Is this complaining, no it's reality and we are still here though having to stay as cool as we can while everything around us is sizzling.

Sorry, no pics today, I promised Marylin a pic of her coach just out of paint at noon so maybe I can sit in the cool of the office for a little and do some pics then. Please come back then for something more. I really need to get out there and work, it's not hot yet, Kevin is here--Twinkles mwet me at the gate as I came in on the side car bike this morning-- a nice cool ride in the wind is a great way to start off a frying session today. Supposed to hit a record of 97 today. Rob M. & Sam C. are here sweating with us-- hey, it's a family affair. Keep cool today, lets see how it goes later

7.19.10

So, what did YOU do this weekend? I spent a working weekend here with Ken's 23d sorting the engine cover. Yea, I know, it's a shame we have to cover such a cool feature of Ken's interior , I mean how many people you know of can say they have a Duramax turbo diesel in their living room! I do have to say though that it does put off some heat and noise so something has to be done. The solution of this problem was solved by a colaboration between Sam C., Rob M., myself and Jeff helping bring to life the ideas we all put together. Truly a solution solved by working together. First, the structure had to take up the leat amount of space as possible, we were running out of room in the from and still have more things to add in so here is the basic structure still on the bench . After Jeff painted the insides with Lizard skin sound and heat coatings, I added this weekend the sound/heat blanket to help block that stuff out . After that there was nothing to do but fit in the cover-- sounds easy but remember things that are hand made custom have no pattern or instructions to follow. Here is the cover in place and late Sunday afternoon, with the cover sealed and the top hatch cut, cover and secured here is what we have The pop latches on the top secure the top cover tight. Seams are sealed with the pass. floorboard in and secure, we are a big step forward . The top will double as a table and is covered by the same counter material used in the galley and with bound carpet covering the fixture, I think we have a winner! From here Raymond's 26' Duramax will get the same treatment & I will continue on finishing off the dash of the 23d.

Rob. M. was at the shop with me working with his coach. Here Rob is playing with a torch to losen up the glue on his sheet goods floor -- Hey, the idea looked good on paper but after catching the floor on fire, I think we need to regroup on that one! We also got Rob's electrical system squared away with inverter and main power transfer switches, a new 12 volt fuse block and some wiring cleanup-- actually I got a kick out of that work.

Looks like we have good, dry weather this week here in Florida. Kevin had Marylin's coach ready to refinish . He came in Saturday to base the colors, today he'll finish that up, tac it off and lay out the clearcoat.-- wish us luck.

Some might say "thats all you got done"! Hey, it's hot out there and doing one off stuff like all this stuff takes time and takes it out of you. I was spent heading home last night, Janie took me out for some relaxing time walking around the lake downtown and a ride with the top down in the Suzuki-- it's funny how things help you relax that don;t include sleeping!

OK guys, I've not been up on the ole soap box for some time-- you need to listen up-- If you have more than $15,000 in your coach, you MUST have and "agreed value" insurance policy! There is just no discussion on this. Again this past week, I've had another GMC aowner have their coach totaled and his insurance people are taking a maximum of $15,000 for the machine. Guys hear me-- "full coverage" policies cover the replacement of a vehicle in like original condition. It does not address AT ALL anthing added to the vehicle after it's productoion-- this is just the way the policy is written. It does not address any "aftermarket" repairs, updates or upgrades. A full coverage policy is designed to replace your vehicle with a like condition one-- so tell me about all the bucks you have spent on your coach since you purchased it--- none of that will be replaced if you total your coach! You can scream all day long but it's like your local restaurant-- "NO shoes and shirt-- no food" . And agreed value policy is designed to take into consideration all of the updates to your coach-- everything that makes it what it is-- your coach is nothing without listing all the new stuff so what does a
"full coverage" policy cover on your vintage RV--- nothing, thats what! You will struggle to get a pay out over $10,000 on a full coverage policy. I have another customer, Bob C., who had his coach burn to the ground-- guess what, he had an agreed value insurance policy on his coach and now if he wants to he will be able to replace his beautiful coach with another one set up like his old one-- the other guy last week will not! I can provide you with an agreed value evaluation, with that you can get an agreed policy and you would be surprised-- it does not cost that much! Please guys, don't just sit there and say it will never happen to me-- because it can. If you are going to have insurance, have the $ you put into it cont for something-- call Miller insurance at 1-800-622-6347, ask for Cheryl or Marlene-- tell them I said hello and talk to them about an agreed value insurance policy for your coach. There are unique things having to do with insurance on a vintage RV, it's pretty much all they do. Hey, other people do free quotes too so take advantage of it. If you don;t do this, do not get mad at me-- last week another GMC owner got the rude awakening that he was "out of the water" when his coach was trashed-- DO NOT LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU! OK guys, you have been warned, don;t get upset at me, I've done my job!

OK, thats enough, this will be a big week here at the Co-op. We have some big news in the wings-- stay tuned. Gonna be a good work week, hot with little rain-- I love it! Have a great day, call if I can help,

7.15.10

OK you guys sending me long Emails with scads of questions I have to stop and give the guys coming here for their fix some attention-- sorry!

There are folks here that NEED to see content here, I don;t want to be the cause of even one of you guys having to check in to the Betty Ford clinic.

So here is my "20 mule team" ready to get the Chimera out of it's caccoon Jasper has drug their feet on supplying my custom motor so here we are, it's got color but no way to motivate. OK boys, headem up, movem out, we're burning daylight! Heav-ho, yea it's a 23' coach with no interior or motor but the dang thing is still heavy! "Whisky for my men & beer for the horses", wonder which one they will want! Out of the bay she comes, now switch sides and get the beast over to the mechanical area And get it your back boys again Come on you land lubbers-- give it hell , she's movin, keep it up Hea mule-- yup, yup, yop there's rest at the end! Paul, here it is, don;t worry about the down swoop divider at the middle, the body molding will be on top of that Now guys, taking the machine from this with a vision to what we have is not only amazing but should I say it Paul, just what we had in mind. You must have a vision to what can be bringing a machine like this to life. Man wait till you see this puppy on the road! Oh, and check out that shine-- there is no wax finish on it yet!

OK, so now that I've got Paul passed out on the floor, Mark-- it's your turn--

Got my coach Larry back on the road for the run down to Danny to pick up the ground effects molds , what a team player-- Danny offered to drive the molds up to Tampa which is @ half way. Kevin & I hopped up in Larry for the triip. Remeber the last run down delivering the molds down to Danny I corrupted my fuel delivery system with rust from the ethanol eating away my fuel tanks-- flushing out the system, carb and adding a canister style filter/water seperator (BTW, you guys need to consider getting one of there-- we'll have them, let me know if you are interested) we were ready to brave the open road again. Larry was doing such an awesome job I about forgot to take any pics. So for those of you who are gauge watchers-- readm and weep Cruise control on, we were "in the pocket". This roller cam motor is awesome-- all the power we need, smooth, strong and just making Larry go like the wind. Like Will Smith said blowing off in that alien ship "I gotta get one of these!" You can't read it but the oil pressure was 3/4 on the idiot gauge so all is good, Larry is again on the road and I am pleased with that.

Oh wait, we're talking about Mark and his coach-- let me see, with the molds in Larry, Rob M. and I headed over to Walters to bring him all those pieces that make up the gound effects kit. Pulling up, take a look at one of the machines he just finished -- without a wide angle lens I could not shoot the entire machine An all jet black 45' Prevost-- man is that paint impressive or what! There's Rob getting in on helping Walter with a generator heating problem Hey Mark, your 78 GMC looks like a golf cart hiding next to some of the stuff Walter works with , we are so fortunate to have Walter on our team. Some might ask why do I have Kevin doing paint AND Walter, hey look there are many levels of paint finish-- some folks are interested in different things. We refuse to do tthose "down and dirty" paint jobs-- I'll leave that to all those folks who will tell you they can do paint for less-- thats not what you really want to bring a classic GMC to an impressive state but even at the better end of the stick, there are levels of refinment and the work Walter does is far and away the best out there. I guess you could say we only focus on the "better" and the "best" work out there. Mark, your coach is in good hands, in great company and now with Rob helping me deliver the ground effects to the master as the southern expression goes-- "Hey you'all, watch this"-- hea, Mark is goning to have a "treety" exterior-- stay tuned, I'll make pilgramages over to Walters to document his progress.

Like I said, we have got it happening around here. Today in fact, I will be installing the Duramax engine cover in Ken's 23d. Jeff has the Lizard Skin sound and heat insulation applied to it-- nothing left but to put it in. I hope tomorrow to give Ken a lift like I did with Paul & Mark on pics of his project. Stay tuned.

With Paul's coach finally out of the bay-- Kevin wouldn;t let it go until it was to his standard, he's got Marylin's coach in the bay, it's "shower cap" on and we're ready to fix the paint we tried another shop to do for us. This is a perfect example of why we (and you) should be more picky about the paint finish on your classic GMC. The job looked good when it left us but there were just so many small issues that we brought it back in-- it just was not to our liking. While Kevin was with NAPA seeing where is life would take him he tried to get another shop to do the caliber of our work-- that resulted in failure which we are now fixing others work. I'm telling you guys, if you really want to be serious about bringing your vintage GMC back to today-- accept no substitutes. If you have time to do it over, you should have taken the time to do it right the first time-- and thats all I've got to say about that!

Max is no fool sucking in the fan, yea it's hot down here in the sunny south hey but I'm not complaining! Jason mixes sweat into his hands as he keeps the home fires burning over in the mechanical bays building up front suspension parts Man, it's hot in there in that bay! He's taking care though to not mix sweat in with the synthetic grease so have no fear!

And then there's Craig & Eric out there in the beating sun sealing up Rob's top rails Oh dang it's hot out there! makes me want to sit here in the air conditioned office and just keep pounding away at this keyboard-- but no, I need to get out there too! It's just what we do here in Florida-- July, August & September we sweat!

Oops, there goes the phone, the guys are showing up to the game is on-- the heat is rolling in so here we go. Hope there was enough here to get you full for now, will try my best to keep posting. Have a great day

7.14.10

Guys I tried, just got pulled away I'll come in early in the morning to do some pics for ya.

7.13.10

Have no fear, we're still here! Sorry for the blank air the last couple of days but just so much is going on what can I say.

I've got some cool pics of applying the Lizard skin heat and then the sound insulation on Ken's Duramax engine cover, I've got paul coming out of the paint shop, Sam up on the lift getting fuel lines and body pads, have George's coach coming in on a flat bed for the "full Monty" on a all but frightfully original Palm Beach-- like I said just so much happening and now with the considerable knowledge on how to make a Duramax engine cover we'll also be on the trail of getting Raymonds cover in and then-- well we're delivering some awesome machines! BTW, Did you check out Detective Sanchez- he's lookin good this season! Check it out.

On other fronts there are exciting things going on, when I can I'll tell ya more about them I will. Good things all so yea, we're here-- it's kinda like that Jimmy Buffet song "If the phone doesn't ring, it's me". We're here, don;t worry! Sam C. will be back with us tomorrow, Rob M. is still here whipping on his coach so the place is packed, call before there's not much room here if you come.

Tom, your motor is in process, hopes of shipping to Columbia soon, talked with the guys today & discussed hoe to pull your locked up motor out-- says there is a pile of parts in the oil pan-- sounds like it's a dirty diaper!

Thanks everyone for coming by-- we get by with a little help from our friends and in this case it's a lote of help! I'll do better keeping up with posting, John D. my webmaster-- well it's more like the wizard that always saves the little turtle on Bulwinkle-- "Drizzle-- drazzle-- druzzle-- drome-- Time for this one to come home"

7.9.10

Came in early this morning to try and catch you guys up a bit Just got done with the Emails, it's 6:15 so I have a shot at this. Have 5 agreed evaluations to do-- backlogged on those which also require seat time in the office so I'm trying to knock those out too-- see I just don;t have the time to do it all. Anyway, I beat Kevin in this morning, he stuck his head in the door @ 10 min. ago, what a team player!

Kevin is "Buff Master" , take a look at Paul's Chimera paint You know how it shines like that? It's called "elbow grease" and Kevin is not afraid to get it on with the high speed buffer The plan is to have Paul's coach out of the bay by today to get Marylin's coach in for next week's fun. We had tried another paint group for our work when Kevin was out with NAPA as their paint specialist. Turns out they listened to what we said but did not do what we wanted-- fixed some damage with less than our method of SMC repair and it started to break out Kevin had told the guys what to do but they simply didn't really do it so he's fixing their screwup and we'll be redoing some of the work. This tells me more than anything that we just have to do all this work ourselves. If you think "paint is paint" brother let me show you that you are wrong! Even under our nose, people will not do it right. I feel for you guys who are far away and feel you can't take the time to get the coach down here. I really cannot give you any comfort-- your paint may look OK when it's done-- Marylin's coach did too but in time those short cuts show through-- it just does! DO NOT CUT CORNERS when doing the exterior of a GMC, you will hate yourself later..

Ah, but there is one other painter we use that DOES follow our lead. yesterday, Walter came over to collect Mark's coach for a serious paint finish , as he backs out yea Mark, we'll have to replace those fogged windshields. One look at Walters chase truck will tell you where we're going on his paint Walter is the man-- between Kevin & Walter, we are covered. Here is the computer designed design Walter will put in Mark's coach WOW, what a cool looking machine! Go for it man! Stay tuned--

And then there is the scientific method Sam, Rob & I went after the engine cover issue on the Duramax coaches with. First Ken's dash AC-- problem was the coach is a 23' and with the door forward, there is just no room for the pass. seat, the dash AC, the door and the Duramax dash-- just not gonna happen! What do we do? OK, the only spot is a half area just under the big dash top-- OK, so the dash AC will peek out from the dash with a hump We'll have a "hump" cover with the vents blowing straight out. Lets call this a "maximum use of space". It will work and now we turn to the engine cover. Here is the base of what we came up with This will be insulated from heat and sound big time, the top will double as their dining table-- heck, he'll be able to have 3 lap tops sitting up there! Stay tuned Ken, I think it will work-- hey and Raymond, as soon as Kens is in yours will be in too! Off of our hands on this deal and we'll be flying soon.

Outa time again, gotta go--- life is good-- compare that to the alternative!

7.8.10

See, this is my problem here it is 8:30, just got Emails done and I'm burning daylight! The length of this daily pose page is now as long as a novel and I can't get the time to blow out some of it to the archive. Yesterday, Sam, Rob & I sat there scratching our heads collectively on the engine cover-- went well and I have a direction-- wish I could have the time to tell you guys about it but the reality is I just don;t have the time. Time is the bandit here--- you guys with work in here certainly deserve to see whats happening and I have 4 people Raymond, Ken, Paul & Mark that it actually is important that they see whats happening and I feel bad I cannot sit here and do that. I'll try tonight. Time is killing me, won;t somebody grab those hands on the clock and stop them! OK, I'll try another plan, but it's really my issue here.

Let me get a handle on this time thing, maybe I will need to force myself to do this in the evening. I've already lost the cool part of today to do work-- now we sweat! Gotta go--

Mark-- Walter came over yesterday and took your baby over to his place

Paul-- Kevin is nearing the finish of the wet sanding, it looks slick

Ken-- I'm on it, before I leave today my goal is to make the first part of the engine cover and Raymond, that will also move your coach forward.

Danny-- the plan is to get you off the lift today, Sam needs fuel hoses so you're coach is holding him back

Hate to break todays talk down to this root mean but it is important for me to go now.

Have a great day, let me see if I can breath tonight and make a post

7.7.10

I don;t know but I knew I should prepare for a strange day when a chicken crossed in from of the Suzuki coming over the tracks headed to the shop this morning! So why DID the chicken cross the road? I think it was to give me a sign maybe, at least today that was the case. The best thing I think I can do is to get back into my routine and just get to work. For the last several days, being up in Jax. getting my Mom and all of what goes with getting the bank, her long term health car provider, the attorneys and all that situated is more stressing to me that just hunkering down here at the shop and sweating. Well, thats all done, I'm back in my saddle and we're on the road to getting stuff done.

This week I have a unique asset which I will do my best to use to the utmost hey, and for you retired engineers who since retiring find your way of life has become less than challenging to you intellect, you too can follow along with my plans for the week and help out. I am referring to the "scientific method" of problem solving they crammed into your head in those college level engineering classes back in the dark ages before the internet. The asset I'm referring to are 2 retired engineers Sam C. & now coming in today Rob M. from Australia. Two great assets and I need some of their brainpower to help me come up with some solutions that have been plaguing my efforts to forward progress on the Duramax coaches-- namely the engine cover to house those mondo huge turbo diesel motors sitting some 3 feet from the drivers arm. I'm not enbarrised to say this project has so many facets to it, so many considerations with no road to success-- no previous work to copy, no not even something like what we are looking to do that we are like those engineers when Apollo 13 needed to put a round scrubber into a square receptacle to clean up the air so those 3 guys could get home. Yes, I need a little of that problem solving right now so Sam, Rob and myself will hopefully enter into a brain storming session today to shed light on that which has eluded us for some time now.

And like I said, for you retired engineers out there, let me give you our constraints so you can follow along and maybe help the progress of out dream team here. Here we go:

History:

o The LF72 Workhorse chassis comes with a front wheel drive, front mounted drive train so 8-12" back from the original GMC drive train location which puts the motor right next to the driver just like a full sized van.

Oops-- outa time, I'll pick this up later with what we hope to accomplish today.--------

7.2.10

Just about when you think you have figured out all of the green Meanies you are forced to deal with, something else always jumps in there! We have Danny's coach off the jacks, running, dash in and late yesterday his Mac dash is is. Air system working, so we're on the down slope heading for the finish line, long fingernails reaching for that big gold cup---- got up this morning and the rain that always comes in the afternoon now down here is still dumping water! Oh yea, not only are we in delivery mode but we're gonna do it in the rain! Can't talk much more, Kevin, what a trooper, is already here so he and I are gonna get in there now. Danny will be here at noon-- Hell or high water-- which I think the "high water" part of that may just pertain! Wish us luck, this is a critical delivery, we have so many other biggies to do, Danny's burn unit has to go.

Stay tuned for the aftermath on this one-- too bad they didn;t have the video camera rolling on this on!

7.1.10

And the last thing of the day-- She fired up! Jason was "diver down" with Danny's coach and would not put his tool tray away until he made the coach run. Had Danny on the phone him calling to check progress. While talking to him we were treated to hear the starter turn over the motor with his key. Delighted to hear that, I told Danny first thing in the morning we were sure his coach would come to life. Jason, with his as usual drive heard my words to Danny and just after hanging up the phone hit the starter again, this time with a little more length and pop, pop, pop, sputter band Danny's coach spit out some black soot and there is was-- all 8 jugs fired in sequence and we have a running motor. Shocked, I mean I know we were there but you know until it pops off one never knows! So we go into this "hump day" with a leg up which give us just that much more drive-- by golly I think we will be able to drive this machine out of here tomorrow! Lets just see how it goes.

Yesterday, I finally got away from the pile of papers in the office to cut in the new dash AC control panel and the wired remote for Danny's radio. That plus mounting the windshield wiper control switch and cable and with those things done the instrument cluster was ready to go . Kevin & I have been sizing the dash itself fit-- cut-- fit--cut I'm scared we're going to wear out the dash just carrying it in and out of the coach! Hey but I think we've got it good to go so as soon as Craig charges up the new dash AC system, the dash mold will go in and then the cluster gets mounted. It's just bloody hot down here right now, thats not a complaint cause after this winters cold I am liking the sweat balls dripping from my nose! 3PM we bring out the secret weapon , thank you Mother Nature for this seedless, juicy, red, wet, cold watermelon! That gives us that shot of energy to bring us on in to the end of the day. Janie felt sorry for the guys so she picked up a patio umbrella to try and keep the sun off us-- it's more the thought than actually helping but we'll take any support we can get!

While we're out there baking our brains in the lot, Kevin had a great idea of getting up off the ground hiding under the lip of the metal building putting on the original style LED clearance lights on Pauls Chimera coach Hey don;t worry Paul, he has a towel down for the ladder to lean on. We're sealing up the body to pull it outside and man I can't wait to see that project all painted out of the bay and back over to mechanical where we can install the motor. For those of you who don;t remember this coach, it has been here for many years-- a 23' with a 2' stretch-- how cool is that!

Sam C. is here helping us work on his coach-- he's doing the "dirty work" scraping all that old foam backed cloth rotted material that was put on before A nasty job, covering the front & rear caps with this stuff used to be the standard procedure back in the old days-- then we started seeing the stuff deteriorate-- then we found the joys of scraping it all off! We no longer do this. If you have headliner material in your headliner-- sorry but you will be having fun one day!

So Kevin is already here at the shop, we're doing the final fit and mounting of the lower brackets on Danny's dash and as soon as Craig gets here to charge the dash AC we will be off and running. Tomorrow is the delivery so yea, this really is like those designer shows trying to make you think their scripted stress is real--- this one really is! And so are all of the projects we have here at the Co-op. No breaks for commercials, no retake of what we're doing-- this is "live", the real deal, one of a kind stuff is rolling out of our shop every day, we have no sponsors, advertisers or budgets-- we're just out there doing it. Don;t ya feel kinda sad for all those out there that don;t know about watching all this unfold-- I mean how do THEY start their day anyway!

Have a great summer day, we're here sweating enough for all of ya, call if you need something, drop by if you're bored (BTW, thanks Bob H. for dropping by, good to see your smiling face-- That's "barefoot Bob" our drag race champion!) We'll be here-- thanks for the support...

6.30.10

Came in early this morning to post have way too many things to do to mess around here but have some very important stuff to talk about so don't think since I'm putting a pile of stuff up this morning that I'm bored with nothing to do. Today is very important on many levels.

First, I know Danny is glued to his monitor, progress on his machine effects his 4th family plans so lets get to it on his front. This should be the last day his coach will be pointing up into the air The dash AC is holding a vacuum Max is guarding the coach as he works, on site-- on duty in fact everyone is turning too on Danny's machine pushing hard to get it out of the shop. Craig scrapes the burned engine cover insulation then will replace it with sections of leaded foam heat/sound insulation. Jeff, Craig & his son Eric worked much of the day finishing up wiring of the harness, repairing damage from the fire and wiring in the harness for the new Mac dash as his old dash looked on and here we are-- new dash AC ready, wire harness repaired, new dash harness wired in all thats left is to fit the new dash in which Kevin & I were busy fitting the new fiberglass dash --- and here it is , the first fitting. We'll have to trim, fit and fuss over it before it's final install but hey Danny-- we're there! Today, we'll get the mold in place, secure it and add in the dash cluster. Then it's time, the motor will spool up and if all goes well we'll have again a running coach for ya-- fingers crossed!

OK, next on the list, we took Mark's coach over to ben's muffler shop getting ready for a trip to Walter for an awesome exterior finish. Each part of Mark's coach is to be of the finest work available so the exhaust system has to be to this standard. On this, it's an easy choice as to ho will do the work . Ben is my man when it comes to fitting pipes to our projects Ben has been doing my work on exhaust systems over 30 (yes a big 30) years. Stand behind the work-- he'll stand anywhere you like including hanging from the pipes, his work is beyond reproach and as you will notice our forward "Y" pipe is not fitted with mufflers-- we said we want each part of Mark's coach to be awesome so we fitted it with a rear mounted "one in, 2 out" muffler. You should be so lucky to have a professional such as Ben to do your work-- not the fastest and I don;t care, he is the best and when Mark pulls up to a rally, the tech heads will wonder at what they will see-- 2 pipes , countem and be impressed Do we have a kit to ship you for this feature-- no, it's hard to package this sort of quality. There are systems you can buy and I'm not knocking them-- but could you hang from a bolted together exhaust system-- I wouldn't! Oh, BTW Mark, remember you were telling me that you had a strong fuel smell in the coach, I found the problem-- forgot to take a pic but the downpipe to the fuel filler neck is rusted out! We'll deal with that when it gets back from Walter. I hope to get it to him today.

OK--- now, this is the reason I am sitting here--- I just had this happen and you MUST listen to me! You may have been following all the hooprah here and on the GMC Net about fuel systems, the ethanol in our fuel supply, clogged filters and the dangers of all that. You may also have been following the dangers of fire in the RV world and how stuff like that can really mess up your day. Danny had an unexpected thing happen to his coach with the carb fire from a cracked fuel inlet line, thank the stars he did have us install an automatic fire suppression system which saved the day keeping the fire damage to only the engine compartment--- well guys--- let me tell you a story:

Let me ID this GMC owner/ Co-op friend as Bob C., some of you Forida GMC awners couple call him Mr. Secretary in that Bob was a past Florida government sec.-- for personal reasons lets leave it at that. Bob has been a customer / friend for many years, his coach being a really nice, well restored and impressive example of how nice a coach can be . Bob is a quality person and expects his equipement to be quality kept. He had parked his coach for a bit pulling it out this week for a trip. Calling me from the road after @ 200 miles, he reported there was fuel starvation happening. Going up a hill, he would shudder and miss, I chalked it up to a clogged carb filter from ethanol rusting his tanks then sending the fine rust particles to his filters. He was where he wanted to be so the plan was to have at it the next day. As I have done with many before, I hooked him up with the filter numbers and how to do the job of replacing the carb filter. Bob called up a moble RV service to come on out to do the job. I talked to the boys explaining what was needed and how to do it. I told them "be very careful not to crossthread the carb inlet line or the filter housing and to check everything you do. Well, as happens with people doing something without experience, they did the work but neglected to check the integrity of the install of the line and housing before replacing the air cleaner and closing the engine cover--- you guessed it, they fired that mother up, it was running rough so the tech brought the idle up to 2500 RPM and POW, it happened--- the motor--- yes--- caught on fire and with no warning and no way to get to the source AND no fire suppression system in the engine compartment--- the coach burned to the ground! Yes, this baby is gone , this dash-- gone along with everything that was an awesome motorhome! It was the tech's fault pure and simple but hey, you just need to be prepared. Bob was prepared to protect his investment thank anyone who will listen with an agreed value insurance policy which will now pay out the amount his coach was worth based on the evaluation we had done on it but dang, another really nice GMC has bit the dust! Danny, you were fortunate to have the fire suppression system to save your coach, Bob at least did save his investment but guys and this is what you MUST do-- either have an automatic fire suppression system for your engine, generator and frig compartments, have an agreed value insurance policy guaranteed to pay out the exact amount if there is a total loss-- or both if you are really caring for your coach or just be unprepared! Your classic GMC is worth too much to have it go away from fire or accident damage! This is the story of a sad but happy ending for 2 people-- one still has their coach, the other does not. Do you need a clearer picture? I am sad that Bob C. has lost his coach and hope after the shock wears off that he will still want to be in a GMC. As a friend I am sorry this happened, as a part of the GMC community I am upset about the inept action that took yet another coach from our ranks. Guys, just take these lessons and do not let this happen to you.

OK, I've blown enough time here, gotta get out there and work. The blow drier has already stepped up the heat-- hey, no complaints! gOTTA GO, IF THERE IS SOMETHING ELSE i CAN DO FOR YA, CALL-- HAVE A GREAT DAY.

6.29.10

We're hunkered down here working Sam C. is here working with us on his roof. His coach has been leaking for literally years! His headliner, side walls are both water damaged, his headliner had been replaced some time back with the foam backed cloth material which of course shows water stains big time but when the foam started deteriorating and the cloth fell

6.28.10

Just like those manufactured "designer" shows about working on cars, trucks and whatnot, we have the very same stresses they work so hard to try and make you believe is the drama of it all-- hey but all of ours is REAL!! Friday say a couple more machines take flight back out onto the road.

After a front end alignment on Phillips coach we found why his coach was such a ditch diver, fixed that then finished up the rest of the spec. set up and he was out of the shop. Called me from home in Tampa, reported a good ride except his thermostat was sticking. Ran a bit hot and pinged, then guess the thermostat slapped open and the water temp dropped like a rock. Thats pretty dangerous thing, what if it just jammed closed! He fixed that and things are good.

Danny's "toasty" coach is one of the stress points I was referring to a minute ago, he and his family want to ride the rig to a 4th shindig so it's pull out the stops this week on his. His new dash AC is mounted , thats shipping paprt on the windshield to try and block out some of the sun-- his coach is facing right into that heat ball! His awesome rear bumper has a new feature, a thru bumper hitch bolted in place and his bumper cut around it to fit. was actually a pretty scary cut, being so nice looking but hey, somebody had to do it! So we did. His dash and wiring harness gets our attention today.

Paul's Chimera was the object of Kevin's frustration this weekend. Here is his 23' stretch, rear opening hatch coach in primer Most people would say "she's ready to paint" as well as many painters-- ah but there lies a difference in what they do and what we do. Yes, the body is smooth and we have a bite surface, next though Kevin tapes off and seals all the side horizontal and vertical seams with a flexible, paintable seam sealer, wipes it down to out thin finish-- OK, now is it ready to accept base color? Nope, this primer is not ready to hold the new base color. There are so many old paints peeping through the saneded sealer that there could easily be reactions with the new paint and with the colors. No, you must "seal" out any reaction between the old and new paint with this stuff This is a sealing primer, a step most people painting big things like this simply bypass but if you want the real deal, a really outstanding finish you just cannot cut this corner. Now, we have @ 8 hours to lay on color to this highly paintable surface and lay on color Kevin did. First you cut in the jams and edges WOW, you say, what is THAT color-- hey, you remember the Chrysler color "plum crazy"-- well we're gonna have a Plum Crazy coach! yep and as the color covers the lower section of the coach I could start to see the "method in the madness" 3 coats of this color, here is the body with a dusting of the plum under where the silver will go to bring some of the highlights up into the silver then a bag off and 3 coats of the top metallic silver -- then yesterday Kevin's Sunday worship had the subject "clear coat and what it does for you". This morning he unwrapped the moth and out came a Chimera butterfly Now you can start to see how unique this coach will be-- a 2' stretch on a 23' coach with an opening rear hatch-- you don;t see something like this at a rally!

Today, Kevin will start exterior finals and assembly of the exterior lighting and everything. We have Marilyn's coach coming in for some paint issues and Sam C. will be living with us at the shop while he works with us on his repainting his roof-- stay tuned to watch that "mud, blood and beer" project.

I'm going to get some quality time in on the engine cover on the 23d, Rob M. will be coming in next week and with him and Sam who is also a retired engineer rocket scientist, maybe we can make some sense out of it. Stay tuned. The day is on, it's already hot out there-- thanks to all of those who were asking about my Mom. I spent the weekend up in Jacksonville working with her-- it's amazing what happens when a body does not get enough fluids and dehydration sets in! We got it under control so she'll be fine-- thanks all who have asked.

Gotta go, as they say "hey, you'all, watch chis", this week will be action packed-- hey, forget those designer cable shows, you have the "real deal" right here! Remember how Boyd C. used to rant and rave-- hey, I do that for real! Ever seen Jessie J. blow up at someone that messed up --- me too! Except this was not scripted, there are no cameras or a producer calling the shots-- it's all on us and it's all for real! Too bad those boys won't know what this stuff is really about! OK, we're off- beak on 3

6.24.10

Today will be push day for yet another coach out the gate Phillip brought his coach in for some mechanical upgrades . He had done the exterior and is deep into bringing the interior on line but brought it to us for some mechanical issues. One was a new tail pipe. His, looking like swiss cheese needed some help and you know I have the guy for that job. Driving his coach over to Ben's Muffler Shop I also found that his steering could be better. We had done some replacement of suspension parts but none of it should have presented steering issues-- guess they did. This means today we will do an alignment for his delivery tomorrow. Bringing is back from Ben's, we also noted a hesitation in the motor. We do have a "tune up" on our list so we'll do that too.

Thats a good one "tune up". So what IS a tune up on an electronic ignition motor? In the old days you replaced the points, plugs & condenser then set it all up. On our motors a "tune up" involved reading the plugs which tells you how the motor had been performing then replacing them based on the condition of the old ones--- popping open the dist to check the rotor and cap-- these things are simply checking for wear and damage. The real action to me that puts teeth in a "tune up" is the set up of the carb & dist. timing, also looking to see if the motor vacuum is properly plumbed. I would have to say that 40% of the coaches that come in have their vacuum routing incorrect. The motor has a stumble as it revs up (that could be vacuum), poor mileage (yep, could be vacuum), spark knock (vacuum), dieseling when turning off or hard starting (vacuum again). The vacuum system in an Oldsmobile is different than most other GM motors-- the saying is "never have a Chevy man tune up an Oldsmobile". Vacuum to the dist. advance is plumbed to ported vacuum in that the dist. turns backwards. If you plumb your dist like a Chevy, you will not gain the @ 10 deg. of timing you get from the vacuum advance, actually you will loos 10 deg. which will really effect your performance. If you want to know more about this, let me know. The sure fire way to know if your dist. vacuum plumbing is right, pull off the vacuum hose to the dist., and connect a vacuum gauge. Fire up the motor and run it till the choke is off. Do you have more than 3" of vacuum on your gauge-- if so you have some work to do. The vacuum gauge should show little to no vacuum at idle-AC off-- in park. More than that and you will not get the advance you need as you rev the motor. Enough said, let me know if you need more on this.

