'76 Eleganza II project

[Mike_H]

Nice thread. I'm into the engine tune up on mine too. Started there, vs going though the bearings and wheels first. After seeing that chain slop on yours, I'm for sure pulling mine and replacing it. I have the radiator out now, so there is some good clearance. Will replace the water pump and fan clutch at the same time.

 

[gmc260]

hi 6cuda6, that was with just barely over 74,000mi. too. brake pedal wear also indicates this mileage as being fairly accurate. check out JHarpers album @ gmcmhphotos.com: http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/brake-pedals-and-mileage/p21603-introduction.html (this reminds me, have not taken a photo of the brake pedal yet.)

pvfjr, yeah man, I cant imagine that would have gone much farther before jumping or worse! its fairly easy to pull off the mechanical fuel pump or block off plate (two bolts) and reach in there and check it. I dont have a spec for you but I think probably anything more than 1/4" play is excessive. this one had well over an inch. more like two inches IIRC.

hi Mike_H, thanks. I started with the brakes since it sat for so long and they needed attention but it was otherwise ok to drive. we didnt have far to go to get it home. actually, the former mayor of the next town over was the original owner of this one and the 2nd owner was also local. thought that was kinda cool but didnt know it until going through all the records.

will be keeping records on it the best we can too and also trying to share links here for this and that so it will take some time to get my next post ready since Im still working on stuff here that I did last year but it should be a good one. will be much easier to update here when I actually catch up to date.

 

[Mike_H]

hi Mike_H, thanks. I started with the brakes since it sat for so long and they needed attention but it was otherwise ok to drive. we didnt have far to go to get it home. actually, the former mayor of the next town over was the original owner of this one and the 2nd owner was also local. thought that was kinda cool but didnt know it until going through all the records.

Make sense. I started with the engine because it overheated on my trip home. Now the radiator is out for possible recore (or more probably replacement), the distributor is out for replacement and I'm buying a timing set, fan clutch, water pump, exhaust manifold gaskets. I've got oil leaks too, so I'll be putting valve cover gaskets on. Need to degrease the engine underneath to see what else is leaking. My trans pan is leaking too, so that will be dropped for a gasket... And possibly replace for a Ragusa.

Haven't even started to think about the coach part yet!

 

[gmc260]

I got a little carried away..

read the late and great Joe Mondello's book https://gmcidiotsguide.com/chapter-4 and decided to use a cam button since he wrote that it will also help with T-chain wear even on a stock (non roller) camshaft. got it from his former company against popular opinion but I figured its just a bolt and bronze bushing so thats kinda hard to mess up. you must cut it down to fit precisely, 0.005" clearance IIRC but dont rely on this if you decide to do the same, and do your own due diligence here. I also double checked the cam timing and ended up using the A2 (2deg advance) slot although most, including Joe Mondello recommended using the A4 however I had a water pump on back order and if there is any measurable stretch after some miles I may goto A4 when I replace it. I could have eliminated the fuel pump roller at this point but decided against it. its not a racer and it may come in handy some day, who knows?



Now with so much space to work with in the GMC engine room and since I had the engine nice and clean, I decided to paint it back to the original color. have always been a motor head from a very early age but never had a BB455 Olds. have a neighbor who restores 442s and the original LeMans blue color on them has to be the nicest color on any engine. (the 455 looks huge sitting in a 442)

Im not sure why there was so much gunk behind cylinder heads freeze plugs however a PO had a valve job done and I suspect the heads were cleaned in a caustic wash machine without removing the freeze plugs which could have ate into the galvanized coating of them. there is four of them in the heads, two on each head front and back so I punched one side inward and the other side came out enough to grab and pull out. used the garden hose to flush all the gunk out of each opening while I had them out and also rigged up a fitting to inject water into each of the block drain plugs and flushed it out really good while I was at it.

removed everything off the engine and found the intake was cracked which wasnt a huge surprise after reading alot about these GMCs however it didnt seem too bad and only went down about an inch so at this point I decided to leave it alone since the engine was running so good.

ordered four of these: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/mel-mpc-99 and scuffed them up, painted the in side with appliance epoxy, wiped the mating edge clean. 24hrs later I installed them using red locktite 271, I always have used it for this and it has never let me down.

