GMC Motorhome: We’re breaking eggs to make a meat omelet! (updated)

While it’s true our latest hunk of industrial meat roller cam 455 can pull itself off the operating table today  and it’s a natural thing to stay tuned for that but on another project, today was a sort of biggie….

The #3 dash AC/heat project now enters into it’s big facelift    With the windshields now out the A frame windows come out too.  A large part of the labor to install these new full opening “toll booth windows” is removing the inside panels accessing the window mounting    I won’t bore you with gratuitous advertising here but man it’s a different driving experience…….You have to take it to this point to properly install them and here’s David’s 1973 under panel supports  This early model has no expanded foam insulation….kinda add buy 1973 models are like that….a box of chocolates ass Forest said……. and the original sidewall partly came out with the panel.  What can you say….it’s all 40 years old.  As always, the question is no what to do but where to stop, the water damaged main sidewall panel replacement will be left to stage 2 of this coach recovery….right now our focus is the dash and side panels. 

Out with the old on # 3 and in with the new on #2   Texas Tux panels are repaired, retextured and ready to go in his finished dash.  Zoom in if you want to see the light retexture all panels will carry 

This process is a legacy from the investigation of a better way for Ruby’s plastic panels.

So back inside #3, the world is now open for us to do our work with the seats, windshields, side panels and A frame windows out of the way…Oh boy…here we go    The dash may look like vegetarian spaghetti but the new dash harnesses are already in..all that spurious wiring will be removed 1 circuit or rig as they are at a time.  The big stuff has already been removed…it’s like having to sweep a floor twice to really get it clean!    I think we did a pretty good job ate removing the glove box wire wad    what did it look like before?    Yeah, see what I mean…you have to take a project like this back to this point to start over. 

Oops Jared just pulled up….I promise to do a page 2 today and I’ve been trying for 2 days to show how we actually got a wonked up A&E ^*&*^&%%### awning working!

 We’ll see ya on page 2 later…..

Hey, I made it back…dang it’s cold out there…in the 50’s …Chuuuaaaa that’s cold!

So the day looks like a good one for us wimps…….  Oh my, wait til you see what Phillips did to Miss Piggy last night to relax before bed!  I’ll clue you in on that tomorrow…..

But talking about real work…… Yeah, with the awning fixed, tires on the ground, maserator in my plan is to put in that dash next.  This is pretty cool….after coming off some deep dashAC, wiring and all sorts of nonsense on Ruby, Texas Tux and #3 (don’t know his name yet) this next one will be using the original dash, upgrading things with one of our brushed aluminum bezel overlays adding gauges to make it look similar to the dash I have in one of my coaches “Larry”      Of course less cash than one of Mac’s hey, we all can’t have that and there are some descent options    Like I said that one is next.  Right now…today…THIS is my object of frustration for today 

Some good news for some folks, we got our first 2 reconditioned Honda EV-6010 generator finished and ready to ship…….if you have one on backorder we’ll be calling you.  Both of these are spoken for but we hope to have more through the reconditioning process soon    Cost is $3500 with a proper Honda muffler and remote panel.  They have new carb, electric radiator fan, all fluids, any missing parts and new output wiring.  They will run well and they fit into a 26′ coach like a dream.  EV-4010 generators will fit with mork into a 23′ coach but man it’s tight!  Will work though……  Anyway, this is an option if you are looking to repower your living area.  I’ve installed a blue million of thes things and I like them……..opinions do vary of course…..

I thought this was a neat pic, I’m looking through the door of one Airstream that we motorized the side will into the door of a second Airstream we’re completetly interior outfitting  .

Here’s the finished floor in it   Oh but this is not the cool part of this project..wait til you see the walls!  Stay tuned.

So how did I do…do ya forgive me from missing a couple of page 2’s?  You guys probably wonder why I do all this and take it as such a mission….on the surface I know it looks sorta silly, a waste of time I could be turning wrenches and to say what a few people have said to me…bragging.  I have to tell you if you feel that way would you dig a little deeper.  This is a sort of therapy, there is NO cake work in working on these old things, there are few guarantees other than it will take more time and more money than you thought…it’s kinda the way it is working on anything old and decrepid…once they wee great but now they are a mess….. it takes commitment, the true desire to have one of these and a real use to have one.  You have to understand these things are not spring chiks….we build roller motors strong and tough not to burn rubber or go fast but to work and try to be reliable.  You have to understand this when you have one of these and also don’t be surprised when something happens…. there is no president……well we are setting the bar for old vehicles being expected to do the same or better job than when they were new!  Antique car fully restored?  Would you drive that 50 miles one way if you were a doctor who had to be at the hospital?  NO way..bet their hospital would not allow that liability!  So why would a 40 year old motorhome be on a different scale?  This is why you fix something once and fix it complete……use the best parts you can with the best ideas of backups not if but WHEN something happens.  Wanna rig it or do it on the cheap…don’t call me!

OK, gotta go……see ya tomorrow…..

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