Mods and repairs to my '78 21 ft Clipper

[bigray]

Another door skin.................see that's how Andy got started. Before you know it you are going to change the whole inside. :shock:  I'm warning you!!!!!!!

By the way, do you hire out by the hour or by the job. I have a little carpentry work I need done.

Seriously, it looks very good.

[Rodney]

Thanks Ray!
my plan is to upgraded the entire interior at some point, as time and money allows.  As I have worked as an auto body and painter for as long as I can remember this kind of work... "fit and finish" is what I do so this has been and enjoyable job and I have always enjoyed working with wood.
bfnR

[dig]

...{File Text Protocol } ...

T = Transfer  -- File Transfer Protocol  

As I have mentioned, www.photobucket.com is a great site for hosting pictures. Sign up, upload the pictures (no FTP program - just upload it from the browser window), and it will give you the code to paste into the forum. Works well.


--dig

[Rodney]

...{File Text Protocol } ...

T = Transfer  -- File Transfer Protocol  

As I have mentioned, www.photobucket.com is a great site for hosting pictures. Sign up, upload the pictures (no FTP program - just upload it from the browser window), and it will give you the code to paste into the forum. Works well.


--dig

Ya that's it file transfur protocol !!! I knew it was something like that.
I am going to check out photobucket. the way I am doing it is a pain, just how I learned how to do it  several years ago.
if they don't charge I there.

That's Great now I will put my other pictures theres that's to easy!!
Thanks for the tip Dig!
bfnR

[Rodney]

I bought a wrecked 79 dodge motor home a while back & the owner said the rear axel was just rebuilt so I am going to make the switch as the one in my home has a lot of pinion lash and is ready for breaks to.
I had this one pulled in a few hours. after I clean it up and check it out I will make the swap.
the county has sent me a letter about having disabled rigs on my property so guess it's time to get the old one out of hear.

I also installed a set of new front shocks with a coil over on the shock.
the little I have driven it, It really helped the mooshie feel I was getting.
it raised the front of the home an inch or 2 also. they cost 80 for the pair.

[bigray]

Last year  added a leaf springs rearched and added a leaf for extra support. I did it by my lonesome and it was a chore. Just looking at that rearend on the ground in the picture make my back hurt.

Good Luck!!

[Rodney]

Last year  added a leaf springs rearched and added a leaf for extra support. I did it by my lonesome and it was a chore. Just looking at that rearend on the ground in the picture make my back hurt.

Good Luck!!

That's a good idea Ray which length of spring did you add?
my home has air bags on the rear but an extra spring may not be a bad Idea. I am a little sore this AM but it will be worth the peice of mind when it is all said and done.  The axel in my home has had guessing when it was going to give up for some time an has made me reluctant to journey to far from home lateley.

[bigray]

Don't know the exact  length but it's about midway up the stack. Of course, that doesn't say much given my Clipper is a Chevy and yours is a Dodge! I can measure it if you need me to.

I wanted new springs but the truck shop that did the work couldn't find replacement springs in the length that I had.  As a result, he added one spring and re-arched them as much as much as he could without breaking the original ones.

While my air bag levels the load, it seams as if I get a smoother rides when the airbags just a little air (30 lbs or so) and the load is mostly on the left springs.

One of my airbags have a very very slow leak and I have to inflate it a bit before a trip. I try to put the same pressure in both but that hasn't proven the to be a smooth ride lately.

Now that I have my Clipper like I want it and the summer is here, my trips will be more frequently. Therefore, I'll be able to determine a good formula for comfort with minimum sway when a 18 wheeler passes me going 80 mph.

[Rodney]

Thanks measuring is not needed but thanks for offering. I was mainly wondering where in the stack was best to place the extra spring. I have been running my air bags at 30 also not really knowing where to inflate them, must be a good place to put them.
bfnR

[Rodney]

Have the axel ready to swap into my Clipper. I replaced the brake shoes, seals, gaskets, inside hub bearings & races and am using Red line synthetic blend gear oil hoping to help the fuel mileage a bit. The ratio in this housing is 3.73's which also hoping to get a little better mileage I am pretty sure I have 4.10's or '11's now. I gave it a coat of chassis Black and have a set of simulators for the wheels. got them for 140.$  Hope to find the time next week to make the swap.



Well I couldn't wait I guess. all the parts ready to install just got the best of me so I spent this morning to make the switch.
I didn't realize that my home didn't have a dana 70 in it like the one I planed on installing until after I read one of the threads here on the site last night. I just guessed the clippers had 70's as well but mine was a heavy duty 60 like someone said. Everything fit on the dana 70 & my chassis.. Wheew
I thought for a minute that all that work I did to that new axel what for nothing.
Anyway everything went with out a hitch and I gave it a test drive and I for sure feel the difference in gear ratio and the new tires I put on which are an inch or two taller as well. now the speedo feels to be about 10 mph slower than I am going 50 is 60.  lost a little bottom end but not to bad an I don't plan on towing much so this may be a good thing.
One of the best things I discovered today was a 2 x 4 about 8 inches long laying flat on the floor board so I can rest my right heel on it makes all the difference in the world when pushing on the gas. I was getting a cramp in my leg after only a few miles of driving. This is going to help a ton.
BFN R

[bigray]

Rodney,

Please tell us how much of a difference the 3.73 gears makes. More specifically, let us know what the increase in mileage is. You said that you weren't planning to tow anything but what about taking a steep grade. How does you Clipper perform when you catcha steep incline. Let us know!