Yesterday was good work, mostly on Danny's "toasty coach" . Here's an interesting view of his motor without the radiator installed . All his new "bolt ons" are in and now the radiator slides back up in place Danny, we're pushin hard on ya-- don;t worry, you won;t feel a thing!

Had a post and talk with Tom C. yesterday. A long time friend & customer I didn;t know he too starts he day here with the daily pose-- it's reassuring and helpful to know I have all of you guys in the corner with me-- you really don;t know how it makes me feel to have all of you around, hey I need it so just hang with me and and Red Green says "we're in this together and we're all pullin".

Got a ring from Allan on the road, looks like the water temp gauge needs calibration and the hose on his fresh water pump came off-- hey, we can fix that! His neg. on the engine battery losened up so there was some drama at the gas pump till he called and we figured that one out. These are the things a "shakedown" cruise is to find. Keep he pointed north thare Capt.!

The sun is up, the heat is rolling in and I have some important family matters to deal with. This will be a hard day so please think good thoughts for us. Thanks for the visit, hope all goes well for you-- we're gonna give it a try...

6.23.10

We Did It! Yep, here's the blue print again with an update on our "hell week" pushing some of these machines out the door. I wonder if this is how guys in the air traffic control towers feel about managing the planes landing and taking off. Is their end goal to clear the tarmac of all those pesky winged monsters-- getm outa here! Wonder what would happen if they DID actually get all the planes off the ground and all the gates empty-- yea, the folks at the gates are fighting to bring planes in twarting the air traffic controllers work in trying and have them all leave. Naaa, thats probably not it for them but sometimes I feel all I'm doing is keeping the gate open but the real job is to make them go out. Well yesterday was a good one in my mind in that we got 2 coaches out the door on a timetable that fitted what the owners needed so I guess that means we won!

Thats not to say we can now sit back and sip a mint julep--- no, we have a deadline on Danny's "Toasty Coach" as he calls it-- I say "burn unit" fits. We have Phillips going up on the lift first thing for fuel tanks so we're on the heals of 2 more deliveries if we can keep up the pressure. Maybe the stress levels these designer reality shows aren;t far off afterall! Yea, but these are real pressures-- you know some of that stuff on TV has to be made up-- like one guy stressing out cause he can't find his fan-- wait, we do that too around here so like I said, maybe that stuff IS more real than we want to believe!

We wrapped up John's new coach--- well Harry's old one--- first thing yesterday morning , getting the panel mount shraeder valves fitted, his quad bag system completed all that was left was to change out the 10mm belts we had put in before for the original style smaller belts (now this is a good one, we in America always feel fatter steaks, longer rope, bigger tires are good, in the case of replacing the smaller belts with the wider 10mm ones made a squeeling noisse in Harry's coach-- go figure so we pulled them out!) All of it done, 2 days worth of going over the coach with John and Dixie and there was nothing left to do but push that baby out of the nest and point it toward Idaho so with a big smile for the picture they were gone. "Bon Chance you'all" is the way we say it down here and they were gone. Now it is time for Allan to get outa here so everyone waved goodbye to John, turned around and ascended onto Allans coach like a pile of ants! With the all new electric seats in place, Allan was happy with what he saw , the dash with it's new fiberglass mold and new compete dash AC system was in and doing it's job One neat thing about the glossy finish on the fiberglass mold is you can suction down a GPS-- a cop holder so with all of Allan's "accoutrements mounted, he was ready to go. Hooking back up his 3500+ pound CJ he was ready to go. Now thats a scary one--- his coach is sporting one of our roller cam design motors, I mean it may be his coach but thats my motor he's hooking that log to! Oh baby, be good--- give it all ya got! His motor is timed to the hilt, running like a watch and we've done all we can do but you know, the road does funny things to a motor! it's hot as crap out there under the engine cover blowing down the road and here he's got that Jeep pulling in the opposite direction-- it's one of the things I just have to sit back and let happen. You do all you can but it all comes down to "can the chick hold the smoke" and I'm the one holding the cell phone-- Go for it man and hooked up, Allan and his buddy were ready to run the gauntlet with their highly modified machine. Brave souls both hey, but what else can they do-- what else can we do, the coach is made for the road so out on the super slab they go for a white knuckle drive to New York. Hang with it guys and hang in there my beautiful motor! So on the launch pad back in the lot Allan prepared for take off Checking his gauges all was ready so pull the lever, push the gas and hold on bunky cause we ain't walkin no more-- we're riden! Yeeeeee Haaaa, we're outa here and 5PM came with Allan out the gate! As I started the blue print here, we did it! OK, so it was a celebration dinner with Janie-- got a call from Allan saying all was good--- and here I am again, shot out of that proverbial cannon landing back in the same seat I started on with more stuff lined up--- "And the Beat Goes ON!

Today, we'll be looking up the bottom side of Phillips coach, probably finding cracked fuel hoses from the ethanol--- BTW did I tall ya I got a call from David-- made it to Mpls after a 33 hour ordeal with his fuel tanks-- totally clogged with the crap from down here in Florida-- the ethanol has done in his fuel delivery system. His wife & kids love the coach and want to get out in it-- David, still licking his wounds from the gauntlet getting the bugger home wants to run from the drivers seat! He said he's dropping those tanks before he runs it another mile and I don;t blame him. We will be doing to Phillips coach what he wishes he had done on his. Phillips tanks will come down so lets see what we see-- stay tuned for news on it.

We'll also be piecing ba ck together Danny's burn unit, Kevin is over there sanding and shooting out his brains on Paul's Chimera and I-- heck I'll be stressing on it all plus trying to get the 23d back on the road from it's paint work. I've decided to start driving the 23d to work to sort out the pile of things on it. Won;t that be terrible-- driving the road rocket of the world back and forth to the house. gonna turn some heads!

So I've been accused of spending too much time here-- sorry for those that fell that-- I think it's important to let you guys see what it's really like doing the things we do. I am proud of all the guys and the stuff they do to make all of this happen-- don;t think anyone else could come close to doing this. Yea, I think we would be great showing all this to people-- hey but I guess there are others so we'll show you guys, sort of our own reality show right here. Thanks for the visit today, thanks for being with us through the good, bad and ugly of all of this-- we're pushing hard, I'll keep up with this the best I can for ya-- we'll see you later-- hey and watch for John & Allan on the roads-- and Laura too!

2.21.10

Day one went off well. Laura and her 23' Birchaven now names "Princess" has left the building A check of the rear wheels showed 2 leaking wheel cylinders so she got all 4. If you will remember, she is one of a pile of new GMC owners rediscovering the coach and it's possibilities. She is also one of a new breed of travelers with a purpose to get out there and see this country before you can;t. Laura and her dog will soon begin a year long trek around the country, sort of a "walkabout" as they call it in Australia. A government attorney, she had seen her share or what we and the greed some have is doing to our lifestyle-- this is her breakaway move so lets all welcome her into the GMC community. Look for this coach in your area, great, help and invite Laura to see your coach and what it does for you. She will be writing a book, I've asked her to give me a link to her blog so we all can follow her fun. Yea, I'm jealous too!

So Laura is out, now we turn full force on the next 2 coaches to leave the ground-- namely Alen and his friend and John, his wife and Harry's coach We have a short punch list on John's coach, he mainly got a quad bag system and the first of his automatic fire suppression measures with the one in the frig compartment first Biting at the bit for his long trip home to Idaho, we want to get him out ASAP. We have 2 shraeder valves leaking that are mounted just above his T skirts from his old shut off kit we pulled out with his original air bags. They are that "push lock" style-- man I hate those push lock fittings! Think good thoughts for us finishing up this awesome coach and for his trip hime. If you are on the way to Idaho, watch for this coach. John has had a 23' coach for some time so now he's a 2 coach owner-- good-on-ya-- for supporting the community. Lets see how well he likes this center galley Royale build to the hilt! .

Next, Alan's coach is also up for take off today. our punch list on his machine is a little longer after having not only the new dash, a new Mac dash & dash AC system you have been following but we did a new roller cam motor, a Manny Tranny, tires & Eagle wheels, systems monitor, fuel tanks, suspension & brake work and a pile of other stuff. Final loose ends need to be finished up. Alan & a friend are staying in town last night hoping for flight today and boy are we going to do our best to make that happen!

These 2 machines are our focus. Oh yea, Kevin is over there laying color on Paul's Chinera, Jason and Eris are slapping around Danny's "burn unit" for an end of the month delivery and I'm-- well I'm out there stressing out on all of it! Looking, checking, making sure all is done and ready to go. I have paperwork on both units to complete-- hey, it's ain;t done till the paperwork is done!

It looks to be a sunny morning out there, of course clouds will roll in the afternoon so the race is on-- can we get both of these guys out and on the road before the rains! This is what it's all about here in Florida in the summer-- wish us luck. When these machines are out, we have the next layer of coaches to leave then the next. We're waving off projects to start for a bit, we need to clear the lot of whats here right now so please think good thoughts for us, the guys are doing a great job-- working hard, sweating hard and basically making this all happen. Pray for Steve's binding machine, the repair guy has been with it for a time-- boy do we need him sewing our carpets!

OK, we we're back into the black print, we have much to do around here, got a call from David heading to Mpls., another couple of fuel filters and the hope is he made it home last night. If you wonder if there is a fuel issue with this ethanol, ask him. I want him to do a writeup on what it took him to get home with his new toy. Hope it didn;t damper his spirit for the coach and I'm just glad his wife was not with him on his trial by fire drive home! Get that thing in ship shape man & you will have something-- good luck.

OK, I'm outa here, I came in early to get a handle on the paperflow on the next 2 coaches on deck and to give you guys a view of whats happening. Exciting things are in lane after these machines leave. I'll be driving the 23d home the end of this week checking out bugs-- now that will be cool. We are close to delivery on the Duramax coaches-- 23 & the 26'. Keep wathcing for more on them-- thanks for the visit, hope it was interesting...

.20.10

So it's the Summer Solistice, good thing it's the logest day of the year-- we'll need it At present, our gate will be closed to new work at lest for the next several days-- events and unexpected results on some big projects have put us in a stress level we just cannot sustain for long. Today will be a bugger-- several things have come to a head-- Laura will be back today to pick up her 23' Birchaven-- Jason had a problem with his dog at the vet Fri. so he came in saturday to try and catch up--this one should go out today. But along wiyth that today we have Harry's coach going out too with a Quad bag system that UPS has lost one of the 2 boxes-- thanks guys, Alen flew in last night and we're on a mode of getting him gone ASAP His dash handled the vent relocation well. We needed a straighter route out of the unit. then I sent the rest of the day handling loose ends-- of course it rained on me then the sauna humidity moved in, it was wonderful! Please don;t call me today to just chat, there will be no chat time today. If you have troubles certainly call but just know I am slammed.

BTW, got a report from David M. trying to get home for Fathers day-- if he made it he was very late--- his tanks and fuel system are completely contaminated-- he is changing filters every 100 miles or so. The socks in the tanks are now clogging up, last time we talked we went over procedure of blowing air back through the feed lines to try and either clean out the filter socks or just blow them off all together. His tank is filled with fish soup like stuff I bet--- do not jump into a coach that has been sitting and expect to just drive off-- this ethanol with out steel tanks has become a serious problem! Store your coach will full tanks to try and keep the air out. Check your filters before a run, carry extras with you and the toold to change them out-- do not get fuel at a small out of the way gas station, do not fill up witha fuel truck pumping fuel into a service station tank-- the sludge will get into your vehicle. You can blow my ideas off if you like, just be prepared-- I have asked Davids to write up a complete story of his journey for you to read-- this is a serious situation-- isn;t just me saying this.

Gotta go, the day is on-- think good thoughts our way, we need your Karma-- I'll try and carry my camera for you to see the days fun. Have a great day...

Update

As you can see I'm printing in blue so if your not interested in the saga of next week go on to the black print. So today was my day to do my part of the work on Alen's coach. The last thing that got done Friday was to get the new dash AC operational. I needed that to be able to mount the dash and do the buildup. So with that impossibility done, it was time to do the final fit and build up of the dash.

Had a guy call and ask if I would be at the shop Saturday, he was flying down from Mpls. to pick up a coach he had bought near here-- wanted to drop by and have his coach a looksee. He pulled in bringing a great memory. Mack had picked up a coach that had gone through the CLASCO restoration process. Brought back old memories, got so interested in the interior I forgot to take any pics== sorry. Here's David M. heading out to get home for Fathers day , good thing he dropped by, his vacuum routing was plugged off. I rest my case! His air ride system was up but he didn't try it out driving it over. I had him drop the rear so we could see how the system would act. OK, after 5 minutes of pumping the ole V2 compressor was not happening-- his pass. side height control valve arm was disconnected so after we replaced the compressor, we leveled the coach then locked off the system to get him home. His carb had a rubber hose from the fuel pump to the carb. Trying to install our pyro shield fuel hose we found the carb had no filter and a 90 deg. elbow had been JB Welded in-- Had to do something about that! The ground on his dash AC blower was throwing sparks so it needed a better fastner--- a common problem. With the vacuum working, we retuned the motor-- dang thing was running pretty good! I pick up of some new wiper arms, felts, engine vents, 2 gov. gears, another carb filter and some other stuff. So he took of and I went back to Alen's dash.

A few secret words a pow--- his dash took shape With our "Big Boy" steering wheel, Mac's custom dash looks pretty good The dash AC vents need a relocation so that will be tomorrow's fun. The side panels need finishing, the radio installed and a few other things so tomorrow will be busy.

Jason got Phillip's coach off the ground for the install of those really nice E brake kits from Branscombe Pulling the drums, the kit went right in. This system is trying a new idea. The all sleeved stainless cables, bearing pulleys and all connect only the rear 2 wheels. Theory is reduce friction further to really lock in the 2 wheels taking 1/2 of the cables out of the system. Give me a call if you are interested in this system.

Jason came in today to get work done on Laura's coach She had one out of tolerance knuckle The jacking up the rear and pulling the drums he found good bearings but 2 leaking wheel cylinders

Got a call @ 10PM from Mack-- had a problem with starving fuel. A few suggestions and he found that the in line fuel filter in his fuel system had clogged up. How bout that, here we put in a carb filter he was missing and we should have suspected the in line filter. There it is, his filter was clogged-- just bought the coach and already had to deal with crap in his filters! Take this as a warning, check your filters!

Tomorrow Alen comes in, hopefully I'll get the dash finished-- wish me luck

6.19.10

It's Saturday bout 9AM and yes I'm here and already fully sweat covered Yesterday was one of those days you usually don't talk about that much. One worker called in-- of course we were relying on him then at lunch another left and didn;t come back! Whats with this--- guys, we have people relying on ya! I have 5 people helping me but each has a function and when one is missing-- well, we feel it. Yea, so here I am, Fathers Day weekend & I'll be right here. Monday is a big one, Alen is coming in actually Sunday afternoon for a delivery on Monday-- and no, the coach is not ready-- we have John D. flying in to pic up his new acquisition from Harry, his beautiful coach wants a quad bag system which UPS lost one of the 2 boxes-- oh great, we're having the second box shipped again overnight-- can't wait to see what THAT will cost! The yesterday we got started on inspecting Laura's 23' Birchaven buy and founs a bed front knuckle, original lower ball joints, original rear brake hoses and dad gumit if THAT motor had it's vacuum to the distributer plumbed backwards!

Guys, this vacumm routing to the dist. is a critical issue-- Please listen to me, the vacuum to the dist. should be 0-- nada, goose egg when the motor is at idle. The dist. on an Oldsmobilr motor turns backwards to what a Chevy motor does so the dist must see "ported vacuum" which means it only gets vacuum when the motor is off idle. You loose the 10 degrees of timing from the vacuum advance if this dist sees manifiold vacuum at idle-- it's just that simple. Folks say "ahw, those little vacuum lines don't do that much, it's no big deal. Guys listen-- IT IS A BIG DEAL! Performance, mileage both are effected. Had one lead foot that took out of here with a motor that was plumbed backwards-- wanted to go fast up hills and ended up on the side of the road with a spin bearing-- don;t do that! Here is a simple test-- take a vacuum gauge, pull off the hose going to your dist. and fire up the motor-- let it warm up and drop off choke-- if you show over say 4" of vacuum on the gauge at idle, AC off in park-- your dist is plumbed backwards and your motor is hating you for it. Need to know more just call me. I would say 40% of the coaches I have come in here have their dist. plumbed backwards-- is it an epidemic or something? Don;t set up your Oldsmobile like a Chevy-- nuff said.

So just got a call from another new GMC owner who is picking up their new possession and is bringing it by for a check out. Guys seriously, do not think of the GMC community as a dying group-- we have new owners, folks interested and excited over the GMC just like the new owners were when they purchased these coaches new! Just wish you could be here and talk to the new GMC community coming in, it would excite you as much as it is me.

OK, gotta go, I'll be here till I can't see anymore and tomorrow too! The rubber is on the road and everyones watching for the tires to turn-- giddy up there Trigger, the boys are robbing the bamk-- saddle up Tonto, we have some work to do!

6.18.10

Something I forgot so like where am I going to get the time to plunk out all of this verbage! I'm in early to give it a go, if I'm not able to keep up with all thats happening around hre I'm sorry but I need to spend waking and cool work time out there.

Ken's right, there are so many things going on behind the scenes that it's impossible to talk about all of it so the best I can do is cover the pressing stuff. We're all fighting the heat around here, watermelon is a good weapon this is before 10AM yesterday-- I had already put in a days work and a cooldown was in order. Alen's coach went well, the big thing here is getting the retrofit dash AC working and Craig got into his job Eric was reinstalling the seating. The front underhood area has taken on some serious changes, there is no longer that big black AC box clogging up everything up there and as always we find thing we had no idea was a problem. The lower grill valence was being held in place by the grill itself so Kevin pulled it off to repair it then we'll be installing a tension cable to pull back together the body Like I said before, you have to fix things when you run into them. Many issues all come together as we finish up a project such as this. Alen opted to go with out 18" "big daddy" steering wheel for his new dash If you have not seen out steering wheels yet-- let me tell you about them. The thing I hate the most on new steering wheels is how cheaply they are made. You pick up one of those Grant wheels at the parts story and you wonder how much plastic went into the manufacture of the thing-- they are so light and feel flemsy sitting there on the table. There may be a variety of colors on some wheels available but still they just do not have the quality feel. These wheels we have had custom made are actually used in commercial trucks and some of the larger RV's and trucks. Here check out whats left of the steering wheel on this motorhome that burned, look familiar? BTW, this coach burned because of a frig fire -- this is why our Fire Fight auto deploy fire suppression systems are so important! If it's good enough for that ig thing, it's good enough for our classic GMC! These are real leather, nice thick leather and the spiders is sturdy steel, real nickel plated and brushed. They are heavy, built well which gives them a real feel on the road. The 18" and the 16" are both very substantial units . I picked these and had them custom made mainly because I liked the quality, sold feel of them, not just for color. Yes, they are black and thats the only color but hey, they are just so nice! Doing the steering column black on restorations matches right into the black leather of the steering wheel so it looks correct no matter what interior color you have. Don't just pick a steering wheel on "color", get a really good wheel! Costs are $175 for the 16" & $185 for the 18".

Back on focus-- yesterday we did get our share done though I could not get ahead. Wiring on Alen's dash finishes up today and the dash AC needs to charge up and do it's thing. Steve will be in to finish up on the carpet so I'll be focused today on some of the smaller details of the finish out. We have Eugene and Laura come in late last evening, they plugged in at the "Co-op RV Resort" to be here first thing this morning. We have a water leak issue on Eugenes left and Laura is here today to learn everything she can about her 23' Birchaven coach before hitting the road. We'll look over the coach checking wheel bearings, hoses, belt and all that stuff. The quad bag for Harry's coach is set up for delivery today so the guys will be slamming that project for a Monday morning come in of the new owner. Harry will also be here to go through the systems of the coach. I hate to loose Harry V. as a customer but know that the new owner is going to do well for the coach. BTW, Paul M. has also sold his coach so we'll be dealing with the new owner on that coach soon. See this, we see so many new owners here at the Co-op it feels like there is a real movement folks recognizing the beauty and benefit of having a GMC-- this is not a declining market-- it is emerging!

So today has to get going-- I have much to do, to show and to talk about. This is our time, when we need to go for it so have a nice day and remember we are here going for it in the heat!

I get posts like this that serve to keep our spirits high:

Hi Jim,
Keep it up dude, you are a cornerstone of our dreams. I'm slowly restoring/learning of my addiction. I enjoy your web rambles and voyeristicly bask in your imagination. I also thank you for keeping stock in our parts.

Cheers!
Frank

Thanks for the support

. BTW, you know the only person you can ever truly rely upon is yourself In that there has been no word from the idea of the Road Warrior Casting my assumption is probably as it should be -- to rely upon yourself and not be excited about others to follow through-- hey, we don't need no stinkin help-- we'll lay out our own high drama show right here. Would have probably kept me from doing the things we enjoy around here anyway besides, do you think folks out there would be interested in the stresses we go through every day here anyway? No, thats takes odd thinking people like you and I anyway so we have what we need. Who was it the Rolling Stones who said "You don't get what you want, just what you need" and I think we all need this. The subject of working with vintage RV's is probably a thing best enjoyed as it is by a select few so I'll do my best to keep your attention right here-- thanks for the support and enjoy the ride. Success is what you make it.

OK thanks, this is why we do what we do-- it's not for the $ you see:

Hey Man,

nice pics! looking good! thanks for the update!

Alan

6.17.10

No, I'm not sitting there in the office burning away valuable cool work time to bang around this keyboard no, I just can't do that right now. We have several projects coming all toward finishing up soon, tonight I took a little time out to try and catch up with where we are. I say the Lord has blessed us with some interesting projects which I enjoy all the more but actually in the long run, one off stuff is not what you would call easy money. By their nature, unique project take more discovery may be a good one here. Hey, but like I tell the guys all the time, "If it were easy, they would do it at a lube shop!" We're nuts enough to take on some of this stuff-- hey but thats what thats all about too! You car guys know what I mean.

So Janie went to the Opera with her sisters and Mom I was left to my own devises so off to Taco Bell after dropping her off downtown. Thats probably too much information but like I said before, I took the night out to catch up--- so now you know it all.

So what quality thing am I doing..... talking to you! I'm sick, save yourself I can't tell you what to do from here out! These GMC's kinda get under your skin--- guess thats why I blew a perfectly good career in consumer electronics to sweat my brain out beating on old war horses--- what happened! I guess in a way I got pretty excited about building them up that I'm spending the "lul before the storm" to do this--- I think I might have some method between the madness-- Hey, how bout if I give you a blow-by-blow of how the nexts stormy week at the shop will go. Might help me keep track of things a bit, you can come along if you like. I know of at least a half dozen people will be interested-- those are the ones that players here with me on stage. This is kinda like bungy jumping for the first time. We have a plan but who knows what will come up-- BTW, that racoon we had for a while in the "nearly new department" was named "Murphey" it feels like sometimes but then you have to keep in mind your are working with artifacts.

OK, lets get out of that mess and down to work-- We have Eugene coming in to pick his quad bag job and bring a friend with their first coach-- a late model 23' Birchaven. A very nice machine kept very well by it's last owners who were part of the local GMC club down here, The Sunshine Statesmen. Anyway, Eugene's suspension is in, we had a few other things to do and here's a good one--we rewired the current to run the air system compressor with someone told me was an original GMC bulletin or something. Pretty simple, you run the air compressor with a stronger available current which is just above the compressor, the living area 12 volt panel. Wait, only on the GM floorplan coaches with an Electro Level system. You Converted Transmode guys are on your own-- too many variations to talk about.

BTW just though about you guys who could care less about whats going on around here-- so I'll do the updates to the next weeks trial by fire, I'll do that stuff in BLUE ink. So if this gets a bit boring and I know I sometimes do, just skip over the blue stuff, it's fine with me in fact we may need to put some sort of rating on this-- some of you my be too young to see some of this! OK, here we go, if this stuff doesn't interest you that much just move on the the black font color......

So on with the week, Uegene has long been a GMC supporter and as I understand it he had interesting someone who I will meet tomorrow in picking up a GMC and taking a tour around the country I think with her dog whiting a book-- now how neat is that! Is this a dream of at least one of you guys out there--- I thought so. So this is a 101 course in what a GMC is all about for a new owner. This is a very important time in the life of a GMC owner, you need to know a "few things"-- as most of you roll back in your chair-- hey, hey stop it-- what else could you do to have this sort of fun? Like I said before, save yourself, I'm sick! So that will be one program going on tomorrow. It will be a tag team match Eugene helping me all the way-- this will be fun.

Next we have Allen's coach about ready to push out of the nest. Allen is a concert musician with a very special coach. It had previously belonged to Allen's father in law. An obviously avid GMC enthusiast by all of the upgrades mostly known about by those "in the fold". Allen has bonded pretty will to the coach looking to wind it into his traveling with the orchestra. Thats the way to have a GMC, drive the wheels off that thing! Use them, travel in them-- make a GMC a part of your life and you have added opportunities. Allen got the coach in great shape-- heck the engine had been seriously built just before Allen took the wheel. The heads were ported and polished. All I can say it was it's time, it developed some head troubles on the road-- it happens-- and Allen had no warning of the issues-- just happened. He came in from New York, towing a CJ with 0 compression in one cylinder and 30 psi in another. He was motivating his machine on 6 1/2 cylinders! A real testament to the integrity of that coach. Well, that means a motor and hey, there's Manny in the bay sweating his brains out -- I'll take one of those. Heck, the plastic in the dash has crumbled-- Lets go with one of those one piece dashes with a new dash air--- hey, you can see the sickness is building in this man-- thats a good thing because he will get so much more by doing some of these things.

The problem we have is how much of it all can we get done by Monday when Allen is flying in with a buddy to drive this unit north! Yikes-- we have a pile to do and very little time to do it. Hey, this is what you put up with to have a vintage motorhome. Nothing worth it comes easy, at least thats been my observation-- for being so simple, sometimes it's amazing how complicated something like what we do is. Taking off the blinders and taking in every aspect of a coach we find things that just had to get done. The problem is never talking about what to do, the deal is figuring out where to stop! It's easy to throw "cubic dollars" at a project, ahhhh but make it all count, now thats the trick and we are bringing Allens "whats that funny noise-- it's been doing that for a while" question. One thing this has helped us is in the installation of 3 of our new one piece dashes with the new dash AC. This is how you really get valuable information! So this will be the second of these dashes to hit the road. The first one was several years ago in "23 skido" on the gallery page. So here is what the dash broke down to and here it is as of leaving the shop tonight hey and don't forget one of our beautiful 455 roller cam motors -- hey Cal T., Jim G., Scott S. and too many others to mention. Can't wait to see how it will perform for Allen. With it's "Manny Tranny" and the rest of it, I hope everyone feels the pride of this project-- I'm pleased to be a part of this coach and it's legacy. See thats a problem with this business, sometimes you just get attached! Maybe I should call this one "1 or 3", hey Picard got away with it!

Tomorrow will be a big day, tonight before I left I cut out, fitted and covered the side panel inserts and refinished the side panels so tomorrow we will be in rock-n-roll mode on the dash! Updates on this project will follow

We have Danny's coach in line on mechanicals next and Phillips too. We'll get Eugene and his friend out tomorrow. We have Allen on deck with Harry's new owner flying in on Monday-- that will be a blast. Really, another coach changes hands and another new owner has taken the challenge. And we get the challenge to get another coach out there on the road-- is this a great job or what! Thanks for coming by and is the black ink was a little boring in itself, you might want to go read the blue stuff anyway!

Talk to ya tomorrow

6.16.10

In this morning before dawn-- Had to get Manny to the airport by 5AM for his flight home. Guys, I gotta tell ya Manny has the program on transmissions-- I just see no sense in going through all the *&^%% to R&R a transmission if it has not gone through the complete refurbish process Manny does to them. I can't be more plain than that. 0 failures, when they are intalled properly and that is a fact. Thought we had a leaker but it turned out it was the porous aluminum pan and he came up with a process to fix that. Manny flying out here to live in Larry and build us transmissions is an unbelievable gesture on his part. We now have transmission so come on down if you feel you need one.

So getting back from the airport, Kevin and Twinkles were already at the shop. the 3PM rains have set in so this means our productivity goes down big time. We're trying to fight back but having to work in the lot-- as in the immortal words of Ben Franklin, "when it rains, you get wet" is no more true than this time of year here in Florida. We're trying to not have this effect our work output but to be honest with you it has screwed our efforts in many ways. There's not much left to do when the rain pulls in but to stop work and go home. After the rain, my glasses fog up-- you can see water evaporating off the concrete and with the temps breaking 100 down here it is just stupid hot!

Guys with coaches in here, what can I say but bear with us. Our productive days have been reduced by at least 1/3 with the rain and heat. Just too damn hot around here. Manny was burning up back in the motor room building transmissions in front of a floor fan to stay alive! Hey, this is not whining about the heat which I said I would not do-- this is just simply stating fact. Kevin came in early to see how much he could do before the rains came in. Twinkles full time job is to try and find the coolest place to lay down-- and around noon each day he looses that spot no matter where he finds it, there simply is no place for a fur covered dog to find "cool". Max, Eric's dog plops down in front of Steve's fan, i'm surprised Steve lets him do it, I just wipe my face and keeps working!

Allen, got your dash mounted yesterday, Janie has my camera in her car so I'll try and post pics this afternoon. Gonna color the side panels and headliner today then if the weather allows I'll actually secure the dash-- if Craig can get finished with the AC plumbing and we'll have someting. Steve is hunkered down with your carpet going in and with the Mac dash wired as soon as the dash mold is mounted we will have a dash in place. I'm pushing hard for that big Monday delivery but we'll have to see-- the rain is trying hard to screw us!

We have John D. flying in on Monday to pick up Harry's coach with a new quad bag system, Eugene is coming in Thursday to pick his coach up again sporting a new quad bagger, another 23' coach recently purchased is coming in on Fri. for a looksee, Phillip's coach got a quad bagger and has more to go and that does not even touch the restoration work we have on Paul & Mark's coach-- oh, and lets not forget the 2 Duramax coaches that seem to go on forever! We are slammed with more folks knocking on the door-- how do I say come back in 6 months? You can't, someone with bad vapor lock issues heading on a vacation needs attention when your drag themselves in-- we can;t just lock up the gate so you can see the pressures we are under here. STOP RAINING dangit!

OK, no pics this morning, I left my camera, I need to get to work anyway. The guys are so hot then so wet there is little I can do for them-- we had a watermelon yesterday at noon-- helped for a little while but you can only eat so much of it! Thats enough, I need to get out there and sweat a bit. See ya maybe later with some pics-- have a great day-- call if I can help and I appreciate all of your support. Those that think we are a bunch of lugs falling forward--- please go somewhere else because you just can't get your head around what this work is all about. Wow, do I sound testy this morning! No, it's just knowing what is getting ready to happen. BTW, there are new oil standards for 2011 that will further effect out original flat tappet lifter engines--DO NOT BUY THE OIL ON SALE AT YOUR LOCAL DISCOUNT STORE-- or maybe go ahead and call me for a new motor when yours lunches! Reality on this and the ethanol fule thing is really hard on us all.

Gotta go, the sweat is calling me-- see ya

6.15.10

Trying to keep up with the days, I will try and post at least something each day It's hot (hey, no complaint) but it is and mornings are the time to get stuff doneso sitting here in the office is actually counterproductive.

Today is "dash day", here is something you don;t see every day , the black one is for Paul's Chimera, the middle grey id Danny's and the close one will go into Allens first thing today. The hoses on the new dash AC were a &^%$# yesterday. Proper fittings, the angles and all then to have it professionally cremped, I just don;t like the hose clamp set ups on AC units. Hey but the plan is to have these one piece dash panels removable so I'll fit them, get the hoses done then pull it back off to set up the new dash AC systems-- well, thats the plan, lets see what happens. We're under a time crunch on actually all 3 projects-- hang with me guys, it's gonna be a wild ride! This is the stuff I love to do-- stay tuned.

Yesterday was a killer, John D. drove in from SC to figure out the problems with his fuel delivery system. Coming down he had to stop every 60 miles or so-- the fuel system vapor locked so bad-- well it was bad. We "threw the baby out with the bath water" replacing everything from his fuel cap to the carb-- took all day, then as the sun went down and I did a test run we found the carb was also wasted. Soome issues were covering up others so I pulled the carb off "Larry" to give it to John-- made for a stresssed out evening but finally as the sun set John's coach seemed to run well and he headed north. I asked him to call me with a report. Fingers crossed!

So this is not a whine but with a heat index over 100 deg. we have no problem with water weight around here! This is NOT the time that we live here for. What you live through makes you stronger--- OK, "follow me if you want to live"!

have a great day, I'll sweat on it

6.14.10

Bet you guys are really tired of coming up and seeing the last post sorry but it's all I can do to keep up with doing and showing all the stuff we're doing! I said I was not going to complain about the heat if Mother Nature would just loose the cold--- so I won;t but a heat index of 106 today WILL be a factor!

Allen, your motor is in and running. A good looking motor sporting the new aluminum 455 intake. You can see the injector port bosses molded into the casting. Today Craig will put together the freon plumbing to the new dash AC which means if all goes well the new one piece dash will be installed tomorrow. stay tuned. I'm also thinking about having Steve start in on the carpet-- we'll see.

