Yep, they are all led bulbs. Those are just the running lights so the brake lights have to be pretty crazy at night. Our state doesn't really care about those type of regulations on personal vehicles especially antiques. I will be adding some running lights on the top and sides though, I like the big rig look. Need to make a headache rack and mount a reverse light/ service light on it too along with a snatch block mount for the winch.
Brought home half of a 75 k20 today for its first real test in the wild. Winched it onto the bed and drove home with no problem. Also winched out a construction worker who got stuck in our field yesterday in a big Dodge after it rained. Slowly getting it dialed in, need to weld on some tie down points along with a rear tow hook in case I need to double up the winch line again for heavy pulls. I used my existing receiver hitch yesterday and it did fine for that, but I want more options. I replaced the steering column wiring yesterday because my blinkers were wonky due to the cheap-o ebay column I used. They work great now! Also bought an exhaust silencer that shoves into the stack to quiet it down some, it makes your ears ring after a while! So far this thing has lived half of its new life in 4wd low range! Going to pick up a c30 Chevy for a donor for my dad's White on Friday. Good times!
Been a busy week! My dad had the car trailer so I HAD to use the White for everything. This c30 is going to be the donor for my dad's White. Figure we can extend the chassis when he figures out a length he wants. This 95 Mustang is wrecked on the other side and will be a donor for a buddy building a 68 Ford f100 2wd. Need a place to mount the ramps! Luckily this car was so nasty I just dropped the top and shoved them inside. There is literally barf on the floor of it so I wasn't gonna hurt it.
Made a bunch of little changes to the White. Finally hooked up my heater box that I made with the stock heater housing and the tranny fan, worked amazingly well! I could keep the cab at 75 degrees with a bunch of large holes still in the floor blowing cold air in. Also hooked up an extra coolant hose that comes out of a rear freeze plug which should help block circulation and give me a more accurate temperature reading. Stayed at about 200 degrees most of the day. Still higher than I'd like it on a 55 degree day. I have a more powerful fan I may install. Drilled and tapped the intake to hook up a boost gauge and found I'm only getting about 14 psi of boost with the wastegate pinned shut. I think it should be a little higher than that but I haven't found what the stock pressure is supposed to be. First scrap metal run today. Hauled off a f450 carcass and a bunch of misc suspension stuff from my dad's White. All in about 3300 pounds worth. Longest trip to date, 20 miles each way, truck did pretty good. Across the scales empty I was at 10,000 pounds. The guy plucked the carcass off the bed with the claw and then used a magnet to clean the rest of it up. Driving this thing around is a real freak show! People hanging out the window waving at me and flagging me down for pictures in parking lots. Good times!
Get yourself a better turbo , more fuel and engine and EGTs will drop drastically . Hc221 maybe in order for you . I swapped H1C out and it boost easily 30 psi .
Continuing to dial it in. Stock Dodge power steering pump went out so I upgraded to a higher flow Saginaw style unit. I was having trouble with the alternator intermittently working so I replaced it with a high amp single wire setup and finally did a full Dodge deletion of the wiring harness. I sleep better knowing this rats next isn't on the truck anymore! I thought it was a good idea to move this c30 carcass into the field after a rain. Had the transfer case in 4wd but forgot to lock the hubs! By the time I realized what happened it was too late. Had a buddy winch me down the hill and I eventually made it out. Video to come. My new shop is almost complete, I installed a mini split heat and ac unit and the final piece is a 2 post 10k lift. Of course I took the White to pick it up from the freight company. Evidently truckers and tow truck drivers are my biggest fans, took forever getting outta there. I don't intend to use the lift on the White, however I will use it to remove the body of my dad's 57 White from its frame. It'll also be handy to pull the flat bed off if I ever need to.
Replaced the thermostat and fixed a leak at the housing. It was crusty and there was an extra gasket wedged in there too. It's running much cooler and more consistent although I still think it's running lean and heating up more than it should under boost. New injectors are next, the donor truck had the tank sugared by someone and I just can't help but think some of it got past the fuel filter. My wife and I took it to the drag races with my Chevy ii (lq4 6.0/5 speed, 4 link, discs) Only managed a 13.8 with the nova at 102mph, no traction off the line due to street tires but it pulled hard once it hooked up. Had a blast, White did great and I was able to drive the Nova on and off with no scraping or drama. Little sketchy being that high on the ramps with something I care about though. Some guy told me it was the coolest tow rig he'd ever seen. Always get great feedback from people when I drive the White.
Small update: added new 50hp over stock injectors along with a new fuel plate and tuned the fuel pump some. Woke the engine right up! Easily accelerates to cruising speeds and I'm seeing a little more boost pressure as well. Drove it in 85 degree heat to go pickup a 68 firebird from a buddy. It was hilly and water temps hit 220+ although it wasn't boiling over yet. It heats up when boosting and cools down when you aren't pushing it. I think it's time for a better electric fan. First pic is when I brought a whole oak tree to my dad's place for firewood. With a big bed there was no need to cut it up first although it was too heavy to roll off! Have some new chainsaw marks in the wood now, kinda funny! Needed the White because I couldn't get a car trailer up this customers driveway. It is a steep uphill gravel driveway with very little room to turnaround. 4wd and the short wheelbase made quick work of it. The firebird is getting a 455 and t10, just getting it running, steering and stopping for the guy.