the whole engine is easily accessible to paint so I went over it once more with CRC Brakleen and a small S.S. brush and air nozzle prepping it totally clean then got 4 cans of this https://www.supercarsunlimited.com/item_details.aspx?nid=1226 its pricey but neighbor insists it good stuff.

also spent extra time (lots of it) bead blasting and painting everything but also before blasting I ground off all the sharp casting edges on all the brackets mainly just to smooth them all out but this also helps avoid scratching up my hands on them in the future if I ever have to squeeze my hand in there somewhere.

tapped everything up well, sprayed a few coats on it, let that dry and removed the masking then painted the oil pan with a brush and black POR15 since it was a bit more rusty and hard to get to.

the Jardine headers were chrome but had some rust on them now, just barely fit in the scat blaster cabinet but was able to blast all the rust off and then painted them with VHT flameproof silver https://www.summitracing.com/parts/vht-sp106/overview/ one can for each.

remflex gaskets seem to be the preferred ones so I got those https://www.summitracing.com/parts/rfl-11-001/overview/

timing cover gasket set with seal https://www.summitracing.com/parts/fel-tcs45270/overview/

water neck gasket https://www.summitracing.com/parts/fel-35130

Dayco belts https://www.summitracing.com/parts/dac-15605/overview/ https://www.summitracing.com/parts/dac-15570/overview/

PO had also supplied me with new S.Plug wires and I also got an AC Delco Dist cap (w/brass contacts) rotor and a set of Platinum Rapidfire #7 Spark plugs

looking and running good now! more later..

 

[6cuda6]

Looking good!!

 

[pvfjr]

Wow, that looks fantastic. I can only dream about taking the time to do such a nice job. Maybe someday.

Do you have any more pics of your timing tab or what secures it? It's the first I've seen that looks like mine, but mine is floppy. I'm wondering if it's missing a bushing or something.

 

[gmc260]

Do you have any more pics of your timing tab or what secures it? It's the first I've seen that looks like mine, but mine is floppy. I'm wondering if it's missing a bushing or something.

I'll look but it goes on after the front engine mount bracket (pic 8) and before the power steering pump bracket (pic 9 but the tab is not installed yet here) and locates itself on that dowel in the block that pokes through the mount bracket and just fits over the special bolt/stud in the top right of pic 8 on the mount bracket and the PS bracket goes over it but does not bottom on it so they are a little floppy. (if that makes sense?) I put a dab of RTV on the back before installing it and the PS bracket.

post assembly, on a grimy engine, I would pry it outward as far as you can (easily, its plastic) and scrape it clean then maybe use some CRC Brakleen and compressed air to blow it clean then you can spatula some RTV with a flat head screwdriver in the gap and them push it back in place onto the dowel. alternatively, 3M weatherstrip adhesive works well for stuff like this and the tube its in comes with a narrower point so you might be able to squirt some of that behind it too.


BTW, want to mention the 'Daily Pose Blog' http://www.gmccoop.com/blog/ I read this nearly everyday and even went back and read everything from the beginning I missed from being late to the GMC party. theres lots of good info elsewhere too but Ive come across more gems here than anywhere. the photos are too small and the titles often dont relate to the content but the info is there from the man that knows these machines probably better than anyone.

I bookmark the really good ones and even save a few to my HDD. here is a great example: http://www.gmccoop.com/the-co-op-wow-storage/ great info!



most of my posts here so far are not in perfect chronological order, I think its close but its been a few minutes and Ive also been using different cameras. havnt been photographing everything either and looking back Ive missed some stuff I should have photographed. Im getting the major stuff but lots of little details that may have helped others more. will try to get more photos from now on but it is a slight hassle to stop and photograph stuff as you go sometimes.

both air conditioners are original duo-therm units and both still working great. we bought a new coleman for the '74 and installed it just before we got this '76 and I know many have good things to say about the coleman but these old units I can tell have never been recharged because one must solder in the ports to be able to recharge these and that has never been done.

they actually work better than the new coleman! noticeably cooler, I suppose that is because the old refrigerant was more effective than the new stuff but they are also less noisy too. we were very disapointed with the new coleman, mainly because the fan is so loud, both inside and especially outside. it might be a tad more quiet when the compressor first kicks on than the original dut-thems but thats it, other than that these old units just work better.

