The 1970 Chieftain has a new name, originally I was going to call her Gertrude, but the name just didn't seem right, so now its officially Gracie. With the 72 Brave the one thing I regret was not taking more pictures as we made repairs and modifications. Gracie is in extremely good condition, but there are still many repairs and some improvements to be made. So this time around, I'm going to make an attempt at taking more pictures of the before and after.
On Winnie (The 72) we had a storage box on the back bumper that made a great place to put the wood. We made the box slide out of the way so you could open the rear trunk as well. The box sat on the right.
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In the pic below, you can see how it was designed to slide to the right, allowing the rear trunk to open.
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Gracie has a ladder on the right, so we are going to do the same thing, but put the box on the left. Gracie also had a welded on small motorcycle rack welded to the back bumper that we removed. So far we took off the bumper, cut off the motorcycle mounts and redesigned the hitch a bit.
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I'll keep uploading pictures as we continue this project.
Not to get ahead of the game but, will you be adding solar, bowing the roof, and adding that cool, camera/video/gps/drone control/radar set-up too?
Mark you got way to much time on your hands. I think your do for another classic bago. :)rotflmao
Tacked together, just needs finished, sanded and painted.
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Mark, you know me all to well! :D
It's always the quiet ones ya gotta keep your eye on! :P
How many noticed the umbrella stand base he used for a pip stand to help hold up the other end of the bumper in the third picture. :)clap Yeah never know when your going to see something new. Brilliant. :)ThmbUp
I was to fixed on that moped with the side panniers. Just in case you need to carry a dozen beer cans. lol :)rotflmao
Hey now, one of those paniers holds the starter battery!!! The other one holds the beer, and lunch.... :laugh:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7YM6L__b6s (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7YM6L__b6s)
Military ammo cans - this project covers everything!
Ready to prime and paint.
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A fellow who I sold tires to last week hooked me up with a freshly rebuilt big block 727. So today was spent doing some driving. It will make a great spare for the "just in case".... D:oH!
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Starting to come together! :)clap
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I've got two single seats in Gracie, my 72 had a single and a double. Gracie was ordered with a double, but got switched out with a single sometime in its life. So i'm going to move the double from the 72 and put it into Gracie. I've already talked to the upholster shop, going to have them put a flying W on the back of the double too! ;)
Did find the original carpet under the seat mount! Green Shag!!! :'(
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Cool! Looks like you found an original Star Trek "tribble" there...
Quote from: Mark Sobyak on April 07, 2013, 07:35 AM
Cool! Looks like you found an original Star Trek "tribble" there...
Yikes!! Lets hope they don't breed!!! :P
Today I started working on the electrical stuff. Ran #12 Romex in armored conduit along the frame rail all the way back to the fuse panel. This inverter is mounted under the dinette seat just behind the drivers seat. It also sits directly above the battery box, so running power cables to the inverter will be short and sweet.
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Something I noticed when drilling a hold through the floor is the structure of this 70 winnebago is different than my 72. My 72 Winnebago was two sheets of plywood with luan on top. This one as you can see in the picture is two sheets of maybe 3/8th plywood with Styrofoam in the middle.
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Ah... I see you drilled a core sample... like drilling for oil. So we see the transition from straight plywood to thermo-panel flooring ocurred sometime between '71 and '72.
When you say "armored" conduit, what does that mean? Is it the kind that is a metal sleeve as used in indudstrial applications?
In my case the progression is backwards, or maybe a Chieftain thing?
The 72 brave, just two sheets of plywood.
The 70 Chieftain, thermopanel floor.
Armored Conduit is just this stuff....
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Conduit is a great idea for anyone looking for a way to run wires from front to back on their rig. I did that in the crispy bago before it burnt and it made life so much easier when it came time to run wires to the rear or when I had to add wires. Well done. :)ThmbUp
Gracie's rear end has a MOR/ryde suspension that includes 4 shocks. The PO had air shocks installed and they were old and leaky. We decided to replace them with new air shocks.
They were a mix of Monroes and Gabrials.
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Now they are all Monroe Max-Air
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Here is a link to the photos I took of my Mor-Ryde..
https://plus.google.com/photos/117266653547607681099/albums/5866979081047023729?authkey=CIq54sifgpW5ZA
Thanks for the pics! I have not seen many mor/ryde configurations and wanted to see if it was the same as mine.
