2018 Executive upgrade/mod projects

Sasquatch · January 20, 2018, 10:41 AM

Today is the day I am bringing my rig into the shop so I can work on it in the warm while it is nasty outside. Over the next couple of months I will be doing the following major upgrades, repairs and mods:

-Installing my rebuilt/upgraded A518/46RH overdrive transmission replacing the original 3 speed 727. I have a separate thread where I detail this one on it's own as it is a big project.
-Upgrading the aftermarket fuel injection's fuel delivery system to a 90's Ford F250 based system.
-Installing an on board air system to control the 4 corner air bags and have an air supply for tires, etc.
-Pulling the heater box assembly out to restore it and do any upgrades I can to improve heat delivery to the dash during cold days.
-Installing my new tires and painting the rims/hubs.
-Adding and replacing some of the window coverings to update the functionality and looks of the rig.
-Tinting my windows
-Replacing my failed back up camera system with a new one.
-Installing a TripTek tire pressure and temperature monitoring system. It will use the back up monitor as a display.
-And whatever other items on my many pages of mods/repairs I can get to before I head to Phoenix in late March (or run out of money).

So, I am off to get the coach out and get her into the shop for the work to begin. I will be updating this thread as the work progresses with photos and dialogue of what I am doing so you all can give feedback/suggestions as well as use the information to help you enjoy your own rig.

Basics of the rig before I begin. It is a 1976 Executive 26' on a Dodge M500 chassis. My grandfather bought it when it was a year old and kept it until his death in the early 80's. My parents had it from then till 1996 when I got it. The coach was always cared for, maintained and used through those years. Over the last 22 years I have continually upgraded it whenever possible. I worked in the high end diesel pusher RV industry for 17 years and would find ways of installing newer technology and creature comforts into my coach. Plus, with all my contacts within the industries, I was able to get parts and equipment at a much reduced price, or even free on many cases.

Here is a run down on the coach for those who have not read my other posts through the years:

Engine: 440-3. Original lower end still in great condition. Installed a Comp cams for low end torque and power and advanced it 5 degrees on the timing gear. Thorley 1 7/8 long tube headers, 3" single Magneflow exhaust. MSD ignition using stock distributor, modified for 38 degrees total advance, higher initial timing. NGK plugs. Edelbrock modified dual plane manifold and a Professional Products Power Injection III fuel injection system.

Chassis: Restored M500 with Bilstein shocks, Firestone ride rite air bags on all four corners, upgraded sway bars, new brakes, rebuilt steering box, 225/70/19.5 14 ply radials. HWH hydraulic leveling system. Eaton/Vorad front and side collision avoidance radar system.

Interior: Fully gutted and remodeled. New Dometic auto switching fridge, all new furniture, new wall coverings, new counters, plumbing and sinks, new captains chairs and all floor coverings. Lighting mostly converted to LED. Electrical reconfigured to new standards with chassis battery handling the engine/generator and 2 6v deep cycle batts for the house. Automatic transfer switch controlling shore/generator power switching duties. Auto battery switch linking banks of batteries when engine is running to charge all batteries. New Progressive Dynamics 45 amp charger/converter with 3 stage charging to handle charging duties while on shore/generator power.

Generator: Onan CCK converted to electronic ignition.

Exterior running marker lights all converted to LED.

Let the party begin....

Sasquatch · January 20, 2018, 03:47 PM

Just pulled it into the shop. I must say that replacing the valve stem seals made a huge difference. No more smoke from the exhaust and the idle waiting at red lights is noticeably smoother.

Rickf1985 · January 20, 2018, 05:16 PM

And that is on gas that is how old? Wait til you get a load of fresh gas in it.

Sasquatch · January 21, 2018, 11:14 AM

Quote from: Rickf1985 on January 20, 2018, 05:16 PM
And that is on gas that is how old? Wait til you get a load of fresh gas in it.

That is a real issue with occasional use rigs Rick. The last time I filled up was in July. All my plans for fall trips failed. Heck, I even forgot to put in some Stabil... My bad. The fuel injection system made running with older fuel much easier than it was with a carb though. It seems to just adapt and compensate.

So I started pulling my old fuel pump, filter and lines from it yesterday. I had an MSD aftermarket external pump in the system that had a failure on the last trip. It got me home, but I hate the aftermarket fuel injection pumps. They are expensive, and garbage unless you spend near $500. I was speaking with a buddy of mine who owns a local auto repair shop and told him about what some of the rock crawler guys are doing with their injected rigs and that was to install a fuel pump and system from a mid 90's era Ford F150/250. They install the Ford external pump, Ford fuel filter, and even go with the nylon fuel lines and quick disconnect fittings. Marc thought it was a brilliant idea since the Ford pumps are generally quite reliable (a stark contrast to GM pumps) and easily sourced if I need one on the road.