they had a musty smell though so I got up there and removed all the covers and cleaned out the coils really well, blowing everything out of them first with compressed air and then washing them with coil cleaner and a the water hose then blowing them dry again. just did the insides with compressed air. lots of dust and gunk but once cleaned up I sprayed the compressors and other slightly rusty stuff with rust neutralizer and sprayed in some expanding foam where there were gaps forming in the original foam. sealed of the remaining cracks and crevices with silicone so they now work even better with no smell.

both were full of wasp and dirt dobber nests when I pulled the covers but thankfully none were 'live'. I decided to prevent that problem from reoccurring by gluing in screens to the covers but first I pressure washed the covers inside and out. they are fiberglass and the original gel coat was long gone if they had any to start with but now you could actually feel the fiber strands. I decided to paint them using white epoxy paint. they kept soaking it up and ended up taking two cans on each to seal them up well. only painted the outside, the insides were fine.

used hot glue and JB weld to hold the screens in and replaced all the foam tape that sealed the covers to the units and doubling it up where needed to eliminate any spots those insects might enter. then replaced the rusty cover screws with stainless steel ones. good to go now!

 

[gmc260]

another cool tip I gathered from gmcmhphotos.com was by @C.Boyd http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/texas/p57784-quick-drop-radiator-brackets.html really like this idea and there are some others on there who have done it similar ways, I changed it up some also and made it more simple (for me anyway, YMMV) it should be pretty self explanatory by these photos but any questions about it, just ask. if you do mod it this way, just be sure to use the shortest bolts possible so they do not protrude out so far as to rub into the radiator.

and yet another tip that I had gathered was posted on http://bdub.net/gmcmotorhome.info/list.html another great GMC info site! one of the first I found and one could probably take care of everything just from this one site. this site had linkage to this: http://www.gmcws.org/Tech/fan_shroud/fanshroud.htm and I again changed it up a little bit but not much, I just used Stainless steel instead with minimal other changes.

the last two photos were my idea, had read about belt failures that also ruptured the rad. hose so I cut a piece of ABS pipe to cover it. also covered the wiring harness and heater core hoses in the same susceptible area with shorter and smaller sections since they could also be damaged if a belt were to get up there somehow.

Had the internet never got released to the masses, Im certain that there would be much fewer GMCs about today (and many other old machines) so special thanks to all the aforementioned folks above that have BTDT, took notes and published them! saved us noobs a whole lot of time, trouble, headaches, etc. its still not an easy task to resto, service, and maintain these GMCs but Im pretty sure I wouldnt have taken one on had they not made it so enticing that way.

PO got this coach prior to the internet and was using it during the early www days but back then you had to be in a GMC club to find the right infos, that was the network!

cut my teeth on many other classics prior to the internet though so I know how that goes, also was fortunate enough to know some of the greatest mentors ever back then when it was all face to face for the most part and hands on. I often wish we could go back actually but it is what it is and it aint all bad thats for sure.

 

[Russell]

WOW! You're doing some incredible work on that coach! I hope to see it, and you, at a rally down the road some day soon.
Keep up the good work!
Russell

 

[gmc260]

WOW! You're doing some incredible work on that coach! I hope to see it, and you, at a rally down the road some day soon.
Keep up the good work!
Russell

hi Russell, thanks. it's getting there slowly but surely, might not be real soon but I would like to check out some other coaches all in one place someday for sure.



after finishing up the engine, carb and ignition all dialed in, was reading and learning more about the manifold cracks on the daily pose blog (did he mispell/typo 'post' too? lol) and how they could easily and generally do progress into hard to diagnose issues when the crack extends down into the lower side. and since we want to be able to count on this rig while on the road I decided to pull it off and put in block off plates. it wasnt as crusty in there as I was expecting after seeing some others photos however, with it off it wouldnt be that hard for me to pull the heads now, so I did. have had lots of practice with this kind of stuff, just not on these GMCs but it looked easy enough. have the tools/equipment and it's nice to see what everything looks like for peace of mind and also give them a massage.

