Kbeefy's 78 Royale

kbeefy

Active member
Oct 17, 2022
283
100
28
Eastern Washington
Guess I'll get something on here to show off. Picked this up a few months ago and have been chipping away at my list this winter.

20221117_125223.jpg
'78 Royale, Front Kitchen dry bath w/ 'Lounge' in the back.
Near as I can tell almost completely original aside from exterior paint, front seat upholstery and carpet.


Interior pictures in my intro thread HERE.

First step clean the mouse mess and nests. Ongoing project, but I got 90% of it.

On the drive home it seemed under-powered so that was at the top of the list. I have since found the advance weights sticking and bound up in the dizzy and the throttle plates only opening the primary side. I have some new weights and pivots to install and managed to get the throttle to open most of the way by tweaking the pedal assy.
I have also eliminated the non-operative TVS system and a few other portions of the vacuum/throttle/ignition controls. Once it warms up a bit I'll check timing and see what needs to happen to get full advance. It's a late model CA emmisions vehicle so it has a vacuum retard/advance which I've removed the retard function from.
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I was trying to clean up the vacuum lines on top of the motor, but retaining the double Evap kept it pretty messy. At least I got most of the mouse nests out.
It will also get a decent cleaning when it warms up enough to get the pressure washer out.

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Between GM, Coachman, and multiple previous owners the wiring under the hood was a mess.

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I deleted all the house charging hardware and most of the PO wiring. Tried to tidy up GM's wiring a bit, and rerouted coachmans silly wiring.
I also Added relays for the high and low headlights. Ran the starter battery cable directly to the battery.

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After sitting a couple days the rear suspension had leaked out and was sitting on the stops. It's possible I left it in 'Auto' when I parked it, I was not entirely familiar with the functions at that time. It also took forever to pump up. Having heard the original pumps were not he greatest, I decided this was a good time to upgrade to a Viair pump.

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I determined that I have the ElectroLevel I system. I got a good deal at amazon on an open box Viar 480c. It just fits. I replaced the original relay and plumbed the air so it will be easy to add a line and larger reservoir in the future for airing up tires. I also found a leaking fitting and replaced it with a push loc fitting.

I then built some ramps and parked it on them for better access under the coach. I placed some jackstands underneath to catch it when the bags deflate. I was very pleased that it took almost 2 weeks to drop 1/2" to contact the jackstands. (Jackstands not pictured)

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Yeah those original compressors are barely enough for a fish tank.
My dream setup is dual Viair 485s!
 
Didn't take any pictures during assembly, this is the best I could get of the ViAir install.

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All this is under the rear bench, not sure how much is original, but some is obviously a previous owners installation. There is a 2500w inverter/charger, Automatic transfer switch, shore power surge protector and a sub panel in there.
I added the buss bars and battery monitor that are to the right.

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There were 2 used up golf cart batteries in the generator compartment. I pulled them and am replacing them with a 200aH Lithium battery, approximately the same size as an 8d battery but much lighter.
I'm running a dedicated 110v charger that I also mounted in the generator bay. Theres also a 200A breaker in there to shut everything off.

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Still need to fabricate a battery holddown of some sort. Hooked everything up and flipped the switch, works great! Still need to mount the battery status panel... looks like alot of work to get it up to the status panel, think I'll mount it in back for now.
 
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Guess I'll get something on here to show off. Picked this up a few months ago and have been chipping away at my list this winter.

View attachment 7911
'78 Royale, Front Kitchen dry bath w/ 'Lounge' in the back.
Near as I can tell almost completely original aside from exterior paint, front seat upholstery and carpet.


Interior pictures in my intro thread HERE.

First step clean the mouse mess and nests. Ongoing project, but I got 90% of it.

On the drive home it seemed under-powered so that was at the top of the list. I have since found the advance weights sticking and bound up in the dizzy and the throttle plates only opening the primary side. I have some new weights and pivots to install and managed to get the throttle to open most of the way by tweaking the pedal assy.
I have also eliminated the non-operative TVS system and a few other portions of the vacuum/throttle/ignition controls. Once it warms up a bit I'll check timing and see what needs to happen to get full advance. It's a late model CA emmisions vehicle so it has a vacuum retard/advance which I've removed the retard function from.
View attachment 7912

I was trying to clean up the vacuum lines on top of the motor, but retaining the double Evap kept it pretty messy. At least I got most of the mouse nests out.
It will also get a decent cleaning when it warms up enough to get the pressure washer out.

