this page started 6/7/00

KILROY BIG ORANGE GMC REBUILD PROGRESS


January 4,2004 It is a rainy but not real cold day here in Farmersville, OH today, so I decided to spend a few minutes doing a few things to the GMC. First, I have been putting off adding the diode in series with the dumby generator dash light for a long time, so thought today was a good day for it. Before doing so, I check the various GMC sites on the internet and found that a couple people had a 'better idea;" ie., add the diode, but a larger current capacity one, right at the alternator rather than at the dumby lite at the dash (see http://gmcmotorhomeinfo.com/APC.html). Reason? If the isolation diode between the living quarter's battery and the engine battery blows open (which does happen sometimes), there can be a voltage present that causes a 10ohm Nichrome resistance wire under the dash to overheat, and it has been known to cause both wiring harness damage as well as in a few instances fire. So, to prevent that, I added the diode right at the alternator field connector to both fix the always present dim alt dash lite and also the chance of damage from the nichrome wire overheating. The downside of putting a $ 2.00 diode (I used a 6A1 I had in my junk box rated 6amp, 100V) rather than a .25 diode (rated 1/5amp, same voltage), is that the engine battery may now charge to about 1 V higher than before, causing premature failure (like in 3 years instead of 5 years!) - if my thinking is correct. I figure this slightly reduced engine battry life is worth the safety of mind of not possibly having a fire from the nichrome wire. Did some tweaking on ceiling trim; the side pieces over the wireways were a bit wider than they should be and sometimes the trim popped off them. So I trimmed these down to perfect size. Did more internet investigating on best way to handle our Alcoa wheel and 75 series Mischelon tires hitting the underside of wheel wells when air bags go all the way down after sitting for a while ( I know, we should fix the air leak - I've worked on it till I am blue in the face and still not got it. In warm weather it will stay up for a month; in cold it goes down in a few hours.) I gave up and added a switch under the hood at the air compressor to pick either ignition-off-battery for the pump. This way, while sitting thru the winter plugged in, I can set sw to batt position and let pump cycle as needed. In summer while off shore power, I can set to ignition and let it do its thing. While camping close to others, we can turn on ignition with sw off and not have the obnoxious pump noise in the early mornings. I talked to Roger Nelson and his lovely wife in FL on the phone (727) 392-4847 about his "3 air bag lifters." These are adapters that move the air bag UP 3" away from tires. I had thought they would lift minimum clearance by 3" so the tires no longer hit the inner wheel wells. Not so. So. Since it is time to buy a couple new airbags anyway - ours are starting to crack when down - I will investigate how best to raise min clearance when all air is out of the system. Seems this is a problem for everyone but noone has yet addressed it. I believe a set of spacers between the airbag cones and the surface they mount on will raise the min to a level that prevents the tires from rubbing. The reason this is a good thing to resolve is that if an airbag ever blows while on the road, or a major air compressor issue arises, if the min allows clearance for the tires, then one can still run down the road without causing the fire that would otherwise happen from the tire rubbing on the inner wheel well. I am supprised no one has yet figured out the fix for this. I will soon, and will report back here..... Till then.... August 18, 2003 Here are some updates as of August 18th, 2003. We replaced the ele fuel pump with new original mechanical, and replaced the 'replacement' rubber line from it to the carb, and we are hoping that that will fix the problem. Thinking now that the ele pump just couldn't keep up. We'll see. Replaced the old water tank under rear seat - guess they get dried out and start cracking. So we now have running water. But the city water hookup doesn't work; seems the one way valve at the hookup point by the electric cord is corroded shut. Another thing to fix later. The holding tank drain door(valve) thing was corroded shut; broke it trying to get it open. Then of course the 1/4-20 screws holding it on the tank were rusted - goes into nylon, so when I finally pried them out, the nylon holes were bigger. I was able to take the valve door thing apart and rebuid it. Had to make a new puller rod, but it went back together. I used M7 metric screws to put it back on (slightly larger diameter than 1/4-20 so they fit in the bigger nylon holes). It just leaks a little when the door is opened to empty - seems ok to me. I think the little drips at the joint will stop after a couple uses. New drapes all around inside and front - wow! what work. Vickie has been sweating away at them for what seems like years! It sure is hard work. We'll post pictures soon. We planned to run the generator for a couple hours with both AC units turned on to test it. It blew after about an hour. Rectifier on field in alternator shorted one of the 4 diodes. Picking up a new one today - should be like $5.00. Well, local Onan shop wanted $ 43.00! So we ordered a couple (one for a spare) from Digikey.com for $ 7.00each (could have gone with a $ 3.00 one but wanted a higher voltage and current rated unit (bought 800V 35amp). July 5, 2003 Back home after 4rth weekend, we thought we should post some pictures of the wireway trim we ended up with in the interior. Here they are:

