What have you been up to this week

[MaTTe]

Fuel consumption will often increase with power, however I don't think this is your issue based on the figures.

Where is your timing set, have you graphed the distributor, the carby will want work to make good.power and give good economy, the plug wires may well be holding you back, what is the exhaust situation, and hei will make a difference, however 150rwhp is easily achievable with a points ignition. Camshaft will also influence everything, however the single most effective change you will make, will be carby. Then synchronise the distributor to suit. My grandad builds both from scratch for our race cars, and for many other cars in the field, and is renowned across the country for his skills and knowledge. If you ever want to improve them I can organise for a build in his spare time.

[rumax]

Thanks for the thoughts guys. The carb has been rebuilt by a local old school specialist I trust, so will stick with that for now. Also def 12volt @ the coil-I have rewired the whole truck with a vn fuse/relay setup. Going to grab a good coil and matching leads & go from there. Sunday will be the first chance as "mad march" is upon us in Adelaide- means lots of extra $$ from a second job and overtime...

[rumax]

Here is the result of todays investigation... I think I have a dud lead! #6 was as black as (unburnt fuel), while the other 5 were brilliant! I have installed a Bosch HEI coil and regapped the plugs to 1.4 mm.. need to grab a new lead set and give the old girl a run! I also swapped the plug to a "good" cylinder, so can easily check if the thing failed (after 1 day)
More to follow........... 

[Gordon]

Managed to get my CF inspected for self containment last week and the certificate arrived earlier today. Pretty chuffed as we can now freedom camp.

[Bas / NZ]

Managed to get my CF inspected for self containment last week and the certificate arrived earlier today. Pretty chuffed as we can now freedom camp.

Gordon, what is / was required for the cert these days, I know the set up that was needed 5 yrs ago. Bas

[Gordon]

Hi Bas, basically you need a sink with a tap and running water. The water needed for the sink equates to 4 litres per person per day for a minimum of 3 days, so for 2 people you need 24 litres. I managed to get a tank that fits underneath the van running across the van just in front of the diff and plumbed it to the sink via an electric pump. You then need a waste water tank that holds 5% more capacity than your fresh water tank. I sourced a rollaway waste wagon for this. You also need a seal-able rubbish bin and a cassette toilet.

Pretty straight forward.

[mezzmo]

Great day spent starting on the interior of the new beddie for the Nationals, nothing like leaving it to last minute.....coming along a treat, got this Sunday next Saturday and Sunday to get it finished, love the pressure!!

[wendyh]

Kool    looking forward to meeting both you and your van Mezzmo! 

[mezzmo]

You too Wendy, it looks to be shaping up to a great event!

[rumax]

As you know I have had (the usual) overheating problems, but I think I may have a solution.    I have previously installed a temp gauge to measure the return water temp so I could monitor the problem.

I sourced a good second-hand radiator from a 75 series land cruiser (not an aluminium one). The core area is (roughly) 500x500 x58, giving about 25% more surface area, double the thickness than what was currently installed and a slightly larger header tank. Importantly it puts the bottom of the radiator in the under- bumper airflow - that and the extra 3 litres capacity should drop the temp lots. (I intend to put some of that anti-cut flywire in the lower section to minimise potential bug/stone damage).

The fitting was relatively easy- cutting off some “wings” on the sides of the new radiator was the hardest job. I used flat plate on either side so I could use existing mount points (as it’s slightly narrower). Looking at the photo’s, I made a neat mount for my electric fans- pity it didn’t clear the motor!
Clearance is in fact very tight- I have removed the side radiator mounts previously- mounting the radiator to the front panel/top support bar, but there is still minimal clearance to the water pump. I also had to move the air cleaner back slightly. Hoses are both bottom hoses, with the top one having a piece of smaller diameter hose inserted at the thermostat end. I haven’t investigated getting a hose with the correct diameter ends.
For the test drive, I absolutely hammered it on the local expressway- uphill and down, as well as letting it sit and idle til it got hot. It cruised up-hill on the 100km speed limit and the return water temp stayed between 40 and 45 C. Previously, with the old radiator and similar daytime temps the return water temp nearer 85! So now it’s fingers crossed come summer.