everything was within specs, got to have a good look at the cylinder bores while I was at it, and hardly any noticeable ridge up top, camshaft looks great for the mileage also. I reused the valves, springs, and push rods keeping them in order and bead blasted the carbon off the valves, combustion chambers and lightly went over the rest. also pulled out the freeze plugs again so I could wash them really good afterwards.

have some fairly extensive experience in this area, just not on a 455 and with Mondellos tips I decided to clean out the rough stuff in the ports but not get too carried away. slightly open up the valve pockets where the seats meet the head to make it a smoother transition there and then did his oil drain back mods, smoothing the edges of the castings and the gritty texture where oil tends to accumulate so it will move quicker back down into the oil pan.

got out my good ole clover lapping compounds (way better than that water based permatex junk FWIW) an old school hand crank lapper with the course mix then the hand lapping tool with the fine mix. one can hear when they are nearing a perfect seal with the hand lapping tool. tested them with parts washer fluid too in each port to see if any leaked by just to be sure. cheaped out on the engine paint this time thinking it should be the same color but it wasnt.. oh well, its close enough.

got Mondello's block off plates but if I had to do it over I would get the flat ones since afterwards I ran across a photo of mondellos that had burnt through on a GMC somewhere. wont be going back in there again for just that right away this time. hopefully not later either but we'll see.

had to get new remflex header gaskets because I used RTV on the first ones and they pulled apart taking the headers off. didnt need new valve cover gaskets again but forgot to put those in my previous post.

VC gaskets: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/fel-vs13403c/overview/
Electric Choke kit: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/jet-201355
Head gaskets: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/fel-8171pt1/overview/
Intake gasket set: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/fel-1356/overview/
heat tape: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-350114

to be continued ;-)

 

[gmc260]

back together again. pic 1a shows the temporary locating stud for ease lining up the intake just prior to applying some blue RTV and the intake gaskets.

the rest of the photos showing my custom coolant manifold that I made out of PEX shut off valves and tubing including a T threaded to accept another smaller valve where I can flush the coolant out without making a mess. with this I can redirect the flow to the heater core and the water heater. seems to be working OK but this is something I came up with on my own so if anyone knows of any reason that it might not be a good idea, please let me know. I covered the tubing with the heat tape I linked in my last post. I used a couple of rolls of this in various spots around the engine including on the speedo cable, the transmission lines under the exhaust header etc.

thinking about a separate electric water pump, in floor water heating, a solar water heating panel up top for both the floor and water heater so I wanted to be able to cut the flow and the manifold idea also cleans up the engine room a bit while also keeping those hoses off of the header. trying to think of a good way to make heat shields for the headers also but definitely do not want to wrap them with header wrap.

still have a good list of other mechanical stuff I want to do before a long haul, Including a quad bag system. I agree with Jim B, its the best for the simple reason you can get off the roadway in an emergency and possibly avoid a heavy tow bill for unknown reasons. also, Im big on self sufficiency and quad bag system will help there too for those same reasons.

more later.

 

[pvfjr]

What's the temperature rating on all those pex parts? If the ball valves are made of PTFE instead of HDPE, they're probably fine. If the tubing is actually cross linked polyethylene, it may end up having a short service life in this application.

 

[gmc260]

dont have the specs handy pvfjr, but its printed on the pex tubing and was well above engine coolant temps range, I'll post back next time I have some in hand. the valves I had seen a couple of others use on thier GMCs on gmcmhphotos.com, they have brass balls (lol) with teflon seals IIRC. have had them in a while and after a few drives they are holding up, expect they will be fine but my spares kit will have all the necessities to take care of any problems with them on the road should any develop. I thought about using copper tubing instead of pex and brazing all together into the same manifolds but I didnt want to disassemble the valves then reassemble them. well see, if any issues arise I'll be sure to report it here.

this shot was taken in early spring and before the air conditioner ones I previously posted, its covered in pollen.