7/5/03 we used pieces of ceiling fiberglass and a U shaped trip to hide the wireway - worked like a charm!

7/5/03 another view

7/5/03 another view

7/5/03 another view

7/5/03 another view

7/5/03 view inside cabinet

7/5/03 another view inside cabinet July 4, 2003 MAIDEN VOYAGE after 20 years of sitting! We finished it enough to take it on a trip to check it out; went to Lake Erie's Marblehead area (from Farmersville (dayton), OH). We made it with only a couple fuel line starvation stops along the way. We found our external added fuel cleanable fuel filter added right under the engine (above the cross frame for easy access) cracked, so the electric fuel pump would get to sucking air sometimes. We removed it and it got a lot better. WE still had what appeared to be vapor lock problems; we think the electric fuel pump we added in place of the original 455 engine mechanical pump just can't supply enough volume of fuel during accels to keep the carb happy. We have ordered a replacement mechanical pump and will report how it effects this last mechanical problem... Other than that, we had a nice trip with cold refridge, cool air from the 6kw generator powering both topside air condition units! We even stopped at a rest area on the way home and slept thru the night before continuing on the following morning. Wow! Finally! June 29, 2003 We have been working hot and heavy on the interior. We finally got the major front carpet in, seats back in, sink in. Here are final pictures after a LONG weekend blitz:

6/29/03 finished kitchen sink!

6/29/03 finished kitchen sink - another view

6/29/03 finished kitchen sink - another view

6/29/03 finished kitchen sink - another view (complete with grandson Austin

6/29/03 view of front seating, minus a little carpeting still

6/29/03 view of front seating, with grandson Anthony

6/29/03 view looking in door

6/29/03 view toward back of coach

6/29/03 view toward back of coach - another view

6/29/03 view toward back of coach - another view September, 2002 We always had a real loud muffler. Since as long as I can remember. So about a year ago we had new dual mufflers put on. Still real noisy. found right exhaust manifold was making the noise. Replaced it when we found it had a pretty large hole burned in it that could not be sealed with the thick copper exhaust man. gaskets we bought. About $ 100 from MI. Still sorta noisy; found problem with left manifold too; it turned out it was cracked in 2! Replaced it also for another $ 100.00. Now we finally have a quite motorhome again! July, 2002 Here are pictures of tanks AFTER repair with coating. After this, the GMC ran a lot better. We had power. We did not have to stop every 10 minutes to clean the filter. What a change. We used a great product from Eastwood Company, www.eastwoodcompany.com, 800.345.1178, called gas tank sealer, their part no. 10165Z, at $ 44.99 - two; one for each tank.

7/4/02 ready to start coating

7/4/02 looking INTO tank - coated and clean!

7/4/02 looking INTO tank - coated and clean!

7/4/02 looking INTO tank - coated and clean!

7/4/02 looking INTO tank - coated and clean!

7/4/02 looking INTO tank - coated and clean!

7/4/02 looking INTO tank - coated and clean!

7/4/02 looking INTO tank - coated and clean!

7/4/02 looking INTO tank - coated and clean!