Paul's Chimera is in primer now so today he is doing the final DA sanding on the roof which may be in color today We will base & clear the roof, bag it off then go after the sides, stay tuned on this project.

Mark's electrical system got my attention this weekend. Installed now is the 1000 watt inverter with it's transfer switch , then with the extended front panel in which BTW, will pull out for access and then the 3/4" thick top cover will be covered with carpet. The 2 thumb holes in the top will help to pull it up. The is plenty of elbow room in the compartment with space for expansion if needed. So many times folks cram all that stuff in on top of everything which makes it no fun to work with. Mark, OI also got several of the walls in the back covered so things are looking good.

Have really been doing many installs on the quad bag system, here is a coach stripped ready for the mod Eric pressure washed the 30+ years of funk out of the wheel wells before starting. Here is the system before the air control manifolds were installed and here is the coach heading home with it's new owner . Joff we'll miss ya!

all for now, gotta go

6.11.10

This oil spill thing has hit home over in the gulf and thats for sure but there are so many people who read and see pics about this that may not feel these effects first person. I have to say now that it has hit me now first person. Last year when our local club (GMC Sunshine Statesmen) had a rally hosted out in Pensacola where the big attraction was the "Homecoming" of the Blue Angel aerobatic flight team. While the club banded together to all go over to the naval base to watch the show, Janie & I journeyed out to get a personal showing while sitting away from the Naval base over on a beautiful spit of a beach called Perdido Key--- and so we learned last night that foot thick oil has washed up on this unbelievable beach It's hard to take this place has now been scared The effects will devastating! For those of you Robert F. Scott S. John R., Faye & Willie W.and so many other GMC friends living in the area, this is a sad time and I fell maybe just a part of your pain and even at that I am sad.

OK, yesterday was a killer, hey I'm not complaining when I say it was hot-- cause it is! Manny is getting a true "trial by fire" hanging with in this heat building transmission back there in the motor room like a shoe maker sitting back in the dark pinging out transmissions like so many button up boots. He's a bit sensitive about pics so I may not chronicle by picture him but his work suit was totally drenched with sweat! Yea, working here in the summer heat is good for ya, there is no problem with water weight around here!

We have a diff to swap today, Allen's dash fits in today, Pauls tail gate is also getting it fitting, Mark's electrical system is getting it's pure sine wave inverter and dedicated transfer switch, if Omar comes in we will get the dash base for the 26' Duramax, Joff's coach will go home with it's new owner today with it's new Quad Bag suspension hey and big news-- Harry's coach also has a new owner and next week the coach gets the final upgrade that will put it into the ranks of coaches sporting the new Quad bag rear suspension. I'm planning a road trip before dawn tomorrow over to New Port Richey to pick up Marylin's coach after their trip for a punch list maintenance schedule-- you'd think I would have enough of bouncing down the road in the Suzuki!

The day is on, sun is up and Kevin has already checked in and is here on duty. We all have our jobs waiting as do I. Manny is over there polishing transmissions already, see he learned quickly to get motivating early before the toaster oven syndrome kicks in! I'll try and do some pics today for you and post them this evening. Have a great day and thanks for the visit, your support and being a part of the GMC community.

6.9.10

Sorry, missed yesterday just too many things and in that the heat is less in the morning, I try and take advantage of it.

Picked up Manny at the airport yesterday, he's back doing some more transmissions. He's late coming into the summer here, too hot for him and I do understand that. Days are hot, the afternoons bring rain and then there is the humidity. This hurricane season could be a problem with all that oil out in the Gulf, man no one knows what will happen to this place if they add 100 mph winds! This should be an interesting season!

I've talked to some of you who have followed our work on different projects, it's sort of neat that you know the story behind many of the machines we work on. Here is an ending report that I just had to share with you. One of the things we work hard to do is for folks to have a positive experience not only with the work we do but in general with their coach. I like to feel we have a hand at the enjoyment people have with their GMC and certainly hope they have a machine that will service their needs. Itr may sound simple but this is not always an easy thing to do, turning what you see in your minds eye into reality and in that there are just so many speed bumps in the way as we bring a 30+ year old machine such as these back onto the road, it's just nothing short of pleasing when someone reports good things about their coach.

Remember over the last several weeks the work we did on Vernon's coach-- the experiment with the huge Generac generator, the suspension and brake issues and all we went through to get the coach back in the owners hands. Remember I drove that bugger to Gainesville only to have a problem in the AC output plug and how we did frantic work over the next week and then the trial by fire of driving it to Dothan. If it had to be done to make everything work out, it would make all the work worth it and here is a post I got from Vernon last night. It's stuff like this that makes all the hassles worth it to me at least. You have to look for more out of this work than just the money-- if not you would really be doing work cheap! No, there is a satisfaction that comes with knowing the things you do go for the greater good and here is a post that makes off of this worthwhile:

Hi Jim-

From the sound of your blog, the trip home was rather grueling - hey, I'm just glad the breakfast didn't kill ya! Anyway, we managed a first trip on Hein's Pickle and everyone had a blast. We loaded up 11 folks for a trip to the Lady Anderson (a dinner cruise in Panama City) with a late night pass through Miss Newby's (basically a drive through bar and liquor store - and how we negotiated the drive though was - - - interesting. And it was my birthday and I had to be the designated drive - ughh! Pickle driving class starts next week!!). At any rate, we ran the generator for about 7 hours, with one 3 hour break, running both roof air units the entire time - no problems. Again, if this is not the quietest generator in a GMC, I want to hear the one that is - of course, if it's quieter than this one, I wouldn't be able to hear it. Summer in south Alabama with 11 people on board challenged the a/c systems - and the temp was tolerable during the day - cold at night. We definately need to look at bringing the dash air back on line. The hot water heater worked like a charm and the steering is very nice now. The suspension also seems to be much improved and actually rides very high in the back - surprising from what I'm used to seeing, but it handles and rides well this way. You were right about the brakes - I locked them up twice - once when I almost missed a turn at about 60mph and once when a truck pulled in front of me and decided to - suddenly - break for a right turn (this started at about 55 mph). We attracted plenty of attention - not sure if it was the 6 good looking women we had with us or the Pickle itself - maybe both. At one point, a pickup truck, with the suspension jacked up so high it needed an aviation red obstacle light on it, pulled next to us and a young - relatively speaking - girl hung out the window and took flash photos of us - what the heck were they looking at? - this at midnght on U.S. Highway 79!!

Ok, I do have a question or two: Give me a quick rundown on the order of things when using the maserator (I've apparently gone brain dead). Do I turn it on only when I intend to dump? ...and run water through it at that time? ...or do I turn it on at other times? ...and, given that I do not trust my guages - and I know the water tank guage is wrong - any suggestion on how to know when the water and holding tanks are full? ...can 'grey' water - from sinks and showers - be dumped overboard and, if so, how? A 1,2,3 sort of step by step for the maserator would be appreciated. And I need to locate the circuit breaker - or install a switch - for the hot water heater, until then it is on anytime I am using shore power or gen power - right?? (YES, I know you already told me this stuff - but I'm old and I forget!)

Lastly, I found a small bag with some adapters or cables or something in it - I'll send it to ya.

Thanks, Vern

BTW, here is what I wrote him back about how to use his maserator, maybe now you guys can see how some days I just get so caught up on answering posts that I loose track of time.

Ready to dump--
Go to the generator door---- Connect a hose the the outlet under the generator, put the hose into the sewer opening------- Reach under the generator and pull the handle opening the gate valve------<If you want to get a more complete dump, go in the drop the rear of the coach, if you are on the road I would not do it. If the air ride system failed you would experience what Robin Williams did in the movie "RV" , it would not be pretty! For now leave it alone> Turn on the galley sink to put fresh water push the poopy out.------ Got back out to the generator and flip the switch turning on the maserator, You will here a certain grinding noise. Listen for the sound to change, when the noise raises-- turn the switch off and wait @ 30 seconds. This will put fresh water into the tank . Again, turn on the maserator and flush out the pump. When the sound again rises, turn it off and go back in and turn off the faucet. That will put into the tank just a little fluid. The tank should always have a little fluis in it. Go dump in a little "deodorizer" down the toilet and flush it. down the tank.-------- Now go up front if you dropped the back and pump it back up----- go around and disconnect the dump hose and drain it out you night want to run some fresh water through it. Put the cap back on the outlet and reach under to close the valve.--- Stow your hose-- you are done.

If you want to know if the tank is full. Turn off the water pump, drop the pressure by turning on the galley sink. Now go to the bathroom, push down the dump pedal and look down the toilet-- you will be looking into the tank.

Hope this helps

Normally, we do a bit different dump than with a hose connector but in the case of this monster Generac and the custom dual resonator/ tuned pipe exhaust we installed, there was no room for our usual holster style maserator hose delivery system most of you with maserators from us have. hey, these machines are all custom and each system has to fit in with whats there.

The opening rear hatch on Paul's Chimera coach has grown legs -- well not really-- Kevin is finishing up the door gluing in the reinforcement structure. With the body finished he's fitting the rear hatch waiting on a final layout selection from Paul.

So today will be a biggie!

6.7.10

Hats off to Tony S. for bringing in one of those nifty new high speed vibrating cutting tools for the co-op arsenal yea, it's a Harbour Freight special but hey, some of their stuff works pretty good and this thing I can tell will be a great tool for us. Needed to pare down the shoes on the back of the Suzuki, guess I never was meant to have long lasting brakes on that thing! the tool took down the shoes right now! Oh, BTW, for those that have never seen my 2 seater sports car, here it is with a fresh coach of wax . Good thing I spent a little time with the thing, the brakes as I said before were about gone along with the wheel bearings and driving it to Cocoa beach might have caused a problem. As it turned out the drive was pretty nice, of course at 55 MPH, bout everything on the road passed me , hey but thats OK, you get a really good view of the surroundings at 55-- makes you appreciate the view and man it sure is nice heading to Cocoa beach across the causeway, past the port and those docked cruise ships then on past that famious place "Ron Jon" , OK now you've seen it you don't have to spend the money, here's another look so get over it! On to Wakulla and there it is and a different sort of day off for me. Don;t get to sit on the beach that often, here's the Cocoa Beach pier where they do the surf contests . One thing bothers me, I mean why do you go to the sun baked beach to go sit under and umbrella to stay out of the sun when there is a perfectly good condo sitting there pumping cold air right into the room for ya . Hey, but who am I to question the excitement that is going to "the beach"! I'll just look at it as a diversion, take it in and then get back to work and thats what I'm doing. Now back at the shop, Kevin is already here putting me back in the saddle. I tried to stay out of the suns reach to help kill this sunburn I now have. Today is supposed to be hot, hot, hot followed by rain so with Manny flying in tomorrow, as a confirmed "west coaster", he's gonna get a little trial by fire this week. He's coming back to finish 3 of the trannys he ran out of new parts for and build maybe a 1/3 dozen more. Should be a fun time, it is whenever he's around.

Had a question on LP power for the GMC, could not hear all of the message on the machine, give me a call again whoever that was who called, I'm here today.

OK, gotta go, the sun is up, the temp if going up and if I don;t get out there and go for it I'll be loosing more water wait than I banked on! Have a great day, the sauns is cranked up down here!

6.4.10

Better late than never! Today was partly a bust-- Good friends of Craigs owns a beauty parlor and as things happen around here (the lightning capital of America) a thunder storm (A-- what am I saying-- we now have rain every afternoon) wacked the Hair Dresser and blew out all the driers and stuff. Craig, being the chivalrous horseman that he is, he and Eric went over to get the girls hooked up. He said hey, Saturday is their big day! Steve is out on a binding job as he schedules them all on Friday and with me a lame duck looks for a place to crash and then hearing some grinding noises in the ole Suzuki as I pulled into Orlando from Dothan-- yea, today was pretty much a bust. I just had to pay the little thing some attention. Just because it's little, slow and so basic that I think it was the vehicle all those car commercials today refer to when they say "increased legroom" or "improved sound insulation". Yea, 've got NONE of that !!! Yea, it's not much of a hot rod but it is my 2 seater, 5 speed, convertible, road machine. Road machine cause I felt I was run through a machine holding that skate board on the highway. There's a reason it only has a 7 gallon tank, I think thats to force the driver to get out of the seat often to keep them from getting hurt!

So Jason helped me to pull the wheels and do the B&B's (bearings and brakes) on the Suzuki. Hey, just because what it is does not mean it is not afflicted by the same time & mileage ravages as the GMC-- the thing has over 110,000 miles on it, it needs a good B&B! Good thing we did, the shoes were about gone with one edge had just started gouging the drum-- 5 more miles & I would have been installing a new drum! Yep, all the bearings were blue at the center, no galling yet but defiantly in need of replacement. The front pads were still there but not much left. Those bearings and brakes gave me all they had. I needed to reward the little thing with new stuff-- so thats what we did. Got out the degreaser to yank all that road soot off it then gave it the bath it deserved. Rubbed on a little Meguiars Cleaner Wax on it with a couple of layers to buff out what was left of the grime the cut degreaser didn't get. BTW, thats one secret detailers use to get a nasty car looking good.

Mix engine degreaser say 10:1 into a spray bottle, wet the surface, spray the mix heavy onto the surface then scrub with a soft brush and flush with water immediately. The with a good mix of soapy wash, scrub the surface just stripped. NO--- don't do this to your Volvos Cal! It's for those turds on wheels folks look to a detail shop to bring back from the black hole. Hey, you detailers know what I mean! The best times I ever had was the detail shop I had back in the day.

Oops, digressing there a bit. Then about 3PM, the rains came in and that did us in. Janie took off to Cocoa Beach for the annual outing with a group of our friends. Check out the place www.wakullasuites.com do the "Tour our facility". Now you see why I had to clean up the little thing to drive it there tomorrow! Each year, used to be last week on the holiday. Today, calmer heads prevail so now we all get together this weekend-- the rooms are much less and the crowds are not so crazy, this place is a short walk to "Ron John's"-- you know that surf shop on horse pills! Don;t get me wrong, it's awesome to see what a surfer dude from back in the 70's when I was out there eating Frog Wax-- it's really amazing!

So, I'm sitting here, totally wet from working in the rain, now it's a steam bath with the humidity-- Cal and Andy, you would not like this weather! But remember, I swore I would not whine about the hot weather after the last winter--- so, &^%@#@$)_+))_(*^%^%$#$###.

It's Taco Bell tonight, Janie can't take care of me tonight-- I'm on my own! Pretty soon it will just be me and the Suzuki, funny, this car has never let it's "name" be known-- or maybe I just can't understand Cantonese! Anyway, I'll give it a full tank of high test, program the Tom Tom for Wakulla and I'll be off there tomorrow. I'll be in to the shop in the morning, if you need something but after that-- well it's over and out for a day. I'll have the cell phone if you need something but I hope to be finishing the baking process I started coming back from Dothan. Details upon arrival--- see ya soon

Update Just had to show ya this one! Last week I drove "Larry", my coach, from Orlando to Sarasota to take my molds to Danny's place. I didn't say much about it but Larry ran like crap! Fresh motor, fresh carb in a coach that ran great before it was put down by my hand. Figured the problem was fuel related so throwing the baby out with the bath water, I pulled the carb and sent it back to my builder folks figuring I would start there and go through everything. Here is the note when the carb returned:

Man, can you believe it got crusted over on the first run! See, I deal with the same frustrations you do. looks like I will be completely purging my fuel delivery system now! You might want to check yours out too!

See ya tomorrow

6.3.10

Yesterday being a blurrrr after getting shot out of that proverbial cannon, landing with no net -- it's odd to be sitting back in my breakfast hole pndering what jellies I will get for my toast.

Let me catch you guys up with the past couple of days. It needed to happen, we had already tried to deliver the coach to Vernon with that new monster Generac that because we did not totally rewire the system (our mistake for assuming something) I really needed to make the delivery go. Logistics is always tough with picking up and delivering coaches. I mean we are in Orlando with the wide net we toss out coaches coming in from all over, it's just so dang hard to get everything completed, working and ready to go. This time, the coach needed to get to Dothan Alabama-- @ a 400 mile drive home. Vernon was tied up with his work at the FAA doing flight checks so something outrageous needed to happen-- that coach needed to get to Dothan and there was only one way! Check out this huge Generac generator we shoehorned into Vernon's coach that baby fills the hole from coast to coast! With it's resonator/muffler super quiet exhaust, this really is one awesome power plant. We could not charge for all of the design work it took getting this unit to live in a GMC and who knows if we will do another one but for Vernon's coach, well he has a serious generator in his rig.

So anyway, this coach needed to be in Dothan Wed. morning at 6AM and there was only one way to make that happen. I hooked up the ole Suzuki to the coach and 7PM Tues. evening & filled the tank with gas and set my GPS onto Vernon's Dothan address and off we went. There are plenty of rest areas between Orlando & Dothan so if all I could do was to hop and skip from one to the next, I could make it. Actually, when I deliver anyones coach I do stop often and do a walk around checking bearing heat and just looking things over. This time I think the stops may end up being more for me than for the coach. Soo off I went, the coach really drove well and after piles of front suspension work, brake work including a new sensatized booster, power converter, transfer switch, generator and ofther stuff, I felt pretty good about the sled I was driving.

One thing I did find out about those reworked brakes, even towing something as light as the Samurai I could lock up all 6 wheels without thinking! That booster is awesome, I mean can YOU lock up all 6 wheels on your coach? So I had to watch that. The steerinf was awesome, I could let go of the wheel on a straight section of road and do a count-- usually could get to 30 or more--- also great fun! Hey, you need to make up games to keep yourself occupied. So it was an all nighter, stopped for 2 hours just west of Tallahassee then hunkered down for an hour some 40 miles out. Vernon is also an early riser so calling me when he got up I sprang back out and did the 40 miler to his place as the sun was coming up. Was sort of a surreal time, the sun coming up over a place really far away from the shop knowing I needed to get back to the shop now as fast as possible. Yea right-- as fast as possible and here I was riding a Suzuki Samurai -- 2 things that really didn't go together! Took a bit to go over all the new stuff on the coach with Vernon, oh yea-- we also did a maserator system and tank repair. So we went over it all, Vernon made me up some eggs and home grown sausages before I disconnected the beast for the ride back.

Oh man, here we go--- I checked the oil, filled her up with some good high test gas and dropped the top. The rag top of that thing is a major investment so after blowing the top around dragging it behind the coach, I felt I wanted to give the top a rest. I would take the sun and wind on me! Ah, "it's a far, far greater thing I'm doing than I have ever done before"! Hey, what more can it do to me, afterall --- are we not men! I putting on some sun glasses I felt like the first pilot of a rocket sled, I should have made the last words before firing that little 4 banger up "Hey you'll watch this". Anyway, at 8:30AM I started out for home, the GPS is telling me I should arrive at 2:15PM-- hey, a piece of cake-- yea, cake laced with something! The sun was brutal and along with the wind and noise, pretty soon I really did feel like I was strapped to the top of the mast of some sailing ship in open water. Trying to keep the rig between 50 and 60 with no cruise and no speedometer (I had to use the small speed readout on the GPS) was a thrill. Shaking off the tireds, trying to keep the morning sun coming up from the east where I was heading out of my face which was burning my forehead every second added to the fun. At the speed I was sporting everything passed me, I felt like the only turtle on deck with a flock of roadrunners. I even had a prison bus blow me off! Ther rest areas became more and more important. That sighn going in telling you how far it was to the next rest area also became important. I would make the plan to get to the next one pulling into the rest area I was at which BTW, was a great feeling knowing at least that leg of the journey was over. The fuel tank only hold 7 gallons, the Suzuki was not made for over the road driving but still at @ 35 MPG, I could make it a far piece before stopping for gas. When I did fill up, it would only take a small time to get that done and while the other cars were drinking deep at the pump, I would pull away just shortly after pulling in-- that was a bright spot.

So I could not find my 12 volt cors for the cell phone and boy, it was ringing off the hook as they say. I had to ask several peope to call me back later-- sorry but I needed to keep the battery power for an emergency , I hope, I hope, I hope would not happen. The sun kept frying my face so just south of Ocala I had to put the top back up. On the open road, you really should not roll down a window letting all that air up inside the rag top so there I was, my nose right in front of the 2 middle AC vents trying to determine if the air compressor was doing anything, trying to breath through that "blow drier on hi heat", the rag top flapping in the wind, the noise level far above anything you really wanted to experience watching the GPS count down the 10th mile of the trip-- oh and knowing there are people waiting to talk to me at the shop, the guys needing parts and I just wanting to do anything other than sweating my butt off in that drivers seat. Hey, I needed to remember though this "had to happen" and I was making it happen! It would soon be all over as I look back on it now, one coach would be outa here, space for another. One project ended to make way for another and one more step forward negating the 2 back it always feels we are dealing with around here. Pulling into the gate, nothing looked outstanding-- just like I left the place but I wasn't just like I left yesterday-- I was a bit more seasoned, a little harder from the road. I say I love driving these coaches and I do, it's just finding the time and energy to do something like this while trying to keep everything going at the shop-- just hard to do and I look at it this way, if what you endure that doesn;t kill you makes you stronger, pretty soon I need to register with some weight lifting group! Vernon's coach really gave me a great ride out, I was stressed myself paying so close attention on all the systems the ride was not as peaceful as if could have been-- hey, thats the job of a driver and coupled with the white knuckle drive home in the Suzuki, it all made for one of those cannon shot experiences. But it's done now, all went well and other than the Suzuki being a little pissed at me for dragging it hard the way I did, I don't see any lasting marks. OK, so now lets move on-- if you wondered how my Wed. went, now you know!

Got a box from Jeff Shadow when I got into the office, hey man, thats "spiking the gun" on my moring throwing of the bones at my breakfast hole. I hope each morning for "2 grapes" of little jellies for my toast-- bringing in my own Jelly -- I'm not sure if that will work , thanks for those-- I will make good use of them! Hey, man look at my face-- is that painful or what! The wind and sun burnt me! Mommy, make the bad man stop! There's no way I have any skin cancers, I just burned it all off!

OK, enough of all that, lets get a little serious about stuff around here-- So with Crais heading Tuesday over toward Allen's coach , we need to man handle the coach over onto the lift to reinstall his motor. Dragging a coach up onto the lift by hand is always one of those "fun parts" of this business. We usually cannot push it totally up onto the lift so then Jason attaches our chain fall to drag it the rest of the way up onto the "operating table". It's like dragging a whale up onto the litter. That too passed and we ended Tuesday with Allen up on the lift. Oh, BTW, one thing that does make moving the lot around like we have to is getting new vantage point for looking at coaches around here. Check out these of Raymond's 26' Duramax this beast is out in the lot now moving around, limbering up it's muscles while we work at the tough details of the finish I mean, just look at that profile-- reminds me of why soldiers carried a pinup gilr pic in their pocket, to give them something to fight for-- Got in there and punched a few buttons and while the guys stopped to watch the awning deploy the coach simply towers over the lot of coaches Dang, what a machine! Just few words to say about this Duramax thing, we just want to get them out there-- they need to be home and brother, those will be a delivery I just MUST do!

With Allen;s motor prepped and ready for install , yea check out this roller cam hotty as Jason readies it and the coach for them to come together . So yesterday during my "trial by fire", Jason and Eric got the bugger back in the hole For Allen, what you're looking at is the fresh motor with it's painted grey oil pan, his original Ragusa diff cover and the super clean trans pan (not painted) of a manny Tranny built here several weeks ago and all of it in, bolted up in place into Allens coach. It's done and sporting it's legacy, a Jasper custom build sticker , fresh new brass freeze plug gleeming in the light. It's truly an awesome sight seeing project we do come together. This is part of the excitement around here. Maybe, just maybe we will get the report of another great American survivor big block fire up before the weekend giving us just one more thing to be excited over. Fingers crossed! This is one of the struggles around here and it has to be this way. There always needs to be a date to shoot at for getting a coach back into the waiting hands of it's owners but in bringing a coach to that level of reliability you only get by assuring one item after another is attended to-- you just cannot say with authority when exactly something will get to a point. Just goes with the territory but hey, here we are and it's a good day in River City as they say! Hang on Allen, things are happening and I just know when it's done you will be happy.

We're taking Danny's radiator over to be pressure tested. After his fire, I need to be sure there were no issues from the heat so close to the radiator itself. Stand by for more on that job.

Mark's headliner is going in, here Steve is screwing in one of the florescent 12 volt light fixtures Stay tuned for more on this.

Paul's Chimera is close to color, hey Paul, we need to verify the colors and scheme, give me a ring.

Gotta go, the guys are here, I have more paperwork to do but I need to just get out there, see ya later

6.1.10

Hope your holiday weekend went well I actually got in doing a few personal things even in coming in the mornings keeping things going around here. kevin came in yesterday morning to get Ken's 23d in color. Now in it's color, isn;t that an impressive looking front end? Kevin layed on 3 coats they packed it back up into the bay to dry for todays clearcoat which BTW, he just showed up to do that. One more step to completion!

Like I said I tried to do a few things of my own this weekend, patched a leak in the rear time on the side car bike then dug out my boat. The thing has been sitting there near the gate and it's true you will always find some excuse not to go out in a boat. Raining, no time, ranmp full, no gas-- it goes on and one. It's also true you just gotta make time to go out so step one was to charge up the battery, check all the geer and see if you can find the drain plug-- I did all of that and even get it hooked up to the Suzuki-- man thats a nice looking set up to me! But like most times, I got to the house only to remember I really needed to spend some time in my back yard. The grass had gotten a little high. During the winter I picked up a Cub Cadet self propelled more from a homeless guy for $50. It kinda ran so I picked up a new carb and a drive cable last week so I guess it was time to see if it would fire up. My other mower had finally gone away after years of neglect. Looked up this Cub Cadet on the internet, looks like from the bad reports it must be the worst mower on the planet-- funny because when I firsd that thing up, it ran perfect and talk about power-- , with a 19" deck and a 7.75 Bribbs motor that thing could leap tall buildings with a single bound! You guys are getting all my energy cause it's been so long since I hacked at the back yard that Cub was self propelling itself through 4 and 5' tall weeds! , I'm not ashamed I have not kept up my yard, been working too much and this mower was the right tool at the right time Oh look I found a spare tire for my boat trailer buried in the grass Like I said I can't be depresssed about my yard, I give that energy up to the Co-op but it would be nice to have a back yard and this mower sure did the job! The drive mechanism has 3 speeds and will jerk the mower out of your hands if you're not ready-- didn't stop it in time & the thing tried to climb the steps on the deck! I picture the guy being dragged around his yard with this thing-- brute power! it may fall apart as the reports on the internet say but for now it is my secret weapon !!

Anyway, it's sunny today and if all show up we should have a productive day. I can smell the clearcoat in the next bay on Ken's 23d so I know that got done. I will be driving a coach to Dothan Alabama tonight to help Vern get back on his schedule. If you will remember, this is the coach with that Generac generator that gave me the slip last week. The new transfer switch made the unit work fine, now we just need to get this puppy home. If' you're on I-10 between here and there watch for me please.

OK, we need to get this day done, get on the road and make that happen-- my stress for the day-- so it's a full tank of gas, half pack of cigarettes (not), it's dark & we're wearing sun glasses-- lets start this mission, it will only hurt till it's done! have a great day yourself, we'll give it a try on this end...

5.30.10

So here is it Sunday and while Kevin is over there sanding the primer layer Wait, let me stop there for a minute, man look at the flow of those lines! You can see why Kevin just had to get into it, man now thats a front profile that just won;t quit! "It just needed a little more flow" is what Kevin said. The 23d with it's 4 wheel stance is removed a bit from some of the lines of the original GMC yes but the object was to make a coach that would be as radical today as the original GMC was back then. Sure, a GMC in regular form has everything beaten on the flowing body category already but Ken wanted to ramp that up a bit. Raymonds 26' Duramax is taking that direction but also is looking for the roots of the GMC styling. The 23d is not forgetting those roots but is going for really wild "new".

OK, enohgh of that for now. Tomorrow while everyone else is sleeping it off, Kevin and I will be here at the shop laying out color on the 23d, think of us.

OK so yesterday did end up wet but before it was "Miller Time", it was me and Marks electrical system. his Royale had a perfectly original nad I mean all original living area control panel right down to pieces of the original Rowan & Martin styles orange shag carpet! There have been major advancements in humanity and today we do not subject ourselves to such erratic fashion statements-- oh, and there have been improvements in technology that bring us to where we are today. We'll be rewiring the 12vdc and 110vac systems to include a 45 amp, 2 stage electronic power converter which BTW drops the curb weight of the coach a bit. We'll be doing away with the need to get on the floor to flip the power breaker when you fire up the generator-- we'll be installing a 30 amp transfer switch. We're going for efficiency on this VAC system, we have only 1 roof AC unit so having the option of running all systems from a strong 110 cord to a 20 amp breaker, I'm not doing a 50 amp system in the coach. The glass style fuse block has to go-- too many years of corrosion has turned that old fuse block into a "Murphy's toy", who knows when something will stop working! We'll reuse the original 110vac breaker panel and wiring. Hey, this is part of the reason you "renovate" a previously built coach--- you get the value of the labor and some materials they used. There is nothing wrong with a 30+ year old breaker box and with the breakers still available rebuilding the electrical system is just part of the job. The new components are products of new technology. Power converters have improved over the years to the point you do not need to turn them off as in the case of the original one pus they pull very little current-- that original converter would brown out a 20 amp circuit! The transfer switch we are using is a passive device on shore power so we will not use any current making the contact. Positive latch transfer switches do give more current flow numbers but this device is "green" and that what we need here.

So after all of the day that was worth working in, here is Mark's reworked living area electrical panel The "charge Wizard" control button is at the middle. We dropped one of the switching breakers in the 110vac box and turned the other into the main feeding the rest of the circuits. There were only 4 12vdc fuses in the original panel so we have gobbs of room to add new 12 volt circuits. The black transfer switch has a hinged top that opens to access the connections easily. It all fits in pretty nice, should be easy for him to maintain-- this is very important in that he will not be "in town". It's all running now and the red light on the bedroom opening skylight give s is a 12 volt report , with the sun screen open, you get a great view of the trees and then with a touch of a button you can smell the trees . Of course this is not the only "sky view" Marks coach has, there is a 41" window to the sky in the main area of the coach . 41x27" fixed, sorry it won't open! See, I love to take on the cool stuff! This coach is going to have a serious character! There's no way to name it yet, maybe after the ground effects and the paint scheme is set we can think about that. Right now it's keep your head down and keep working on this project!

OK, so I'm not a total waste, I am going to see is the boat battery is charged and see if I can find the plug. Kevin is about done on his sanding so tomorrow is ready to go. Have a great holiday , we'll see ya later.

5.29.10

It's a holiday Saturday everyone is on "vacation" not thinking about work and all that making this weekend one of the islands of fun in the middle of the ocean of work--- or as most people seem to look at life. I, on the other hand, am at ease here this morning at the shop, a quiet lot, no one else here but me and a pile of apart coaches. It's like they are all hanging around the shop and I come in and disturb their peace-- sorry bout that guys!

I am pleased with the weeks work-- there are not enough seconds in a minute, minutes in an hour, hours in a day or days in a week and so one to get all the things done we have around here. It's a matter of opening the gate each morning ans see what will happen. SWome days feel more productive than others but whatever day it is and whaterver happens all that can be done is. We don;t have lengthy parties or liquid lunches to stop us and each day everyone knows what there is to do and set out on it when they cross the opening of the gate. Thats a good feeling knowing you have 7 people who know the position we are in and go about working the problem the best way they can. it's a good feeling to have that kind of support. Hey and then there are you guys that without your daily direction I would not have the input to best focus on my issues. Yes, so wether you know it are not you too have a part in all of this. Thats enough of that!

A prime example of what I'm talking about is Kevin--- knowing how important the Duramax projects are to the collective progress of Cooperative Motor Work was not pleased with some of the work that had been done on the front body of Ken's 23d finish and behind the scenes as he could he has been redoing the body lines of the front of the coach and is now got all of his fixes smoothed out and in primer. This is a redo on his part and sure he gould have left it alone and I was happy with what we had before but he wanted to work it up a bit more so that what he did. Here is the front of the 23d as he finishes his work and is laying on a layer of sanding primer befor the seal and base. I gotta tell ya thats what it takes to build a truly great machine. People who take their part seriously! Kevin was not involved in the final finish on the 23d coach, he had saught persuits in the wholesale paint world when that was being done and when he learned I think what it's all about with respect to following your dream I welcomed him back a little smarter I feel to be able to truly see where the Co-op is going. Not just with this project but with many others he has proven himself as someone who "gets it" and I am proud to have him in the fold. OOK, where did that come from!

He'll be in Monday-- hey, both of us are up so early that we can do a days work before anyone else gets up! So Monday, on holiday he'll be here with me and we'll lay out the color and maybe the clear on the 23d. It takes people who don;t look at this thing as a 9-5 job and for me I feel thats an important distinction. Oops, there it goes again, I'm doting on my guys. I guess I have to say this because it has been a revolving door trying to find those people who do care about their work and that there is something more than the collection of work to be done. It is a pleasure to have people surrounding me to help get this all done. I have the utmost respect for everyone I have working with me getting neat things done to these coaches. Every day is making one more step out into the unknown.