[Rodney]

Rodney,

Please tell us how much of a difference the 3.73 gears makes. More specifically, let us know what the increase in mileage is. You said that you weren't planning to tow anything but what about taking a steep grade. How does you Clipper perform when you catcha steep incline. Let us know!

Will do Ray
There are many things to take in to consideration when considering gear ratio's in auto. Tire size can change the ratio considerably. for instance my buddy Nils bought a mid 90's full size Dodge van last year an from the very start he was saying the v 6 was a dog and the mileage was about 10 - 11 mpg. Just last week he was planning a trip to the Portland area  McMinnville I think to go see the Spruce Goose { the Huge plane Howard Huges Build} but was dreading the gas price and what is was going to cost to make the 250 mile round trip. The one thing I notice when he showed me the Van was the previous owner had installed much larger [taller] tires that came OEM on the van. besides looking out of place on the van I told Nils that it would help the power if he were to put a smaller tire back on the Rig. Well he did just before his trip and call me up  when he got back to let me know that his mileage increased to 17 mpg on the Hiway and the van feels like it has much more power.  
Tire size, size of engine, weight intended use of the Rig all take a part in the formula for gearing a vehicle.
With a small block engine a person may need a little more gear to do the same thing as one with a larger displacement engine.
another thing to consider is the modifications to the engine.. compression ratio, cam lift and duration, lobe separation, size of carb. ect but that could be a thread in itself.

[bigray]

Thanks Rodney!

[Rodney]

I have been quite busy on the Clipper as you can see by the progress photos. You may thing I got a little obsessed here and you are probably right but when I finally got started on the interior one thing led to another and another. Since I purchased the clipper in 1999 I really didn't have any intentions of going this far with the improvements but after spending some time using her I realized how much needed to be done to really enjoy the RV.
I have the interior paneling almost done and was lucky to recruit my buddy to help me with cutting the odd shapes which cover the fronts of the dinette seat panels. He builds model air planes out of balsa wood & has all the saws to make precision cuts They look great!!
getting closer to laying the carpet, maybe next weekend, my knees and back aren't ready for that project yet.
I pulled the Holley 750 off the 440 as I wasn't to happy with throttle response and mid range power. I had an Edelbrock on my old ford pick up which turned out to be a 600 cfm {I thought it was a 750}. since I had both carbs pulled for the swap I figured why not give it a try so I bolted it on the Clipper and off for a test drive. The 440 now has the low end response I was looking for and it seem to pull the hills as good if not better that ever.. even before the gear swap. I will check a spark plug or to, to see that we aren't running to lean, but I think this combo is a keeper.
When I went back out to the home after lunch to finish the engine work I noticed a coolant leak from the front of the rig. Oh I was hoping it was just the over flow reservoir, but no such luck it was the Radiator!! :cry:
I had it rebuilt when I did the engine rebuild and couldn't imagine it could have sprung a leak so soon but it did. So after an hour of taking the front end of the Van apart I was off to the radiator shop for repairs on Friday afternoon and 30 miles from home I knew I was foiled until next week.
But the same guy who built the thing for me several years ago was still there, remembered me and the job, fixed it on the spot and charged me a whopping 10 $$$ to fix it.    This was great so back home to put it back in and get back to where I was just a few hours earlier. But on the drive home I though about what else I need to do since the front of the van was apart and did notice the clutch fan was leaking a little oil and the steel fuel line going to the carb was kinked a little so I replaced that stuff tied back a few wires and hoses just for good measures and now I am back together better than before. Sure glad the thing sprung a leak in my drive way and not a hundred miles from home.
bfnR

[Rodney]

I have all of the carpet done in the living area and now have the driver and passenger seat removed and starting to fit the carpet for the floor and while at it I will replace the paneling behind the seats and do something with the headliner. I have always wondered how that carpet was hanging up there above the seats and ?Now I know. screws close {4inchs or so} from the windshield and where the ply wood is more staples. That carpet was full of dust and dirt right in my face when  I gave it a pull pretty bad stuff.
there is a wire harness behind the paneling on the left side with a 12 Volt power source tucked back there too. I thing I will wire it to a Cig lighter for a power source for my lap top.
I think I will run the rig down to the upholstry shop and have  the edge of the carpet sewen with a bead like the original to make it nice and keep the carpet from fraying.