The original stripes were literally toast! I took lots of photos holding a tape measurer to have handy if/when we decide to replace the stripes and also took tracings of all of the front end pieces onto thin gift wrap paper to have for reference also. after that I pressure washed as much off as possible then used an air nozzle and it was able to lift off much of the vinyl that was left after the wash. still a good bit afterwards so I used a 3M eraser wheel on a cordless drill. that got most of it off but apparently they were put on when the paint was not fully cured so it messed up some spots and there were many spots that would not erase off at all and had embedded into the paint.

neither the water or air pressure removed the sticky stuff behind where the stripes did come off either. found pro strength 'Goof Off' best for removing the sticky stuff https://goofoffproducts.com/product/pro-strength-remover-6-oz/ but also found that it did soften the paint up. by this time it didn't matter too much because of the spots where the paint had already come off.

in pic 8 & 9 I had used the eraser wheel under the side mirror mount, in them you can see where the decal was baked into the paint and the eraser wheel was no help. that's just starting with it and most of the left side was baked in. the right side mostly came off ok though but by this time we knew it would have to be painted. really wanted to save the original paint too. oh well, think twice before removing original decals if they look anything like these did.

 

[pvfjr]

dont have the specs handy pvfjr, but its printed on the pex tubing and was well above engine coolant temps range, I'll post back next time I have some in hand. the valves I had seen a couple of others use on thier GMCs on gmcmhphotos.com, they have brass balls (lol) with teflon seals IIRC.

It's reassuring to know you got a set of brass ones. Most of the PEX tubing I've seen has been in the 200* range for high temps, so it's great that you found something that goes higher. If you had a brand or something, I'd be curious to know what it is. I love PEX personally, but have always avoided using it outside of residential plumbing applications due to the temperature limitation on the stuff I've seen available. I always like seeing new options.

 

[gmc260]

It's reassuring to know you got a set of brass ones. Most of the PEX tubing I've seen has been in the 200* range for high temps, so it's great that you found something that goes higher. If you had a brand or something, I'd be curious to know what it is. I love PEX personally, but have always avoided using it outside of residential plumbing applications due to the temperature limitation on the stuff I've seen available. I always like seeing new options.

I dont have a scrap piece left that has the rating print on it, I have a piece of 1/2" that I got at HD and it reads 180deg! got this 3/4" off a plumbing buddy. seems like it was rated @ 310 or 315 but now Im concerned. probably go ahead and braze together another set up with copper. I'll call my buddy first and see if he knows but its been a while and he probably gets it at different places and wont know for sure. thanks

 

[Mike Perez]

I got a little carried away..

read the late and great Joe Mondello's book https://gmcidiotsguide.com/chapter-4 and decided to use a cam button since he wrote that it will also help with T-chain wear even on a stock (non roller) camshaft. got it from his former company against popular opinion but I figured its just a bolt and bronze bushing so thats kinda hard to mess up. you must cut it down to fit precisely, 0.005" clearance IIRC but dont rely on this if you decide to do the same, and do your own due diligence here. I also double checked the cam timing and ended up using the A2 (2deg advance) slot although most, including Joe Mondello recommended using the A4 however I had a water pump on back order and if there is any measurable stretch after some miles I may goto A4 when I replace it. I could have eliminated the fuel pump roller at this point but decided against it. its not a racer and it may come in handy some day, who knows?

View attachment 866

Now with so much space to work with in the GMC engine room and since I had the engine nice and clean, I decided to paint it back to the original color. have always been a motor head from a very early age but never had a BB455 Olds. have a neighbor who restores 442s and the original LeMans blue color on them has to be the nicest color on any engine. (the 455 looks huge sitting in a 442)

Im not sure why there was so much gunk behind cylinder heads freeze plugs however a PO had a valve job done and I suspect the heads were cleaned in a caustic wash machine without removing the freeze plugs which could have ate into the galvanized coating of them. there is four of them in the heads, two on each head front and back so I punched one side inward and the other side came out enough to grab and pull out. used the garden hose to flush all the gunk out of each opening while I had them out and also rigged up a fitting to inject water into each of the block drain plugs and flushed it out really good while I was at it.

removed everything off the engine and found the intake was cracked which wasnt a huge surprise after reading alot about these GMCs however it didnt seem too bad and only went down about an inch so at this point I decided to leave it alone since the engine was running so good.

ordered four of these: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/mel-mpc-99 and scuffed them up, painted the in side with appliance epoxy, wiped the mating edge clean. 24hrs later I installed them using red locktite 271, I always have used it for this and it has never let me down.