I'm sitting here with the office door open in that it's still cool enough to do so-- the shadows of the trees around the shop are shading the lot-- the place we sweat our brains out in the sun all day right now is sitting there quiet, I think the shop needs a day off itself to heal a bit from all the stuff we do to it all day. Thats an odd thing to say hey, but today I'm the only one here and I get to do a little of the fun things I like to do. My day is so sliced up into the parts of me in all of the projects in the shop, today I get to stop all that multitasking stuff people analyze how good or bad you try and keep all of those plates spinning. Today I am going to do one thing at a time and here is #1 This is a frightfully original nerve center of a 78 Coachman built "Royale" center galley floorplan GMC. It controls the 12 vdc & 110vac circuits in the coach. I say frightfully original in that you can see it still sports the original "buzz box" 12 volt power converter. These things are dinosaurs of the battery charging world! They consist of a huge step down transformer linked to 4 monster diodes molded into a rectifier when linked to 2 big fat caps to knock down the saw toothed output to an acceptable level. This is a "DC welder" design tuned down so it won't shoot the cell caps off the battery. It is a hot rod and in that is hell on wheels if there is a battery issue. They are set up to be turned off easily to keep you from boiling the soup out of your "battery pot pie"! Just above that is a glass fuse fuse block with 30+ years of corrosion, funk and goo. The protective door is missing so God knows what ghosts lie in those circuits! There's the 110 vac breaker panel with it's lock out rocker contacts for shore or generator power. Every Royale owner knows the hassles of breaking down the bed to crawler under to switch power sources. Most times you replace this idea with an automatic transfer switch and thats what I'm going to do here. This is Mark's coach -- he lives in the seriously cold country of Northern Canada so it goes without saying we're going to insulate the crap out of this coach but there are also other considerations and one of them is the supply power and the circuitry that goes into a coach for this need. He will be off the grid when means the generator will be a prime supply. He won't be plugging into that many 50 amp service 5 star RV parks. No, we need this puppy to have a lean footprint to operate fully. The original Coachmen built Royale had a 30 amp service. The GM floorplan coaches have a 50 amp set up mainly because those coaches could sport 2 roof AC units running off of shore power. The Royale could only power 1 roof AC unit even though it had 2. The second was wired to only work on the road. Kinda weird but in this situation Mark will never need 2 roof AC units. 2 is a must here in Florida but this puppy will end up living far away. It's actually that way on many things we build. A feature to one may be a liability to another so every project has to be looked on as what it will be doing and where it will live.

We are going to build a totally efficient 30 amp service into this coach. 50 amp transfer switches double in cost over a smaller 30 amp switch. We will save some moola here probably to spend it somewhere else. I think we will continue the use of the actual breaker box, there is nothing wrong with it and replacement breakers are at Home Depot. We'll loose the 12 volt glass fuse block in favor of an ATC style plug in fuse block. The "boat anchor" or maybe "arc welder" will go in for a job change as a door stop and we'll install a super efficient, stable, reliable 45 amp PD Dynamics converter with "Charge Wizard". I'm also looking at the Parallax model. We need a rock solid, reliable converter cause without 12 volt you have nothing! This coach heck will live "off the grid". There will be no RV dealersip at the next exit where Mark will be taking this coach. I hope he sends me some pictures of the coach with a backdrop of the Northern Lights! This electrical system has to stay together, I am giving up the ability to run 2 roof AC units (heck, the coach only has one!) to put in a system that can run on most any descent extension cord plugged into a 20 amp service. On shore power, the transfer switch is off. There is no current used in shore operation as opposed to a 50 amp system that usually has an energized breaker for shore as well as generator power.

If you look back at the pic, there is a wiff of the original orange carpet under the compartment-- that will be gone! So this will be a singular project I will go at here in a few minutes. Don;t know if I will get it completed today, we'll see. See, this is the problem with coming up with a delivery date on this work. If I get it done today I can go one to something else but if I press myself to get it done today I may make a decision to say "good enough" and it's not to do that! Lets get into this puppy and see where it goes. How bout if I doo a run through on this project today. Stay tuned, I'll do som more posts on this.

OK, now I think I am spending too much time here and not enough out there. We have 50/50 rain so we'll see even if today pans out at all. We do work out in the open in the lot so in the immortal words of Ole Ben Franklin---"When it rains, you get wet". Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's off to work I go! Talk to ya later

5.28.10

Gonna try and get back in my "groove" today and catch up on some work we're doing for the owners to see I mean that IS the original reason for this blog in the first place!

Phillip's coach is in hover mode getting his baseline of new fluids and repairs done on a coach that he recently purchased He's done a pile of cosmetic stuff himself, now it's time to get the thing in road condition. He came in on a wing and a prayer with all but a dead battery. Close to Orlando his tach went out-- he didn;t know it at the time but his battery isolator had fried and was not charging his engine battery. As his power faded, the tach gave up and thats why it stopped. When he pulled into the lot and turned the coach off, there was no way to fire it up until the engine battery got a fresh charge-- like I said , these machines will drive "broken"! First things first, we pulled the drums to find a chocolate mess What you are seeing is brake dust stuck to everything that is drenched with old brake fluid that was leaking from the wheel cylinder. You can also see that his brakes shoes are bonded, not riveted. This is a big no-no, our brakes get hot and the glue will do weird things. The shoes must be a riveted style. Eric pressure washed the "funk" from the stripped brake plates then Jason did his magic of building them back up with new wheel cylinders and riveted shoes We use only new wheel cylinders and stuff. The hardware and adjuster spring kits had been well perserved in brake fluid so they cleaned up nice. BTW Phill, your Ebrake cables had been severed , we're going to leave those alone for another time-- I'll call ya and we can talk about options there. The rear and probably the front brake hoses are original on the coach. Yes, 30+ year old rubber parts in the brakes-- oh man, those are so out of there in favor of our all new teflon liner, braided stainless sleeved custom brake hoses You can tell these are original hoses by the rounded shoulder on the block where the attaching bolt holds the hose at the center. We also found a torn and nasty steering shaft boot which was expected and the previous owner had used tie wraps on the outer CV boots-- that didn;t work, sorry . The boots are also weather checked so we'll be replacing those as well. Jason now has all of the brake parts on the bench and will be renewing what he finds messed up. Looks like at least 1 knuckle will have to be replaced in that it lifted right off the hub, today he'll dig in that hole! . Eric studies the rear bumper for the thru bumper trailer hith we are going to install The sewer system had to come off-- good thing cause it was leaking anyway. After some work, he had it on and after adjusting the bumper a bit it looked pretty good Stay tuned for more.

OK Allen, so what did you say was wrong with your dash? . Had to get it down to vacuum out the dust on the back side of the AC vent! Naaaa, the whole dash was falling slap apart. Jeff shoveled it all out and Allen will be getting that new one piece fiberglass dash mold and the new dash AC system we are putting in Paul's Chimera coach. First things first now that I have Allens dash down to it's "root mean" -- The steering column will get new color BTW Allen, we found some floor rot on the pass. side floor , we'll deal with it. Stay tuned for more...

Hey Danny, what was that you needed to fix in your dash! This is the burn unit coach and this dash will have to go Steve drew the short straw so in with the proverbial shovel he went It's out now and from here we go up. We are in the middle of reneweing every effected part of Danny's coach from the fire. Here is his fan with the new Delco diesel motor clutch . His carb is out and it does not look so fried. It's funny but when looking at how a fire effects things, the damage is much less at the point of the fires origin which was the fuel line going into the carb We'll see if it can be salvaged. Stay tuned for more.

OK, the sun is already hot so I need to get out there ans sweat a bit. Have a great holiday weekend, go give your coach a hug and go for a drive, give it some fresh gas and a compliment on how it's running and how lucky you feel to have the coach-- hey motorhomes are people too!

update

Didn't wanna leave you guys hanging after this mornings rather depressing rant Sorry bout that but hey, everyone has a bad day once in a while! Things actually worked out pretty good. Ben did an awesome job of putting a muzzle on that Generac. I bet it's about the quietest generator you will ever not hear. He used an original long cylinder Onan muffler I had around here then added the Generac muffler with a long tailpipe to drop the ringing sound the Generac muffler made-- man it is perfect! OK, so my end report on the install of the 55g is it does not want to fit into a GMC. Thats it, it's a really nice unit and the install makes it useable and maintainable, something you guys with an Onan with a spark plug on the inside can't say. It's quiet, in fact it has an interesting noise kinda like listening to a Chi Wawa break wind through 4 bails of hey!

Craig came by in the afternoon to say he had been to the doc and he's back on some pills-- hey, it's a Bitch getting old! Anyway, he's OK and will be back with us tomorrow. Hey, we all hold each other up around here, one goes missing and the pile lists to one side!

Gotta go, dinner is waiting

5.27.10

Here it is 9:30 already and I just got through the mornings Emails sorry bout that. Can't spend much time here. As you know, we have several projects all on going at the same time. Thats the only way you can keep a shop like this going. There are timetables and pressures that go along with doing that though that really hamper efforts so please bear with me, we're all doing all we can here. Craig was out yesterday so this put a crimp in our efforts somewhat.

Allens dash showed up yesterday and with Kevin about ready to shoot color on Paul's Chimera we are going at these coaches with gusto. We have several other projects too-- Phillip got his awning installed yesterday and Danny's "burn unit" is apart and now going back together. I must tell everyone with work in here though that there is only so many of us here and work goes at the best pace it can. We were supposed to have Vernon's coach out of here last week that of course makes everything else back up. Had to do it to make it work but hey, here we are!

It's over at the muffler shop trying to figure out how to quieten down that Generac-- good luck Ben!

Here it is now 10:10 and we are not a full crew, it's hard to get work done when people are not here! Sorry guys but thats just the way it is. Stress-- yea, this is stress-- stress in a way there is little to do but stress out! Parts on backorder is one problem, not having hands here to bolt the parts up is another. OK, I feel better and don't take to heart my ramblings but this is a difficult business made more so by the situations that have to happen to get things accomplished. So my family says I spend too much time on the computer-- well, what else is there when no one is here to work! I'll shut up now!

Anyway I am now out there trying to make what difference I can. For those of you with work in here, hang with me, we're on task and things are going the best they can. I'm on duty so stand by. It's a nice day at least, the sweat will flow and the work will too. Thanks for the support, we're on it...

Boy, am I wrapped tight this morning! I'll be OK-- promise

5.26.10

The day has started out beautiful bright sun, no clouds, not hot (yet) and with Janie coming in last night I'll again have a full crew on hand to get stuff done. Tom F. called first thing this morning with tranny troubles pulling signal mountain in Tenn.. Looks like he blew out all his fluid, only 2 quarts on board HE PUT THEM IN AND CAN SEE A STEADY STREAM COMING OUT UNDER THE COACH IN PARK-- NOT GOOD! Oops, sorry bout the cap lock! I'm in the loop on so many of you guys out there I see things happening every day. Transmissions are one of those things that seem to work perfectly--- until they don;t and when they don;t there is not that much you can do other than to pull it out. There is the gov. gear that will drop you to 2 gears (1st & reverse) if it strips out. The vacuum diaphram will go out and make the shifting gates weird or will allow ATF to reach the carb and burn fluid making a smoky mess. The cooler lines could leak which is what I am hoping is Tom's problem and if you don;t fry the clutches when you dump the fluid you can repair the leak and dodge a bullet. But other than these things when you have tranny troubles there will probably be a tow involved and a really screwed up schedule. Lets all pause for a moment and give Tom all of our god Juju on his issue-- hey, we all gotta pull together!

Sent in a bio on everyone for the "Road Warrior" series, lets see what they think. We have been doing this all so long and making moves toward the unusual to the point we are really are an enigma, fingers crossed on this one. Hey Cal, I may need to come out there to meet with them, I'll let ya know. Lets everyone throw some of that good Juju at this one too.

We are coming up agianst time tables on some projects in here, the stress of deliveries will always be a part of this business, what can I say, everyone does not always see why things need to happen on time. We do the best we can on timing but sometimes we have to rely on others to get things done for us. Hey, while the Juju is flying, plop a mess of it at this one too!

Yesterday, we had the windshields put into Allen's coach, got his rotted dash out and with his motor showing up, our 4 week delivery date is possible. If the AC guys will get the unit here, we'll be in good shape so a little Juju on this one would probably help.

2 grape jellys this morning means we have a shot at a good day, lets hope that happens. There are just so many good things close to us, something has to fall-- lets believe that.

Have a great day, we'll try

Update

Getting home, I had a couple of hours to relax. It's been non stop for the past week. Janie is getting home after a week with our son John. It will be glad to have her back. The orders will now start flowing again-- sorry but there's only so much of us.

Need to give you an update on the Generac 55g install that came up with a problem. It wasn't the generator . Intending to install a 50 amp transfer switch we ran out of time so the original 50 amp receptacle was used. When the system was checked, it ran the roof AC for 2 hours. That does not mean it will do that reliably, it was "original". Yep, you got it, for some reason the wire from the connection to the box failed. Installing the 50 amp transfer switch took care of it. We have a few other things we're doing to the coach before we try another delivery-- this time I know the generator will run! His original water heater is out and replaced

Next, we're over on Allen's coach. We're doing one of the new fiberglass dashes and in that we're getting his windshields replaced we have the chance to get at the old dash from the front Don pulled out the cracked windshields, gave us the chance to do our stuff then installed a new set of American made glass

BTW, we got your motor yesterday Allen so Jason will be on your motor soon.

Jason started in on Danny's fire damage repair First, he shoveled out all of the bolt ons of the motor . next, the radiator and the front of the motor comes apart. The burned wire harness draps out the front and this is what we dug so deep to see A nice clean oil galley, fo burn, no block crack so this marks the end of our investigation-- now we can start to put it back together.

Gotta get some sleep, lets talk tomorrow

5.25.10

You know, I need to listen to the advice I give others more often! Kevin went with me for a red eye run to deliver our molds to Danny at Andros Boats in Sarasota. A good shakedown run for Larry and boy did we have an issue! Won't go over 50 MPH, popping, spitting and loosing power all the way there--- does this sound familiar? What a hassle! We made it, picked up the teakwood planks we'll build Mark's tim for his bathroom with. Picking up fuel, I popped the engine cover for a looksee. With a 1/2" wrench I touched the carb bolts and don;t ya know it--- they were loose! OK, now I know Jason didn't do that, so what gives? The carb gasket compressed, this has happened before to folks and my council was to tighten the bolt and thats where I needed to practice what I preached. Almost 2 turns on each of the 4 bolts-- who says a compressed carb gasket is a "wives tales"! I tighened them snug and we drove on home pretty much uneventful.. Got in close to midnight so I'm not feeling really chipper today!

Janie flies in tonight so I'll have to stay up past my bed time again! The day is a bit overcast and it actually rained for @ 5 minutes early this morning but I think it's all gone now. Have piles to do and I'm late as usual. Gotta go, I'll try and do some pics for you tomorrow. A hello goes out to Ken E. , hope things are doing well. We'll see the rest of you and Ken tomorrow.

5.24.10

Gonna be a big day around here have plans to run Larry to Sarasota for a shakedown yes but also to take my molds to have some work done with them at Andros boats. Danny is a real fiberglass guru and I want some unique things done in fiberglass so this is a no brainer. We need to bug outa here before the traffic on I-4 gets bad so this will be a bit of a short on for us. Taking Larry or any coach for that matter on a first shake down after a new motor install is always a bit scary but hey-- somebody has to do it!

We have that Generac to troubleshoot, I just believe it's something small and silly we missed, stay tuned. With the 26' Duramax on the lift still the guys are scheduled to for the sewer tanks up-- wish us luck on that.

We have another coach that came in Thursday--- owner had been working on it for a bit but he wanted us to lay our hands on some issues. Good thing he was one of those God takes care of-- the coach turned off in the lot-- battery dead! Seems that his alternator went out on the way in and with the generator not as yet sorted out he would have been holding down that emergency lane if we were 5 miles more away! See, I told ya, these coaches drive broken! We have fuel hoses, bearings, brakes, an awning and yes his charging system to deal with. Stay tuned for that work. Kevin is already in, he's over at the 23d doing some paint fixes-- good to see he's putting time on it.

We have so much work around here-- sure with Vernon's coach had delivered without the hitch it had but hey-- as he said "it is what it is" so we'll figure things out!

Gotta get to work, the net is a bit dry with everyone at Auburn this past week, have been seeing some pics of the rally. I had to show ya this one of Steve F. standing there in shorts with a wind breaker on--that must be one of those west coast fashion statements! Got his curved bill ball cap, aviation goggles on, a beer in the Cozy-- I tell ya thats the mark of a real power lounger-- you may need to put a little sun block on those legs there son! Sounds like everyone had a great time, kudos goes to the Western States club organization for keeping the faith alive for the GMC. Close to 80 coaches makes for a good group.

See ya

5.23.10

The weekend is done and it was one to remember. One of the things you have to get used to when doing different new things are the "unexpected results" in the learning curve.

I've had a bunch of folks contact me talking about generators and since Honda discontinued the only water cooled RV generator on the planet, that question has not had a good answer in my opinion. Andy got the last Honda EV 6010 on the eastern seaboard and since then I've been trying to come up with new options. Of course the ole Onans are always there but I don;t know, I just want to look for something more. Since Kohler got out of the gas powered generators (too many emissions issues) bout the only option is Generac. Taking into account past experiences I just felt I also wanted to reach higher that anything from those folks too. Their 4500 open platform unit is OK but like I said I just think more would be better. Well, after some time looking around, seeing what other people are doing and all, I figured I would get Generac another look. In their line, I looked further than their standard unit for our application, the next model in the 55G. It's a 5500 watt enclosed unit. Looking suspiciously like the Onan Marquis I put into Bling-bling which is a pretty high tech unit from Onan. The price was right at @ $2500 so after I had Vernon really wanting a generator in his coach, I brought in the 55G Generac-- hey, if you want something better than the usual at some point after as much as possible is considered someone just has to try it and thats what we did.

Now the being self contained in a steel box you would figure they had the heat exhaust figured out-- right? You'd figure you could leave a 1/2 or so with some lead/heat insulation for sount and the heat. The muffler was also mounted in the box with all that is needed was a down and tailpipe. OK, so we put the unit in, pretty much like I did the Marquis.

Well, it goes to reason that the steel container would get hot right, I mean it goes to reason to expect that. But man, you could do up a ribeye steak proper on the heat from the top and sides of that box! Spec calls for 1-2" of clearance so we lifted the top and back side of the compartment to help deal with the heat. We pulled the muffler out of the box-- I mean thats a no brainer, wonder why I thought they had heat figured out-- what was I thinking! OK so after raising the bedroom seating, rebuilding the compartment size, re,ocating the muffler and exhaust we were ready to deliver the coach. We were going to install a 50 amp transfer switch but ran out of time. We connected up the Generac to the original ONan plug system. With an outboard Onan muffler the unit seems a little on the noisy side plus the box was still getting hot but since we has a fire suppression system we were ready to deliver. I was planning to go to Mom's in Jacksonville so with Vernon coming in from Dothan we made a plan to meet Saturday morning in Gainesville then I would go on to Jacksonville. OK, the plan looks doable so Saturday morning I ttok out at 5:30 AM dragging the Suzuki. Met Vernon and his wife at the Red Roof in. I was glad to deliver the coach, sometimes I feel our job is to try and get all of theses coach we have at the shop home! This should be a good delivery. Pulled in @ 9AM and started showing the things we did to the coach-- a combine stitch up front, dual air bag syste,. a pile of suspension work, brake work and that all new Generac generator. So we're going along talking about stuff and Vernon said it was getting hot so it was time to fire up the Generac. Push the remote start-- hold it through the prime cycle and wham, the thing fired up-- it fired up and was running but we had no power! Yes, we have no power-- and after how many Honda go in without a hitch--- whats the deal? Testing around it looks like the problem is internal to the generator itself! OK, I'm not going to pass judgement just yet--- lets see what the issue really is. Of course that means Vernon will go home empty handed and I'll need to drive that horse back to Orlando! Not the way to start off a good weekend! Thats what I get for trying to "do better". Hey, there's something we missed maybe, maybe there are differences in the Honda and this thing I missed. Stay tuned for the riviting answer to this question. I hit Jacksonvill late Saturday for dinner with Mom. Yesterday morning after breakfast I headed back to Orlando. I had to give in, I didn't drive the Suzuki, I went for the awesome AC, cruise control and the quiet interior of Janies Dakota 4 door. With her in Sierra Vista with our son John the Dakota was just sitting there so I took the easy ride. I mean after blowing 1/2 of Saturday and an important delivery-- I needed a little TLC-- everyone need a little once in a while.

What did I learn from this issue--- probably will learn a little more and some important info on Generac generators--- hope we succeed! Like I said, stay tuned. So I'm making the best of my 1/2 Sunday off. See you guys tomorrow.

Just got a post from Jogn B. who sent this :

Jim, here's your chance to take the bus hole to the next level!

http://www.fmca.com/index.php/motorhome/motorhome-news/3158

Yea, I did send them a message-- boy, it sure sounds like the sort of stuff we mess with every day! Hey, if they want recommendations, you guys could vouch for some of the stuff we do here at the Co-op-- maybe we all need to givem a call? Lets see if we get our heads above the noise floor! Thanks John.

5.21.10

As expected, I ruffled feathers when I wrote the blue pring on how I felt about aluminum radiators and also as expected I was a bit misunderstood, please let me clarify myself a bit I'll also put this response in blue for those that really could care less.

I do not talk about aluminum radiators to upset those who have them but I do understand them getting a bit defensive about what I said. let me clarify, you have to look at all sides of an issue. For those "motorheads" out there who want stuff on their coach because--- hey, an aluminum radiator is all well and good. I have no dispute that there is a better heat transfer with aluminum over copper-- that can be proven in a lab and all so in that there are several issues, I think to give each proper service and to sort them all out, I'll approach this as I did last with points:

1. No dispute as I said about specs and wether aluminum is better for heat dissipation. My guess is if they had aluminum way back they may have taken the industry in a whole different direction --- but they didn't and the fact is it is easier to work with copper one a one on one basis. We say aluminum can be welded or repaired and yes, that is true but the thinner the gauge of material a radiator is made of increases it's usefulness and trying to weld thin aluminum is not that easy. Usually, with the expertise available on the road if you need a repair, most radiator shops do not have the equipment or the expertise to weld thin wall aluminum radiators. Sorry but that is a fact-- it's driven less by the technology of the day and more by the assets available on the road. Stop at a radiator shop out in a small town and ask the owner if he can weld thin wall aluminum and listen to his answer. You must remember this is the sort of person you will be dealing with when you are out there. Some more progressive shops may be able to repair an aluminum radiator but most folks cannot. Sorry but this is a fact.

So there you are in Lower Lompoc (which BTW I have passed on the road) with a problem with your aluminum radiator. Please, I do not bring this up to down the radiator, only the situation it creates when there is a problem on the road and those are the things you must prepare for-- remember "Murphy" is watching! OK, so there you are, green stuff dripping from your aluminum radiator. You linp in quickly to "Joe Moka" radiator shop and show "Bubba" the owner your problem. He takes one look at the aluminum radiator and says "where the _bleep_ did that thing come from?". I can't do "nothin" with that. "A ain't set up to weld thin wall aluminum". "Them aluminum damn things are throw away, you gotta replace that thing with a new one". OK, so there you are, what is your next step? You now consider JB weld, bubble gum, that "solder seal" aluminum flake stuff, an egg, pepper or some other goo that might stop the leak. All of there are not fixes, they are a patch-- a rig if you will and you just cannot rely upon that.

2. When I said there is only one dealer making specific radiators for the GMC, I am referring to Griffen and the fact that they make this special designed radiator for one dealer for their exclusive distribution. This makes only one dealer a key link in their distribution. You cannot purchase this Griffin brand radiator anywhere but through this dealers so there is my statement the unit has limited availability. Custom and specialty parts come and go, you need one that after it's purchase can be serviced without having to go "back to the well" where you are tied to the original dealer that sold you the part. I mean what if they close or stop selling that part or service parts for it. Take for instance "Air Sensor" throttle body fuel injection, the company is gone and the unique comouter unit is gone-gone-gone. If you need one you must change the entire system. Take the quad air bag system, if I or Jim K. goes out of business, all you need do is find a dealer who sells Firestone, Goodyear or Continental air bags and the system can be serviced and wear parts replaced. That is a perfect example of a custom part that is not a problem to work with. Say you never have a problem with your aluminum radiator, you live to a ripe old age-- pass your coach down to your grandson and you take up residence in a rocking chair on the porch. One day you get a call from Grandson and he asks where the radiator came from, it is damaged and cannot be repaired. You rummage around and find the paperwork where you give who you got it from and who made it. Well those folks dies 5 years back and Griffin when contacted says yes they built it way back but in that it was not a standard available item in their lineup and it was made exclusively for one person they could only make another one custom for 3 times the cost-- or maybe they no longer build custom radiators and they cannot help you. This is a real life situation, one I run into all the time! So there is your Grandson with a GMC motorhome with no radiator. You long sense tossed out the old radiator so there are no cans for the old blacksmith radiator shop still around attending to the group of old machines using old style radiators. You cannot find something to rig in there so now your beautiful GMC is down and all because you cannot replace the aluminum radiator. Now, that is the best case scenario, you go back to the on the road repair issue on any other situation with an aluminum radiator. Try it, stop at a radiator shop on the side of the road, a little shop and ask them what they would do if you came in seeking help.

3. An aluminum radiator does have merit and a place in the community. For those folks who, as I said before, are motorheads, who do most if not all of their own work, carry tools and can think fast on their feet to get themselves out of trouble and not always rely upon the kindness of a local shop to do most things with their coach-- those people want an aluminum radiator and I would tell that person to "go for it" and get one. My problem with them is most of the folks I work with, sell stuff to and install stuff for are not that interested in keeping a jug of "Go-JO' on the galley sink. Their tool selection is minimal on the road and they favor flipping out the charge card or calling AAA when there is a problem. It's not that these people are stupid or inadequate, it simply means these people would rather spend their time and the moments dealing with the mechanical aspects of their coach to a minimum and would rather drive the coach as work on it. These people recognize and appreciate the GMC for what it can do for them and their lives. They do not see it as an object of their frustration and stress-- no, they just wanna drive it and get it fixed when it drops-- oh, and fixed by someone else other than themselves! I have a business dedicated to helping those with a GMC that seek help-- not to rig up stuff to work for that day. When you bring me a coach or call me from the road seeking help to get going-- I need to give you solid options. Things that can be done with whatever assets you have in front of you and an aluminum radiator limits the options you have when push comes to shove. I cannot answer the question "What can I do, I'm broke down" with sorry about your troubles. No, I need to say good words, things like "McGiver" would do to make things go!

4. See, I have respected people in the community I also respect highly upset-- sorry guys, that was not the intent. Yes, if you put a gravel shield under your coach, possible damage is greatly reduced but hey, there are piles of coaches out there that do not have gravel shields, gravel shields were not a factory feature and some folks just do not do that. You say--"well get one" but still some will not or maybe something happens to them before they ever hear of a gravel shield. They buy an aluminum radiator and nothing clicks to spend more $ for a gravel shield--- and they do pick up a rock. What happens if 50% of the radiator shops in the country do somehow think they can repair an aluminum radiator and are willing to put themselves in the liability loop and do it--- but you break down in front of the one shop in that other 50% that do not work on aluminum radiators--- and you have no idea what the "black list" is? These are real world situations GMC owners run into every day. For this person, an aluminum radiator is just a risk they should not be exposed to. Yes, yes, yes, and aluminum radiator works well, aluminum is a better heat transfer material--- hey but a copper radiator works perfect in our application, it is not deficient if the motor is running well and even if there are motor issues, an original radiator can deal with most issues. Given the fact that an original copper radiator can be repaired, recored or just repaired by any radiator shop you find in my mind is the choice for the larger share of the folks I deal with on a daily basis.

So now that trying to speak the reality of the issue to the group of people who look to me for suggestions has tainted my reputation in the technical community, I stand here with no defense. I must be true to my customer base and recommend parts and systems that will enhanse their entire GMC driving experience and not limit their options when a problem arises. I think even the tech folks must understand the issue and that to some having a hi tech radiator is not that big a deal. Those are the folks I am talking to. I am not downing anyone who has purchased or is contemplating the purchase of an aluminum radiator--- no, if you want one of them, go for it man. I have no negative feelings for those that have one. I will tell you though that if you ahve troubles with your radiator, and you must understand that some day-- some way there will be an issue--- your options will be limited. This is the main point I make with getting an aluminum radiator-- I do not make this recommendation lightly or make this comment without thinking hard about it and pulling on past experiences. I am not downing a specialty GMC parts dealer and wish they understood why I say what I do. I have had this exact conversation with them and told them how I felt and what I would recommend and asked them not to take offense at what I say but they did anyway. Not all products are for all people, that is just a simple fact. I wear velcro strap shoes, most people do not. I do not down folks who tie their shoes with strings and do not wear velcro shoes for folks to laugh at me. I do not recommend my radiators over aluminum ones, it is not a product or price wars thing-- no, I do it because I feel an original copper radiator is more serviceable and I see no problems running an original copper radiator-- thats it. The tech folks can vilify me if they like, I did not bring this up to put up a fence or draw a line in the sand. Just like I did not support tossing Robertshaw thermostats in a big barrol and maybe trying to plug the oil spill in the gulf with them! I was burned because a Robertshaw failed and there was a reason why-- I do not want my customers to get burned as I was with their flemsy supports.

If you want me to install an aluminum radiator for you, have one shipped in and I'll do it. I have installed many of them but I am not the one you will call if there is a problem out of the box or down the road with the radiator. I cannot expose myself to that liability loop, I have enough things on my own I must repair or help get repaired. So I hope this eases the tensions I created on the net, you guys there must understand there are people out there who do not think as you do with regard to their coach. Fun to them is not pulling a transmission as it is with many of you (and me as well). You must see that there are many facets of the GMC community and what you think is great (like a Tac/vac, heck my eyes cross when those needles move around) they may not. Guys, look at the big picture of this-- one day, you will need to replace the aluminum radiator-- will there be one way off in the future when you need one? You can get replacement air bags for the quad bag system, can you get another custom made aluminum radiator in the same way? I rest my point. Chill out guys, no aggression intended!

OK, so for the resto f you sorry, but I have a certain segment of the GMC community wondering what's up with me. I guess this is as good a time as any to try and get all to see the bigger picture of all who own and drive a GMC motorhome. There are just so many reasons to have a GMC, it's not like the guy who buys an AC Cobra kit car or something. That machine has the single purpose in life of going fast and impressing people who like to drive fast. The GMC is used for may purposes and some would not do well with an aluminum radiator--- sorry but thats the truth!

OK, on to more stuff--- Marylin & Ginger dropped by yesterday for a pair of front tires, an alignment We did a cool paint job on their coach some time back Check out their towd and how they pull it up into that cool aluminum trailer It's great to have them come by anytime and don;t think their coach is just another pretty face-- they drive the wheels off that thing!

We worked on the 26' Duramax yesterday trying to figure out basically how to put 10 pounds of crap in a 5 pound bag! I mean just take a look at the supported frame under this thing , with the mondo trailer hitch we installed, there simply is no room for the sewer holding tank. Craig is in on this chicken and the decision was made to remove the hitch , mount the tank then redesign the hitch around the tank. Here is the area we have now available for the holding tank. Hey, it's just another day in paradise!

OK, it's getting too late to list any more here. Gonna be a busy weekend, we'll talk to ya later, hey and guys -- thanks for the support

5.20.10

There have been threads lately on the net about several retrofit products for the GMC. I have been asked by many folks about them and I think I could kill several birds with a single stone here and talk about a couple of them. If you are uninterested in this stuff scroll down pas the blue copy:

Aluminum Radiator-- I support anyone who produces a specialty part for our classic GMC just as I look for their support. I must however, work hard to not put people in harms way. I feel I have a responsibility to go beyond just suggesting cool stuff to hang on your GMC and promote things that enhance the driving experience without causing possible issues down the road. One such part is replacing the original copper radiator with a new aluminum one.

Yes, it is true that aluminum has a better heat transfer than copper, yes-- it is also true that most new cars today sport an aluminum radiator many also have plastic side cans. These radiators are regarded as "throw aways" to radiator repair shops. And, in many ways, a "throw away" aluminum radiator does make sense in a new car application. The radiator industry wants to do away with the local radiator repair shop, they want folks to have to be tied to buying an all new radiator increasing new product sales and this will work as long as they have exact replacement radiators on the shelf in mass distribution. With your newer car, if your radiator fails, the repair shop makes a call and in short order a new radiator is delivered to them in a box-- then pop out your old one, slam in the new one and they're done. The key here is there will be a replacement radiator on the shelf at most any city you break down. This is the critical leg of that repair-- there must be an "off shelf" part to replace your old one. Here is a big rub I have with the aluminum radiator that is available for the GMC. It is only available through one dealer, they are not available waiting for you wherever you break down. This creates a huge hole in the support you need for your GMC out on the road. You do not want to tie the operation of your GMC to any one parts source-- not even me! A GMC is too heavy to push or tug with a snap rope, if you have to tow it any distance your wallet will deplete and any tow will no doubt destroy your trip. No, your coach must be able to be repaired where it drops and in that an aluminum radiator cannot be properly repaired by a local radiator shop, having an aluminum radiator is counterproductive to making your coach repairable "in the field".