View attachment 7913

Between GM, Coachman, and multiple previous owners the wiring under the hood was a mess.

View attachment 7914

I deleted all the house charging hardware and most of the PO wiring. Tried to tidy up GM's wiring a bit, and rerouted coachmans silly wiring.
I also Added relays for the high and low headlights. Ran the starter battery cable directly to the battery.

View attachment 7915

After sitting a couple days the rear suspension had leaked out and was sitting on the stops. It's possible I left it in 'Auto' when I parked it, I was not entirely familiar with the functions at that time. It also took forever to pump up. Having heard the original pumps were not he greatest, I decided this was a good time to upgrade to a Viair pump.

View attachment 7916

I determined that I have the ElectroLevel I system. I got a good deal at amazon on an open box Viar 480c. It just fits. I replaced the original relay and plumbed the air so it will be easy to add a line and larger reservoir in the future for airing up tires. I also found a leaking fitting and replaced it with a push loc fitting.

I then built some ramps and parked it on them for better access under the coach. I placed some jackstands underneath to catch it when the bags deflate. I was very pleased that it took almost 2 weeks to drop 1/2" to contact the jackstands. (Jackstands not pictured)

View attachment 7917
Great work! I envy your talents and your workshop. You might consider placing a chock behind the front-rear tire and in front of the rear-back tire.
 
Great work! I envy your talents and your workshop. You might consider placing a chock behind the front-rear tire and in front of the rear-back tire.
Thanks!

Good ideas and I think I have some small chocks around that would do the trick.

I'm not a big fan of chocks on wood, and have been relying on my shop being flat to not rely on chocks. The Parking brake is also set for some protection.
 
Heres the shop without a GMC in it....

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60' front to back and an 11' door on both ends. I could fit 2 26' GMC's and still squeeze between them.
Handy because I can have the GMC mid project and still use the lift for maintenance on my long bed crew cab 4x4 diesel pickup.
 
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Nicer than I imagined. However, I don't see a coffee pot anywhere.

I don't drink Coffee.... However, Wifey has several coffee machines in the house. She knows I'll throw her mugs away if she leaves them so no cups can be found in my shop. Only tools and parts are scattered on my workbenches!
 
Great work! I envy your talents and your workshop. You might consider placing a chock behind the front-rear tire and in front of the rear-back tire.

Hey, side note....

My Moms side of the family settled in and spread about Woodward, OK. My Uncle owned a GM/Toyota Dealership there, Atkins Chev or something like that. Think he sold it 15-20 years ago.

I still go down there occasionally, just saw our family a couple days ago (in Arkansas, not OK).
 
I love a good build thread, thanks for sharing. It looks like the PO gave you a decent start on the electric equipment. Now that you've added to it, that seems like a pretty good system! That blut box above the battery--is that the dedicated charger? Is the PCB inside it conformal coated? If not, the dust/dirt/moisture that blows through the generator compartment could lead to an early demise years down the road.
 
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That blue box above the battery--is that the dedicated charger? Is the PCB inside it conformal coated? If not, the dust/dirt/moisture that blows through the generator compartment could lead to an early demise years down the road.

It is the charger. That is a temporary installation, I ran out of room. I will most likely relocate it inside this summer, but I have a camping trip in a week and needed it somewhere. I might wind up replacing the inverter, it's huge.

I have 400w of solar, a solar charge controller and a DC-DC charger to add to the system as well.
 
One reason the air pump wasn't working very well....

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When I picked up the GMC I tried parking on an incline and the parking pawl didn't hold. Fortunately the parking brake was good enough. I decided to look into it and discovered it was only going about halfway into park. I removed the linkage and hit it with a wire brush and readjusted the length.
I now have full park engagement. Not sure why it was out of spec, the motor and trans mounts don't look terrible.