the whole engine is easily accessible to paint so I went over it once more with CRC Brakleen and a small S.S. brush and air nozzle prepping it totally clean then got 4 cans of this https://www.supercarsunlimited.com/item_details.aspx?nid=1226 its pricey but neighbor insists it good stuff.

also spent extra time (lots of it) bead blasting and painting everything but also before blasting I ground off all the sharp casting edges on all the brackets mainly just to smooth them all out but this also helps avoid scratching up my hands on them in the future if I ever have to squeeze my hand in there somewhere.

tapped everything up well, sprayed a few coats on it, let that dry and removed the masking then painted the oil pan with a brush and black POR15 since it was a bit more rusty and hard to get to.

the Jardine headers were chrome but had some rust on them now, just barely fit in the scat blaster cabinet but was able to blast all the rust off and then painted them with VHT flameproof silver https://www.summitracing.com/parts/vht-sp106/overview/ one can for each.

remflex gaskets seem to be the preferred ones so I got those https://www.summitracing.com/parts/rfl-11-001/overview/

timing cover gasket set with seal https://www.summitracing.com/parts/fel-tcs45270/overview/

water neck gasket https://www.summitracing.com/parts/fel-35130

Dayco belts https://www.summitracing.com/parts/dac-15605/overview/ https://www.summitracing.com/parts/dac-15570/overview/

PO had also supplied me with new S.Plug wires and I also got an AC Delco Dist cap (w/brass contacts) rotor and a set of Platinum Rapidfire #7 Spark plugs

looking and running good now! more later..

That paint looks familiar...

 

[gmc260]

That paint looks familiar...

I linked the first batch, good stuff, used 4 cans and ended up with four layers and thick finish coat. the second batch to redo the heads I got elsewhere not worth mentioning, the cans had cheep spray nozzles and didnt come out nearly as shiny so I went back over it with an engine clear coat. I doubt it will hold up to the heat these machines create around the exhaust ports after a good steep hill climb. they are already slightly discolored there.

BTW, that reminds me of a good tip for the less experienced motorheads who may be reading and will be replacing heads for whatever reason. dont recall the exact head bolt thread size and pitch but get a matching die (thread cutter) and run the die down each bolt and if you feel it start to cut the threads then that bolt is stretched so throw it away. mine were all OK but have seen many stretched head bolts on other machines, some it is engineered in and the bolts are one time use only but not the Olds 455 so if the die runs down all of them without cutting threads, they should be ok to reuse. you will feel resistance while it cleans the gunk out of the threads if there is any but much more when it starts to cut metal and you will see the metal after it is cut off too. do not reuse if that is the case.

this works for all bolts/studs too in determining if they are stretched FWIW

 

[gmc260]

This coach came with a special order number plate but I havnt found anything different than other EL2s Ive seen, perhaps it was just prepaid or the original owner wanted an EL2 but none were on the lot at the time.


Seemed to have had lots of water leaks as evidenced by the bulged and crumbling particle board around the stove vent, rear bedroom headboard/storage cabinet, and water stains under all the windows and behind the rear headliner/cap but once everything was removed the floors were much better than expected. the only water damage on the floors was below the kitchen sink (photo 1 & 2)

the wood there was soft but after rubbing and poking around it wasnt deep and hardened up 1/8" down so I got out a router and set it to 3/16" and took out the softness where I have it marked in photo 2 then glued in new 3/16" plywood there.

pics 3, 4, & 14 show some of the handwritten dates we found.

below the water tank and wet bath is where I expected to find more water damage but found none so that was nice. the water heater was dripping when I filled it and upon removal and further inspection revealed it was rusted out on bottom.

PO also left us with a full tank of propane but Im sure it has been in there at least 15 years. I guess it is still good? it looks pretty bad but we plan to either replace it with a couple or three small exchange tanks for convenience.