OK, lets talk about that :repair" question with aluminum radiators. The material an aluminum radiator is made of is too thin for someone with regular aluminum welding equipement to weld. Sorry but it's a fact that the thinner the material, the harder it is to weld. Most welders even good ones will shy away from doing such a critical repair-- one slip and they blow a small hole into a big one and then they are in your "liability loop". A smart mechanic will pass up that problem. So if you do have a radiator repair issue on the road with an aluminum radiator, you will be as in the words of Daren P. "hooped"!

OK, lets say you never have the first problem with your aluminum radiator, you drive your coach for years trouble free and each time you pop your hood you point to the unit and everyone goes -- Ahhhhh! We live in an imperfect world and sooner or later parts fail, our environment puts a death sentence on everything and one day, you will look under your coach and your radiator will need attention. OK, so you're there, what will you do? The answer is "get a new one" but where! Custom products go in and out of availability depending on the life of the company who produced the product among other reasons so if the single supplier of the aluminum radiator had thrown in the towel leaving the market with no one stepping in to take their place--- your coach will have been transformed into a storage shed without any way to replace the radiator. Sorry, but this is the harsh reality of parts availability!

In putting in an aluminum radiator you have reduced your ability to get proper repair work done on the road whenever you have radiator issues plus you have reduced the viability of your coach as a road machine past the life of your radiator. Both of these man made issues created by installing this aluminum radiator are bad. Like I said, I try and support anyone who spends time and money on specialty parts for the GMC but in the case of an aluminum radiator--- for the general public who would use a GMC on a regular basis, I have to council them to steer clear of them. Now it's true if you have your coach as an object of your personal frustration and you just like the notion of having such a unique "hi tech" part in your "26' Hot Rod" and you are willing to ferret out solutions to repair issues installing an all aluminum radiator certainly is a cool thing. Cool in that the aluminum radiator has a higher cooling capacity and cool in that they just look great. But-- and this is my rub--- they are just not good for the reliability and serviceability down the road for our classic GMC. I am trying to keep our coach on the road long term not looking to limit their viable lifespan.

OK, now that I have probably alienated myself from everyone who has an aluminum radiator and the folks who sell them-- to these people I say I am sorry up front. I do not intend to cause issues with anyone and I am sure I will get a ear full of it saying all I just have said-- but the commitment I have to all in the GMC community must take president.

Bottom line is, there have been no documented issues with the cooling capacity of an original copper radiator, it is not a deficient component part and in that most any descent radiator shop can pull it out, reuse the side cans and build you up an nifty recored radiator using the parts from the old one over and over and over--- this original radiator will keep the GMC on the road as long as there are copper radiator cores available and radiator shops with a torch willing to build them up. There will probably be a radiator shop somewhere near wherever your coach breaks down so with money--- all can be made good. This to me, is the way to go. It's how you can keep your GMC motivating reliably and get on the road repairs wherever you have the misfortune to break down.

Oh, we could also point out the issue of "electrolysis" and the corrosion created by differential voltage issues to ground and how that problem seriously effects an aluminum radiator. In a new car, an original aluminum radiator will not last if there are issues with the on board 12 volt electrical system. Remember, we have 2 DC electrical systems on the GMC and a 110VAC system as well. Any voltage differential in one of these 30+ year old system will have devastating results on an aluminum radiator. Time will cause any system to ultimately fail so now you have other systems effecting your cooling system--- this also is not a good scenario. OK, now I'll probably have a contract on my head for this one but guys, I just have to point out these truths. An aluminum radiator has new technology going for it I know but sometimes new just for news sake is not the right thing! So this is my take on the aluminum radiator. Having your original radiator recored will cost you less, will make your coach possible to be repaired on the road and one day when you actually do need to replace your radiator-- you can do it. To those that have already installed an aluminum radiator I say "Do not toss your your original radiator because one day you will need the parts to build up a new radiator when the aluminum one goes away. This is just the fact of life on this issue.

Boy, that was a pile of blue ink! Now you know why I wrote it down for everyone, I have had to articulate this to everyone who has called me about adding an aluminum radiator to their coach. I still do support specialty parts for the GMC and if you wanna have a hi tech aluminum radiator go for it man-- just know and understand what you are getting into. Of course any contrasting views are welcome and yes, I will publish those responses if the writer wishes, I just wanna do the right thing for everyone.

As you can see, there can be involved explanations to issues and it's important to see all sides of issues. I'm about outa time for today just on this one thing-- sorry.

We are gearing up at the shop to lay out color on Paul's :Chimera" coach. Kevin has just about finished the the body mods and repair of the 23' coach sporting a 2' stretch and an opening rear hatch We're also making ready to run our flare and bumper molds over to Danny who has his coach in here repairing damage from the fire he had . He's actually a boat manufacturer over in the Sarasota area and his glass guys are going to start building our parts Thanks man for the offer! I'll be running them over to Sarasota doing a "shakedown" on Larry with his new roller cam motor.

Craig & Jason are working overtime trying to get Vernon's coach ready for it's Saturday delivery. Craig is engineering a Generac 55G boxed generator into the coach bringing the hot muffler out of the box to cut down the compartment heat-(and you know I'll be installing a fire extinguisher in there! Jason was finishing up on the brakes doing a checkout as he flushed the system and found leaking wheel cylinders Hey, they have to be replaced! So onward and upward we go.

The 26' Duramax has an issue of where to put his holding tank-- the custom tank I had made in in the way of the mondo heavy duty trailer hitch we installed-- stay tuned for pics on that.

The day is on, looks like a sunny one so lets turn up the heat! I understand the WS rally is getting ready to start up over on the left coast so hey, tell everyone hi for me. Wish I could be there but you guys even more than most see and understand the workload we have-- no time for fun right now! Have a great day and those traveling to the rally-- call if you run into a problem, it's what we're here for!

See ya tomorrow

5.19.10

Lou showed up this morning to check in been a while, good to see him. If you remember, he had a fire issue in his dash with his rear bath coach some time back. Squirrels set up housekeeping in his dash AC box. The resister network for the blower motor made a great igniter for the nest. He got it out but a hand held Halon extinguisher I know would have beeen a great help to him. Yes, motorhomes do have fires so decide what you wanna do about it.

Nuff said, yesterday was good, no rain but with Janie leaving this morning for a visit in Sierra Vista with our son, we worked till almost 9PM trying to get the shipping done while she is gone. Hey also guys, be easy on me-- if I miss a call or something, call back. I'll be doing "double duty" trying to keep the shop above water for the next week! Oh boy, can't wait! In a business like this, you could compare what goes on to a small church. Everyone has an important part in keeping everything going, one person drops out of the workforce and it all suffers. Thats the way it will be around here for the next week so like I said, be kind!

Getting work done, we have the exterior of Danny's fire coach cleaned up now. Not much damage and the exterior cleaned up nice The hoods are next, I think Kevin will be repainting the inside of the hoods as opposed to trying and clean them up, just too much smoke damage. Jason is getting the motor apart so lets see how that goes.

Paul's "Chimera" coach gets cloeser to paint. He's molding the doors solid as the last "repair" before the primer then paint. Stay tuned for this project.

The 26' Duramax is on the lift to fab the holding tank, get the all wheel air ride system operational and do the rest of the underchassis work that we learned to do with the 23d coach. Just another step up the ladder! The 23d is over with kevin now getting some final paint issues resolved

Got new aluminum rims and tires for the "green thing" and with Jason finishing the brakes and the install on the new dual bag system getting ready for a Saturday delivery-- wish us luck.

OK, the sun is up, Kevin is here, Lou is here and I've already gotten a call from Nelson who is not an early riser! This means I gotta go, have a great day-- more pics tomorrow

5.18.10

I't been difficult to get back in a groove lately, so many different things going on and all. We're hoping to bring the 26' Duramax out of it's cocoon to put it up on the lift to do the air suspension mods & sewer set up we learned from doing the 23d. It's been long time coming but I think we're there.

Steve hit a new plateau on Mark's bathroom yesterday, we got in all the fiberglass panels and the "lid" on the bottle with it's door. I didn;t have my camera with me yesterday but I'll do pics today.

The rain came in yesterday afternoon as you read which did us in early, I'm in here earlier this morning hoping to get more done while I can. This work takes so much labor and focus, it's sometimes just slow going.

Started in yesterday on Danny's coach with the fire damage from a burned motor. You really need to see how much damage can occur from fire to know you really need to address the issue. The fire suppression system limited the damage to the engine compartment-- no lasting damage to the body or interior. Yes, there is engine damage but after all of the restoration the coach had just gone through it was obvious that thousands of dollars were saved stopping the fire as the Fire Fight automatic fire suppression system did. Hey look, go back to the front page and click on the Fire Fight link and read up on fire suppression systems, I hate to sound like a "salesman" but you really need this stuff! Co-op front page . I'll do pics as we progress on bringing Danny's coach back onto the road but remember without the fire suppression system he had us install we would have nothing to rebuild!

Kevin is like me, an early riser, he just came in with "Twinkles" his trusty dog. I need to get through the Email pile, yesterday I had to spend more time there & probably have a good sized pile this morning. It's OK, these are important questions to help folks with & I appreciate all of you putting me into your loop. The greatest thing is when something works out and good things come out of it all. Jeremy called this past weekend, had been driving in the hills and lost his brakes. Looks like he boiled them over. We talked through the issue, I gave him direction on how to flush out the bad fluid and bang, he got up and his brakes came back. Glad everything worked out man, appreciate your call, was great helping out. The support group we have across the country with GMC owners ready to help is another awesome feature of the GMC. There is no other machine of it's kind that has so much going for it and with the community out there supporting folks as they use their coach, the GMC really does have the advantage over other machines on the road. Not even new motorhomes have the support the GMC does when it's needed. For those of you on the fence thinking but as yet do not have a GMC, know you are rarely without help nearby when you drive a GMC.

OK, I'm rambling a bit and with the load of work we have to do around here I do not have this luxury. Thanks for dropping by, I'll try and get more pics up tomorrow and we'll (as US Grant said to Crazy Horse) "endeavor to persevere"! See ya later

5.17.10

Sat down to post, the phone rang and there the day went! It's 4:15 and there's a little time now, the rain came in to about wash us away. The days in Florida are like that during the summer, mornings start great and by 3PM the rains come in and you're done as far as working out in the lot goes. Oh well, guess thats just the way it is.

This past weekend was the last rally of the Sunshine Statesmen season so Janie & I said what the heck and went. It really was nice getting away from the shop for a day, even though we were still surrounded by coaches they were all different -- and running which made it unique. Put out our usual set of flamingos as usual, someone took note and for some reason we had a flock of them show up --- Auw, now isn;t that cute! Janie got in there with the "flock" for the shot. Really did have a relaxing time, thanks to all who made it special.

Friday Faye & Willie picked up their coach and with a group of folks dropping by to check out the shop we had a good group shot . Of course I had to show off my dancing prowess by moon walking for everyone

Outa time again! See ya tomorrow

5.14.10

2 Grapes this morning means to me to look for s good day Yea, I know it's silly but it keeps me focused! It's good to get out in Larry again Been driving it to the house where it probably looks to passers by like a shop all of it's own there with JayGee and Larry hanging out. The backwards old Coleman roof AC is just up there to plug the hole till I can get a little time to install the new roof vent. Going with 1 roof AC in the low profile Pinguine-- seems to do the trick pretty good . Larry may soon be pulling duty for a band tour-- would help the guys and actually be good for the coach to get out there. I'll let you guys know if he'll be out and about so you can go see him if he's in your neck of the woods.

Tom picked up his coach yesterday, Faye will pick theirs up today for a run to the SS rally in Crystal River this weekend. Sam went with me to breakfast this morning in that he hunkered down in the lot for some maintenance work. Steve B. left his yesterday so we could figure out issues with his dash AC. He installed a Cady 502 with port injection among other goodies so you just don't know what is effecting what-- hey, we'll figure it out! You can so that our workload is variable and thats a good thing-- stuff going out, coming in means we have the flow to keep going on the big jobs. A small business stays alive from many projects.

Yesterday we started in on Danny's fire damage repair job. No pics yet, not much to see cleaning out soot, sorting burnt wires and such. Next week, Jason will get jiggy with pulling down the motor to it's "root mean" so we can check things out and start building back the accessories-- stay tuned for that.

Today I need to get some orders out, get some paperflow done and keep things flowing in the shop so I'm actually already out of time here. Don't forget about fire safety for your coach, go to www.firefight1.com & check out what you need for your coach. There is also stuff on my front page to read. Ask questions if you have some, this really is important stuff!

Gotta go

5.13.10

Going to try and stay focused on updating here more regular it's tough in that the mornings is the time I can do things I need to without the phones and the guys pulling me but I need to use this time wisely to get stuff done that falls through the cracks in the day.

Harry V. can in yesterday to pick his coach back to Ft. Lauderdale to keep it there while it's up for sale. He keeps it to the upper limits of maintenance but (and this is why I pointed this out) but even he is not immune to issues popping up. @ 30 miles out from the shop, his alternator belt started squeeling. Jumping his boost solenoid and firing up his Honda generator, he could have gone on home and had the issues checked out there but the decision was made to come on back, stay the night at the Co-op RV resort and check out his belts this morning. Even with a coach maintained to the T's, you need backup systems and you need to make good decisions in keeping the coach on the road and reliable. Also, no mater hoe vigilant you are "stuff" still does happen. You need a backup, a support group and good alternatives and solution to issues. As important as the coach being maintained well is that "support group" which the GMC does have in the "Black List". Also, through our "CMW project" you have alternatives and this is what Harry relies upon. He has my cell in his cell phone--- when Murphy" comes out of the glove box, he gets safe and gives me a call--- works for me and it's a god help for him. Yea, I guess you could call this a plug for the CMW project but it has been a help to many. If you have any questions on this, give me a call.

Did an alignment check on Tom's coach yesterday. The road test showed the coach would not steer back coming out of turns. The suspect was the steering box but to prove it was and not just catch ourselves replacing parts we need to prove it. Step 1 was to shake the suspension again making shure nothing is binding or is loose-- it passed that test. Then we put it back onto the alignment machine to check the spec. out. We found toe a bit off but overall it looked OK All this told us that yes, someone in the past had played with the steering box and it needed to be changed out. Jason handled that and late yesterday evening the test drive told us we have found the issue. It is always better to know than to guess!

Jason was updating Vernon's coach doing mechanical checks on the front end. Pulling the knuckles to get to the front bearings he found a brake issue they must have missed Over the years, the front pads had not been kept up with and damage to the rotor was extensive The outside of the rotor has issues and will have to be replaced. Good thing we were going for the bearings, the hu & knuckle has to be separated to get the rotor out. The brakes may even had felt OK but we can easily see they were not!

Next, Kevin finished up with Paul's dash Kevin started with the mold making a plug like this then with saning, prime, base and clear paint came up with this shape . This should be a cool looking dash finish, stay tuned.

Need to get Harry outa here and on to the other coaches going away soon. Have a great day, thanks for the visit, I hope there were things interesting to you. See ya tomorrow

5.12.10

Trying to keep up around here is tough Putting something up here, keeping the folks coming in and out with repair issues and keeping the restoration work moving forward all makes for a busy time around here.

No rain lately hase been a help, yesterday Matt picked up his coach with the new paint, mechanical aspects attended to and all that. Man, what a cool machine! Looking like something seriously out of a time tunnel, Matt's coach will turn heads for sure. New as old can look, there will be people who will look at this 73 Canyon Land and say "I remember those". Actually, Eugene said that when he pulled up yesterday --- and he did! He had a 73 way back and stepping into Matt's coach was special to him. . Matt's Grandad willed the coach to him, he grew up in it going places with his Grandad and Grandma--- fishing, ball games and just travelling. He plans on doing the same thing with his family and man are they going to have a great time. I couldn;t help wanting to do just one more thing as Matt was leaving-- there are so many "one more things" I could do but helping out his original 4K Onan, I installed the prime circuit on his remote start As he pulled out I wanted one more pic next to "Larry" that I'v got back on the road working out the kinks . This is one of the things I look forward to, a coach leaving all done and looking good. Thanks Matt and family for letting us do some magic with your coach. Please take good care of it, call when we can help --- Viva La GMC!

Yesterday we got the green light on bringing Danny's coach back from it's burned state. This will be another great thing to do-- a worth project. Stay tuned and watch how it goes.

Jim Webb, owner of Zip Dee just dropped by, a great guy and a great company. You just can't do better than a Zip Dee awning He and his Natl. Sales manager both are motor heads and no matter when they come to Florida they stop by to see whats new & cool. They helped us straighten Eugines awning roller from a bought with a strong wind-- thanks guys!

Anyway, the guys are showing up, the phone is starting to ring and the heat is getting up there-- sounds like it's time to get going. Have a great day, thanks for the visit and lets do it again tomorrow.

5.11.10

2 grapes at breakfast this morning made me sit down this morning and fill you guys in on the work around here I left the shop last night in good hands Eugene drove over from Tampa late in the evening for some maintenance work. Yesterday we had Tom scheduled to pick his coach up but when he got here we found his dash AC had lost it's charge. When he came they were more worried about getting heat fromit, now that the AC needs to work he had forgotten to ask us to look into that. He'll be back on Wed., hey thats fine, we can deal with that but it puts us with another 6 wheels staying on the lot-- there's only room for so many wheels on the ground here so today we will be a "full house". Got Matt's 73 coach up on the alignment machine getting ready for his deperture this afternoon

BTW, Manny, here is the Kitchen, not finished but getting there When Manny was here building transmissions, he got me motivated that in the evenings he & I would be woring over our kitchen at home. We knocked out a wall to install that counter top. I'll keep working in the evening on it. Thanks manny for the push to get it going. It's hard sometimes after working at stuff all day to focus on stuff away from work!

The guys are showing up and we wanna get a head start on Eugene's coach so we'll see ya later. Thanks for the visit-- don;t shake a stick around here,you'll hit something--- or someone!

5.6.10

Got a late start this morning, had a "Blue Dream" day yesterday with all the wild stuff that happened. Not much time but I wanna catch you guys up a bit.

So here it is --- A duramx coach with a dash Some might say--- So-- but it has been a long, hard stuggle to this point. As the T shirt said on my AT hiking clothes, "Miles to go befor I rest" but having the Workhorse harness sorted, the added wires where they need to be and the rest of it in place is -- well-- a dream come true for me, Ken & Raymond. Now we attack the under dash area and all the switching and wiring, the structure, insulation and sealing of that and the motor cover. Kevin is finished with the second cluster housing and it's with Omar for covering. Here is yesterday morning when I padded and covered the pass. side of the 23d dash apart then together and ready for install Yea, it's doesn't look like much sitting there on the table and it sure doesn't look like anything for our GMC but in a very real way, most of the build on the Workhorse mods is so far from what the GMC is that it takes much out of the box thinking and doing. The end result is what we're going for here though so stay tuned.

It's hot out in the sun during the day, one worker and 1 manager-- hey, it's a government job! . This is the new super quiet Generac unit we're working with , looks alote like the Onan Marquis but @ 1/2 the cost. Lets see how it works out.

Finally today and there is more but I'm outa time, here are the custom made fiberglass panels cut and mounted into Marks cool bathroom Keep watching to see how it finishes off.

Have a great day......

5.5.10

First, 2 grapes this morning-- it's gonna be a good day! Thanks goes out to "Uncle Charles: who tossed me a fiver to pick up my morning meal, what can I say I'm a serious creature of habit! I meet many unique folks having the Co-op, it's one of the few "perks" doing this and Uncle Charles as he likes to be referred to is a great friend. Picking up a deal on property here in Florida he's now going to be a colorful local to me here. I have many of those, they'll call "I'm coming in for a visit, foam the runway were landing hot-n-heavy" and we always make room for visits from folks. Tom H. dropped by yesterday from N.C. Pulled up on a high teck bicycle dragging a Samsonite suitcase on wheels-- decked out in his slick race suit I wondered if he came all the way from home. He was down for business but still rode that rig from Disney--- I was in awwww! He had not been by in a while, walked him through the devastation and the wonderful outcome of Danny's coach and how the fire suppression system saved his bacon-- Tom said he had been thinking about fire and how he always felt a bit vulnerable so he picked up a system for his coach. We'll be shipping it to N.C., said the secuiry Dogs at the airport aleady were eyeballing his breakdown bike in the suitcase!

Here is the second pull from our new dash mold for Allen B. coach Thats the mold on the table, the pull is here We'll glass together the cluster surround and then finish the thing off. We're watching the road for his "Mac Dash" cluster set ordered. His original dash has succumbed to the sun and is brittle beyond refinishing so along with a stable dash we will also install an all new dash AC/Heat system. If you are in this situation, follow this project and see what you could have.It's hot outside in the sun, one worker

Hey thanks man for the "Bun Grill" I heard about these things on one of those small business shows. A guy saw a need in his life and made something to fix it-- made a couple of bucks the American way in the process. You should get one of these if for nothing else than to say you support the spirit of ingenuity! I will warm my buns with pride!

Hey Faye & Willie, your awning is on and up and your dash is done. Need to check it out and check the work list but I think we're good to go, give me a call.

Hey Larry, you wondered where the water was getting in on your coach? This is like cleaning up a leaking toilet! Yuk! This is a full restoration from Explorew Vans from the late 90's. Note there is no new paint under the rails-- they did not pull the rails and reseal them in their "full" restoration process-- thats a no-no, you must pull these rails, clean out the goopenpucky, then paint the rails and body separately then reseal and reinstall. Just one of those things you learn from the school of hard knocks! We've got it sealed now and it should not leak but the paint is not looking the best but thats another story...

Looks like 50/50 rain today. I have the pad materials for the 23d dash so I'll working there today. The guys are all working hard, the heat is on now down here, hydration is the key to keeping the pressure up but like I said some time back-- there will be no whining about heat this summer after the cold we went through, would rather sweat than freeze!

Hey Manny, put on the counter top last night, I'll do pics for ya.. It fit very nice. Ok so the day is one, have more to talk about but I could always do that, need to end it here. Have a great day, we're gong at it here-- call if I can help and keep watching. One thing is for sure, tomorrow will certainly be better...

5.4.10

Running short of time this morning have many things I need to do before the guys get here. I have some things to tell you about and discuss so please excuse if todays post is a bit wordyu.

First, for some reason the "for sale" page is corrupted. It will not all load so being smart enough to be seriously dangerous, I started a new "for sale 2" page which can be accessed on the front page. I will blow out the old page when I get sure I have more of the ads moved. If you have an ad on the page please go check to see it is still there. If not please resend your pics and copy to me. Sorry for the confusion.

Next-- and this is of critical importance--- if you purchase a remanufactured part from me or anyone for that matter--- please, please, please install the part and test it right away. When you say "remanufactured" it means the part was built from a previously old part. The word "remanufactured" DOES mean it has many new parts in it and it's been brought to as much a new state as possible but hey, we live in an imperfect world and "stuff" happens, sometimes "mega stuff" happens and if there is any issues with a remanufactured part I or who you got it from needs to know right away. I do not sit in the back room all night and build parts, no I pay people to do that who really know what they are doing. They know mistakes could be made and if there is a part that is messed up they are more than willing to fix it for me free of charge----- for a while-- everything has a "warranty period" and if I bring a part to one of my suppliers that they worked over say 2 years prior, they are a bit less than excited to get involved which means to make you the end customer satisfied I have to "eat" that part and give you another one out of my inventory-- that costs me $. Like I said, please, please, please do not do this! None of us specialty GMC parts suppliers make gobs of bucks on these specialty parts. It is a struggle to even find people who still know how to rebuild some of this stuff. We want you to be pleased with the parts and bits you get and certainly I feel you need to be satisfied with anything you get from me--- but please do not put me in a situation that to make you happy it costs me money that I would not have had to pay if you would have just checked the part when you got it! I bring this up because it is happening in an issue right now. The person this is about I think reads this blog so I am not saying all of this to upset or piss them off, I just need to explain the situation and think it is a good conversation for all to understand. Hey, we just live in this imperfect world but it's the only one we have and we have to deal with it! Us humans make mistakes and the best you can hope for is there is someone to help in your time of need-- I want to be that person but there are some things you need to do too. Ok, enough on that.

Have had several inquiries on the "beta" program we are starting on motors. Some have asked why are we doing this, others have said "bout time". To the first the answer is the second comment. There is a large "do it yourself" commity in the GMC population out there, there is also a large "don't wanna get involved" group as well. Our past motor program has been tailored to the later group with the first group feeling left out. Hey, I'm a member myself of that first group! I have slept under project cars I got myself into, it's part of the mystique of having a tintage, classic machine such as a GMC and for many they just would not feel right having someone else wash the grease from their own coach off of their hands. "By God, thats my grease and I wanna play in it!". Our new program is directed at you guys, still remembering the other folks but trying to bring into the fold you greasers who really would like to have the opportunity to have a custom built, purpose built motor for the GMC at a reasonable price. I said "reasonable", from the recent rallies you may have heard that it could cost upward to $12,000 to have the best custom built motor for your GMC. Wow, thats impressive! I felt it was important to let you guys know about what we were doing at this time because I do not think you or I certainly do not think you need to plunk down that sort of folding dollars to get a quality motor that will reliably and effectively move your GMC down the road. I appreciate and respect performance engine builders, we all get a real understanding from their work but we do not need a jet engine to push a Piper Cub! Our Co-op crate motors ARE purpose built custom motors not built in a production fashion from the cheapest parts available. It was said that "parts" are not all created equal, I agree with that and selection of parts is a very critical issue when building a motor that will stay together in your environment. We select our parts to do just that, we also have specific machine perameters and building specs. that are followed. Also in that equasion is the installation, set up and break in. All of this goes toether to power your GMC. Our purpose built long block motor costs $5500. We do not have a "good, better, best" motor lineup-- no, we have one motor we build that has everything in it we feel needs to for it to live pulling a GMC down the road. We do not do things that are frivilous or cute but has no "value added". No, our motor is a big hunk of meat painted grey so you can see if there are any oil leaks. It is designed to stay under that engine cover and do what you want it to do with the least amount of troubles for the most cost effective amount of money and thats it!

I do agree with what was said on you must be selective on the sort of motor you put inside your GMC, it must be designed to handle the stresses our 12,000 "hot rod" puts on it and that is exactly why we have what we have and offer what we do. The GMC is called a "motorhome", it has the word "motor" in it's title which should tell you how important that part is in your coach. We are a class "A" motorhome in as such I call it the tops in it's field, you need a "class A" motor to power it and we have it! Do not be confused, I know there are many things out there that can put you in a quandry-- this "beta" program is being done to put together all the parts to make your Co-op crate motor work well for you wether you or someone else installs and sets it up. I see this as extremely important so stay tuned and lets see how things roll out. I want to thank RW and those that will be involve in this first motor up front because I will be putting a great deal onto them.

OK, Kevin is here, the sun is up and I gotta go. Talk to ya later

5.2.10

It's Sunday, a day here at the shop where I'm pretty much left alone to do what I want to do Well want and need to do right now is where I am so I'm in here today figuring out how to hang a set of blinds that were not made to fit-- hey, it's what people bring me to do!

But before I get jiggy with that project I have been getting reports from Bean Station and last week from the ES rally on many things going on but one I though , since it is my day to do "what I want" to talk a little about the engine seminars and that subject. It's very good, first off, that this subject has had some airplay, as our coaches age, the issues having to do with our drive train will get more & more complicated. Gone are the days of calling up you local GM dealer and picking up a GM crate motor-- no, today we are at the mercy and in harms way of all sorts of problems having to do with having a reliable motor in our GMC.

If you are reading this while at Bean Station, pass some of this along, I know there are many that are reeling after hearing some of the things that was said and stated must be done to have a quality motor built. One point I do agree on is the quality of our after market parts is hit and miss. There are different standards and metallurgy for that matter in parts on the shelf today. Specs are specs but there seem to be tolerance issues and the failure rate of off shelf parts seems to be on the increase. You can't just order in a pile of parts, assemble a motor and take it off to the races--- no, everything must be checked and fitted. One thing I will guarantee, if you use the cheapest parts putting a motor together-- thats what you will have, a cheap motor. Taking that motor and hitching it up to a 12,000 lb. sled (a GMC) and something will give.

The point made that you cannot bolt in a cheaply built motor into a GMC and expect reliability is also a true statement. But, and this is where my feeling differ from what was seminared to you here recently, I do not agree that you must spend the big dollars and have only a race engine builder make you a one off, hand made, cryogenically frozen block sort of power plant. While that might be pretty "cool" and all I just can't believe you can't come up with a power plant that will stay together without gong to some sort of "ice age" extreme! There is a balance and there can be a quality motor built that will work in our application, stay together under our heavy load requirement without going to an extreme that prices a motor out of most folks reach.

Our Co-op crate motor program has had good successes. The list of specific quality parts, machine work and assemble have yielded a great running purpose designed and built motor. The installation and set of of this motor has also been a key to the end quality and the combination of all of this is what had made our motors work well. Our roller cam designed motor is built for todays oils and fuel supply. Running well on regular gas and with reduced valve train friction, our crate motor is much more built into it that a race motor curved to fit into a motorhome. I feel this is also a key that has made us successful. One of the important aspects of any motor install is and has been for us the fact of the quality installation. Our program has not been for the "do it yourself" installer which in one way has assured a level of competence and completeness of the installation of our motors. Having to be installed by an authorized dealer though has limited who could purchase our motors. I am an auto enthusiast and in that I have no problem with getting my finger greasy. I'm in this for the fun as much as having a classic, unique motorhome but for those of you like me out there, our crate motor program was not for you. There was no warranty and for that matter no grass roots support for those that would like to "do it yourself" and I have always felt we were missing a great part of the GMC community in this.

The enthusiast community is who will be and is keeping our GMC alive, so what does this important segment of the community do when they want to install a new power plant? Ahhh, this is the big question! The Co-op has been unable to provide a purpose built, quality motor with a warranty to this segment of the community. We have provided motors (under the table) in some cases but the warranty was void in that the installation was not tied to an authorized installation shop. I felt bad about that but I did understand the building companies need to have control over the installation. Without at least a minimum standard on all aspects of the installation and set up of a motor you really have nothing.

OK, I hope you see the dilemma and problem if you will we have been facing in trying to offer a quality motor to the GMC community. This is the problem facing most of the folks sitting in on the recent motor seminars at Bean Station and the recent ES rally. These folks could either have a local production or custom builder put a motor together with very little support or pay the big bucks and buy a motor again with little to no fall back support or warranty and go that way. Either way you guys were out there on that limb pretty much by yourself on the install, set up and what to do if there were problems.

OK--- I said all of that to tell you this and I see this as a great leap forward in the arena of installing a quality, custom built, purpose build motorhome motor---- are you ready, are you sure you're ready--- I think this is an important move, something that we all have needed for a long time and something that excited me I can bring to the GMC community.---- How about a motor containing the special parts, cam, machine work and build our crate motor was built on in a motor I can ship anywhere in the country and you, the coach owner can install. Not only that but a motor that comes with a warranty and whats even moreso installation direction from us with real time help 24/7 to make the install and set up be as trouble free and accurate as possible. Yes, we are in the beta testing phase of a new crate motor program that will hopefully answer that question, "Why can't I save $ and install my own motor?"

As I said we are in the beta testing phase of this new program and next week we'll be on the build stage of the motor that in a couple of weeks will be shipped to a respected member of the GMC community, a netter too for that matter, and this GMC owner along with some friends, also GMC owners and netters, will be documenting the installation. I will be "writing the book" as we together install this new purpose built motor into his GMC. From this exercise, we will have our in the field installation and set up manual and our builder will gain valuable information on how to offer our quality crate motor design to a larger segment of the GMC community. Gone, hopefully, will be those "hit and miss" days that back yard motorheads were faced with when they wanted to replace their GMC drive train. Of course, if you would prefer a shop install your motor, they will have the benefit of our first person support made even more beneficial because of how this program is laid out.

Of course there will still be a minimum standard we must have having to do with the install and set up and those using our program will have an involved set of specifications and procedures they must follow to keep the warranty in effect but hey, won;t it be great to be able to have the extra help you need and get down there to install your own road rocket motor? You can follow this beta program here and see what it's all about as it's actually happening. I will be asking for pics of the build up from the owner/installer as we go. The motor and all of the motors for that matter sold through this program will be 100% dyno tested and will come with a readout pedigree from our builder-- suitable for framing if you wish! I've been thinking in this direction for some time now and have been working with a huge custom builder on this for several weeks now but with the recent talk on the street about motors and the prospect of you guys having to spend over $8000 to get a quality motor shipped to you with no real backing or warranty on the work that was done-- I just really wanted to let you know there is something on the horizon for you. I have been extremely pleased that many have had the benefit of our crate motor program and now we are expending to ffer our motor design to a larger segment of the GMC community. Let me know your thoughts on this project, if you are interested in one of these crate motors, let me know and I'll put you on our list. As soon as we get through beta testing, manual preperation and all we will be ready to give the community what they've been asking for-- a quality purpose built, backed and dyno tested GMC motor for the "common man". Thanks in advance to all who are at this moment working hard to put this together. Exciting--- you betcha and a worthy thing to do.

