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Cooperative Motor Works

Vintage RV & Motorhome restorations - "The GMC Coop"

You are here: Home / The Daily Pose / (UPDATED) From the Shire to Mordor and back again, The ship has the coach!

August 8, 2020

(UPDATED) From the Shire to Mordor and back again, The ship has the coach!

……….. One thing about mounting your spare tire on your hood…… you have this odd feeling of staring over a sand bag from a fox hole!I can hear the collective question coming thru my smart phone……Why did you do that?  Look, the main thing Ralph’s life is now is picking up parts and a chase car so the back door where that tire hung was taking a beating being opened and closed so much I worried about the use and damage.  It’s a chore to check oil its true but I’ve had guys in big off road trucks give me a thumbs up so I guess some folks like it so there it is!

He uses a little oil and trying to keep 2 people cool freezes up the AC (does ok when I’m in it by myself) like a GMC still exciting their owners Ralph is doing his job!  So thanks Ralph for the help getting the coach from Orlando to the port.  I crashed getting back hitting the sack before dark.  I’m as good as I ever was…..once!

I’d also like to show you something interesting that this run has proven………  Part of the requirements of getting the coach on the boat was it had to have less than 1/4 tank of fuel on board.  Ok but right at the port there in the Danes Point Bridge….. Look in the background of the first pic and you’ll see it.  A huge climb up AND down, this coach not only sports our quad bag system, brakes with sensitized booster but our new single aluminum fuel tank, also FiTech fuel injection AND the new FiTech “Forced Fuel” fuel delivery system.

There have been heated discussions saying from fuel sloshing in the larger single tank in low fuel conditions using fuel injection that the fi system will shut off.  And it’s true, a wide, 4 1/2″ tall tank has a problem like this and unlike with a carb that has float bowls, when the electric pump in a fi system looses pressure the system WILL shut off…….this has been a problem with the GMC from the beginning.

This new “Forced Fuel” systemtakes care of our inerrant sloshing problem……for sure!  We went up then down this bridge with no fuel showing on the fuel gauge (and no, it wasn’t stuck and WAS working).Now if you gurus want to get technical look up this bridge in Jacksonville Florida, it’s a bigun.  So now, as was pointed out on the movie “Oh Brother, where art thou” , it’s now Bonified!  It works and now one of the largest complaints with adapting. a GMC to fuel injection is solved.  It’s not the fuel tank as much as not having a “surge tank” float bowl reservoir that makes it all work.  The single aluminum tank can now reliably deliver fuel to a FiTech fuel injection system with their “Forced Fuel” unit at any timeIn that we’ve been working closely with FiTech on this and am now a dealer……we got in a shipment of 9 new Forced Fuel systems in stock last week.  Let me see the invoice on Monday and see if we can do something for the GMC community.  Check out the Daily Pose on Monday.

Hey and in that we’re also new dealers for the CVF Serpantine belt system, which would you prefer….classic polished billet aluminum or their “Black Diamond” finish…… We have them both!

Lemme check invoices on that kit too and get with you on Monday.

Yes sir, things are underfoot at the Co-op!  Another coach leaves the Q and another one will come in……..thanks for the visit and stay tuned on Monday………

……………………………..

(UPDATED))

I Had another story the happened on this “delivery”.  DELIVERY of anything can be a stressful and to prove this here is a behind the scenes before delivery stress out for us.

Anyone who has run their restoration through us,  I always try and make a big deal of a delivery.  These are 45 years old and even though you “go through” one of these completely something can always happen and this is a perfect example:

So 2 a couple of days before we were scheduled to drive this coach to Jacksonville ………. let’s call that “the delivery” you guys came with me on the road test for this coach…..we had gone over our list, checking it twice and I drove the coach 35 miles pushing all the buttons driving like I stole it.  RememberSo, the question is……. is a final road test the verification of quality work or a summons of what else wants to screw with us!

Sitting inside the shop after the run checking fluids 2 small drops hit the clean concrete floor.  One appeared to be an oil drip from the new reinforced oil cooler lines at the fitting at the radiator the other……the dreaded drip out of the top seal of the fresh steering box put on @a year ago before the owners flat to the US for a holiday and used it.  Everything was fine on their trip with the coach back then and there’s been no sign of any problems sense then.  Let’s take this desaster first………. So the coach hasn’t left the shop, we installed the steering box ourselves a year or so ago…….how could this be!  But it is so I ordered up another one and the guys were in pit crew mode to get that ռռտըւօօհգֆռգգգ gear box out!  The new box came…we reinstalled it and bleed the system and out the door for a test drive……. The test drive was a negative, the coach was all over the place!  Gaռֆըւււհit!!!! Get me another one of these things…..now!   I’ve always said these are remanufactured with 45 year old parts so expect an initial problem…..sometimes….well, boys and girls here it is!  This Crap always seems to happen!  So the third box went in an I thaw the tow driver a 20, got in and fired that mother up!   Back to great driving and no leak…….one down.

Now, tightening the fitting at the radiator made matters worse……the fitting on the oil cooler section of the radiator has cracked………Douuuuuu!  So off to get an outboard oil cooler and the install of THAT!

The guys finished it up with a final, final test drive lat into the night.  I woke up to a knock on my motorhome (remember I sleep there now most of the time) at 5am for the convoy to Jacksonville!  And the delivery was made………see, who could have anticipated all that?  Wasn’t something that was done wrong or was low quality……… This is why I tell you come here……learn about your coach and pick it up.  Take a short vacation here in Florida then swing back in for anything you find.  THAT is why I say come here to get your coach and plant to stay a day……..or 2.

Hope you enjoyed our white underbelly……..see you Monday

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Article by jimbounds / The Daily Pose

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  • Happy Monday guys……get this week going…. May 16, 2022
  • Thanks for the comments on the part 1 video on a dash AC/heat systems….. May 11, 2022
  • Still more questions about whats going on ……and some more pics…… May 7, 2022
  • Have had questions what is going on at the shop…… April 30, 2022
  • Bon Voyage……. after knowing this coach since i began the Co-op, now our baby is moving to Holland……. April 26, 2022

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