7/4/02 new sending unit (old shown too)

7/4/02 new sending unit (old shown too) another view

7/4/02 wire brushed and undercoated gas tank ready to reinstall

7/4/02 wire brushed and undercoated gas - another view

7/4/02 wire brushed and undercoated gas - another view We did not update the web pictures for some time; so here is a lot of it! In June and July of 2002 we finally broke down and removed both gas tanks, and coated them to stop the rust coming into the engine; we could clean the gas filter in the carb, run a few minutes, then have no power left, and have to remove the filter, cleank the rust out of it again!. so here is hopefully the FINAL FIX!

6/10/02 gas tanks as removed

6/10/02 looking INTO tank - see the solid rust!

6/10/02 looking INTO tank - another view

6/10/02 looking INTO tank - another view

6/10/02 looking INTO tank - another view

6/10/02 the old sending unit -rusted of course

6/10/02 the old sending unit -another view

Time is flying! It is now November 2001 already, and we did not spend a lot of time on outward appearances over this last year. We have spent quite a bit of time on mechanical systems. We have replaced the whole muffler system, rebuilt the Carb, replaced most of the rubber hoses on the engine, rebuilt the brakes, sealed the roof leaks, repaired some fiberglass damage, rebuilt the windshield wipers, replaced the dipstick tubing, cleaned more rust and stuff out of the gas tanks, and lots more. Just not stuff that lend themselves to pictures. We are hoping to be able to take the first trips with it next summer!

10/22/00 pictures of the newly laid carpet in rear compartment- the back is finally DONE! I'll snap some pix of the sink and vinyl floor we put in a week ago soon and add them too.

10/22/00 complete rear compartment

10/22/00 ditto

10/22/00 ditto

Well, we're off to start laying the new vinyl entrance flooring and hopefully get to some of the new carpet too this 9/23/00 weekend. We'll put up new pix as soon as we have something to show! Hey wait till you see the new sink countertop - with the state-of-the-art new 1700 watt microwave!

Here it is middle of September, and we continue making a little progress as we go along. The following are pictures we recently took of various items...

9/20/00 Another nice front shot of GMC

9/20/00 Great wall repair shot

9/20/00 another wall shot with new formica

9/20/00 The back area is DONE!

9/20/00 P-trap, bathroon floor replaced

9/20/00 Foamed crack in wheel well under bath sink

9/20/00 Bathroom lites cleverly repaired

9/20/00 nice shot of new ceiling

9/20/00 another ceiling shot

7/30/00 we are getting around to pulling parts of the callapsing ceiling. We found 4x8 sheets of 1/8" thick Fiberglass! This stuff was made for bathtub enclosures. We plan to try it for the ceiling. Has nice textured side - just like what we are pulling out. Had to pull refridge to get old ceiling out. NOt bad, 'cause we have to fix it anyway! HERE IS A STEP-BY-STEP HOW TO DESCRIPTION OF THE PROCESS!

July 29, 2000 We replaced all 6 of the old original shocks with top of the line Bilsteins, put on the brand new shiny Alcoa aluminum wheels and brand new 850x16 6 ply radials! Take a look.

7/29/00 Driver's side front - before new shocks

7/29/00 Bilsteins in and undercoating on

7/29/00 Passenger side before....

7/29/00 Passenger side after

7/29/00 Ah.. the new wheels!

7/29/00 One rear shock in

7/29/00 The other rear shock in

7/29/00 Now for a view of the new rear wheels!

7/29/00 View of the other side new wheels

7/29/00 Close up - w/o center hubs

7/29/00 Other side view

July 4, 2000W are still working on it! Finally got rear brakes! Haven't had those for years! Besides being froze up, they were full of air from past breaks in the lines. Well, we've replaced ALL lines from the master cylinder to the rear, except for 2 small ones to each rear wheel on the passenger side. Take a look at the finished product on the drivers side rear - complete with rust converting primer on the wheel drums to nice protective undercoating on all parts (except rubber and plastic) under the wheel well. Nice to have a backup set of brakes! One more line for the front passenger side to replace yet....As an aside, Vickie re-painted the orange around the wheel wells too, and I rebuilt the windshield wipers and arms. Turns out standard new wipers today fit perfectly if you remove the center cross bar normally used (plastic so easy to remove) and just put the 4-40 (I used new) original nut and bolt back in thru there. Now replacement wiper blades are a cinch! Course we removed & sanded down the rusted wiper arms, then used our rust converting primer on them, them painted them black. Look good as new!