For those of you bored with talking about motors and all that greasy stuff, sorry for making you read all of this but hey, someday it may be something very important to you too! So I'm off now to the trim shop and my destina with these &^%##*&^%^% blinds, we'll see ya tomorrow. Hey-- spread the word on this new crate motor program--- soo, there may be a real option!

4.30.10

First this morning, let me say hello to you guys getting greasy over at Bean Station I hear this years roundup over there is really attracting a mob! For those of you who don;t know about "Bean Station", for some time now Marty and Al S. have opened their farm to the GMC community to "come on over" for a work rally of sorts. Over the years, Al has put together what I understand is quite the shop-- having a work pit, a huge shop with multiple sets of tools, hook up I think for 50 motorhomes on his property, a dining and cooking facility unmatched and well just an awesome place to have an awesome time. This years "Bean Station" is happening as we speak. I'm kinda scared to go to something like that, I've already got enough grease under my fingernails, cuts and scars on my hands all I would need is a place where I had no one holding me back from just sleeping under a coach! Oh, what a way to go. All the heavy hitters are congregating showing all the things they learned this year trying to keep their GMC's upright. If you're over at Bean Station, send me a report & I'll pass it along here. Already got a call from Jim G. who said they put him up high on the hill where he could watch all the other coaches maneuver the gauntlet hill going into the compound--- sounds like a great vantage point. Somebody there post me some pics.

2 grapes, just like yesterday and while I won't say it was a red letter day I will say any day is a good day where no lives are lost around here! Boy, that sounds morbid, I had eyeballed a couple of the projects we could not seem to have worked on before so feeling bad for them I went over to try and push them along a bit. One big one is the 23d and the dash that is coming together. The problem though with getting toward the end of a discovery project is if you're lucky, all the strings will come together and all tie up neatly-- hey, we live in an imperfect world, as if you already didn;t know that, which means "everything ALMOST fits perfect". Almost being the operative word when you start bringing things together there is that word you have to deal with. The dash did fit And you have to admit it does look like an original GMC dash -- don;t be fooled though, the only GMC part in that pic is the windshield! As you can see, we have a big job under the dash itself finishing off things. One thing always leads to the next, you can see the top of the right side of the dash, thats that sort of brown plate jutting out from the right side of the cluster housing. To secure the main dash housing I needed to next pad and vinyl cover this right side panel. Here it is with the raw high derometer foam paid laid on it, do you see any problem there? DDDDOOOOOwwwwww, the pad is too short! So now it's all at a standstill until Omar my upholster can bring me another section of that special foam pad! We did go ahead & connect the fly by wire instrument cluster then fired the motor up. Dang if we didn;t get one code after another, a buzzing thing that would run you out of the coach and of course the seat belt light was flashing at us! Oh come on Mr. On Board Computer, give me a break--- I know the seat belt isn;t connected yet-- heck, we don;t have one mounted yet! See, wasn't it great when we didn;t have to passify some flippen on board computer--- Look MOM, I'll put on my rubber boots! Anyway, it was good to see the tach giving a reading, the battery light go out and the fuel gauge work and tell me we were low in fuel-- yea, yea I know! You could look at this like the first day we connected the head of the robot but I'm going to pull it's plug if it starts in with "Danger Will Robinson"!

The 23d isn;t the only fun we're having, though it is a gracious plenty. Bob & Faye W. has a new dash , still have the air ride control panel to finish up but like I said the other day, our chocolate brown is a dead match for the original brown color GM used. Goota do something about that steering wheel and a few other details but it's coming together very nice.

Sharon & Larry B. resealing is going well. The top side rails is a number 1 leak area in the GMC. That trim strip running front to back up there id what we're talking about As you can see, to access their pass. side rail the Zip Dee patio awning had to be pealed back over the top of the coach. This side rail must be removed and to remove it those screws (a pile of them) running front to back must come off. The driver side rail went well but the pass. side you see here is fighting us. The original screws are torks head machine thread screwd threaded into the tapped out aircraft high tensil strength aluminum frame rail of the body. Oh, and you know they all rust themselves in! We had only 2 screwd break on the driver side but more than 10 on the pass. side. This would mean that we would have to drill and tap all of those holes-- life is too short for that! We will remove the good screws, fill the holes them move the rail over 1/8" and cut in all new holes when putting the rail back on. Hey, that will be faster and better than trying to drill hard steel screws out of the aluminum rail. In this case, "discretion is the better part of valor" just does not make sense in spend that amount of time and energy. I hope to have the guys finish this project today if the rain holds.

The Co-op flower pot is really on the bloom now probably because I am staying away from it. My son Ray planted those huge bulbs last summer and man are they going at it-- thanks man, we need a little color around here.

So today could be mixed in with a little rain, we'll see. I hope Omar will come in with some foam pad so I can keep going on the dash. I have Bob & Faye's dash to trim out, I have Larry & Sharon's blinds to do and I am sure a couple of fires to put out but hey, that goes with the territory. We have some interesting things on the horizon on custom motors for the GMC, stay tuned for that. If you have questions as always give me a call. You guys at Bean Station take it easy and look, don;t throw away anything until the job is done. You may be staying as Al's guest long than you anticipate! Thanks for the visit, you guys on the Net, sorry for ruffling feathers about the rear suspension air bag systems but I rally cannot see a reason, other than the balance in your checkbook, why the Quad bag rear suspension system should not be looked at as top shelf. JMHP

See ya again

4.29.10

Going to be a great day today Got 2 Smuckers grape jellies with my toast this morning! Not to say I'm superstitious, throw bones or consult a battery operated crystal ball to seal my fate each day but probably like the ships captain saying "red sky at night, sailors delight", not explained to my waitress at Sharons, I watch to see which small tubs of spread they put with my buck seventy-nine morning breakfast for my rye toast as some sort of good Omen of how the day will go. Yea, OK, it's silly but sometimes I think there must be some arbitrary thing that sets in motion a good day over a bad one because heck if I can figure out how it happens! Yesterday, we did get things done and I have to say thanks to the guys but there were so many other important things I wanted to at least make some headway on that I could not even touch-- it's sometimes very frustrating to have cool projects that cannot move ahead. When this happens I try anf focus on the projects I could not seem to get to the next day and somehow push that rock just a bit up the hill if I can.

We have a project that shows great promise-- how about an adjustable height front suspension for our coach? Yep, Mark H. has asked the question and being the engineer that he is has give a direction and a challenge to make something like this breath life and we have a shot at it. Many have tried to do this with the result usually becoming so complicated and expensive as to turn the idea sour. With the premise "anything can be done with cubic dollars" I feel a project falls a bit short if it cannot find resolution any other way than to cram dollar bills down it's throat. There not only has to be a good way to do something but also that something should be cost effective. Now some projects are started pretty much knowing that the financial aspects would be daunting and those have their own appeal but most ideas that want to try and propagate need to be obtainable on a reasonable level of cost. I think if we can make an adjustable height front suspension modification for less than say $1500 we can have a cool thing. Just picture if you will pulling up to your parking spot in a park, put the coach into park, push a button and the coach squats filly onto the ground like a hound dog flopping on the front porch! The Duramax coaches will have that option but their running chassis cost $65000 off the truck. What if we can do this to an original GMC chassis? Ok, I'm going for this one. Stay tuned and see how things go.

As I started to talk yesterday but the day pulled me away, Jim G. dropped by on his way to the work rally at Bean Station to check out a few things . His coach "Anne" stopped blowing cold from the under dash add on snow blower we installed some 5 years ago. Oh dang-- what happened? Turns out the trigger wire for the clutch on the compressor had fallen down too close to the pulley and had broken--- that would do it! That was it, a spice and tie up of the wire and we had flaked or chunked ice cubes again! Jim and "Anne" have built a bond together over the past 5 years he and Jane had been travelling in her. Discarded basically by it's disenchanted previous owner who had gotten ripped from work that had been done, Jim had brought the coach to us from Tampa using 4 of the 5 quarts of oil in the crankcase, I looked at the coach and the way it sems to fall forward giving it's all to reach us as a sign that it desperately wanted to come back from the brink. So with a Koba motor, transmission, Honda generator, brakes, bearings, interior and dash work, "Little Orphan Anne" came to life and has been servicing Jim G. in grand form. 5 years ago and today This is the sort of happy ending story that everyone should experience and one a GMC can easily bring to those that work hard at it. This story took more than an oil change and a new set of tires, it took piles of planning and work. People ask me "how much should I expect to put into bringing a GMC to a quality, good looking reliable condition?" And isn;t that the overall 99K question. Each coach is different depending on many factors including---- what you are looking for from the coach---- what has been done to the coach in it's years since rolling off the assembly line and really what you can put into the coach both in expense but also in time. You don't just build up one of these machines and park it like a trophy in your driveway. They are a constant maintenance object sort of like a pet, your yard or some other thing that you must devote a % of your life to spend time and money on.

I get frustrated people come in upset because seemingly every time they try and use their coach something stands in the way. Something fails, something else falls off and it seems they need to have $ spent just to have the machine there for them. Thats right---- you do! If you park your GMC on the side of the house, walk past it every day and do nothing with it one guaranty I can just about bet on is that something will be wrong with it every time you sit in the pilots seat! You must use your coach, drive it somewhere once a week. If nothing more than to the store for milk, out to dinner or whatever, you cannot let them sit! It's not a bowling ball that you keep in the hall closet, you must drive it, check things, change fluids, watch for leaks, cycle systems, keep them warm or cool, out of the sun and so many other things. When something breaks, ask and look into what happened but also fix it and fix it the best way you can because if you only fix something to work for today it will surley break for you the next day! Rig up enough stuff and that what you will be driving--- a rig job! You must be able to devote both time and money to have a GMC at your command, it's certainly a commitment thing.

OK, guess I got carried a way a bit but I see this situation day in and day out. I do understand when someone just cannot give their coach the attention it needs, heck "JayGee" , my coach, is sitting in my driveway at home (no room for it here at the shop) just sitting there just like I am telling you here not to do. I need to listen to myself because like many of you I too have a full day and firing him up just does not fit in. The last time I drove it to the Drag Race Rally it actually shut off as I hit second gear on the track--- whats that about! I didn;t do anything to it before that. I guess that's JayGee's way of saying "spend some time with me" and even at that I twisted arond the dist., got him running better for the drive home and wouldn;t you know it, I parked him right back in the same spot at the house and there it sat. I missed the last Sunshine Statesmen rally because Manny was at the shop building transmission so JayGee will have sat for 2 months-- I should slap my own hand neglecting my coach the way I have-- se, so don;t feel like I'm attacking any one person in particular, heck I'm in that bucket too! You know, after articulating this to you I am going to force myself to go home before dark this evening and give JayGee a drive! Dang if I didn't put another speedbump in trying to get more done! Hey but I need to do it just like you do too so give me a post tomorrow to let me know you too at least went over to your coach and fired it up. Lets be the support group aimed at making time to tend to our babies!

OK, thats enough, I donlt want to jenx my day, I think I've regressed enough. I have piles of stuff to do and a finite number of hours to do them. Another project I vow to spend time on is on the 23d. The dash cluster will go in today-- stay tuned for pics. I need to get out in the shop while it's early. I'll talk to you guys later. Go hug your coach, know that it's there for you and spend the amount of time to show it your love. Just think how lucky we all are to have such a machine as this...

4.28.10

The days lately have been very good here in Florida, I would say this weather is why we live here Great motorcycle riding weather I found yesterday a roofing nail in the tubed drive tire on my side car bike-- Dawwwwww! Something else to do, it will have to wait. It's just like I never have my boat running in the summer, well it is but I've got no time to do anything like that, my neighbor dropped by and made the comment that he could not pull inside of our gate. Yep, we have a pile of coaches in for services hey but it always seems to be the way around here. Yes, the economy has effected our gross sales but there always seems to be folks wanting to keep their GMC going so we're blessed with stuff to do. Thanks guys for believing in us and bringing your coach in here.

Bob and Faye have their "Pan Handle Flier" in for some upgrades, a Zip Dee awning, a new Norcold 3 way frig. and a rework of their dash including a new "Mac Dash". Not the best pic, yesterday the sun was low in the sky when I got these shots The cluster is in, pads covered and hard parts recolored. Actually, the chocolate brown color we picked is so close to the original brown dash color I had a hard time seeing what was colored and what was not! I'll bed back in the dash vents today, rewire their fog light circuit and install the new CD in dash radio and we'll be pretty close to done.

Last week, Jim G. dropped by on his way to

Update

Danny read what I put up this morning & wanted ro say a few words to you guys"

You often don�t see the importance of something until it slaps you in the face. Well� my face is still stinging. What I do know is this is not a lesson you want to learn the hard way. It was quite a bit more traumatic than I would have suspected to see my coach on fire. After spending countless hours putting it together over the past year, I thought I was going to see it all burn to the ground right in front of me. YES the fire suppression system saved my coach but I would be lying if I told you that was the reason I had Jim install it. Nothing is worth more than life itself and I learned that six months ago when my daughter was born. . It�s a small price to pay to keep yourself and loved ones safe! PLEASE do yourself a favor and put these in your engine and generator compartments at a minimum.

Thanks man, sometimes if folks here it from someone else it makes more impact. Guys, I know it's a couple of bucks you probably had not figured on but guys, replacing your coach would cost far more and hey, you may get a discount on your insurance for installing an automatic fire suppression system. I have 2 complete systems that cover the engine, generator and the frig cabinets. These are fully automatic thermal trigger systems. They are $699 & $775. The second one mounts the cylinder remote up on the radiator support bracket with the head right over the back of the motor and transmission -- a very cool install! The generator gets one here and the frig is covered by one here . You can also get them seperatly but you save @ $100 by getting the package. Go check out the web site for more info http://www.firefight1.com We've also got these cool aerosol can AFFF "foam" units for the galley for grease fires for $18. I'd have 1 next to the driver, in the back and in the towd. Thats just me I guess.

Yes, yes I know this all could be construed as gratuitous advertising but hey, somebody has to talk about this stuff! Give me a call if you are interested in getting some of this stuff.

4.27.10

Don't worry, we're here it's just been a tough weekend full of stuff for me. Spring is in the air, heck we're getting ready to start breathing through that blow drier on high! The rains are starting, beautiful Lake Co-op (the retention pond just outside our gate has wildlife (anyone up for duck? The flowers are blooming and we all are ready for our summer.

Yesterday afternoon we had a sad thing happen though, Mr.. Hook came in bringing something I hate to see and please guys this is something you need to understand and act on. This is a tough story, one you must hear so here goes:

Remember Danny's coach you know, the one with the really cool interior build by his boat builders Andros Boats. Well, he had just finished the coach and took it to the Buffet concert with a pile of friends--- The coach was doing it's job, Danny had popped out the other side with an impressive party and family machine. Pulling away from the concert it happened---- Fire! He was in the RV parking section so people started running with extinguishers, they emptied many dry powder bottle in under the wheel wells but the fire kept up, the firetruck was there in short order-- they prepared to douse the coach--- flames could be seen in the wheel wells, smoke was billowing from the front hoods--- then something wonderful happened-- the automatic fire suppression system we had installed in his engine compartment deployed---- and the fire was out!! Out, Out OUT!! All of that dry powder stuff everyone was throwing at his coach did little, hopefully it did not destroy the motor from it's corrosive effects-- his auto deploy fire suppression system did it and saved the coach. Danny told me the firefighter was standing next to him with his hose getting ready to douse the world when they heard the hiss of the extinguisher and the fire simply went away. The firefighter asked what that noise was, Danny told him it was his automatic fire suppression system-- he was impressed. Hey guys, it worked, we saved the rest of his coach. The damage was kept in the engine compartment-- the critter did it's job! Guys, you need this machine, you need automatic fire suppression! Call me, you need this, how many ways do I need to say this? Here are pics of Danny's coach. This is the worse -- best news that could have happened. Danny will have his coach back better than it was. His investment was saved and saved because of something he did to protect his coach!

OK, lets celebrate the success we had on a potential serious situation-- a GMC has saved and we move on from here. Don't be behind the 8 ball on a situation like this-- Danny had no idea something like this would happen but he was prepared-- learn from this and you too be prepared. Go to Fire Suppression and take a read.

Quickly, the question was: Why did it take so long for the thermal head to deploy" Answer is the coach had been sitting in the parking lot during the concert. There was little to no engine compartment heat so the fire had to heat up the compartment to 286 deg. before the thermal head would deploy. If you were underway, the thermal deploy would have gone off much quicker but even with the lag time, the damage to Danny's coach was limited to @ 2 hours worth of exterior & 2 hours or so of interior cleanup. The damage was kept to the one engine compartment which means the fire suppression system did it's job.

Gotta go, all is good here, things are happening, the guys are at work and the world is a better place than yesterday-- lets go!

4.23.10

Friday, great it means the weekend is close Weekends mean one thing to most people, to me it means I get my shop to myself! Yesterday I was up in Jacksonville doing some family stuff. Kevin was sanding away on "the table" . Dave left us with some new technology where we could actually make fiberglass panels. It involvs first having a parfectly flas, slick surface . Next we take a special gel coat mix, mat and cloth -- put it all yogether and what pops out is a really slick fiberglass panel Jim G. came in yesterday and came in with me first thing this morning to check out our first panel Here is our first panel in place in Mark's custom bathroom . Thanks Dave for the knowledge, we're rock-n-roll now!

Here's Tom's new ELII retrofit This is dual on demand retrofit compressors, 2 regulators & 2 dump valves connected to the original ELII height sensors. This is 1/2 of the system we installed in Craig S. coach a couple of weeks ago where we installed this system complete with new magnetic height sensors. Hey, you guys with ELII systems, we've got your solution!

OK, the day is on-- guys are here and the weather is good. Hold on---- here we go!

4.21.10

And as a light mist fell as I opened the door of "Tin Soldier" at the house after using it the day before as a transport vehicle to bring the bar cabinet base Manny put together for our house -- you see not only was he here driving our transmission stockpile he was also partnering with me to get our kitchen renovated. I just don't have the energy at the end of the day to do things on our house. I usually just plop down in front of the TV for some needed phosphoresce radiation but Manny saw I needed just a little push so push he has while here building transmissions during the day we were knocking out walls at home during the night . A multi-talented guy, Manny would grease up with building transmissions back in the hole at the back of the shop then we'd take Janie out to dinner, have a great time then we would converge at the house for a late night session pounding on walls .

Anyway, hoping up in the Tin Soldier heading to work in the dark today is a bit bitter sweet-- we have some transmissions until Manny comes back to do more, thats great but I'll not have my help at the house-- it's up to me now and with the challenge to get it done by Manny I have to do just that. Heck, our kitchen is apart-- I have to finish it!

Pulling up to the gate, I went in the office, set up and fired up the computers as Manny loaded up the Suzuki with his grip and headed out to "Dixie Belle", a new morning place we started going that I have to admit the biscuits & gravy (SOS for you military guys) has a better taste, we had our last meal before dropping him off at the airport. It's been a great time having Manny here helping around, you guys should be so lucky as to have a working relationship with Manny. Chances are he'll work you under the table as he did me if you ever do it! Sleeping on and off in "Larry" I'm focused on getting the motor fixed in it -- Manny said I was wasting the tool so it's out with the bad motor and in with a new one. Our house will never be the same-- for the better for sure and I'm challenged to finish that as well. Then there's the transmissions, I know I did pics for you on all that and a lengthy explaination as to why you should not install a transmission unless Manny has worked it over but really-- it's true! You just NEEEEED one of his gear ginders in your coach-- the best and there are big reasons why. Look at it this way, there will be @ 400 more Manny Tranny 425 automatice built over the next 5-8 years, after that we may be on our own so it just stands to reason you need on of these things in your coach before you cannot have one at any cost. Oh-- BTW, an updte on the cost of his work-- The cost is now set at $1550 out the door, the torque converter is in there at no extra cost! Man, what a deal-- I told Manny the last 400 he is looking to build are probably already spoken for so he's better plan to come back in September to build up more!

So, the sun is up now and the weather guys say the rain will stop to bring a bright sunny day--- great. Without Manny running back and forth it will be a bit quieter around here, kinda like "Wow, did all of that actually happen?"

It did and the beat WILL go on, Kevin has Paul's Chimera on the way to body repair The twin rear doors are bonded in and he's working on filling, sanding, smoothing before the primer goes on . Prep work is where it's at on an exterior refinish so it's in his hands right now and he's on it. Stay tuned.

I am refitting this ELII 78 air ride system in Tom's coach to install new twin big compressors. If you will remember I rebuilt Craig's ELII system last week. I'll finish this one up today so check it out tomorrow here.

After not hearing from Dave for 5 days my guess is he went home to Thunder Bay so Kevin is taking over finishing off the fiberglass panels we're making for Mark's bathroom module .not being able to purchase finished fiberglass sheets the way we want, we set up to make our own. Steve has a pattern so this sheet will be installed as one of the wall panels. Craig & Kevin will start sheet production today so stay tuned for that.

Jason is busy going over Matt's "B&B's (thats bearings and brakes If you will remember, this documented 29,000 1973 coach had most of it's driving down a dirt road to the farm pump house where the guys sat out there and played cards while the Onan Troll powered the pump. Great you say but the road took it's toll, the rear bearinfs were hammered with the cages actually worn, the front lower ball joint was actualy broken and the brake caloper mounting hole was also broken See this is the sort of stuff you run into, years of certain types of abuse and you have issues. It's kinda like all the years I ran track, now my lower back is screwed, my legs are shot and after all of that keeping thin, boy the burgers and beer sure tasted good! hey, we're all a product of our environment-- so are our coaches. Building back in remiability means fixing all of that worn out stuff-- too bad they can't do that for me-- I'd love to run competitively again! Dream on...

The day is on, our job is clear, the guys are showing up, Manny is in the air heading west & I'm out in the shop. See ya later

4.19.10

Boy, 3 days blew past like nothing Missed a Sunshine Statesmen rally this weekend, sorry guys, but with Manny here building transmission I just had to stay here and help where I could.

Let me take a minute and tell you what Manny coming cross country to build up 9 transmission in production style is all about. Look, there are transmission shop all across the country and generally speaking they could be very fine people-- I mean they all have a family, maybe a mortgage, wife, kids a car payment, a card carrying American. They may really know their stuff and work hard to do the best they can for you. They may be members of the BBB-- see thats not the issue--- the problem is because the GMC uses are rather unique front wheel drive, heavy torque drive train there is only 1 transmission that can be used in our application. These puppies have not been produced or pieces/parts for many years. When builders go into a 425 transmission there are only some things available to them to add to your transmission. There are important hard parts that do wear that simply are not available new. Likewise there are rebuild parts that because of the limited use and time are also no longer available and finally there are unique issues having to do with the 425 that builders simply do not know. All of this wraps into the fact that a regular transmission builder, while they may be magicians on most every other transmission, can only do so much for our 425 automatic. They're not bad people but they will not tell you this, they want your business and they are right possibly when they say they have done everything they could for your unit.

"Everything they could" though is not enough! Manny has committed to the GMC community to build 50 transmissions per year for 10 years for a total of 500 units. He is into his 3rd year which means he has had all the bushings, springs, plates and hard parts made or put together to do these transmission for us and when the last one is done-- that my friends will be it! I will not install a transmission unless it has been gone through by Manny, not gonna waste my time and your $. We were at the point in the past of installing wing nuts on the bell housings when replacing transmissions! It seemed to always be a hit or miss situation. To date we have had ")", nadda, no comebacks or problems with "Manny's Tranny". Did you notice, I used the singular term here because Manny only builds on model transmission. He specializes on the 425 automatic, has done the "due diligence" and knows this unit. He is pointing out suttle difference on transmissions that no one can know that does not spend much time inside of them. Each year had differences and he knows them all!

Whats more amazing than the level of professionalism Manny brings to the community having to do with these custom transmission is the actual fact that for the work he does on these units, the finished product is "cheap". Look, I'm not saying this because we have these unit, the profit on something like this is negligible compared to the peace of mind I and you should have when one of these units go into your coach. Go to a nationwide transmission shop and compare thier price to the average cost of one of Manny's units for $1550.00. You just can't touch that. And using one of his double bearing, Allison hub, brazed fin, anti-ballooning torque converters for $150 is stupid cheap! Every transmission shipped to you from his place has been run tested and is ready to go. You know it works because he has personally tested it! Dangit, who does that? Who knows the transmission better than someone who only builds one model transmission over and over? He also does not just build them one at a time but 9 at the same time which means he see all and I mean all the difference and compare wear factors, parts degradation and the works!

Now maybe you know more of why I missed the rally this weekend and why I stayed at the shop all weekend--- I am just so impressed that Manny has taken the time to fly out here to Florida, hang out and build me a quantity of transmission for my customers that, well I just appreciate all he does for all of us. I think he "gets it" and thats enough for me! Whenever you see Manny at a rally please shake his hand and say thanks for me if you would. If you hear he is doing a seminar on anything spread the word and you be there-- ya hear! The transmission will be the big part that when there are no more our coaches will be on the side of the road so we all have a debt of thanks to Manny for doing what he is doing. So now that I have totally embarrassed Manny, he probably will not come back-- look, you guys just need to know and appreciate what he is doing for us. Hands down, there is no one more committed to the GMC than him-- subject closed!

Bout ready to loose my time this morning, here are some pics of the weekend to consider:

In this non descript bay, Manny is in there doing his thing!

This transmission had water inside and can never be cleaned enough-- it's toast Some parts might be harvested to use but stuff like this rusted pieces are now pitted and while they may pull off the lot for now their life is so greatly reduced they are junk to Manny-- there the lesson is made.
Manny assembles 3 transmission in a row, all are finished off identical.

Parts are cleaned identical , checked and assembled identical thus another lesson.

This is what you wanna see when you open up a core. This one can come back, less than this and you trow it back. The older and more wear the transmission have the more parts must be replaced-- this round will all have new high speed chains, they were all stretched and out of tolerance. No one has these chains--- Manny does!

Gotta go, the day is on-- have a great day we will here

4.16.10

As I was sitting there in my regular booth at Sharons (my "breakfast hole") where I always get the $1.79 Blue Plate special of 2 eggs, scrambled fluffy, a mess of grits and 2 pieces if rye toast with jelly it hit me looking out the side window into the still dark outside that I was indeed part of something much bigger than a shop that beats on old war horses. In the restaurant listening to the radio in the background play the Star Spangled banner on the country station the way it does every morning at 6AM, looking over at the 2 guys always sitting to my left seemingly clones of the 2 old geezers on the past Muppet series sitting in the balcony making sly jokes about Miss Piggy or anything in the room but nothing in particular I was also in my spot, having my unsweet ice tea with my 9 morning pill compliment (mostly vitimins Janies has me take) and getting my day ready to go. It's for some odd reason important to me to have this time, to just sit and think. To figure out what should be the focus for the day. To see if I could remember the stuff I forgot the day before and maybe even write them down so that doesn't happen again. It's dark outside but my thoughts are all of when the sun rises, the gate opens and the day gets going. We have all of these projects, you have to do several things to keep the lights on and the guys busy. It would be great to only have one project on at a time but not being independently wealthy that workload and cash flow just doesn;t work. We say this business is full of stress and that the goal is to reduce it. The reality is that the stress that goes along with figuring out one impossible problem after another is part of what doing this sort of work is all about. You have to do and have all of this going on at the same time to just be able to afford to push a rock like this up the hill. Hey, I'm the one that got into this mess myself so I guess I like the stress that goes with doing this. More than just a job, like I said I think the thing I enjoy is having the chance to do things others would not. Some might call me masochistic what others and I call fun but it's all wrapped up into a bundle called the "Co-op". You guys reading this, wether you like it or not, are a part of the mess. I enjoy fielding questions and actually learn a great deal getting all of you in this loop-- or circle as some may think of it!

Heck, I had a bunch of stuff to show ya, the phone stated ringing then the guys showed up-- let me see if I can get back here later-- talk to ya then

4.15.10

Holy Crap! Did I have a pile of Emails this morning! What, have you guys been saving them up? Thats OK, I appreciate them all and feel I need to at least answer the questions-- I mean if someone goes out of their way to push a couple of buttons and send me something the least I should do is recognize their effort and say something back. It's part of this whole experience to me.

Here is a particularly nice post from a "lurker" out there-- man thanks, it makes me fee good:

Hello Jim.

This is the first time I have sent anything to you. I have been lurking, reading your Daily Pose for nearly 10 years now. I own one of those big box motorhomes you always rant about. When I was looking to buy my first motorhome in 1999 I looked a rear bath 78 Eleganza that was in very good shape. I just couldn't convince my better half that it was a good reliable vehicle. So we ended up with one of those big behemoths I just wish I could find someone with your work ethic and commitment to work on and maintain my big box. But all that aside, the reason I wrote today is in nearly 10 years of following your escapades; in today's post you ended with a picture of you smiling It's the first time I can remember such an event. You should do it more often. For once you actually look happy. Keep up the good work, and best of luck to you. And hopefully one of these days when I grow up I'll have a GMC.

Sincerely,

Mike

I hade Paul ask how my finger wrapped in green tape was doing! The truth is that pic was in my pile & I just pulled it out for the heck of it. I do use the green tape for many things other than it being the best tape to use for painting-- it's a great bandage, holds wire harnesses together well, keeps out water on leaks till we can really fix it. I also see shops on the Speed channel use the stuff so I guess it means we too are as cool as they are! Or is it they are as cool as we are? Whatever there is not other tape other than Scotch 33+ electrical tape on the property-- I don;t have any band aids here either only green tape and paper towels! That does not make me a bad person does it?

Thanks anyway Mike for your support-- see that, even folks who DON'T own a GMC have fun watching our madness here at the Co-op and I'm pleased to have him watching. A GMC really is an interesting machine and when you consider their potential they really do make sense. Thats what drives our business. Tell ya another one that supports this concept. We have Paul excited about the "Chimera" we're putting together for him and I'm excited on having such an interesting and worthy project. He is looking to use his machine to tour around the country with his band-- a sort of big van to carry him, the rest of the band and their equipment. Currently, he is leasing an outfitted Sprinter van to service him until his Chimera is completed for a little over $2000 a week! OUch-- what a hit but that is a good deal compared to what other options he has. Heck, his GMC will be a "money maker" for him when it's done! Makes ya sit up and take notice of how cost effective one of these 30+ year old machines can be! I've always maintained that outfitting a GMC compared to buying a new motorhome was a no brainer-- well, using a GMC in commercial application is also a smart move. So where is the risk in getting involved with a GMC? Where is the black hole--- it's a rose bowl if you compare and this is not just me talking!

OK, enough of that, the day is on, it's windy and calling for rain but right now we have good skies. I'll do some pics today and get with you guys later. Have another great day-- we're here, gonna be here for a while doing what we do best. Call if you have questions-- answers--- ideas or comments-- this week marks what 40 years since Apollo 13 was a successful failure--- goes to show ya the best laid plans of mice and men...

4.14.10

This morning is blowing past, Got a call from Marcel from ElPaso who dropped by for a visit Thanks for dropping by man. Marcel took my son under his wing when he drove "JayGee" out to ElPaso for his work with the FAA. We all get by with a little help from our friends-- thanks Marcel for helping John out.

Got a little housekeeping to do: Yesterday we got Paul's "Chimera" into Kevin's place for it's exterior makeover Doesn't sound like such a big deal hey? Take into account that the motor is a huge doorstop with it's cracked block it takes everyone pushing to get the coach in the bay hey, but it's there and Kevin is happy

Fran Messier is coming back by to drop his machine off for exh. manifold gaskets-- pray for us on that one! Jason is jiggy now with Matt's control arm bushings and Tom S. is getting his maserator installed. Gotta go get parts, talk to you guys later...

4.13.10

Sorry, yesterday was a blurrrrr This morning I realized I didn;t give you guys some of the fun I had Sunday when Manny checked out the 23d. After bringing the machine down off the lift, I got it set up for a run around the block and really wanted Manny to give it a go. After all the work and all he has been putting into his Cummins 4 cyl. project I just wanted his opinion of how over the top our Duramax projects were. For some time now, folks have been hearing about our madness but you just can't appreciate what it is till you walk a mile in the shoes as people say. So tossing the keys to Manny in true ZZ Top style (underhanded with a twist to spin the ring) he stepped into the coach and up into the seat . Firing the critter up he sat there for a minute taking in the sights and sounds. I imagine it is a far cry from the industrial 4BT Cummins unit he adapted. Big, fat and nasty is the best way to describe what that hunk of meat looks like-- at least to me it does. So out the gate he went passing the 23/350 project coach, another idea on performance we're playing with. I wanted him to take her out by himself to feel what it was like to be one on one with the machine. Standing there in the parking lot watching the 23d pull out couldn't help thinking of all it took to make that collection of hardware actually go. It was sort of like I felt when my son, John, taxied out his first RC plane to the grass runway-- powered that "Big Stick" up and woosh it was off the ground and flying. The 23d brings all of that back. Here is someone at the controls, after all of those thoughts, considerations and all that went into making a vehicle here it is going out and leaving me to watch it take off. And while Manny and the 23d were out there trying to impress eachother I was standing there in the parking lot wondering how it was going. He didn;t take his cell phone with him, what would happen if something DID happen-- an unexpected event, like Apollo 13 "Capcom, we have an event". He would have to bail and walk back-- oh dang, did I screw up! Should I have followed him in the Suzuki, maybe have at least an option! Well, it was too late so I was forced to trust that the 23d would take care of him. Like sending your kid out with the car on his first date, OK buddy, it's all up to you!

