The Ferrigno Family's 1975 GMC Glenbrook

It's been a super busy month, but I've been trying to get some time in on the GMC when I can. I finished putting primer where it was needed. Despite it being a primer/sealer, I decided to topcoat it with something else (even if the paint job is only temporary). The primer was impossible to keep clean. Just bumping it with the windshield gasket would leave a black mark that was hard to remove.


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I decided to remove the visor for now. That was a real pain. I'm pretty sure it was put on with 3M 5200. I had to use one of those windshield removal wires with the two T-handles. I just about destroyed my lats and traps in the process, it was a real workout! I didn't want the windshield installation to be any harder than it had to be, so out it came. There are some things that I can improve upon when I replace it.


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I did end up putting new rivet nuts in the aluminum beam below the windshield. The front nose was then screwed down with some stainless socket cap screws. I left the dash unscrewed for now. It's not in great shape; it seems a bit warped, and has a lot of cracks and broken portions on its mounting flange. It'll have to come out at some point for some serious repair or replacement. I scrubbed, sanded, cleaned, and painted the gasket lip/flange as well, so sealing should be possible.


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Here she sat waiting on windshields. I took a side profile pic so I could play around with painting schemes on my phone. I ended up going with a low-buck, low-effort solution to seal off all this primer. It'll get us by for now, without requiring my wife to hang her head in shame too terribly much as we travel. I rolled on some topside boat paint. No masking, no overspray, and as much orange peel as a guy could ever hope for. But, she's good from 25 50 feet if your eyes aren't young.


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I lured a friend over with the use of my wood jointer. We installed the used windshields I had from various sources. They're nice and clear, with no cracks. The passenger side has some light scratches, but I can't imagine it bothering the driver. I may try buffing it with some cerium oxide. Both are aftermarket. One is Guardian brand, the other NordLamex. The Guardian brand is on the driver's side, and didn't fit great, but one could conceivably blame that on the accident. I'm not entirely convinced, but it's possible. The NordLamex fits even worse, but I can't blame that on the accident, since it didn't fit great in the parts coach it came from either. There will be copious amounts of 3M bedding compound applied where needed before the lock strips go in. And they will be insured well. If they ever get broken, perhaps a new set from Coach Glass will provide more satisfactory results.
 
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Next up, I need to cinch the lower corners of the front nose together so I can attach the valance at both ends. This will make the the grill fit better as well. Then it'll be time for a little cleanup before I move on to other things.
 
Well today was a long day--I pretty much worked on the GMC from sun-up to sun-down.

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I did take some breaks here and there when the wife needed help with things, such as when the mower deck spit out a nut and a pulley, and the nut started smoking in the grass! She cooked that bearing real good. I'm convinced that had to be audibly detectable, but I've been assured everything sounded "normal". That bearing got so darn hot that it melted the nylon out of the nut, and got the mounting bolt white-hot and bent it over. I'm glad we didn't start a fire. There was tons of dead dry grass sitting on top of the deck nearby!

I've got some ratty old furniture I pulled from a coach in WA last year to make way for someone else's remodel. I dragged them out of storage and started figuring out where they go. I found the original holes for the top bunk brackets, and figured out the right bracket orientation from the assembly manual.

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The seat base was moderately rusted where it had sat on damp carpet for years. I knocked it down a bit with a flapper disc and gave it a half-hearted paint job with some $2 Miracal enamel from Dollar General. I was amazed at how much I liked that paint. Dry to handle and install in 10-15 minutes! Beats the heck out of waiting for Rustoleum to dry.

There isn't much help for locating the frame base in the assembly manual from what I can see. I figured there'd be some dimensions from the wall, but alas, I've found none. The bolts were called out, but only an obscure GM part number was given. I guess I'll just use some lag bolts? This should be 1" ply, right?

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My daughter took instant ownership of the top bunk, and as she's the oldest, that's probably for the best. She has plans of covering the ratty, stained upholstery with her old Frozen sheets. That works for now.

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The cushion for the davo seat base turned up missing. Luckily I had an old mattress that was left over from a camp trailer my mom and late stepdad remodeled many years ago. The trailer and its spare parts were handed down ages ago, and for some reason we still had this mattress. It's slightly too deep, too thick, and too long; I was able to cram it into place anyway, so that'll work for now.