7/04/00 look aT BEFORE the new rear line run

7/04/00 check out the new brake lines!

7/04/00 master cyl BEFORE new rear line

7/04/00 master cyliner lines look nice

7/04/00 rear end looks new

7/04/00 close up left

7/04/00 close up right

After some more work.... most of my time is being spent on brake line replacement, while Tony has been waxing and polishing the outside body. He is working on getting new stripe decals made by a friend too. Vickie is rebuilding all the inside cabinets. Lots of elbow polish, painting, etc.

6/07/00 close up of that darn brake unit

6/07/00 back wheels off as we rebuild drum brakes

6/07/00 close up of one replaced brake line

6/07/00 brake line again

6/07/00 view inside w/o kitchen cabinet

6/07/00 inside L back w/o upper cabinets

6/07/00 inside R back w/o upper cabinets

6/07/00 inside w/o cabinet shot

6/07/00 view of air conditioner unit inside back

6/07/00 shot of air conditioner unit inside front

Here it is as arrived in Dayton, OH, and with seats and benches removed Well, Tony and I went to Clevelan to see if we could make the motorhome roadworthy enough to drive it to Dayton. We spent a full day+ with lots of help from my dad and brother Ted. After removing the gas tanks - yes, tankS -

6/07/00 OK it arrived at Dayton - Front view

6/07/00 Side view

6/07/00 Back view - sideways!

6/07/00 Side with canopy out

6/07/00 Old kitchen vent opening was FULL of wasp nests

6/07/00 Straight on shot

6/07/00 Another front shot from farther back

6/07/00 Another side with canopy farther back

7/04/00 Drivers dash area

6/07/00 Inside driver area - less carpet

6/07/00 driver area again - different angle

6/07/00 Looking in the door from outside

6/07/00 Inside behind drivers seat

6/07/00 Inside close up of drivers dash

6/07/00 inside ceiling showing falling down

6/07/00 inside ceiling/trim cracked

6/07/00 inside looking down the hallway

7/04/00 kitchen vent rebuilt with screen

7/04/00 looking forward

6/07/00 another hall shot

7/04/00 check out the door insulation

6/07/00 refridg, hall shot

6/07/00 back seat area with coushions removed

6/07/00 other side in back

6/07/00 inside back window area

6/07/00 toilet in bathroom

6/07/00 bathroom vanity

6/07/00 bathroom shower

6/07/00 bathroom sink

6/07/00 sideways view in closet across from bath

6/07/00 cb/fuse area in area across from bath

6/07/00 cb/fuse another view

6/07/00 area under refridge - built in vacuum system shown

6/07/00 built in sweeper storage area next to refridge

6/07/00 cool monitoring panel by door

6/07/00 shot of major ceiling collapse area

6/07/00 another ceiling collapse area - black stuff is behind it

7/04/00 look how rusted the brake lines are behind the rear wheels

Before we start - these series of pix courtesy Pat & Larry Pim

10/22/00 Engine

9/27/99 Engine as viewed from back in vehicle

9/27/99 view in door

9/27/99 outside view

9/27/99 that rusted brake distribution block behind front wheel

9/27/99 Onan 6 KW generator view

9/27/99 outside back view while still in Cleveland

9/27/99 back wheels

9/27/99 inside view forward at bunks

9/27/99 view forward inside

9/27/99 view backward inside

9/27/99 looking 'under the hood up front

9/27/99 under the hood another view

9/27/99 front view from outside

9/27/99 front view, different angle