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That adjustment can be done from above, but it's much easier from underneath if you happen to have clearance.

The windshield sprayer switch was broken and stuck in the on position, and the washer pump unplugged.
I rummaged through my switch stash and found a momentary on switch that would work. I would have prefered an ON-OFF-MOM 3 way switch, but this is what I had. Had to drill the dash out a bit with a step drill, but it's in there. No dash pics as I'm part way thru a head unit replacement and it's ugly.

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The previous owner mentioned in passing that the furnace didn't work. Guess he only used the coach in the summer and AC was the only HVAC he was worried about. I turned on the thermostat and started checking for power. After verifying the fuse was good and had power, I started probing these wire nuts with a test light. When I touched the yellow one the fan kicked on. I took it apart and found they had just done a bad job and only barely got both wires engaged. Reinstalled it and function checked, works great!
I might replace with WAGO connectors, but it's working fine for now.

20230312_120602.jpg
 
When I picked up the GMC I tried parking on an incline and the parking pawl didn't hold. Fortunately the parking brake was good enough. I decided to look into it and discovered it was only going about halfway into park. I removed the linkage and hit it with a wire brush and readjusted the length.
I now have full park engagement. Not sure why it was out of spec, the motor and trans mounts don't look terrible.
Check for play in the shifter "Bell Crank" down by the transmission. Its pivot point was very worn when I bought it so I had it brazed and re-drilled, but it was still loose. About 13 years later it was getting badly worn again. This time I fixed it myself. I used a couple of flat washers that fit perfectly on the pivot shaft. I welded the washers on the inner side of the Bell Crank, using a rod to align the washers in place.
Now the shifter lines up with the PRNDSL indicator just (almost) like new. There is still a bit of play on each end of the shifter cable.
 
Check for play in the shifter "Bell Crank" down by the transmission. Its pivot point was very worn when I bought it so I had it brazed and re-drilled, but it was still loose. About 13 years later it was getting badly worn again. This time I fixed it myself. I used a couple of flat washers that fit perfectly on the pivot shaft. I welded the washers on the inner side of the Bell Crank, using a rod to align the washers in place.
Now the shifter lines up with the PRNDSL indicator just (almost) like new. There is still a bit of play on each end of the shifter cable.
I checked play at both ends of the cable, the attachement at the column and the transmission. I wiggled the bellcrank when I had the linkage disconnected and didn't notice excessive play. I'll pay attention to the bellcrank if I continue to have any issues, but now the Prindle displays accurately. (I guess it's a Prindsl on the coach!)
 
Turn signal was figity on the maiden voyage home, thought I'd pull apart the column and take a look.

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When I got it apart everything looked good, I cleaned up the contacts and put it back together. Working fine now, we'll see how the next 'maiden' voyage goes.

I noticed the Mechanical advance was very stiff and the springs were shot so time to check it out.

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The weights were stuck on there pretty good, and even after the weights and springs were removed it was stiff.
Guess it's coming out.

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After some cleaning I'll do the 'Gunsite Timing mod'.

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I got the old grease and corrosion cleaned up, fresh grease in and the advance moves much freer now.

There is, however way too much up-down play in the distributor shaft. I looked into shimming it and have discovered that I am missing one or two bits....

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There is a flanged Washer (pn #1965864) and thrust washer (pn#1837617) that are not installed on this distributor.

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#25 and 26... I'll be shopping for those if anyone knows a source. Quickest I can get the flange washer is about 5 days so far. I think the thrust washer I can replace with a distributor shim kit.
 
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I am not a distributor person but I believe since the OLDS distributor spins reverse of most GM stuff the turning action pulls the shaft down. So upward movement when moving by hand is no big deal. Give Dick Paterson in Coldwater, Ontario at Springfield Ignition a call to see if I am correct. Also he will have any parts you need for that one because he rebuilds and recurves them specifically for GMC for us.

 
I've always been a gearhead.
There's an old school junkyard closer than any parts stores, I'll try to make it over there tomorrow and look for a core hei.

These things are great for this kind of work, attention to detail, not much can't be fixed with just cleaning, repairing as needed, and lubricating.