 

[gmc260]

removed the propane tank and compartment so I could have access to that corner, I had found that it was not sealed well and could see daylight looking down below the tail light. installed an aluminum panel for the time being mostly just to keep it driveable and weather tight.

there is a crevice around the fender wells where the pop rivet shanks used to fasten the wheel wheels and the wood panels and other construction debris had been swept into and then sealed over. the sealer was hard an cracking so I dug it and all the debris out then vacuumed it clean and resealed it with dynatron seam sealer.

dynatron is an automotive body seam sealer that many OEMs use. you can find it at Advance Auto Parts stores on the shelf sometimes or online. leaves paintable surface when it dries: https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company...eam-Sealer-Caulk/?N=5002385+3293193911&rt=rud I use it alot, its good stuff.

the wood panels in the floor were good so I just wanted to seal them well with something that would make them water proof. I tried a few things in spots trying to decide what would be best and decided on rustoleum grey enamel. it soaked into the wood much better than the clear wood sealants I had tested. so much so that I had to go get another gallon as it had soaked up all the first gallon and so two gallons were just enough. its a very tough finish but my main concern was getting it as water proof as possible for whatever future leaks or plumbing issues may arise. this is really the best way to go if you're in this deep but don't need to replace all the wood panels.

the foam insulation was turning loose from the fender wells so I scraped it all off, it wasn't hard to do and most came off in big chunks but what a mess that makes. the floor was dry by this time but it did take two days to be cured enough to walk on.

I'm replacing all exterior screws with stainless steel ones, the ladder ones were all rusty and on the rear hatch they really were no longer grabbing into the thin SMC/Fiberglass well at all, seems GMC would have done better than that. I changed all the sheet metal screws to machine threaded screws and made threaded backing plates for them. scraped away the foam and used RTV adhesive to seal and hold them in place.

the ladder and roof rack itself was in good shape other than oxidation and coated in rust residue from the set screws they had. cleaned it all up with an acid wash. all the original set screws were locked solid and had to use a torch, plenty of PB blaster, and various bits to get them out without stripping any threads. wasnt easy, they were allen socket set screws and most of them stripped out the socket befroe turning loose so ended up using torx bits that were slightly larger and forcing them in with a hammer to get them to bite enough to be able to turn them loose. after I had it all apart (except the steps, those were pinned and that would have been a major PITA) I decided to round off all the sharp edges on all the mounts. should have been done when they were made as I'm sure some of you have noticed that they are pretty sharp edges. considered drilling large evenly spaced hole in them to use with bungee cords and tie down straps which would come in handy but decided to keep the originality of them instead.

Mcmaster-Carr had stainless steel set screws that fit the original threads in them. part# 2711649-01 and before reassembling everything I ran a tap through the threads and then brushed anti seize on all of the set screws. this ladder & rack deal turned out to be a pretty big job itself but its as solid as ever now and if it ever, wont leak or have rusty screws, and will be a breeze to remove and replace in the future if needed for whatever reason.

many of the little details throughout this build that Ive done have taken more time than they might save me down the road but they will save time while on the road if something comes up which it may never for us but for sure will save someone else some hassles here and there if/when I am the PO.

 

[gmc260]

after all the new fuel lines, the Honda EV6010 started right up but smelled horrible! combination of burnt wood and dead animal so I new it was a nest of some sort and took it out, removed the covers and cleaned all the nest out and then a general cleaning. had an old coca cola 12vdc fridge frame and that combined with two 1.5" thick boards were the same level as the coaches genset bay. made it a breeze sliding it out and back in.

Ive uploaded a photo of the EV6010 wiring diagram, the Honda EV6010 installation manual, and the Honda owners manual that others will find helpful. could not find a .pdf of the factory service manual but PO had a hard copy of it and the owners manual that he included in the sale too.

pics 7, 8, & 9 are of the utility cabinet. the foam seal that was there had mostly degraded into nothing so I scraped it all out with a hook tool then resealed it with dynatron in a caulk gun squirting it deep in the gap them smoothing the excess out with my finger.

pics 10 & 11 I have removed the rubber body strip and have forced water from the hose into the gaps behind it washing out all those years of debris and then following up with the air nozzle, rinse repeat etc. there was quit alot of crap behind there and I wasn't planning on removing it to paint. that's a big hassle that can damage the Stainless trim. BTDT.

last pic is the lower door hinge showing the only glaringly visible rust on the coach. more later..

p.s. Jim Bounds YT chans with lots of great GMC insights, tips/info etc.:

Jim Bounds

www.youtube.com

jim bounds tutorials

www.youtube.com