So, I sourced the highest quality Bosch pump for a 93 F250, which was only $70, bought a Napa Gold fuel filter, Dorman quick disconnects and 10' of FoMoCo nylon fuel line. I got the old system out, a new pump bracket made for my noise isolated mount I had made previously, mounted the filter, and then needed a couple more fittings which I have on order. I will be able to get it done by the end of the week.

The new system will be easily, and quickly serviceable on the road and parts available at any auto parts store. I called around and every parts store I called had at least one fuel pump in stock for this application, so finding one as I travel will be easy compared to having an oddball MSD pump which would have to be ordered. This is the second pump that failed on me since the installation of the injection system, both aftermarket universal type pumps. Avoid them at all costs.

This is my original pump mounted at the bottom/side of the tank. What you do not see is a Fram cartridge style race filter placed prior to the pump with a shut off valve to make servicing easy and clean. Just shut off the flow of fuel and replace what you need to replace. Just remember to turn the valve back on.

In the photo it looks really close to the exhaust. In reality there is about 8" of clearance. But, I am going to wrap the exhaust where it passes close to the fuel system any way to eliminate that heat. While I doubt it caused the problem, heat is bad for fuel, so I am taking care of that.

While I wait for the fuel fittings, I am going to start getting my coach up in the air high enough to pull the transmission, and pull the wheels off to prepare for new rubber tomorrow.

Rickf1985 · January 21, 2018, 02:41 PM

Once you get it up in the air can you get some pics of the exhaust setup? I want to go with the 2 into one on mine. Is that 2 1/4" into 3"?

Sasquatch · January 21, 2018, 03:45 PM

I will get some photos for you. It is 3" from the header collectors, into a Y merge collector on the passenger side, into a performance muffler then out in front of the passenger rear wheels. It is pretty quiet with just enough rumble to let the music of the 440 out. I could not go with a dual exhaust setup because the barns unit for the HWH jacks sits right where the drivers side muffler would go.

Sasquatch · January 23, 2018, 09:48 AM

Here you go Rick. Got the coach up in the air, exhaust and driveline out. Next is removing the headers, which is a royal pain. And I was wrong, it is a Flowmaster muffler.

khantroll · January 23, 2018, 10:40 AM

I don't know about the Ford pumps being that reliable. I have a Canadian Ford half ton from the early 90s that kept eating fuel pumps until I finally replaced the in tank pump with a frame mounted Holley Blue, and the frame high pressure pump with a Holley Black high pressure pump. My Bronco went through one high pressure pump per year as well. I'd keep a spare handy.

Rickf1985 · January 23, 2018, 11:33 AM

Is that a pre made Y collector or something you made up? That is what I want to build, nice and simple.

Sasquatch · January 23, 2018, 09:05 PM

It's a store bought Y Rick, the muffler shop installed the system after I installed the headers.

Regarding the fuel pump. I consulted with my buddy who owns an independent repair shop and he says he does replace Ford pumps, but not very often, and there are a ton of Fords here. It is a Bosch pump I bought, so hopefully it will last. But keeping a spare on hand may be a good option. I can just buy a cheap one as a back up.

khantroll · January 24, 2018, 09:09 AM

It's definitely a case of YMMV. There are many factors that can shorten the life of an electric pump. Most of the off-road guys I know who use that setup keep a spare, and went if I do the fuel injection upgrade I plan to keep spare in my rig.

Sasquatch · January 24, 2018, 11:13 AM

I will pick up a spare pump, just a cheap one, to keep in the rig. The way I am setting it up I will be able to swap it out in minutes on the side of the road with nothing but a screw driver and a nut driver for the electrical connections.

I set up my fuel system a bit different. I plumbed my dual tanks to function as one big single tank with a large diameter crossover between the drain plugs on both tanks. I come off of that crossover into the canister cartridge filter as a pre-filter, then into the high pressure pump mounted within 2" of the bottom of the tans, so it gets fed via gravity from the pumps.

For years people said to not pull fuel off the bottom of the tank because that is where the sediment collects. The part they miss about this is that all fuel systems in modern cars pull right off the bottom of the tank, so it is a non issue. My pre filter is large and will catch all this debris before it ever even hits the pump. After the pump it goes into a normal Ford canister fuel injection filter mounted a bit farther forward. So my fuel is getting double filtered.

About 10 years ago I pulled my tanks to see what 30+ years on the road did to the inside. They looked brand new inside. No rust, no debris, no sediment. So I am not worried.

Today I will be pulling my headers and prepping to pull the transmission. I will update my other thread tonight on that subject.

Rickf1985 · January 24, 2018, 12:18 PM

Prefiltering is the best way to preserve the pump and pulling from the bottom of the tank is fine when you have been doing it for years. And as you found out that keeps the tank super clean since any crap instantly goes right out into the filter.