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The glove box used to be held out of the way with zip ties. You couldn't close it, as the latch was already closed, and was LOCKED, and none of the keys fit. I was finally able to crack the lock, pull the cylinder, yank tumblers 2-5 out, and reassemble. Tumbler 1 doesn't operate with the key, it only retains the cylinder. Now I can open/close the glovebox whenever I want without needing to get the key out. I'm happy with that.


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While reassembling the side panel, I reckon I discovered why the parking brake doesn't work. That'll do it. It was the first time I'd pulled the handle all the way up and run the adjustment to its limit. This finally pulled the cable far enough for the broken piece to pop out of the sheath and swing down into view. That was a surprise.


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I think I pulled enough coax out of this coach to wire up a Circuit City TV wall. This isn't even all of it! Ugh. It was very poorly routed and hanging out all over the place too.


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I tried to keep the kids busy so the wife could get some things done. It can be tough to keep them from getting into trouble in the shop, but a "sword fight" was arranged to keep them occupied for about a half hour.


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I fired up the leaf blower and cleaned off the roof. It was half buried with fir needles from storage at my friend's farm last winter. I deployed the port awnings as well--they're looking decent. The starboard awning has a severed limb for some reason. More on that later.


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For some reason a turkey vulture keeps showing up and hanging out in the yard. He must think I'm working myself to death, and is biding his time.


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Another interloper keeping an eye on things as I work.
 
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Well would you look at what I found! The wife and I were clearing out the junk on Sunday and opening things up. I found these sitting in there and everything is in great shape. I'd been wondering what I was going to do to retain the "new" engine cover I pulled out of the parts coach. Now I just need to pull grab that channel for the front edge, as mine is missing. Gotta love those PO mods. Anyway, that was an easy install--don't get to say that too often.


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I was planning on packing as if we're car camping, but the wife expressed her disdain for using coolers. I decided to see what it would take to get the fridge running. I started clearing out the area behind the fridge and made a major score! I already have a rather large oxy/acetylene setup, but this stuff will make a great addition to that.


I need to take pictures of what I found with the propane setup. Truly horrifying. Needless to say, I've been bending, cutting, and flaring copper this evening. After a tune-up, the fridge is fired up. The freezer dropped from 80F to 30F in a couple hours. That's promising!

I went over all connections with my combustible gas detector. Pro tip: if a guy ever wants to verify his detector's operation, a little flatulence will confirm it in no uncertain terms. Of course, he could always crack open a range valve, but why waste the propane?


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I thought I was detecting a leak at one of the range burners, but I found out it has a open-loop pilot light. It was not lit, and the gas was flowing through one of the flash tubes to the burner and making me thing the burner control was leaking. The flash tubes are requiring a bit of rework, but I got it all working. I haven't checked the oven operation, but we're not planning any baking soon, so that will go on the back burner for now...
 
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That is an interesting collection you discovered. A spool of soft solder and only the acetylene regulator?

Matt
Yep that's it. Definitely a little strange to only have the one regulator. I'm running out of nooks and crannies to check too.

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The fridge testing is going pretty well. Just running overnight provided adequate cooling. I'm OK with the freezer temps, but it looks like I may have to dial things back a bit for the sake of the fridge. Interestingly enough, there is no dial. I guess I'll be looking for that manual.
 
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I made a positioning adjustment to the thermistor in the Dometic. Hopefully it'll have the desired effect and bump things up a few degrees.


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I got all my air cleaner parts in. I went with a Spectre carb plenum, 4" hose, and oiled cone filter. It'll be pulling in cooler air from above the battery and behind the headlight. I need to figure out how I want to mount the assembly.


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The plenum was a VERY tight fit. The inlet pretty much lays on the intake where the hose attaches. I had to delete the TVS too, but I wasn't using it anyway.


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I also had to file down the carb casting in two spots to keep from interfering with the plenum body. You can probably spot the new shiny spots.


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I finally got around to remounting the oil pressure sensor to eliminate the slow oil leak. A 45 degree street elbow did the job, but only just. The sensor body touches the bracket, and the sensor tube touches the plate behind the water pump. I can't install the sensor by itself, as its body interferes with the intake manifold.
 
There wasn't much time to work tonight, as the wife had an event for work. Six more nights to prepare for camping! I also need to clean and dewinterize the boat and hope it holds no surprises.