You appear to have this configuration...
http://www.morryde.com/downloads/technical/MO-MotorHome%20Service%20Manual.pdf (http://www.morryde.com/downloads/technical/MO-MotorHome%20Service%20Manual.pdf)
Oddly I have this configuration... (double the pads, designed for school busses. i?? )
http://www.morryde.com/downloads/technical/MO-School%20Bus%20Service%20Manual.pdf (http://www.morryde.com/downloads/technical/MO-School%20Bus%20Service%20Manual.pdf)
The long overhang behind the back wheels gets into trouble every now and then. You can see int he pics where over the years she has rubbed the pavement damaging the trim on the skirt. We made some skid wheels to protect the back end. Thats heavy wall 3" C running across the bottom with home made wheels.
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Standing up behind the rig you hardly notice them.
!-! HOT DAMN !-! Now I have a Shock number for cross reference!! :) I owe ya a cold one ibdilbert01!!!
Have you driven your rig since the new shock install? If so, how was the ride?
On the same subject, your probably lucky to have the double setup, especially with the hardware your installing. Loved the Moped ammo box thing BTW!
CMM500
I have not test drove it yet, but will be taking it to the muffler shop fist thing in the morning. It'll be about 120 mile round trip, so I should get a good feel if there is an improvement or not. I used Monroe Max-Air Part #MA739. It had a mix of those and Gabries (PN 49105) on it when I got it.
Darn dude! Nice welding job! Want to make some extra cash this summer? Ohio is right along our route to New York. I need some frame reenforcements welded on the 92 YJ...LOL! We won't even need hookups...semi serious here if you want to dive into a Jeep project with me. And if you have jacks that can lift the back of our RV high enough, I'd even consider paying you to help me raise the Mor/Ryde suspension height...an easy job IF you have the jacks, which I don't on the road.
Great job on Gracie so far!
Kev
Hey Kev, any chance you'll be in the area during the Jimco Jam? Wouldn't be the first time we took on a project during the jam! ;)
I know, right! Classic Winnebagos held a wedding there... talk about a project! Man, that was great and it'll be an event never forgotten. I had a project of installing an upgrade converter I had for about 3 years I was hoping to get done but, there just wasn't enough time, I guess. But Tammy and Glenn's LP tanks were falling down through the bottom! Every available body jumped in and got that taken care of. Good thing it didn't happen on their way back home. They had a lot of canned goods in their cabinets and they gave way on the road but, that's another story. TJ got his generator running like a champ with the combined team of helpers... and so much was accomplished with others as well! What a great jam it is with all the Classic Winnebagos and Vintage RVs members who attend!
Took the RV to the muffler shop today. New pipes, muffler, hangers and they replaced two manifold bolts that were missing, total cost was 290 bucks. Didn't think that was too bad. Then on the way back I stopped at the CB shop and picked up a new CB and antenna. Went with a modest Galaxy DX959 with a single HQ27 hustler antenna.
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Then with only about 10 miles left, she started to go up a hill and tuckered out and stalled. I limped it to the neighbors driveway, will take a look at it this weekend, it seems to just be a fuel issue. Oddly its intermediate, meaning sometimes it pumps fuel into the clear filter, and sometimes it doesn't. On the bright side, the new shocks made a huge improvement on the ride!
Good to hear the ride was nice, looking forward to my upcoming shock work..
Not unless they move the Jam forward a week...otherwise it starts the weekend before the New York faire opens, which is our busiest faire of the season, making it impossible for us to attend. Getting the RV out of the New York site once everyone else starts to arrive is next to impossible, which is why get there as early as we do.
Kev
QuoteTook the RV to the muffler shop today. New pipes, muffler, hangers and they replaced two manifold bolts that were missing, total cost was 290 bucks. Didn't think that was too bad.
Not bad? I think that's pretty fantastic, these days! The Mor-Ryde really look s like an odd set-up. Do you keep the original shock system too, or are they removed?
Mark, as far as my rig I believe it is it's own suspension specifically made for the frame and not supplementing another.
Caochman, that is an odd setup for Mor-Ryde...doesn't quite match up with anything in the manual. Springs look the same though, and your design appears to keep them out of the sunlight, which is a very good thing for rubber. Yours look to be in darn nice condition...we had to replace ours a while back...all 4 of them, which wasn't cheap!
Kev
Mark, the original owner ordered mine from Winnebago with Mor/Ryde. I do not believe Mor/Ryde came from dodge already on the chassis, I think Winnebago installed them at the factory. Air shocks did not come with the Mor/Ryde, but the PO had them installed on mine, so I put them back on it.