Sasquatch · January 24, 2018, 12:55 PM

The two main reasons I converted my dual tanks to function as one were to eliminate a point of failure, the transfer switch, and to simplify things when I converted to fuel injection. I had a transfer switch fail on me that could have stranded me had I not kept a close eye on my fuel levels when driving. When converting to FI, it added a ton of plumbing to the system to retain two tanks. The swap greatly simplified the plumbing. I still have both fuel level sensors in the tanks and can switch between them in case one fails, but other than that, both my tanks function as one.

legomybago · January 24, 2018, 02:12 PM

Quote from: Sasquatch on January 24, 2018, 12:55 PM
The two main reasons I converted my dual tanks to function as one were to eliminate a point of failure, the transfer switch, and to simplify things when I converted to fuel injection. I had a transfer switch fail on me that could have stranded me had I not kept a close eye on my fuel levels when driving. When converting to FI, it added a ton of plumbing to the system to retain two tanks. The swap greatly simplified the plumbing. I still have both fuel level sensors in the tanks and can switch between them in case one fails, but other than that, both my tanks function as one.

I think that's a great idea. How is it filling up with fuel? Is the crossover line small enough to where you still have to fill both tanks in order to get full? Or does it transfer fuel fast?

Sasquatch · January 24, 2018, 08:37 PM

I still fill both tanks. The crossover does not completely keep up. But it is no issue, I am used to it and the filler necks are right next to each other.

Sasquatch · January 27, 2018, 09:09 PM

Not as productive as I thought today. But I did get the drivers header out, which took me about 2 hours. Finally figured out the magic handshake I must have used to get it in there. I got it cleaned up and wrapped. Still need to wrap the passenger side.

I am going to put on one of the later model mini starters. You can see them side by side. With the headers I have, there is no way of replacing the starter without pulling the header. So, this should take care of that problem. You can see the difference side by side.

Rickf1985 · January 28, 2018, 10:40 AM

Aren't you worried about the headers rotting out fairly quickly due to the wrap holding in condensation? That is a pretty common problem with wrapped exhaust unless it is stainless steel.

Sasquatch · January 28, 2018, 03:29 PM

Quote from: Rickf1985 on January 28, 2018, 10:40 AM
Aren't you worried about the headers rotting out fairly quickly due to the wrap holding in condensation? That is a pretty common problem with wrapped exhaust unless it is stainless steel.

Not at all Rick. I live in the mountain west and travel to the desert SW frequently. We do not know what moisture is. Rust is a foreign concept to us. And I do not put that many miles on it, maybe 3-5k a year, on a busy year. Even if they do rot out in 10 years, I will just fit a new set. But, I did research this a bunch before I pulled the trigger on the wrap. I decided that the benefits outweighed the draw backs.

Rickf1985 · January 28, 2018, 09:11 PM

It is not rain or anything like that. It is just moisture in the air. The condensation builds up as the exhaust cools off and then it is trapped in there by the wrap. And the less you drive the worse it is. I have replaced headers for customers in one year and those cars never, ever saw a rainy day and were kept in garages. The main reason I point this out is that those headers are going to be real hard to find pretty soon. I know I can only find cheapies for my 89 anymore.

Sasquatch · January 29, 2018, 02:51 AM

If they rot out it will be an excuse to buy a set of TTI's...

Rickf1985 · January 29, 2018, 09:48 AM

TTI's? The only exhaust name I can think of with a T is Thorley, Are they still in business? I am sure you can still get Banks Power Pack systems but they cost more than I paid for my RV!! They are stainless though.

Sasquatch · January 29, 2018, 11:44 AM

http://www.ttiexhaust.com/

While they do not list motorhomes, they do a lot of old Mopar exhausts. I am quite confident I can find a set of their headers that would fit my coach. There is actually quite a bit of room down there that did not exist in some of the cars, so with some trial and error, they would work. I would also opt for a really nice stainless coated set at that time. I have thrown cubic dollars at my coach over the years that I can never recover selling it, so why stop now?

Another option that could be very viable is shorty headers which are common from multiple manufacturers for the 440. Shorties may be better for low end torque vs. what I have. But, I need to do a bunch more research on that if and when then that time comes up.

Rickf1985 · January 29, 2018, 02:22 PM

Long tubes are definitely better for torque. Shorties are not much better than a stock manifold on a stock engine. They have some minor benefits on high rpm engines but mostly they are used for clearance issues.

Sasquatch · February 03, 2018, 07:03 PM

I am close to getting the on board air system in. Compressor is mounted in the generator compartment right in the stream of fresh air coming in, so it will be nice and cool when it is running. Air tank mounted behind a storage compartment near the frame and wired. It will tun on at 70psi and off at 100 psi. Plenty for my needs. all the hoses are plumbed to the front of the coach, I now am going to get them routed up the front cap and into the compartment above the driver to my control panel.