I did manage to do a few things. I got a new PCV breather fitted on the passenger side valve cover, and a new valve and vacuum line for the driver side. I redid the transmission modulator vacuum line in a less sloppy and more pleasing way as well--now running it off the rear vacuum tree. A new bulb proved the range hood light was OK, and newer, thicker gasket finished sealing off the air cleaner connection on top of the carb. The kid at the parts store had never heard of four barrel carburetors. Looked like a deer in headlights. When the package listed about every make of car and a year range of 1961 to 1995, I think he felt a bit silly. Thank goodness for the woman in her 40s working in the back that straightened him out. Even so, sometimes I can't shake the feeling the future is doomed. :rolleyes:



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It finally struck me, that there's this 2019 Sirium calendar on the dash. And that plate behind the water pump looks new-ish, and the water pump looks new-ish. Perhaps they did a timing chain job while they were in there? I wonder what the chances are they'd have a record of what work they did? Maybe with the VIN and the old owner's name they could clue me in.


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Has anyone else seen windshield wiper blades like this? I'm curious what era they're from. I get the feeling they've been around for a while. The old rubber was retained with a round bead, and the universal silicone rubber refills I keep in stock have the more typical T shape up top, but I was able to coax them into place. I think they'll do the job.

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Wow, looking back at pics, it's been a flurry of progress these last few days. I've worked on more things than I can remember, and only took pics of a fraction. Camping in 3 days though!

I've finished tuning up the ignition system. I had been plagued by a sluggish starter that made me think it was too advanced, but some battery cabling wasn't helping (more on that later). Now this thing is dialed in proper, setting initial at 1100 RPM and all. She sure starts easy now. I had to bump up the fast idle a tad, but the rewired electric choke is dialed in just right. I'm really enjoying having an electric pump as well.


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I started working on sealing the windshield. I'm using a butyl based bedding compound from 3M. I'm prying the gasket back and injecting it as deep into the gap as I can, then letting it squeeze out as I insert the lock strips. I've lost a lot of sweat in the hot shop doing this! It's good to have it done, finally.


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In preparation for grill installation, I threw some flat black on the bottoms of those new white plastic tanks. I decided I didn't want them shining from behind the grill.


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I'd been struggling to get the lower piece (valance?) to fit properly. It came up about 1/2" short, and was missing the mounting flange on the driver's side. I did some wire twisting to draw the sides back together. I'll have to re-slot and grind the strut braces to fit the new geometry. Without pulling this all together, the grill fitment was quite poor.


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I needed something to attach the tension wire to on the driver's side. I riveted a sheetmetal bracket to the underside of the headlight bucket area.


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Once I drew the parts together with the wire twisting, I was able to attach the valance to hold it in proper alignment. One of these days (before a legit paint job) I'll need to either swap this part for a better one, or build up a new mounting flange for it. This will work for now (and probably 10 years if I know myself).


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The grill (or what's left of it) fits much better now. All it's mounting bosses are gone, and there are some busted up, improvised screw holed holding it in around the perimeter. This thing will need some fiberglass fortification someday.


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I finally decided to see what provides power since I think I'll be adding a house battery before the trip. Reading the manual, this doesn't seem like the worst battery boiler out there. I may let it stick around for a while and let the Xantrex installation fall further down the list a ways.
 
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It was time for an oil change. The PO had struggled a bit with the drain plug, and it had thread tape, RTV, and a plastic washer. It also felt gritty as I loosened it. A proper cleaning of everything and reinstallation with only the plastic washer seems to be doing OK. I couldn't find any of my copper washers around. Moving has been the bane of my existence.


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I went for the recommended Wix filter, and was surprised how small the old filter was. At least it was a Purolator.


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The starter had been getting more and more sluggish, even threatening to stall out when hot (thanks, Thorley). Gas station restarts were sure to be a challenge, so I started going through all the cabling. I had plenty of service loop, so I started putting new terminals where I thought they were needed. I may upgrade from 4 ga someday, but the starter is already much more enthusiastic, so this will work for now.


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Finally, a good reason to use my Harbor Freight hydraulic crimper for its intended purpose (lots of handy misuse preceeded this). Aside from the gauge labels on the dies being worthless, it's pretty satisfying to use.


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Servicing the top of the windshield was difficult. I couldn't get ladders close enough, so I pulled the tractor in and used my work platform. That was handy.