And then I saw Manny pull back out onto Anno Ave., yea, I walked down to the road-- a worrying father watching for him and as he pulled in I could see a huge smile on his face as he passed me heading for the parking spot. As I walked up to the coach he popped the door and stuck his head out . I felt like running but I didn't want to appear too excited to hear what he had to say. "Awesome" was the first thing he said , not having everything battened down, Manny said he couldn't properly check out the acceleration but said it had massive torque. I knew when that turbo spooled up the rocket was gone but it felt good for someone else to say it to me. I didn;t prepare him for anything and just wanted his objective opinion--- Awesome works for me! And it is. Maybe there are problems that will make running this coach a challenge but hey, awesome acceleration works. Manny is a pretty low key guy and probably is not that excited about my rendition on his short test drive but I just wanted Ken and Raymond to know all of this work, all of what has gone into these Duramax projects was not a waste. Yes, we still have issues, I'm having troubled figuring out where to put even the smallest dash AC/heat unit-- maybe here , no how bout here but wherever we end up putting it the coach is an unbelievable dream come true. Hey, if it was easy they would do it at Jiffy Lube! This project was and still IS not easy. Putting a diesel into a GMC is no small matter and making a GMC move like a sports car is certainly a worthy goal.

This is not unlike several other things we are involved with around here. No, and I have to say iyt this way, we are not running this shop like a "money maker". We are taking on projects other shops would not consider-- why, because each are "worthy goals". Will we be a profitable business, actually in our CPA's eyes,-- no we are not. Thats hard to say and maybe a bit stupid on my part but having a business for only one 30+ year old motorhome by itself puts us in a business class for people who are not quite right to begin with! I've had several very smart people give me actually very good advice to organize better, focus on what makes the most income, stop inventing wheels and do what other shops do to make ends meet. What fun would there be in that! Also, if we were set up that way many of the things we do would be even more impossible than they already are!

I'll give ya one we did last week I don't think we talked about. For those of you out there with a 78 coach, you know it's a matter of time till that Electro-Level II system you have will become a problem. The idea of going to 2 compressors and the "on demand" system the ELII is was to have a "plug-n-play" system design. Hey, but what do you do when the "Plug-n-play" units are no longer available as they are. You cannot replace the integral little single cylinder compressor or that optical height sensor. So what gives and what happens when the worse happens-- the system fails. Last week I put in over 15 hours to design, build, install and test this new system This replaces the original optical sensor, on demand, integral ELII system with an all new magnetic height sensor, huge twin motor air suspension system. It works, the system is out on the road right now dong a shakedown to see other issues if any. Did I make a profit doing this retrofit--- nope. Was it cheap and easy to do--- nope, we have over $700 in hardware plus the labor to make it fly. Some would say heck, I'll put air fills in the bags and be done with it, I say make it work! So now, if you have a 78 coach and your air ride system is messed up, there is an option. Actually, I have another 78 in here right now that will benefit from the work I did & I bet more will come. This was not an easy, cheap retrofit. It was involved but like I said, it was a worthy endeavor.

So if you didn;t know how and why we do things here, I hope this has given you more insight. For those that say our work is "too expensive", I say where else could you go to get someone to even consider doing some of this stuff! Sure, we have to watch the time and thats a challenge doing what ewe do but hey, why do you have a machine like a GMC--- cause you can so have what you want. make it work and when someone starts up with that P&L trying to say you may be spending too much tell them-- what is it worth to be happy? Have a great day

4.11.10

Just sitting here on a clear beautiful Sunday morning the door to the office open, no mosquitoes yet, no rain, no people around other than Manny over in the motor room working his butt off on building transmissions-- just sitting in the office listening to morning acoustic music on the radio, answering Emails and previewing pics of the last couple of days picking out what to talk to you guys about--- life is good! While most of the4 country has to bolter their spirits to go to work every day I just can't wait myself to come here to the shop. My Grandad was a man of few words-- a real guru though when it came to profound considerations. A paper mill worker who was in the Asbestos scandal still lived to a ripe old age came by the shop here just before he passed. Of course I ran around here showing off all the cool things we were doing. Being proud of it all I was head over heals chest stuck out pointing out all the cool things around here. He walked with me while I pointed out everything. let me talk till my tongue was tired--- At that point he made a comment that made me bout tear up. He said "Boy-- retirement for workers like you and me is stopping what you do that you think you can make the most money and start doing something you always wanted to do and try to make a living at that cause loving what you do is what it's all about". After all the money I made selling electronics which BTW I did enjoy, I was now living my dream and he was right. A smart man then and now-- thanks Grandad for the compliment.

So looking out the open door I have the "Tin Soldier" sitting out there with the 350 Olds motor next to the 23d Duramax 23' coach. What a stable of hybrids! The last thing Friday we did fire the 23d up and Manny sat in the seat pulling it off the lift . Please excuse me a minute while I again try and express what this machine represents-- yea, I know I've done some of this before but today Manny will fire this mother up and I just can't wait to see the smile on his face! I mean take another look at the soft underbelly of this dragon , "good bones" doesn't even come close. Check out the rear wheel air bags -- good golly Miss Molly, the spine of a aircraft carrier with the body of a Sea maiden --- and today someone else will know the joy of touching the rocket throttle! Like I said, what a great day we have today.

Matt's coach is in hover mode checking out the "B&B's" (thats bearings and brakes) Just cause the coach has only 29K miles does not mean all is good mechanically you gotta break it down for a looksee. Good thing we did that, here is one of the rear wheel bearings-- now look at it carefully then read what see . OK, as Jason squeezed the left side of the bearing, you can see the slop in the bearings to cage, also look at the outer edge of the cage-- there is a rough edge there. My guess is the bearings were never properly preloaded and the hub put pressure on the loose bearing gouging the edge of the race and causing looseness in the cage. This bearing is no good. No, the rollers are not pitted or blue but I can't leave the bearing in there. Alll of the bearings on the rear wheels show this wear. Story is this coach got it's low mileage running from the barn out through the dirt road through the field to the pumphouse in North Dakota where the farmer sat out there, generator running the pump while they sat inside playing cards. A card carrying pump house power plant-- I mean why would you ever think the bearings would need to be checked? This is I think the outcome. We also found original 37 year old rear brake hoses! Gotta do something bout that!

Paul's "Chimera" is making another milestone. Manny, Craig and the guys inspect kevin's progress They hate me running around with the camera and dispurse every time I show up! I always tell em "Inquiring minds wanna know!". Kevin now has the baton doing his work on the body work. Let me explain what you're looking at and how this is probably the only place in the world this work could be accomplished. You are looking at a 73 coach and body structure with 2 feet from the back end of a 78 Transmode with a rear hatch from a 77 Eleganze! . While repairs to the cracked lower body panels, Kevin is "erasing" the original Eleganza rear decals. So tell me anywhere else you could see work like that? Kevin sizes up the lower original door panels to wall in where the generator compartment used to be . Remeber, you are looking at the 23' generator opening AND the last 2' of the Transmode generator opening. There will be no generator compartment so the louvers need to be closed up , repaired and fitted . Then while all that happens we find other problems -- hey, it'a what it about!

Hey, while I'm talking all about the "Tin Soldier and "23d" let me flower out a bit on this, another 23' coach with radical mods. This thing is something like you've never seen! With the headliner going in while Kevin gets the body in shape, we're in a race to "Get-r-done". A 23' coach, rear hatch with a 2' stretch. Wide open insides-- 4 bagger, center wheel disc brake--- new roller cam motor, Manny tranny-- I mean what a monster! You'de think I'm partial to 23' coaches--- and maybe I am a bit. They really are suited to unique use. Watch the "Mad Scientist" build up of "Chimera"! Another exciting project. Man, we're just full of stuff like this--- some would say we're "full of it"-- maybe so , maybe we're goin to hell in a basket but as The Band says-- "we're havin a good time". Marylin has a bumer sticker that I think says it best "Where are we headed and why are we in this basket".

What a great day, OK, I'm out to move the 23d out for the run-- I'll take pics!

4.9.10

Big big big big day! Go ahead ask me why! Glad you asked and let me tell ya why I will have a great day---- Yesterday evening Manny flew in to build us up another slug of "Mannys' Tranny", it's always great to have him around--- what enthusiasm. Don;t know if you knew but he's been working in his elf shack over in California installing a 4 cyl. Cummins diesel into his coach--- see, there are crazy people like me running around playing with these machines! Ah, so lets call Manny at least as much a "diesel freak" as us here and what we're doing with the Duramax coaches. OK, today-- ah yes, today we pull the 23d off the lift where we have been doing the impossible things making the systems work and guess what---- "Mr. Diesel" will be the first drive out on the 23d! Is this exciting or what!

Yep Ken, I'm on the dash now, putting that in and then we start working the issues we find. It's all an impossible dream but we're about to wake up. I want to drive the coach to the4 last Sunshine Statesmen rally of the year in May. We're gonna do this, I just feel it! And Manny will be here to witness the reality coming to pass.

And if all that is not enough, the 26' coach will actually be pulling out of it's "cocoon" for it's undercarriage work next. Yep, the hands have been flattened enough, we're on the move.

Another cool one is the 74 Canyon Lands coach with 29,000 original miles.

4.7.10

So bout the time I think it's about as hard as it can get some act of kindness makes me remember what this is all about. Thanks man, I just needed to be reminded people do care. Then the phone rang and it was back to work.

The Alignment on Dave's 23' coach went OK though I just could not get the caster I wanted As you can see, caster while touching the box which means it's "on spec." I like to see the boxes below center. Camber made it right on and toe ended up good but I really wanted more caster. This happens mainly because the pass. side has hit vurbs over the years-- you have to match the left and right side spec. so the best you can usually do is what the pass. side will do. Yea, could put in an offset bushing on the rear control arm but hey, thats a pile of work! This should crive well.

Nelson & Shirley dropped by to bring some pics of his coach thats been around for a while. Yep, he's looking to sell this puppy BTW, I'm building a for sale page for Nelson's coach so you "lurkers " out there looking to pic up a nice machine-- this is one. Go to Nelson's coach for sale to see his machine. Have no fear, he's not leaving the ranks, he has another coach!

OK, here's a teaser for ya-- There were several interesting motorhome designs in the past--- lookie what dropped by the other day. Do you know what it is? and you only get 1 guess! With a total production being @ 600finding parts for this 2.2 Liter BMW diesel powered coach is a real pleasure!

So check out the pile of rusty water that belched out of Rick C. coach after getting it started from sitting around. Hey ut the ole Troll fired and thats whats important-- actually ran pretty good too!

Next, I wanted you to take a look at an 8 year old paint job. Thats right -- 8 years ols! He brought it in for some touch ups on the paint and front suspension work. Scott keeps his coach in tip top clean and ordered condition as you can see. He and his brother Mike hung with us last week while we did our work Thanks guys for the company and support.

<<<<More to come >>>>

4.5.10

If you got up early this morning to see the shuttle go off well, it probably wasn't that big a deal watching the TV as it spent our tax dollars heading out but from the back porch of my place you could see it rise over the treeline-- what a sight! 3 more shots and they are using the term "retiring the fleet". Just remember that the design and initial build of the shuttle was done by pretty much the same tools and technology that was used on our GMC. The early 70's was a time when we all thought technology would save us from ourselves, we figured "better living through chemistry" and technology could answer all the questions. Today we know more but still the technology of the past can still do the job in many industries. As far as the GMC goes, we can reinvent the original technology, reuse the body and frame which is exactly what has been keeping the shuttle flying all these years. This too is keeping the GMC on the road, viable and continuing to do the job for which it was intended.

It's sort of funny but most any motorhome you run across will perform pretty much where the GMC does as far as mileage. Yes, they may be a bit larger but hey, I don't care how big a coach is they are still designed to entertain 6, dine 4 and sleep 2--- think about that. Yes, the GMC is today in the "downsized" ranks as far as size but do you really need 4 slides, 2 bathrooms and enough storage to bring a small car in the belly of your coach? George Carlin said the reason we have larger and larger houses is because we keep collecting more and more stuff! If we pactice some of that "conservation" and just bring on the road what is needed (kinda like the way I used to train my scouts to pack in only what you needed when we went on a backpack trec) we really might be able to get along better with a smaller coach.

OK, this might be a very simplistic view of things and why not bring more if you can but I don't know, all of this more, bigger, more complication in our lives just might put us into a problem when things really do start wearing out. I have to say the GMC is a perfect machine to "recycle". Just like Alan's coach that came in last week for a quad bag, some brake work among other things we found out when checking on an "FLN" (thats funny little noise) coming from his motor that #5 had 0 compression and #6 had 30 lb.. Heck, he drove that unit down from New York, pulling a Jeep CJ on 6 1/2 cylinders! Yeam he knew there were issues but heck, that coach came on down! We didn't and neither did he that we'd be doing a motor job on the beast but it got here and that was the good news of it.

We can make the GMC do it's intended job, the one that in the 70's the engineers envisioned the coach could do for the American family and lifestyle-- too bad the shuttle will not have the same fate. Hey, maybe we could slap a couple new rocket motors on that shell, a GPS, some internet acces and the shuttles could keep going to the space station? Maybe the engineering would show we had the right idea on that machine as well? Naaaa, that machine costs too much while our GMC is still cost effective is what keeps it going. This is the main thing that drives our business, the GMC is the most cost effective way to get out on the road. We do not look at what we do bringing the GMC back on the road as a waste of good money and you should understand that. When you work with your coach, don;t try and fix something the "cheapest" way you can because if you only fix something for today it will surly break tomorrow. Fix it right, do your best, invest in the upgrade and you will have something that will last.

Some seek to do a repair or upgrade on their coach as cheap as they can while other look at doing the job as best as possible. Who do you think rises the value and usefulness of their machine? Do you keep your coach and are happy if it just works or would you like it to work well? Anything worth doing is worth doing well, please do not forget this simple premise. Some say having us do work here is too "expensive". It may cost more to have your fuel tanks, professionally cleaned, pressure tested, fittings silver soldered before you put them back in but hey, isn't the peace of mind that the tanks will not leak worth the extra work? A 30+ year old fuel tank needs to be checked out before it's pressed back into service! It's this way on most any project you consider with your GMC. The reason a project may cost more here is the simple fact that you are getting more work in a project here.

Actually, you will spend less in the long run when you fix something to last and this is a proven fact. Right now we have "no room in the Inn". We have so many coaches here getting needed repairs and renovations done that please call ahead if you want us to work with your coach. Those with coaches here understand the importance of having something done complete, thats why we have the work here. We have coaches from all across the country and thanks to those that do have their GMC here for the support. We all get along with a little help from their friends, this is what the Co-op is built on. This is a close family, the GMC community and we are here to do what we can to help. In turn those that understand what it's about come in and we all work together and thats how it should be. Thanks to all of you who come watching here all that we do to keep the GMC on the road doing it's job.

Thats it--- they need to turn Kennedy Space Center into a rocket restoration facility! Maybe they COULD keep the shuttle flying? OK, I'll stop--- just having a little fun. Bringing a GMC up to road ready status, seeing them all fixed up doing their thing is a real thrill for me and I hope for you. Thanks for todays visit, I had a pretty relaxing Easter and now we need to buckle down to get-r-done. Call if I can help, we'll be here pluggin away...

4.2.10

Yes John, I mean 6 numbers and 5 0"s Hey, never did do that well in math! Thanks for the correction but I think you guys got the message. I dare say these will turn out to be THE most expensive GMC coaches ever renovated and no matter how bad my math is most will look at these as so far over the top that well--- lets say most would not consider going this direction and I agree with that!

Today will be a stressed out one, we had Steve and family come in yesterday to pick up Rumplestilkskin which BTW they liked the name so it looks like it will stick. A check out and explaination of the on board systems and they were off to the "yellow brick road" so watch for this machine up I-75 on up to Illinous

We have Scott & Alan wanting to pull out today from work-- I feel like the runner who falls across the finish line winning by the length of his fingernails--- heck, just bit all of mine off!

Have already trued the 6 new Nexen tires for Alen so I'm here waiting for the guys to get here--- wish us luck.

4.1.10

Sure today is "April Fools Day" but it is also a very special day for many things You will have to hang with me a bit on this because "special" may be a relative term to mean some of this may not interest you.

First, today is very special to 1 family in that they will be coming in this morning driving in from Illinois to pick up their new acquisition-- Rumplestilkskin". No doubt they will change the name and it's fitting in that today makes the first day of the rest of the life of this proud machine. . This will be their first vintage motorhome though Steve has had many vintage cars-- this will be something new for his family. This is exciting for me bringing another person into the GMC community as I have with so many before. It is an awesome responsibility-- I compare it to a Humane Society worked introducing a new puppy to someone. There are so many things to explain, so many systems Steve will have to deal with on his way home and so many things to understand. Never owning a "Motorhome" means he will have to learn about a holding tank, galley, bathroom , AC and generator systems and then there is actually driving and using the on board air ride and other systems. Also, introducing one to a 30+ year old vehicle-- expectations and reality come together and THAT can have a bit of drama included. It's my job to bring all of that together-- I will have a busy day doing all of that. Hey, it's my job though-- doesn't pay much though but hey-- some of the most exciting things in life are free and this is one for me.

The coach is ready, good as it can which what it has-- kinda like shining up that old brass spittoon in the window of the antique shop for the new owner to see. We've got her ready for the run home and from there life will take it's new path. I have been working with this coach for some 7 years now, the PO loved and did many things to the machine to please himself-- spent money on it to bring it to where it is today. I and Nelson rescued the coach from a fenced lot outside of Daytona where it had been sitting waiting for it's new life. When saw it there, up on blocks, batteries removed baking in the Florida sun. One word came to mind "Rumplstilkskin". It was sitting there in a holding pattern waiting-- we fired it right up and I drove the yawning beast right to the shop some 50 miles without missing a beat and over the last year or so have been waking up, washing and bringing the coach back to the road. It has been a labor of love, the coach is now ready to take on it's new duty and I want so much for all to go well. Say a little prayer that Steve and family do not have "Murphy" pop out of the glove box and that they make it home and get a good foot going on their new toy.

Another "red letter day" in that the 23d Duramax coach will back off of our lift having another set of impossible jo bs completed. The sewer holding tank and maserator this was a extremely difficult project on this impossible machine. . We'll be using a marine maserator toilet to pump the dutty over to the tank then from ther it will be pumped out from this puppy via our "no mess" dump hose system In that the tank is a bit on the smaller side, the maserator will be "live" connected to the tank and the controls will be inside at the systems monitor. While in a park, the tank can be emptied from inside, while underway there is enough capacity to hold for a couple of days with the dumping of the system very easy and sanitary. More than just a system, it is a concept of use.

This week Scott and his brother Mike came in from Baton Rouge to get some paint work done , here he's lending his engineering skills helping us with issues on the Wabco-Meritor brake systems on the Duramax coaches . The Workhorse systems are totally new, foreighn and computer controlled on these machines-- it's great to have a little help with them. Adapting the original 4 wheel drum brake system to the ABS brake booster in the 26' Duramax has proven to be "interesting" to say the least.

I've probably driven this point into the ground clear to China but the work that these 2 coaches (not just one but a 23 and a 26) represent are immense. The project to end all projects, surpassing even the double slide out, the 23' stretch or the 21' Sporty Shorty, these machines are so one of a kind even we are not sure how insane we were to take them on! It has been an interesting journey bet like what Robinson Crusoe or DeGama endured but I will say it was exciting. Soon now, very soon the first of these machines will be on the road (God save our highway system). I will start showing more of them as we get closer to their delivery. I'm not sure how it will be not worrying over some part of the build on these coaches-- it's been such a long journey. Thanks to all who have helped, without all of that we would have never made these work. The first question always when folks see these at the shop is when will they be done to which I throw up my hands. The next question is how much moola is in them to which I say so much of that and time that it's not possible to calculate. Then they ask how much would I say one could be reproduced and to THAT I would tell you be sure to have $400,000 (yes that is with 6 0's) if you are interested in one of these machines! OK, so now that everyone has readjusted their screens--- thats right, I would not consider even starting another Workhorse/GMC project unless I saw the money! These machines are that involved, that unique and that cool. Needless to say I am not holding out for a fleet of these machines out on the road in the near future, heck I would also tell anyone interested in one of these that it will be a 2 year project right off the top of my head to build another one! Yes, and thats not taking breaks. We do have the patterns and if you are looking for the machine to end all-- heck, give me a call. We do know how to do it, we have 2 close to under our belt but just know even at that you just cannot get your hands around the impossibilities these machines represent. Raymond & Ken have much to be proud of, just wait till one of these things popps up at a rally! On man, I wanna be there! There is a chance I will have one at the last Sunshine Statesmen rally of our season for a shakedown, we'll have to see. OK, enough of that but like I said, today we see the 23d on the ground, stay tuned.

Another celebration for the day is we will hit 80 deg. for the first time after a seriously chilly winter for us down here in the south. I will not complain about heat this summer, Mother Nature has made me see the light, I love heat now! Sorry no chese with my whining about hot summer days here.

OK, the wonderful sun is up, Paul D. just showed up with his diesel Smart Car and Kevin is about ready to throw paint on Scotts coach-- the day is on! Have a great one yourself, the past couple down here have allowed me to enjoy mu motorbike-- a great way to start out a day. Go hug your coach and think of Steve and family as they are united with their machine and know time marches on.

3.31.10

Ken R., you placed an order with us for some outer CV boots-- your phone number is not good and Fed Ex does not like the address we have for you-- please give me a call.

Thanks to all who sent posts about the "fine pair" pics, these were unique to me in that our focus was on original design over custom modification-- something different for us here. All in all I will say it was great going to the top in that direction. Andy's 76 white Palm Beach is gone, Matt's 73 Canyon Lands is still here, we have the interior damage from the accident to put back in and some mechanical issues yet to investigate but "Back from the Future" will be heading home soon to take up it's new duties as family transport machine. These classic machines are not just a pretty face, they are made to drive and be a vital part of the family. This is a main difference when compared to other "vintage" vehicles. It would be nice to have one of our coaches in a museum but I would rather see them blowing down the road doing their job with style. Keep this in mind when you see a good looking GMC on the road-- remember it's in it's "element" on the highway!

OK, so to use this "daily pose" as intended, I would like to catch up a bit with the folks having machines here at the shop with progress on their machines. The big jobs seem to go slowly but it's more that progress on them is counted in a building of blocks rather than knocking blocks down on smaller "in and out" projects. The Duramax coaches being the most involved may seem from your end of the screen to be crawling along but we're at a stage now that the "easy" stuff is done and now we are faced with actually fitting in some final pieces. With the modified air ride system operational from the underside of the frame, we are about to pull the 23d off the lift to put the 26' mondo coach up to duplicate the progress taught on the 23d fittings. This is a major step-- with the sewer system in (dumping maserator goes in today, the air ride figured and all, we will soon be inside fitting the dash -- oh boy, you need to see how that comes together.

Paul's "Chimera" coach also has hit a milestone-- behold, our new one piece fiberglass dash mold in place With the cluster the same shape as the original to accept the awesome Mac dash configurations, the one piece fiberglass replacement fits right into place. From where Craig is standing outside the dash looks totally original but the difference is apparent from the inside. The reason for this odd undersection is to accommodate this all new heat/cool servo controlled dash air unit This is the very same unit we will be installing in the 23d-- BTW, thanks Ken for finding this nice unit for us. It will be placed here inside the coach on the firewall where it will spit out hot and cold air right at the driver and passenger through the 3 dash mounted vents and the slung under one to the left of the steering column The angle of the vents first was a calculated need because of the cluster location but after seeing it in place I think it will add to the styling statement. The 2 large holes are for access to the AC unit and dash wiring Next we will remove the mold for final finish and to give me a chance to wire in the Mac harness for the dash cluster which you see here in and ready for the cluster. We'll prewire for the AV system and air ride controls while Craig hooks in the heater and freon hoses to the dash Air unit. With this design engineered, if your dash has fallen apart from the sun, turned to a bucket of broken plastic parts we will have a good looking option not just for "another dash" but also an upgraded dash Air system and a unique custom look -- thanks for Dave, Kevin, Andy, Craig and others for the hard work on this project.

Alan landed yesterday morning with his machine for some mechanical issues while he and his family dropped bucks over at Disney As I've said before, these machine will "drive broke" and Alan having issues coming down this weekend gave us clues on the drive that lead us to several issues on the machine. First, there was "play" in the steering-- on investigation we found his upper ball joint loose It is very important to "ping" the threads on the mounting bolt on both the upper and lower ball joints-- if you do not the bolts WILL back out! Breaking the knuckle off to fix this we found original front brake hoses WHAT! 30+ year old brake parts still working? Yep but seeing them I just cannot leave them there! Also one look at the rear brake hoses tells me we need to put in a call to the Smithsonian When you see a ronder shoulder on the center block where I'm pointing you know that hose is very old. The problem with these old hoses is while they may look OK from the outside, brake hoses deteriorate from the inside swelling out turning them into "check valves". A push on the brake swells out the hose and fluid flows to the caliper and wheel cylinder but when the brake is let up, the hose collapses holding pressure on the brake which causes it to drag and thats bad "juju". Our new teflon, braided stainless, clear covered performance hoses for the front is actually cheaper than buying the original rubber hose replacements ($39). There rear hoses are a unique part not available off shelf, these are $60.37 each side. Hey, if you see old hoses on your coach, do something about it.

Another thing Alan came in for was our all new "Quad bag" rear air ride suspension kit. Here you see the first inside member of the kit There has been a "spirited" thread on the GMC Net lately about this system so let me describe what you are looking at. The rear component is through bolted to the frame and bogy. Is will stay in place from now on. As you can see, one of the 2 air bags is connected to it. The second part of the upright is bolted to the bogy pins and to the first member which holds the second air bag Being construced of thick 3/8" zinc plated steel, bolted together this piece will NOT bend or deflact in any way. This is at the heart of the quality design I just have to say there is no finer rear suspension modification for your coach and I would be happy to put that statement to any test you like! Lower bag pressures means a soft ride similar to the original, heavy gauge construction means a stronger design, larger diameter bags means better overall suspension tharacteristics and the gold zinc coating means this kit will be with you from now on. Years of on the road experience tells us this system works and with the original Firestone air bags gone "bye bye", if you spend your $ to replace a part on your coach, why not do it with the best way possible? We have the experience-- this is really the way to go!

Another "best way to go" is with our replacement top quality oil cooler hose set. Our hoses are not the "cheap" way to go but the best. The hose material is Parkers finest high pressure, fiber braded stuff-- better than even a teflon stainless braided hose, this is more damage resistant and thats what you want. The end fittings are "clock adjustible" which means you can turn them to fit your install. Also reuseable, we can replace the hose if need be so your investment is not lost down the road. These oil cooler hoses are so critical to the safety and operation of your motor, why not go the high road! At $155 a set, like I said they are not the cheapest but I feel the best.

Another new part-- not often do you see parts go up in features and down in cost-- here is one. We have a new air suspension compressor, pictured behind our past really nice compressor, this is the new offering With a larger motor, more cooling on the polished cast aluminum cylinder head this 100% duty cycle air compressor delivers more CFM than last years model (.28 CFM more) with only 2 amp increase in draw. Hey and it has a chrome body--- very cool! We have these in stock now for $225. Gimme a call if you are interested.

I've carried on here a while, need to get out there and get some work done. Call if we can help, thanks for the visit, hope you picked up something that helped out.

3.28.10

There are few pleasures in this sort of business quite as satisfying as parading a fine pair such as these. I would say you will not see 2 original resorations together as this. Enjoy the pics, it was a pleasure to build these machines.

Is it pride that I say this, I would say pride of the people that came together to put them together. The years it took to understand what it is to put something like them together, I am proud to be a part and appreciate them all.

Many things have changed at the Co-op, Andy has gone home to RI taking with him his beauty "Serious influence" A original restoration of the custom order white Palm Beach. Andy has this as his own, it was a pleasure to bring his idea of bringing this Palm Beach to this level of finish.

Matt's 1973 Canyon Land has documented 29,000 miles and now you can truly say this specimen is "Back From the Future"

Yes it is! From Fargo this coach is back and I am proud to bring this machine to the road

Don't mean to lay it on so thick but this is good reason, a really fine pair!

There are more goings on at the Co-op but I think the rest of the projects can look at these and say we all hope to be there soon.

And in hopes of that day reaching this level, Jeff's coach is has it's first looksee The mechanical review is in, now lets see what fun we can get into with it. A worthy opponent, follow this coach as it comes to speed.

Andy also leaves us a great design on Mark's custom bathroom , thanks man for the work.

From a plug, we have a dash among others this is some of the fun we're having.

So many great things are only accomplished by hard work from many dedicated people, thanks to all of them and I hope they all feel the pride I do in what the Co-op stands for.

Monday will be a big one, Scott is coming in from Baton Rouge, Steve is coming in to pit up his new purchase and another has driven 3 days sold to come in for some work-- what a week we plan to have-- hope you will join in on the fun here.

3.25.10

So going after the punch list on Steve's coach I looked at why the wipers were not working. Heck, the PS hoses were all hooked up, the control cable was doing it's thing-- whats the deal! I got Craig up in the coach and had him turn on the motor, I lifted the arms and --- wham! Holding both arms as they went back and forth I carefully yelled at craig--- "TURN OFF THE WIPERS!". The PO had not installed the wipers properly, here they are at rest . OK, so I need to "adjust the position. But the arms were actually about rusted through, the years of sitting in the Florida weather was taking it's toll! The better plan was to chuck those old puppies and go to the new wiper arms. You may have seen these . Besides being all new and pretty cool looking, the replacement blades on the original arms are truck parts and are not easily to find replacements. You can find replacement blades for the new arms most anywhere. They are Anco 31-24, heck Wally World has'm! Called Steve, layed out the options and Vwala, we have nice new wiper arms on his new baby . We have these units, the arms are $136 with blades and all. Heck, I can't sand, prime, paint and replace broken parts on the originals for that! If you're interested give me a call. BTW, some people go out to the "Men's Mall" and gleen these off of wrecks, paintm up and all. There is amod you must do to adapt them to our coach, done wrong you will need piles of washers and the finished job looks hokey. Look, we modify them right here, these are brand new arms, they look perfect and you will find in the end if you want some nice wipers, these are it. I've also got really nice stainless achorn nuts cheap to make this a 100 point retrofit. Let me help you with these!

Steve is keeping up the pressure on Paul's new floor, the wheels wells are getting sealed in both sides will be thru bolted to the floor then welded to the sidewall to give additional lateral strength . Dave is now m aking the new dash too so good things are happening for the Chimera.

OK, here we go-- the saga begins! Jeff's Ebay find in in the house We'll be doing a soup to nuts recovery and refitting of this machine back to road worthy condition for you guys here. The previous owner had the coach for 4 or 5 years. When he picked it up, the intention was to take his new family out to see Florida. Seems like it worked well for him and his young son. This was a perfect reason to have a GMC, very user friendly. Worked well until they grew out of it . It wasn;t the 3rd kid, it was the one in the oven that convinced him he was out of the coaches ability! He hated to part with it but hey, something had to happen. Guess he really missed Jay Leno!

So here we go, the coach came in. I took the title, keys and the reigns of the beast so now it's Jeff's chicken! Went to answer some calls-- came back out to move the coach and "click" it would not start! Yea, seen it before-- no, it wasn't separation anxiety disorder but the batteries were dead-- all of them. Coaches like this sit around for a while waiting for their new home, the PO doesn;t mistreat the baby but in that he's looking to let her go, just does not keep up with the maintenance. The batteries were probably aged, the coach probably flattened them and they sat there dead for a time. Charging them up is only so much good so they usually drop their charge in short order. The old saying is so true, buy a new car expect to replace the tires and battery right away. We'll be putting in 2 "yard batteries" to give us checkout power while we do our work. My suggestion is to purchase your batteries locally for the warranty.

OK, today we will be dong the mechanical evaluation for Jeff. Have gotten him hooked up for an "agreed value" insurance policy so based on the evaluation of the coach and it's systems, we'll get started. This is a very important thing you must remember when picking up a "new" GMC for use. IT'S NOT NEW! There are systems on the coach that might even have 30+ year old components so all bets are off on reliability. As Ronnie Ragan said "Trust but verify". All systems must be totally evaluated, updated, upgraded, parts replaced, adjusted or whatever is found to be needed. This is the #1 issue when getting into a GMC. Follow this project as we bring this coach up to standard for Jeff. This might be very good for you guys looking to jump into the GMC waters.

Every coach-- I don;t care what it is, how well it was kept or how much $ you spent on it must go through this exact systems check. This is the only way you can hope to rely upon this machine. After this comes the maiden cruise and the "shakedown" to find other possible issues. Steve's coach is in this phase right now and just a 7 mile round trip to my house found issues. Hey guys, this is what bringing a GMC to the road is all about. DON't just jump in one of these babies and take off! Unless you want to see how your AAA service works!

The day is on, fun to be had-- have a great day and thanks for the visit.

3.24.10

A freaky fast day yesterday took all I could do to stay up to speed!

