Mikes Dual Cab

[Franz]

#29623

Hey Mike, I got a call from Painter’s about the engine.

They took it all apart, and said the case needs line bored, and will only bore to a 1776cc.

Painter’s has brand new OEM mag cases. They are about $800 Kind of expensive, but worth it. Nice to have tight lifter bores and standard bearings. I suggest we go with the new case, but its your call.

[mdubg]

#29635

I want to make sure that I have the most reliable motor possible.  Tell Painter’s to go ahead with the new case.

[BBWB]

#29640

Franz wrote:

Painter’s has brand new OEM mag cases. They are about $800 Kind of expensive, but worth it. Nice to have tight lifter bores and standard bearings. I suggest we go with the new case, but its your call.

I bought one of those cases. Still going strong in Dan’s bus.

I'm at the age where "fuck off", "fuck you", and "fuck it" answer most questions.

[ColeB]

#29655

Nice to start with something that is for sure not warped

[Rustabus]

#29708

How much does it usually run to have Painters rebuild a tranny center section?????

[John Jones]

#29755

A new case is penny’s in the big picture, and the reliability and longer future and peace of mind is priceless… 😎

2332 😎

Been a wild ride, but it got me here 😎

[mdubg]

#29803

I talked to the folks that I ordered the exhaust from.  Unfortunately, they shipped the set-up with heat risers, so you should see the system with the wrong part first.  They are sending the hook-ups without heat risers separately, so they should show up a little later.

[Franz]

#29811

Cool Cool.

We’ve been doing more boring work on your truck. Chris stripped and blasted some stuff, currently getting the transaxle and beam parts ready to blast.

It sounds like Painter’s is getting started on the mechanicals build. They called with a couple questions yesterday.

 

[Franz]

#29830

Chris still working on tear-down and clean-up.

Looks like we need to repair that spring plate.

The link pins and needle bearing were in rough shape. We’ll have to get new ones.

 

[mdubg]

#29837

Awesome to see the progress!

I’m excited to see you going through the front-end.  Previously, driving down the highway was a series of suggestions made to the steering wheel.  Sometimes the bus would comply with the suggestions, sometimes not.  When the brakes were touched, it was a wild ride.  It was sketchy to say the least.  It will be nice to be able to track down the road without a bunch of exaggerated wandering and with those front discs I sent.

Speaking of the front-end, what’s the verdict on the steering box?  During teardown I think John mentioned that we may need to source one.

[Franz]

#29842

Yeah, I think so. That was a Brazilian steering box.

[BBWB]

#29843

I’d like to see one of the rack and pinion kits from the UK installed. I hear it’s the “Cats meow”.

I'm at the age where "fuck off", "fuck you", and "fuck it" answer most questions.

[Baja Mark]

#29852

BBWB wrote:

I’d like to see one of the rack and pinion kits from the UK installed. I hear it’s the “Cats meow”.

Ben, I’ve fitted a few for customers in the past and I’m not a fan; they have ZERO play, which equals constant correction going down the road. Very stiff too.

[BBWB]

#29858

^^^Good to know. Although, I thought most racks have an adjustment to dial in the pinion and rack gear mesh. I was made aware of this from my dad years ago. I had a used Ford Aerostar van that had a new rack installed right before I bought it. Wandered all over the road, had no center. My dad told me how to adjust the rack. Improved the steering 90 percent. Still had the very soft Ford power steering, but after that, the wife could keep it in her lane. 😉

I'm at the age where "fuck off", "fuck you", and "fuck it" answer most questions.

[Baja Mark]

#29859

No adjustment on these kits; they aren’t really a proper rack – they still use the centre pin and tie rods etc. I’ve also driven homebrew rack conversions but they usually alter the amount of lock to lock turns, which is disconcerting when you’re used to driving a stock bus. An original steering box in good order is perfectly adequate and I think a joy to drive.

[Author]

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