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It's really coming together! I plugged it in to run the AC, and do some things on the interior.


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I mocked up a seat cover using a drop cloth. I may come back with some heavy thread and see if I can get it attached/secured and a little more form fitting.


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The wife has been working on scraping off all the tint wherever she can. It's labor intensive. I've been coming around behind and going after the adhesive with some ammonia, which works well. I've also been working on remedying all the stripped screws, bent/separated hinges, and maladjusted catches on the cabinets. The paint was poorly done and has chips and stains, but at least it's complete and usable for the time being.
 
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Wow, where to begin? Much has happened, and this quickly became out of date.

I did a TON of work in the last couple days before our first camping trip. I didn't take a lot of pics.

1628186480186.pngI did snap one a pic the bunk as I began stitching the drop cloth in place. Here it is about half done in sloppy form, but I received accolades from the 6-year-old with low standards. As it was to be her bed, that's all that mattered. Upon full completion, it was fairly smooth and didn't warrant too many double-takes from casual observers.


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I tasked the GMC with "commuting" duties a couple days before the trip. I wanted to see how she did at speed after all the engine work. There was an accidental "governor" limiting speed on hill climbs. I figured it was a fuel delivery limitation--pinched line or something. More on that later...

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Got the boat out, dewinterized it, and installed a bimini top. It was going to be a hot weekend!


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I wasn't a fan of storing the spare tire on the roof, so I nabbed a spare tire carrier off a parts coach. It could do with some cleaning up.

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Bolt-on parts that fit properly sure are satisfying.

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Time to remount the engine oil fill. Interestingly, the front clip off the '78 Palm Beach had no holes where one had been previously mounted.

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Then, of course, since I was wrapping things up Thursday night, the alternator's poor performance came to a head. It started throwing out excessive voltage. Somehow, even MORE voltage on the exciter/sense lines than on the actual output--those were creeping up to 17V+. The fuel pump didn't seem to appreciate the alternator's output, and I got some whacky fuel pressure readings. This even reverse-biased the isolator, and had its center post at a lower voltage than the battery side. Strange indeed. Napa said they could get a replacement the morning of our departure. Down to the wire, as always.
 

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In the morning, I mounted the new alternator. In the rush, I screwed up the belt. Ran to the parts store, they measured it, gave me a new one, it didn't fit, back again, got the right one, and installed it. Wasted time! All systems checked out though, so we hitched up and prepared to head out.

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The adventure begins!
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I ran across the scales on the way. 4000 lbs on the front axle, 7050 on the rear axles combined, 3300 on the rearmost axle alone, and 3500 on the boat axle. So 14550 combined weight. I'm not sure how much tongue weight the boat was putting on the coach. But I can subtract some weight for that, but I'll be adding it back in as I replace the steel-framed GMC furniture that is currently missing.

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Not a bad looking combo! Both could use some polishing, but oh well.


The boat trailer lost a wheel on the way down. I was able to put myself in front of the loose wheel as it rolled down the freeway and save anyone else the inconvenience of an unwanted impact (understatement, I know). The wheel slammed back into the fender well that it had already boogered up, so I couldn't complain. That whole fiasco delayed us a bit more, but the motorhome did great as long as I stayed out of WOT.

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The wife's first time driving the coach was to back the boat up at the worst boat ramp I've ever been to. She did great, and was a real trooper!
 
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Camping and boating were great, and the limited systems we had online did OK. Mid-trip I added a wire to charge the house battery from the isolator, so we could keep the fridge going. The fridge did OK. I think it could use a little optimizing or tuning up to keep up with being in the sun on days in the high 90s. I also couldn't leave the awning deployed long, since the door scrapes it pretty badly. I need to get one of those little wheels I suppose.

We packed up Sunday morning, and headed home mid-day. The in-laws were about half way home, so we decided to stop in for a visit. I took the freeway exit, and as divulged in another thread already, disaster struck.

The motorhome died approaching the traffic light on the end of the off-ramp. That seemed quite odd, as it hadn't done that before. I had enough booster vacuum to come to an easy stop, which was nice. Folks started piling up behind us, honking like mad.