As promised to Matt and you guys remember this from when Matt brought in his baby on Mr. Hook thats then and this is now As the tire cover says-- "Life is good" and even better now! From this to this Now thats what I'm talkin bout! Thanks Kevin for a super job! Hey and this is a paint job based on our "lower priced" finish. Spend some time with a buffer and you will really have something! I say that as if it's not awesome already We really need to start having competition on finish quality at GMC rallies-- not for all but for those that wanna show. Just a suggestion, car folks do it!

Wanted to start this Monday, finally got in Steve's coach last night to start it's "shakedown" . This morning I pulled in before dawn with the first round trip under it's belt . It's funny but here we are working on the big stuff-- the things that would put Steve on the side of the road-- bearings, brakes, tires, fluids, belts hoses, lights, yada-yada-yada. Then I pile into it, fire it up, sounded good, flipped on the headlights-- one was off-- the dash lights were in/op, the interior lights have the floor lights on, the wipers didn't move. Those are the sort of things that may not be hazardous to health but just a pain! Got my work cut out today! Lets see if tonights run will be better. I know there are several of you out there that the same thing happened on your "maiden voyage". Steve will have his family come down with him and all of them together holding on for a ride back to Illinois. I think we are all saying at this point "Gods speed". Here starts another GMC relationship, my job now and until they come in on Monday for the flight is to prepare the coach. Then my job will switch to prepare them. Hey, if any of you out there have any wisdom for Steve, post me & I'll post your thoughts. We all want him to have a good starting experience with his "new" coach.

The day is on and I'm out!

3.23.10

"Car 54 where are you" Wow, it's been a blurrrr that past couple of days! So much happening I get started on something, it needs more time from me and before I know it I'm bushed and the sun is going down. It's all about priorities and I have a plate full but this posting is also something important so this morning I say to all the other things biting my butt "keep chewing I'll be right back". You guys here need a little bit of my time so let me catch up showing you guys some of the stuff happening around here.

For those of your (Paul) following the new one piece dash mold and new dash AC/heat system-- Dave is getting serious on making that mold the best it can be He has turned a corner of out trim shop into a great fiberglass shop and I love his selection of attire!

Guy, you may have heard but Jane Galbavy , Jim's wife, co-pilot, best friend lost her fight this weekend. Jim and Jane were a pair Please have Jim in your prayers.

Man, the phone just started ringing but I'm gonna stay on task here!

So to the music from "2001" Daaaaaaa Daaaaaa DAAAAAAA TaDaaaaaaa Kevin walks in the bay to bring his new offering out Daaaaaa Daaaaaa DatdAAAAAAA Bum-bum-bum-bum-bum-bum-bum-bum-BUM Daaaaa Daaaaa Daaaa Daaaa DatdAAAAAAAA And as Hal comes awake, let me introduce you to a "Back from the Future" 1973 Canyon Lands 26' coach Still a little wet behind the ears with some final details still to do but brother-- it's really "Same as it ever was"! We have had reproduced the original logos which will go on soon and this coach could be one of the nicest examples of what GM came out with in the beginning of the GMC. On;y 20,000 original miles I feel like we should have gotten a roller platform to keep the wheels from turning! Man, wait til yo see the interior! Original look with original materials-- original and looking like the day it was sold! This is a departure on many of the coaches we do but it is a blast putting this coach together! Keep watching for more on this project.

Ken & Raymond, you gotta see what we're having to deal with on your air ride systems and for the rest of ya, you are just sooooo lucky on what God gave us with our rear suspension control systems. Here is the air solenoid block in the Duramax chassis . It's at the bottom of the frame which puts it at the bottom of the aire suspension system. So with water flowing "down hill", where do you think air humid air drops it's load when it comes into the air compressor? Yep, this block was fill of water, crud and I don;t know what all! What were they thinking-- hey, ok I'm no engineer but it doesn;t take one to see the problem with this! Jeff is cleaning the block out and we're scrapping the computer system in the chassis-- all it did was adjust for ride height and kneel the front of the chassis for loading. Heck, we want it to do more than that! Ken, Jeff will be in today and we'll be working under your machine-- don;t worry, you won;t feel a thing! "Dave, will I dream".

Back to Pauls "Chimera" tail gate machine, Steve is being his usual "Valiant Tailor" on his floor and with Jasons help reinforcing the aluminum superstructure welding in supports it looks like we'll have that in and the awesome aluminum tub wheel wells in today . With the decision to go with a new roller cam 455 motor (hey, what else can ya do with a cracked block) we're opting to get the floor in-- we have the windows in place now to keep the weather off the floor. Speaking of the floor structure, as you might know-- the early 73 & 74 coaches suffered somewhat from a single layer 3/4" floor structure. Actually the floor in these coaches were a bit mushy. We're installing the 3/4" new floor with a 1/2" top "skin" layer to give the Chimera a stronger floor structure-- you're welcome Paul.

WANNA DO MORE BUT i JUST NEED TO GET OUT THERE, WILL TRY AND PUT OUT MORE LATER--- WHAT CAN I SAY!

See Ya

3.17.10

In an effort to keep divulging our progress here at the shop, let me give Steve S. some input on his machines progress. BTW, we are shooting to have him and his family fly in on the 1st and drive their baby home. I am not looking at delivering the coach on "April Fools Day" as a bad Omen, that will always remain to be seen!

So when we were finishing up the "B&B's" (bearings and brakes), one look at the air bags on the coach generated a call for direction. Still working, the air bags did not look "well' so as I outlined yseterday-- the call was made. After laying out the options, Steve went for the best solution and opted for the new Quad bagger system. Kinda like that mop commercial where the old featherduster tries to make it up to the housewife, these puppies needed to be replaced! So here is where we start, the PO "foofed" the wheel liners around the tires to look good-- I want it to look good to but I also want it to work The shocks are those hi dollar Caspro jobs, no longer available the PO spent big bucks there so we can keep those. So Jason gets it on and progress is made. Man, this Q bag deal is good lookin! And we can make the whole package look and work as good as they look Jason has it down on the install of the Q bag system, a great reason to have it done while here So with repacked bearings, rebuilt brakes, 16" Alcoas, new trued tires, the Qbag sitting pretty, a "full foofage" on the wheel liners, controls in place -- Ground control I think we're ready for throttle up! Now, on to some other issues on Steve's resurrection-- the generator, a Generac has been sitting for 5+ years here in the Florida heat and humidity. Jason pulled the carb, stripped it down and cleaned out the "Klingons" and put it back. Primed up the pump and carb and away she went Hey and check out the awesome stainless steel slide out battery tray that Daren Paget (you remember him) made There's room in there for 2 batteries. I'm purring in an A/B battery switch so Steve will have good battery control. Next we move on to the LP water heater the PO installed. A bit more issues with this puppy. Putting an LP driven water heater in the same location as the original AC/heat exchange unit is not maybe the way I would do that but hey, it's here so we work with what we have. The unit having the "works in a drawer" or should I say in a bucket for water to fill up is again, not the way I would do it but hey, we can drill a hole in the bucket to let the water out! We also have a rust through hole into the coach here so some provisions for draining the tide need to be made. All this sounds nuts but these are the things you run into when new ideas are used. Just got word from Craig that we have a flashing green light which means we're making headway!

His never used Dometic frig fired off when we got the LP gas leaks fixed , again I would not have used galvanized pipe to plumb the LP but it is a good way to do it. The fittings were not tight.

So here is the saga of Steve's coach, we could change the name and call it for most other coaches that come in here wanting to get back on the road. The key here is doing it once and doing it right. It will be a better job and in the end much cheaper!

One more update on Paul's resurrection and another perfect example of just doing what's needed. Remember yesterday we showed how we found a cracked water jacket on his block. The decision was made and we're having a fresh block built up and this puppy will get a long block, roller cam 455 motor. Wow you say but in the end, the coach will be a better machine for the time and all put into doing it right. Yes, it's money but yes, it will be a better machine for it. This is to be a commercially used transportation unit so breakdowns on the road could be costly. I'm excited that we will have this awesome coach out there on the road doing it's job well. Follow it's progress.

OK, so it looks like rain today, the guys are here and we're preparing for the wet stuff. Jason is doing stuff on Pauls coach, he and Craig are mounting the 23d holding tank. The heater people liked out exhaust on that so "Bob's your uncle" on that one. I'm trying to get out of the office and Kevin is installing windows on Pauls tailgate machine while Dave makes our new one piece dash-- you gotta hang for that one. Andy is hard at work on Mark's big ole bathroom mold and Steve is piecing together Pauls 2 layer floor--- stuff is goin on! Have a great day, we've already done enough this morning to call it a good one. see ya again and thanks for the visit.

3.16.10

And the beat WILL go on, never know what God will bring us next but last night "Fish on Fire" burned For those who have never heard of this establishment here in Orlando let me help you understand who this is and how this place figures into our history. You can read about the place on their web site www.fishonfireorlando.com . The owner Jay Herrington is a big fan of the Co-op, his brother Jerry supported our efforts when he had us build the "Full Tilt Buggy" one of the first really out the top GMC projects the Co-op did. Full Tilt At that time, Jay had a prestigious catering business doing the Orlando Magic sky box parties among other high profile catering jobs. Jay would stock up the Full Tilt Buggy when Jerry did his tail gating thing the year the Tampa Bay Bucs won the Super Bowl. I was driver of the rig mainly to keep it from being damaged. I was the "DD" of the party to make sure all went well so man I got used to some awesome food at those events. Jay stepped out on the wild side opening "Fish on Fire" some years ago and like me with the Co-op scratched his way up the side of his own tin can to make his dream child restaurant what it was today. At least 2 times a week, Andy, Dave, Janie and myself would stop by and partake of some culinary delights at Jays Place as we would call it. He's going to have to set up a table & umbrella out front of the carcus for us and I bet others to still come-- it's now in our DNA to go there! For those of you who have gone with us to Fish on Fire for dinner and some brews, please take a minute and think of how special the place was and if Karma has any pull direct some of that good stuff toward Jay and what comes next in his life. Dangit man, our experience in life make us stronger, Jay should now be a lumberjack!

OK, thats the hilight of my day, my week for that matter but as I said "The Beat goes On" so lets follow suit and keep the faith. Work around here was good yesterday. Steve's coach took an interesting turn. As you will remember, the coach is a reclain from a 5 year sit and during it's hibernation in the Daytona area, "Rumplestilkskin" had obviously been exposed to low temps so guess what, when we got the fresh water pump going, we found ourselves standing inside of a 26' sprinkler! We started chasing breeches in the water system. The good news is after we replace all the cracked fittings & rusty valves in the system, it will be a very reliable deal. Craig, my plumbing master is on the task so have no fear, we will stem the tide on that issue. The water puddle under the coach pretty much says it all. Also, while Jason was about to mount Steve's new tires, one of the air bags reached out to touch us, the ouside rubber was flaking off BTW guys, if you see this stuff on your air bags, back off slowly and do something. The options are 3:

o Buy an original air bag that might be available through a selct group of rip off dealers at an extortion price raised because someone might pay it.

o Pick up a "dual bag" suspension kit for $750 plus shipping that will be a basic retrofit so your coach will not be put down in the future because of unusable air bags. This is not only a good thing for you to keep your beloved baby on the road but will be a positive selling feature when you do sell the coach.

o Pick up a "Quad bag" full buggy retrofit system at @ $1600 plus shipping. This is the "latest/greatest" system safer, more maintenance friendly and a huge pick up on the performance of your coach. Here is a post I got actually this morning from a satisfied Q bag customer:

Hi Jim,

Well when I purchased the Quadra Bag from you, you asked for a picture........!!

It only took me 2 years but here it is!!

We have had the Coach for five years now and after all of the upgrades (many upgrades!!)

This is the best of all and money well spent !

Bill F

Thanks Bill, your post was timely. Yea, this is a great thing for your coach, yep-- it takes a couple of shakles to do is but your coach will love you even more for it. I have never had anyone who was not very pleased with the investment. If you are interested, give me a call.

Moving on, Matt's coach is all but ready to see the light of day for the first time. Crag & Eric hoisted up Matt's new low profile AC unit up to plug that hole yesterday which marks the waterproofing of the coach. Reinstalling the bumpers, trimming out windows and some cosmetic final touches and this puppy will not only look like a new penny with only 29K original miles it WILL be a new/old penny! This transformation will be very much like Andy's coach. Interestingly enough we had a visit from another recent find-- a frightfully original 76 Palm Beach parked right with Andy's renovated 76 Palm Beach , what a comparison Old and then renewed, you can see the potential a GMC offers.

We have a blamket over it's head but this does not mean the puppy is dead Twas a good thing that Jason did not have the stress I have to push the work-- working with Paul's :Chimera" tail gate machine yesterday, he was ready to stab the intake back into the coach when he noticed a missing head bolt on the driver side head. Investigating he called me over and showed me some milky looking ooze coming from between the head and block. I made the call to pull the heads, not much more of a big deal from where we were, and we found that the missing bolt had caused a cylinder leak when sitting. He pulled the heads and other than the blown head gasket there was no other damage-- brother we dodged a bullet there. His goal is to get the motor back together and sealed up today so we can keep our schedule of getting the coach over to Kevin and the exterior work today.

This morning I'm working on the chilly willy ride in on the side car bike . It's a great way to kick your body into action. First making it out the door of the house in pitch dark knowing you have a ritual that will hopefully lead to a ride into work. I follow those steps to success. Turn on the gas, plip the choke, putting Attila in neutral with the suicide shifter you rub the speedo and with a "come on baby" under your breath. A jing on the starter which is a hit/miss chance and if it won;t grab after 5 or 6 hits you know it will be a factor of "kick the b----" to bring life to the beast. The firing of that power plant means jump on it as soon as it will rev up and get going cause every turn of the motor is a gift! Hacking up to top cog you get the feeling it will be a good day, the chill in your face says you are yet alive for another struggle and while the motor does it's sewing machine "put, put, put" at the traffic light you realize it just might be a good day. And while unlocking the chain on the gate, Attilla sits there putting away as I wrestle with the gate it feels warm compared to the wind of riding so from that point on you appreciate even the temperature nature has given you. This is what owning and riding a 70 year old design mechanism is all about. Forget saving the machine to look at and polish-- I wanna ride!

The guys are now showing up, doors are opening and the day is on. It's a bitter sweet day, Jay I am sure is wigged out on his burned resturant-- we all here feel his pain but yea, time marches on and as they say "this too will pass". Have a good day yourself please, appreciate things around you and what you have. I'm not worried as much what I don;t have if I can get what we do rockin!

PS-- and this is a big one for Paul Here is an example of the unexpected results we run into just about everyday. Remember we were talking about the missing head bolt on the driver side of Paul's 455 engine and how I had Jason pull the heads off to investigate and how that was a good call from where we were. OK, so first thing I had Jason go at reinstalling the good looking heads with new head gaskets then keep on going with the intake install--- Well, he was cleaning up the block surface on the pass. side and hit this can you see them? Lets hit it from another angle yep, 4 cracks in the water jacket! And the motor pulled itself over to the mechanical bay when we started it up! Must have been low on water when we started to not blow water out. It was only run for a couple of minutes to verify it ran before we started work on it. One step forward, 2 steps back-- John Cougar had it right!

3.15.10

Ah, looks like we have another "hooked" poser looking for his daily "fix" here Jeff sent me the post I get from someone when I neglect my poser duties a bit. Sorry man, sometimes that is just too much on my plate to keep input here on the front burner. Yea, have now fear though, we are here and as in the words of Jimmy Buffet "if the phone doesn't ring-- it's me" the Co-op is on task even if I don;t do a post that day.

This weekend I spent catching up on some of the paperwork that goes along with about everything an of us do today. Just like going to the can for a morning constitutional, there is "paperwork" involved so hey, somebody has to do it! We have taxes and bills to pay and guess what, that would be me in front of that slope!

The end of this day will hopefully show Matt's coach back out from Kevins spot looking like the new penny we're going for. Paul's Chimera goes in if we can button up the motor and get wheels on the critter. That stuff should make for some good pics. I feel so good about the progress on the 23d Duramax sewer system-- "one more step by man, another quantum leap for mankind"!

I have no cool pics for this day, you have to break eggs to make an omelet and chances are most of us don;t hover over the frying pan while the eggs are beaten up. It is a beautiful, sunny clear day. Just a small nip in the morning air with a high of 72 on the way. Now this is great working weather! I am excited about our days future so stay tuned for some "stuff".

Thanks for todays visit and your interest in the pose. It is my goal to give you guys something to talk about so stand by.

3.13.10

Yes, it's Saturday and finally, we have a clear day rail around here is worse than the cold probably in that at least with the cold you can do something, the rain cuts all about anything to do when you work outside in the open.

Drat! I had a pile of verbage here and then the program locked up and I lost it all! Bear with me while I redo it all. need to "save" more often.

"Bear" with me while I catch people up on where we are on projects in house:

Steve S,-- got your tires in and trued up. Could do that inside where the rain did not effect me. Jason got your generator carb off, cleaned up and back on before the water came down. Have had the coach plugged in letting the frig and roof AC try and remember what their "special purpose in life" is. Monday, we'll put the tires on, try and fire the generator and see why the fresh water pump didn;t come on. need to fix this shade Like I said, Craig had his hands full rerouting the AC breaker box at a long glance you can see the front wheels were leaking brake fluid all fixed now

Matt K.-- Even though kevin has been sick with a cold, he has been coming in putting the final touches on your exterior. It's still inside so he could work on it but leaving after 1/2 a day yesterday, he was not able to do as much as we all would have liked.

Paul M. and his band-- The rain screwed our efforts on your coach probably the most. Being still outside, we just could do nothing on the body ot the lifting tailgate. jason did get the timing chain and all the stuff on the front of the motor together. I think he wore his snorkel as he just worked on-- man what a trooper! It was too humid for Dave to do anything with the fiberglass even inside so hopes are high on Monday to get things going again. What can we do to apeze the weather Gods?

Ken and the 23d did get some progress, Craig got out there in the rain under the coach and has the sewer connections to the tank in and the tank basically in place. The mounting system for the tank still needs to go in but Craig did make progress. His son Eric got the solenoid block from the automated air ride system out. the thing is full of rust! Jeff and I are trying to figure out if we just do not lknow the logic or is the thing defective. We did get the brushes in the mondo pump cleaned and is looks to be salvaged. the pump pulls 26 amps so it really needs to have the motor running to not screw the battery it will be connected to-- just another one of those "unexpected results" Guys-- out intention is to bypass the computer controlled section of the air ride system. it was designed for a shuttle bus "kneeling" when the door opened and adjusting mainly to it's load. We want it to go up and down based on road conditions-- the computer does not know how to do that so we need to blow it out and allow the driver to control the system himself-- hey, another "unexpected result" based on what we want a system to do.

Tom S. dropped by yesterday and between raindrops we went over all the stuff we were supposed to do on his coach. We have a short final punch list & he's deciding if he wants carpet or not.

Mark H. full resoration suffered a bit because of the wet stuff as well. Andy and Dave were stopped on other than doing some needed planning on the fiberglass bath mold. Humidity does not do well for the resins working with the fiberglass. Dave was pretty depressed he could not go for the molds either in Mark's coach or on the dash and tailgate on Paul M. coach.

"Rain, rain go away-- come again some other day" and today looks like a drying out day-- wish us luck on that.

Jeff and the next machine to arrive supposedly on the 11th was waved off on logistics issues. I see that as a good thing. As you can see, we have so many issues happening all at the same time-- people ask me "how's the business". I say we are booked-- while that sounds good it comes with other pressures. We have timetables on several of these projects which in trying to make we have less control on major issues like the cold and rain that directly effects our work. Hey, all you can do is keep your head down and thats what we are doing.

I have some pics but being in the other computer, I'll now go work on that and throw them in, talk to ya in a few minutes

OK, more to come. I appreciate you guys supporting our efforts here at the Co-op. It has turned into a realy interesting way of life here. Andy is cleaning his coach our from the rain, Dave is over there doing the same and hanging at the "tail gate coach" sizing up his next move. Kerry T. called in late last evening so he landed for a days stay at the Co-op resort. Dinner last night with he and Leanne was great, just so reassuring that folks appreciate the work we do. Gonna finish up some paperwork here and get some weekend stuff handled.

Call if yo need to, the cell phone is on. Thanks again for the visit-- and the beat goes on...

3.12.10

A wash out for 2 days now it's the problem down here in Florida working out in the open! Stand by, I'm get my wet suit off and put up some stuff for ya. We're here doing our best. Have a great day, I'm wearing a snorkel today!

3.10.10

Sorry for the time away I wasn't away, just doing so much at the shop time would not permit me to get here. Dad gumit, gout his my right knee last night again-- what an insidious ailment! One minute things are fine, you feel a twinge and there it is! You hobble around for a day taking this special poison strong enough to knock out the gout but weak enough to not kill ya. How do they know how much that is anyway? I double up on the stuff figuring I'm too stressed out for it to effect me, I just want my leg to stop hurting-- it finally goes away and I watch for the next time. Hey, we're not in Kansas any more--- "There's no place like home.....

Had a thought, we were talking about the bringing back to the road ---hey, thats not the only one! From where I sit, it feels like a "movement" all the folks picking up coach, getting them back in shape so don;t just sit there waiting to see Jeff's rig come together, we have several people doing the exact same thing!

Paul M. is bringing a really unique coach back from the back row here at the Co-op. His new (whatever) machine was a project that lost steam over 4 years ago. Paul has a specific need and his puppy will certainly turn heads when it's done. It looks like crap right now I know but you chissel away at them all. Hey, we have the new rebuilt steering column in now . May not sound like much to you but we ended having to swap out the driver floor to get a working gas & brake pedal. The steering column had been messed around so to get a column mounted shifter (yes, someone had put a floor shift in the thing) the column had to be replaced. Oh and Paul, it will not end up staying Palm Beach green! Steve has your floor pans made and as soon as Kevin (got the cold we all had last week) gets the windows in we can install the floor . So while Jeff's repatriated effort will be for for you guys to watch, don;t forget the other machines around here. Paul's new Mac dash came in yesterday , not even gonna open the box til we get the one piece fiberglass dash mold put together, same for the new dash AC/heat system it's here to but we won't plip the box till we are ready. Hey, it's all coming together so stay tuned for a real resurrection!

Hey and if I can get folded up to work in the hallway on Steve S. coach, I'll be rewiring his 110 VAC circuits for his newly purchased coach. He's off the lift now and we're closing in on bringing his coach to standard for a ride home to Ill.

Now Jeff's coach is one step closer, we have the final payment as per the Ebay payment schedule so we're watching the road for that machine to come in somewhere around the 11th.

Like I said, from where I sit, it feels like a movement of folks rediscovering the GMC and how much interest is coming in.

Here's another one, Tom S. limped his baby in from Oregon what 3 weeks ago for us to give it a lease on life. Yesterday, we got him up on the alignment machine for a looksee at which direction his wheels were pointing. Setting up the Hunter C111 computer 6 wheel alignment machine Yes, this is an older machine but to my knowledge this is the only 6 wheel specific alignment machine available to the GMC community that is still in working condition. What does it do? OK, fair question: Setting the machine up, the heads go on 4 wheels at a time, the first screen looks at the 2 rear bogy wheels which here tells me the camber on the wheels are within tolerance (we see big boxes) . You can see how over the years, the frame is bent out at the bottom making the camber follow. There is very little we can do & in that it's "in toerance" what we do need to do is help out the toe. the left wheel is right on, the right wheel is off so out comes the portapower and wham-- here we go Now we move to the front wheels where camber, caster and toe must be set. Here is what we are starting with Caster is good but not balanced while the camber is skewed a bit. Toe is screwed so we have our hands full here. This is probably why the coach was all over the road, he was "plowing the ground" toed out like that! First lets get the camber then the caster where we want to be camber gets right on while caster gets as much as I can get and balance the 2. Then comes the toe which goes straight on There are all sorts of alignment specs and things folks talk about but how do you really know whats happening--- talk about it all day, I can show it to ya! With the front jam up, we now go after the "middle wheels" by moving our heads relating the 4 rear wheels is what this machine does you just can't find everywhere and why Tom drove in from Oregon (yes, thats right) for us to do this work. The screen does not lie so with our trusty porta power Jason takes care of the situation I'll drive the coach this morning and that part of Tom's resurrection will be complete. That along with the complete brake job including our new hot shot sensatized booster and his brakes are awesome There has been much talk lately about these new design booster and we have sold all we have with more in process. Hey, if you want good brakes, give me a call!

On top of all this, the 23d is up on the lift, Mark's one piece bathroom is in process and this place is hoppin! The day is on and I gotta get out there. The gout is feeling better-- doubling up on the pills does the trick! Have a great day-- I'll give it a try

3.7.10

See, it happens to me too! I have been driving the 23/350 coach back and forth to the house working in that 350 with that 4.10 gear. It was very interesting how the Kryptonite cam was treating that 350 motor. Wish I had a vacuum gauge on it so I could keep my foot out of it. Just such a thrill sticking a guy trying to pass me in the morning when I stick him up to the speed limit! Just so much fun. Ah but yesterday it shut down on me 3 times going home-- what the......! Over This morning I broke in to the thing when I got to the shop. OK, now I have tanks, cleaned @ 6 months ago. I also put new barrier hose, new mechanical fuel pump. The motor has @ 50 miles on it, the carb-- totally remanufactured to match the 350 motor. Take a look at my carb filter .wdered rust in my fuel tank------- or------ the maybe 10 gallons of regular gas sitting in the tanks for the 6 months grew a nice layer of corrosion on the top of my tanks then when I filled up the tanks and started driving around I threw all that rust into the carb filter! Yesterday evening I filled the tanks, took 20 gallons of high test. OK, so using 20 gallons of fuel did this to the carb filter! Hey, don't let your fuel tanks sit around down down here in Florida half full! The ethanol is killing our metal tanks! We really need to find a replacement plastic tank! Hey Danny, get with me on those aluminum tanks you had made. I think this is going to be our next big deal! Pete D., let me know if this is the problem with your rig. Have had several of you giving me storied about corroded rods in the carb., cracked fuel hoses, you need to replace standard fuel line with barrier style hose. Vapor lock, I think the water and alcohol (ethanol) lowers the boiling point to the point that the steel line from the carb to the fuel pump needs to be shielded. I think it's growing more important to block off the intake exhaust crossover. Pleas etell me if you think it's something else. I don;t want to think it's all about the ethanol. It just does not make sense if all of this is caused by the fuel formulation, why would they do this? Hey, give me some options!

Here's another pickup. The heavy power wire running across the front crossmember on the GM floorplan coaches. Here is one of them pulled out . Why did I pull it out? This cable is clamped to the crossmember with steel clamps. Over the years, the insulation on the wire fails . Thats not a good combination. If the insulation falls off in one of those clamps------ there will be an issue. Go check your crosscable there, if you see this go disconnect your batteries, pull out the cable out to the firewall and slip a 3/4" radiator hose over it , replace the 30 year old connector then put it back in. You have just saved your coach!

And the 23d is back up on the lift for it's sewer fitting-- a big deal! and yea Mark, we got the rear hatch in place, doesn;t move yet-- but Dave is getting there! There are at least 2 people pleased to see that pic! Hope some of this is helpful, I would say you really need to look at some things on your coach. Age is effecting our coaches, the new fluids we feed them are effecting them, parts are failing from just being there. Please spend some time with your coach looking around. Filters are clogging, belts are stretching, hoses are rotting--- are you paranoid yet--- I am!!

BTW, the drive home with the 23/350 was again a blast, still need to put in a vacuum gauge to keep my foot out of it. The upcoming Drag Race Rally could be fun!

See ya tomorrow

Hey, this will be a good one. Jeff "Shadow" just picked up a coach over Ebay I think from a guy down here in Florida. He's working a grand plan of flying down and fly back with his new toy. He said it would be great to use his pickup as interesting to everyone out there. Great, lets do it--- I'll put together a "project aquisition" of a GMC. I wish you guys could see the new owners picking up their new toy or baby or object of their frustration-- for whatever reason, there are many new owners and they all have he new enthusiasm all of us GMC owners got when we got our coach. Could be we keep working on them to get that feeling again so guys who are getting or have just gotten a GMC know you are in the time of your life--- and it only goes up from there.

So, to you guys in a holding pattern about getting one of these awesome machines-- here's what you have in front of you. Jeff is a Toronado enthusiast for some time and now he has stepped up-- he now has a big boned Toronado, a really rare model! Hey and whats better now, you can take a shower then a nap in your new "Tornado " on steroids! My prediction here is we are seeing the birth of a monster GMC enthusiast right here-- lets see what happens. And if you are one of those looking-- like I said, this fun is waiting for you!

As soon as the coach arrives, delivered by the seller to us for their final payment. Ah, the plot thicken--- what fun are we in store for? How will this coach come up to speed. Hey, this will have more drama than one of those reality shows! He's said he will bear the gauntlet, so let the fun beginnnnnnnnnn...

Oops more-- So I get a post back from Jeff, he said he's throw over some of his "front wheeler" friends. Yea sure, this could be fun. I'll keep you other guys up to date when this gets going. Oh yea and you know what will be the last episdode of this thing-- it will be Jeff flying down to pick his new toy up and take it home to it's new life. Yea, I can see a fever coming...

3.4.10

Not much time this morning for small talk, had many Emails to answer. One point I would like to tell you about-- if someone out there is interested in picking up an really sharp ride, go check out the "for sale" page. Kent & Jerry are looking to find a new home for "Blue-ocity", a coach we had built a number of years ago. Check it out on the "gallery" page. Quality expects quality so if you are that person, take a look hard at this machine.

A clear sunny day today after a miserable windy day yesterday. I hope to get many things done. A cold is setting in on me, it's that time of year be we will keep on keeping on-- what else is there!

Thanks for all who have sent Emails of support on my battling demon issues around here. Hey, I'm OK, we'll be good and we'll keep on our progress and of this you can be sure. Chuck B., you didn;t call back yesterday-- whats up?

Gotta go, call if I can help and I'll keep answering the phone. see ya later

3.3.10

Better late than never Piles of stuff happening today, got a coach we are rescuing after a long nap. Tom has his coach in here getting some things done, pardon me while I show him how things are going A major focus of Tom's were his brakes. We already have replaced his booster and master cylinder. You saw his new Delco Master cylinder yesterday. Now we went to the rear brakes where had had purchased the SS hoses but had never installed them-- we did. Then we opened the drums which the report was it had all been done some 5000 miles ago. Lookehere, the shoes are the "bonded" style. You need to have riveted shoes like this then check out the wheel cylinder that ripply stuff is brake dust being held in place by brake fluid. Yep, we have a leaker. The castings on the cylinders is unusual which means if we have one leaking after only 5000 miles I'm not impressed! So with new shoes and cylinders, Jason checked then repacked the bearings and put it all back together. The end of the day found the coach back on all 6 and ready to test drive .

As I was locking down the shop this view struck me funny. All alone with all of these beasts scattered around it is easy to think they are all just hanging around waiting to "see the doc". It's all we see, day in and day out-- sometimes it's just funny how I got into this and how all these critters just show up looking for a little help. Hey, it's a worthy profession to do good. Never in a million years would I have guessed this would be something I would be doing-- but hey, you gotta do something and you gotta care about something-- might as well be something interesting! Have a great day, thanks for the visit and your support doing this. "I'm OK, you're OK" is what they say. You have ups and downs, just make sure there are more of them in the up position.

3.2.10

Wow guys, thanks for the support! Once in a while I get off track a bit and use the daily pose to unload some of my heavy baggage and if it comes off as unfun to read I am sorry. Looks like though from the posts I got and the hit counter you guys are not chased away and support my idea that it's just wrong for people to abuse their opportunity which is the way I see things. I was scared to open my Emails this morning thinking I may have offended some people-- it really wasn;t my intention in fact I just wanted you guys to understan and be a bit closer to how the reality of this place plays on your emotions. Here are a couple of posts I got this morning:

Hang in there Jim. Couple years ago when it all went wrong on our anniversary trip you hung with us. Still have the coach up here in Birmingham but we have our first kid as well, little Annie. Hoping to get the "winterize" out of the coach soon and maybe take our first expanded family vacation in April. It's been a few years, but the work you did 2 years ago is part of the foundation for having that coach rolling today. We still appreciate it, you, and the guys at your shop for the work. Remember, for every pain in the a@#$#@, there are a lot more that respect and appreciate what you do.

And this one:

Hey, U got so much going on in today's post that there were no pictures. I like pictures.
Tell me that Jasper is not a California install.

The names and address is being withheld to protect the innocent. I just wanted to show how really screwed up things get when someone drops a ball.

Pics-- yes, I agree. I love pics in fact I spend a pile of time looking at pics in posts and everywhere I can find them. For me to posts pics I have to process each one for brightness, contrast & color on the lap top then switch over from the main computer where it's easier to plunk on the keyboard like this----- then pull up my web management program on the lap top streaming over our WiFi and plunk at the smaller keyboard to insert the pics. Take a little work the way I have figured out how to do it but hey, it's all in a days work. To give out our daily ration of pics, here ya go:

Steve's coach is getting "dudded up" with it's cleaned and undercoated frans members , Jason will bring the 3" exhaust pipes back together today working his list of stuff to do under the coach The pipes are not perfect but in descent, useable condition. The coach looks good perched up on th