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On mine, winnebago moved the shocks towards the frame rails, not sure why, maybe the needed the extra room for the generator box on the other side.
Also got it started and brought it home tonight. Ended up sitting a can on the passengers side floor and ran a fuel line down to the fuel pump, she fired right up and came home. So its either sucking air or the sock on the pickup tube is clogged. The filter looks pretty nasty, the tank might be full of rust.
QuoteCaochman, that is an odd setup for Mor-Ryde...doesn't quite match up with anything in the manual
I think his looks exactly like whats printed in the manual. Hm?
I took a good look through the manual. Very interesting idea and design. I was fairly baffled as to how they were supposed to work by just looking at the photos you posted of it. It must've been a pretty rare installation option back then for the old Winnies. You certainly do have a very special rig rig right there.
Appears as though Gracie has the Mor ride as the only suspension on the rear (no leaf springs) The other vehicles use the Mor Ride for a tandum axel Frank
That is a very interesting rear suspension on Gracie. Are the two metal pieces that the air shocks are mounted to originally part of the design or didn't it have any shocks to start with? The metal looks a little newer(less rusty).
As indicated in the 1970 brochure, the Mor-Ryde rear suspension was offered as an option package by Winnebago http://media.gowinnebago.com/models/globalElements/brochure/previous-models/1970/winnebago/70-WinnebagoD-bro.pdf (http://media.gowinnebago.com/models/globalElements/brochure/previous-models/1970/winnebago/70-WinnebagoD-bro.pdf)
There is a drawing of it on PDF Page 14. It replaced the Dodge rear suspension.
Dave
Quote from: Wantawinnie on April 19, 2013, 12:01 PM
That is a very interesting rear suspension on Gracie. Are the two metal pieces that the air shocks are mounted to originally part of the design or didn't it have any shocks to start with? The metal looks a little newer(less rusty).
The four shock hangers were bent in towards each other. Dad unbent them and added the channel as an extra measure so they wouldn't do that again. This weekend I'll paint them with some undercoating. Frank is exactly right, there are no leaf springs on the rear.
Dropped the fuel tank this weekend, found tons of rusty sludge!! Cleaned it out, replaced some of the fuel line and replaced the wires on the sending unit. Shes running like a champ again!
Did you just clean out the tank or did you add any tank coating?
We just cleaned the tank and have not coated it, probably should have used a tank liner, but we have a trip planned next weekend and are a bit pinned by time.
Been actually thinking about having a couple custom tanks made in the near future, maybe two 40 gals tied together at the top so I only have to have one neck fill.
The 72 Winnebago only had a black water storage tank and no gray water storage. Because of this, we use to use a blue gray water tote on extended stays and this worked out pretty well, as we could take the tote down to the dump station without moving the rig.
My biggest gripe is my tote is a 30 gallon and is kinda big. Its bulky, dirty, and I hate packing it into the RV to bring it with us. Last year I talked to Dad about just making a hanger so I could store it under the RV, I had plenty of room in the back.
Dad came up with this idea instead....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAQOaO5ObaY (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAQOaO5ObaY)
Its motorized and will lift the tank fully loaded. We're going to plumb it with quick disconnects on the gray water system (Gracie has no gray water tank). Its just sitting on two tracks, it rolls right out from under the RV really easy so if you need to dump it, its really no big deal.
That is just awesome. your dad is a crafty guy. Now you did it. Got me thinking. how about some more info. pic , diagram.
I could use something like that.
That's cool. He's good. Way to go :)clap
That's cool.. :)
You two and your electro-wizardry... it just ceases to amaze....
Yeah, maybe him and his Dad can design the electric drawer-ama-jiggey I want to do..
We'll be traveling down to Gatlinburg TN this upcoming mid-week. Seeing how the tires we have are about 12 years old we figured it might be a good idea to start carrying the spare tire around. The PO kept the spare tire on the roof. The weight of the tire had started to sag the roof causing puddling and leaking. I removed the spare tire and its mount and fixed the leaks last summer, but never had a good way to carry the spare tire around.
This weekend Pop and I made a fast and easy tilt style tire carrier that tilts down, allowing us to get into the back trunk when needed. Because its held in via the receiver hitch, it can easily be removed. We flat tow a jeep cherokee sometimes, when we do, we can just stick the spare in the jeep like we have been doing. The tire is offset to the right so our wood box will still fit on the bumper, it slides to the left on rails also to allow the rear trunk to open.
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Nice!!! And being a HUGE Burns and Allen fan, I have to say it!
Say goodnight Gracie!
Kev