Persistent attempts to restart the engine commenced in light of the peer pressure behind us. No go. One last try with a tired/hot starter and WOOSH! Engine goes up in flames! I started trying to beat down the flames with my tank top. The wife grabbed the roof mounted fire extinguisher and handed it over, then proceeded to egress with the kids and dog. I pulled the pin, mashed the button, and NOTHING. Darn extinguisher failed to discharge--junky piece of modern plastic by Kidde. I fought it some more with the shirt, then the rug. I made progress, but didn't put it out.

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I remembered we were towing a boat, so I ran back and grabbed its extinguisher. As I returned, I found the synthetic rug had switched modes of operation from smothering to feeding the fire. But, with the dusty 26-year-old Napa Balkamp metal-constructed extinguisher in hand, I made short work of putting out the fire.

I got on the phone with our Progressive sponsored roadside assistance. What a joke. I was passed along to three separate people to walk through all the mundane details with, repeatedly. I told them what equipment would be needed, repeatedly. 45 minutes later Coastal Towing called to ask what I was driving. I informed them of my requirements, they say they were on their way. 50 minutes later, tired of waiting, I called them back. They said "Oh, we can't tow that--we're not coming." Swell. A very nice Eugene PD officer dispatched a company he thought more highly of. They called and had informed questions, and actually listened. They sent a truck for the motorhome and a truck for the boat. Cost me close to $400 out of pocket to go 2 miles, but they did a good job and most of the work is in the hook-up.

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The fire left some aftermath. My wife and daughter were shook up, and the engine bay was a disaster on the surface. My in-laws neighborhood was crowded and I didn't want to wear our welcome thin, so I had some work to do.

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Was it gasoline burning? Where did that come from ?
Indeed, it was gas. Copious amounts of gas, both on top of the motor and down inside the intake manifold. Expansive pools of it! It cakes up real nice when combined with dry chem extinguishers too. Makes a substance that's real fun to clean off a motor. Ugh.
 
Indeed, it was gas. Copious amounts of gas, both on top of the motor and down inside the intake manifold. Expansive pools of it! It cakes up real nice when combined with dry chem extinguishers too. Makes a substance that's real fun to clean off a motor. Ugh.

What broke to cause that fuel leak?
 
To finish off the story, we got the tow to the in-laws house, and got the AC plugged in out on the street. My FIL gave me a ride home on Sunday evening and the wife and kids stayed behind to relax. I picked up our truck, and returned to the in-laws that night. The next morning I attempted an autopsy on the carb. It had dried out overnight, so I turned on the fuel pump. Immediately, the carb overflowed again, and badly! I took it off the engine and stripped it down a bit. The secondary metering rods were severely bent, which could maybe explain the WOT bogging.

I was wanting to check out the float/needle setup, but the top plate wouldn't come off. Too much epoxy, and with the fire damage, I suddenly thought it'd be better to rebuild a carb that's been put out to pasture than one that's been burned (at least with my compressed time table). I hooked up the boat and took it and the dog home. Since they don't have a dog-friendly house, I figured he'd be happier roaming our acreage than their back porch.

I grabbed a '73 carb off the Painted Desert at home while I dropped off the boat. It was crusty from sitting, but appeared to have had been rebuilt reasonably well a short time before getting parked. The wife picked up a rebuild kit for it, and I met her at her folks' place. I stripped it down and found a stuck power piston, but it was actually fairly clean inside.
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The wife also helped me source a throttle cable (scrounged up something for a 1-ton van that worked), some vacuum line, throttle spring (notice it lost its temper and stretched out), a new filter just in case, some gas resistant sealant (fuel inlet threads were stripped on the new carb), and various other little things. Oh, and a new extinguisher!

I had to cut off the end of the new air intake tube that burned, and refit its coupler as well. I also had to file the new carb body to fit the plenum, just as I did with the last one. After a couple days of working on it, it was up and running again, and we drove it home.

The new carb gives it more pep! I still want to hook up a wideband AFR sensor to make sure things are tuned right. It does have a bit of a off-idle dead spot (no, it's not the accelerator pump). I might actually need to adjust the APT screw, or perhaps I didn't polish the power piston's bore well enough, or it needs a different spring. But if I just get on the gas, it runs pretty good.
 
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It's worth mentioning again, I'm REALLY glad I invested the time and trouble into refitting the fuel system with steel lines and filter. All that stuff was near the heart of the fire, and it came out unscathed. I know for a fact the rubber lines and plastic filter this coach came with would've compounded the fire issue. I don't know if this story would've ended quite so happily.