I can't believe it's gone....

Tim has come by today and the engine is now on it's way to Florida! Thanks Tim! Here are some pictures of the transport.

As many things as I could get onto that pallet and zip tied each one!!

Tim's short bed just fit everything. We even tossed in a spare tire just in case.

Definitely needed the bigger engine hoist with all the extra weight and height of the truck!

Now I'm getting nervous! Mission Jitters!

Now that I've committed to flying down and Tim is stopping by next week to pick up the engine and all the other bits I can think of for the swap project, it's finally hitting me. I wake up at night and start thinking about all the potential issues that may come up to stop me from doing a successful swap. Simple things like missing bolts, hoses or parts that I just cannot get because they are likely NLA (no longer available).

The BIG coil springs came today for the front end. You know, the one that bounced all over the place before on our trip and so I figured while I'm swapping out an entire engine I could do the front shocks and springs. Well, it turns out the manufacturer is not sure if they will fit now. What?? They are springs for crying out loud! How hard can this be?

In the middle of September I'm flying down to Daytona, renting a car and hoping that between the parts that were put into the first repair job and the ones I have delivered to Bill's shop that I'll be close to what's needed to make this work. I've already surrendered to not having the A/C installed but we'll see about that.

I will be posting videos during the trip (that's why I'm back on Facebook but really didn't want to be. Surprise!! FB kept all my info...) and doing so via YouTube and FB.

440 V8 on the pallet awaiting delivery!

One of the exhaust headers in the garage. Many parts to add to the delivery.

Intake manifold and cooling fan....

Don't forget the starter!!! Can't do a swap without having that.

The bright yellow power steering pump. May just use the 360's pump but good to have the spare....

The new, REALLY BIG front coil springs! Hope that these fit despite the recent note that they may not. I can't drive back with the front of the "Long Hauler" bouncing like it did and with the larger engine that will really be an issue.

 

Good News ~ Transmission Update (Shared Video)

Wow! I guess Florida eats RV's!! As a bonus you get stuck for nearly two weeks while it gets fixed....

Seems like a pattern here. Check out Eric's videos on his "Nomatic Fanatic" YouTube Channel.  Stay tuned for the "Long Hauler" rescue mission in September!

Herding the Cats: Putting the Rescue Mission together....

I just booked my flight to Daytona and car rental for the middle of September. It's now or never at this point and the adrenaline is starting to build (could be the 3 cups of coffee, I guess). Tim, my contractor friend, is delivering the 440 V8 and other bits to Florida for the engine swap. Bill's Carburetor Shop will host the swap and let me plug in the RV to live in while I work on it.

We did have a slight detour into a "Plan B": just junk the RV and get another one up here. Lather, rinse, repeat.... We saw it and test drove her. A 1983 Chevy Mallard. Couldn't get the thing past 55 mph and she needed work as well. Back to plan A: the devil you know sort of thing.

Right now I'm searching and ordering those hard-to-find parts for the project and also to fix the soft front end that may have been the cause of the problem when the oil pan hit the pavement and likely caused the oil to be lost out of the original engine.

Small prep projects happening before the delivery: palletizing the engine, collecting the other bits, bolts and hoses. Rebuilding the instrument panel (not happy about the loss of gauges on the trip!) and other stuff prior to the flight.

A month will go by quickly! Fly down, get the RV out of storage (should be a fun post in of itself, trying to restart her after a year and to see if there is any wildlife that has moved in since then) drive to the shop and get the repairs done. Hoping it will be 2-3 days of focused work to do it. Then drive carefully home over the next 2-3 days if all goes well.

It will be just over a year since this started. Will be very glad to be crossing the NY line with the "Long Hauler".

 

 

 

A picture sent in July of the RV in storage. 

The replacement engine awaiting pick up and delivery...

Will the Engine Work Ever End????

It seems.... no, it is a long time working on this engine but remember that the work that is done now will save time when the engine finally is installed on the "Long Hauler". This very HOT weekend (but low humidity so it wasn't that bad at all.) of 95F and just about 100F today was too hot for the paint to cure correctly and ironically the more heat the slower the paint hardens up. Go figure!

Anyways, here are a few pictures of the progress over the last few days. Videos of my raspy voice clumsily explaining what I'm doing are on YouTube for all to see. Just type in "The VintageRV'er" and my channel will show up. Please subscribe. There are no pop-ups or other sponsored content on my channel. Don't need it and don't know how that junk works so have fun without the ads popping up on you.

Here is the latest YouTube video link!: I've added the alternator swap. The camera ran out of memory!
https://youtu.be/Szm1QEc8Zvo

Starting to look like an engine! Richard says that it looks like one of those museum engines you see on display. Thanks!

This is the seldom-seen underside of the intake manifold. It's the thing that bolts onto the top of the engine and holds the carburetor... okay, it was crappy and we cleaned it up and it looks all blue and pretty now.

This awful mess is the thing that lets you steer your car with one had. The power steering pump. It was in the way and so why not remove it and paint it? Always good to have things fresh and clean to see any leaks.

Have Engine, Will Travel.... that's the card of a crazy man....

OK, I'm dating myself using that opening line but hey, this is all about working things out and fixing what has gone wrong.

I've been posting lots of information about the donor RV and the 440 V8 engine work going on here. With the "Long Hauler" stuck in Daytona Florida in outdoor storage (yeah, monthly storage fees!) until I can travel down and do the second swap this engine work is the focus of the project.

Visit my YouTube channel and subscribe to keep up with the shenanigans. Just type in "Vintage RV'er" and you'll get there. This is the latest video. The future ones will deal with swapping out the small 65 amp alternator and more.

Goodby old friend... we hardly knew you.

Trouts Auto Recycling has arrived to pick up what was left of the Dodge Coachmen RV chassis. The rear wheels locked up but Jimmy did a good job with the flatbed tow truck. Didn't even harm the daisies!

We'll find out how much that hulk was worth in scrap when I go to get the receipt.

Goodby heap, hello driveway!

I stripped all that might be useful for the RV retrieval / repair project and that was what was left to tow away.
Not much but boy it was still pretty heavy!

Next is clean up of the engine, re-gasketing, re-painting and putting on a pallet to get to FL! I'll post some videos of this on the YouTube Channel  this weekend.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdgb2L7-3PdFa2TprgsaaVQ?view_as=public