Back in the saddle
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Freshman User
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 26
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From: Valley/Mountain Region
Back in the saddle
Hello boys and girls. It´s been awhile since my last visit to these hallowed halls; i´ve missed all of ya'll and especially missed the posts.
I had been in-country, just happy and grinnin, thinkin that all was well... white smoke, fluttering carb, and all.
I had planned on doing a minor overhaul come feb/march (rainy season) and thought that a little road trip was not so big of a deal.
We piled in the truck and headed off to Cochabamba to see friends and enjoy a little R&R. (8 hour drive - all asphault)
Once we we're ready to come back, the truck let us know that it wasn't. Had to send the little lady, the two kids & and my not too impressed mother-in-law back home in a friend's little dinky hatch-back. I returned to Cocha to look for my uncle and his unsurpassed knowledge of all the drunks that call themselves mechanics (90% self proclaimed) in this town as well as all the part stores that for some reason can offer you a wide range off parts, new and used for half of what it normally costs. (Third world luxury)
Luckily I found trough other contacts a good mechanic with a surprisingly clean and modern workshop (very difficult to find here). But bew assured that I picked my uncle's brain for all the info he could proporcion me.
Went ahead and did the whole 9 yards, engine rebuild. Lucky this '79 was still standard. We chambered the block so as to avoid buying new pistons (the originals are in great shape) and put on 0.10 rings with a little filing for a snug fit. The machine shop had little to do, mostly slight leveling. Everything else besides the oil pump and the camshaft we changed out
All the parts I was amazed to find and two weeks later we finished up.
Some of you might remember that I was dreaming of putting in a nissan FD35T turbo diesel. I know that sounds like heresy, but I was really thinking about making the switch for power, speed & fuel economy
I just couldn't do it. Not cause I righted my ways; I'm still a true believer in transformers... heck, I like what works and it don't have to be OEM. Actually money, or the lack there of, was the biggest influence in my discision.
Total engine repair (parts and labor) $450
New Sachs diaphram clutch press $45 (original 3 prong press had been changed out for a regulating 3 prong from a dodge 400 - this was no longer in good condition and wasn't worth trying to repair. The Sachs diaphram is much tighter and works great!
and to the dismay of some but to my wallet's benefit, I decided to "blow" an extra $200 bucks and install a 85psi propane tank and mixer. We pulled it off of a used import from japan... The tank is a beauty, pressure gauge, electric fuel valves, etc. The best parts was that the mixer was almost brand new! I can get almost 300Km on a full tank of LP and can switch over to gasoline on command.
(Liquid propane and natural gas are two different systems). The government is trying to subsidize the use of NG but it is still too expensive (for me) to install ($800 - $1200 for my vehicle). In all of the big cities, NG can be found and many people have made the switch.
Although Bolivia has a lot of natural gas, only in the cities can you find service stations for fill-up. Since I live in-country about four hours away from the nearest one of these, LP is really more accesable. it's so much easier finding 20Lbs propane tanks for auto-service fill ups.
Purrs like a kitten and still has all her strength. Natural gas don't do that. Man I'm loving it.
So yes, my great white continues to be a transformer... more than meets the eye.
_____________
Bolivia's Big Boy
'79 F350 Custom Crew Cab, Dually w/dana 70
Motified
I had been in-country, just happy and grinnin, thinkin that all was well... white smoke, fluttering carb, and all.
I had planned on doing a minor overhaul come feb/march (rainy season) and thought that a little road trip was not so big of a deal.
We piled in the truck and headed off to Cochabamba to see friends and enjoy a little R&R. (8 hour drive - all asphault)
Once we we're ready to come back, the truck let us know that it wasn't. Had to send the little lady, the two kids & and my not too impressed mother-in-law back home in a friend's little dinky hatch-back. I returned to Cocha to look for my uncle and his unsurpassed knowledge of all the drunks that call themselves mechanics (90% self proclaimed) in this town as well as all the part stores that for some reason can offer you a wide range off parts, new and used for half of what it normally costs. (Third world luxury)
Luckily I found trough other contacts a good mechanic with a surprisingly clean and modern workshop (very difficult to find here). But bew assured that I picked my uncle's brain for all the info he could proporcion me.
Went ahead and did the whole 9 yards, engine rebuild. Lucky this '79 was still standard. We chambered the block so as to avoid buying new pistons (the originals are in great shape) and put on 0.10 rings with a little filing for a snug fit. The machine shop had little to do, mostly slight leveling. Everything else besides the oil pump and the camshaft we changed out
All the parts I was amazed to find and two weeks later we finished up.
Some of you might remember that I was dreaming of putting in a nissan FD35T turbo diesel. I know that sounds like heresy, but I was really thinking about making the switch for power, speed & fuel economy
I just couldn't do it. Not cause I righted my ways; I'm still a true believer in transformers... heck, I like what works and it don't have to be OEM. Actually money, or the lack there of, was the biggest influence in my discision.
Total engine repair (parts and labor) $450
New Sachs diaphram clutch press $45 (original 3 prong press had been changed out for a regulating 3 prong from a dodge 400 - this was no longer in good condition and wasn't worth trying to repair. The Sachs diaphram is much tighter and works great!
and to the dismay of some but to my wallet's benefit, I decided to "blow" an extra $200 bucks and install a 85psi propane tank and mixer. We pulled it off of a used import from japan... The tank is a beauty, pressure gauge, electric fuel valves, etc. The best parts was that the mixer was almost brand new! I can get almost 300Km on a full tank of LP and can switch over to gasoline on command.
(Liquid propane and natural gas are two different systems). The government is trying to subsidize the use of NG but it is still too expensive (for me) to install ($800 - $1200 for my vehicle). In all of the big cities, NG can be found and many people have made the switch.
Although Bolivia has a lot of natural gas, only in the cities can you find service stations for fill-up. Since I live in-country about four hours away from the nearest one of these, LP is really more accesable. it's so much easier finding 20Lbs propane tanks for auto-service fill ups.
Purrs like a kitten and still has all her strength. Natural gas don't do that. Man I'm loving it.
So yes, my great white continues to be a transformer... more than meets the eye.
_____________
Bolivia's Big Boy
'79 F350 Custom Crew Cab, Dually w/dana 70
Motified