Went to a ratrod car show. Hauled my dad's custom 38 Chevy on the White and he followed with his Buick. Longest trip to date, 70 miles round-trip. I gutted my thermostat and changed out my electric fan and it appears that the overheating problem may be solved. I'm definitely getting false readings from my gauges depending on if my alternator is charging at 12.5 volts or 14 volts. It randomly fluctuates and changes my temp gauge when it does. Gonna get rid of more dodge wiring and see if it will stay at 14 volts. Need to work on the steering some more. It wanders pretty badly. I have a factory panhard bar I need to install and might tack weld some of the ujoints to the d-rod. Good times though, it's a real freak of nature with my dad's truck on the back. Breaking necks and thumbs up everywhere.
38 chevy cab sectioned 3.5", Studebaker fins, 40 chevy passenger hood and fenders, 53 chevy grill at the rear, 46 buick taillights and running lights, 250 straight 6 with a 3 speed OD. Has a hard tonneau and interior that are getting upholstered now. This is the first time it's been outta the shop.
Those Dodge front axles are terrible for steering issues . The track bar is the worst for going to lunch . Left draglink end at the pitman arm is another problem spot .
Helped a guy move his LandCruiser shop today. Each one weighs 5000-6000 pounds. Truck did great! Most weight I've had on it so far.
Biggest update I've done is replacing the old worn out warn 12k winch on the bed with a new 9k winch with a wireless controller. It makes loading and unloading so much safer and I can sit in the car being loaded to steer while winching. Here are some loads I've had on it in the last few months. 1990 Chevy g30 van, 1995 BMW 740, and my 1963 Pontiac Catalina Safari that has a 7.3 Powerstroke diesel in it.
That thing should fry the tires. Does it run and what is the story? Yours or just hauling it for someone?
Bought it for the first ever west Coast Redwood Rally drag and drive event this September. My buddies and I were drinking beer talking about watching them come through our local dragstrip. Then it turned into ... Well why don't we participate??? I have a 65 Chevy ii but then again every other car at a drag strip is a nova or Camaro or Mustang. We aren't drag racers and we wanted something totally unique. What's the dumbest thing to be found on a drag strip AnND comfortably drive 700 miles in? A diesel wagon! I had been eyeballing this Pontiac 5 hours north of me and was talking to the guy. I guess he and his buddy swapped this engine in it and the car supposedly ran and drove. Needless to say it barely made it on the car trailer and took my buddy's and I, 3 days to get it fired up to get it back off the trailer at my house! It was a drivetrain from a 2000 e350 ambulance. The entire wiring harness from the ambulance was thrown in the front seat, there were 4 giant batteries in there and it still wouldn't crank. The fuel tank from the ambulance was thrown in the back. The seats were hose off ambulance seats. The radiator was outta some sort of truck and protruded way above a hacked up core support. The brake drums were too large so the wheel cylinder would pop off if you stomped on it. The firewall was half missing and the trans tunnel was 'custom'. It was a total nightmare! I started pecking away at it, did a disc brake conversion, cleaned up all of the wiring, rebuilt the front end, rebuilt the rear end, the carrier for the rear axle was wallowed out and the spiders were poorly welded so I replaced that. The driveshaft was cut in half and rewelded so I found a 4" diameter driveshaft from a former Nascar that fit perfectly. The trans was barely held in and crooked, one engine mount had to be redone. The tailgate hinge was broken, the rear window wouldn't go up or down, the turn signals and brake lights didn't work. There was not one part of it that was done well! The sad part is, it's the cleanest most complete 63 Pontiac ever! Absolutely zero rust, only minor dents and dings. Had optional AC. It was sooooo damn clean for him to be chopping it up in the first place! I've been working on it for 5 months straight and it's finally drivable. It was pretty slow down the road at first but once I started replacing some sensors and then did the exhaust and intake and wiring it ran better and better. I just bought an adjustable chip from DP Tuning and it has a +60, +80 and +120hp settings on it. I cranked it to the 120hp and it rolls some coal and moves down the road with authority! Taking it for it's first drag race next Friday to see what kinda numbers it can do. It should allegedly be around 350hp and 700 lb/ft of torque when it's cranked up. First pic is when I bought it, sitting on the street of Vancouver Washington with the turbo and exhaust wide open and pointed up to the rain... This is how it sits today. Still need to modify the hood to fit. Rear bumper was off but it's back on now.
That Catalina wagon is so cool. I always thought that these wagons had some of the best lines, saw this one at FAMOSO years ago at the CALIFORNIA HOT ROD REUNION.
The Jalopy Journal
