1984 Airstream 345 owner (Newbie) need advice!

[Isuzusweet]

Originally Posted by Keyair

She said no Tony... and you know when No, means NO....

Sorry mate, I was typing SWEET! while you were typing your beau's response NO!

Lots of VW TDI's in eight massive lots all across the US that arn't going anywhere fast. The problem with "THE FIX" with the TDI's is that it pooches power, trashes economy and makes the TDI the enviromental dog it allways should have been.

What about a mid eighties Audi Quattro 5000 (200) Avant wagon; stylish, cheap, easy to work on, and very nice to drive.

Cheers
Sidekick Tony

[Smartstream]

Not to disagree with "Sidekick" but I have a 2015 Golf SEL TDI. It has more than enough power for what I need. The boss took it down to the Redwoods, Sacramento and back home, around 2000 miles and averaged 49 MPG for the trip. Thanks to the "fix" it came with a 165,000 mile factory warranty on the entire smog system. A damn nice little car with all the bells and whistles.

I hope Steve enjoys his TDI and has lots of happy miles in it.

[Silvr_Bullet]

That’s my experience with 2014 Jetta Wagen, no noticeable difference in power and MPG, plenty of get up n’ go agree with Smartstream post # 2162

[Magnet18]

Can't beat a 165000 mile warranty on basically everything in the engine bay, good steal!

[Keyair]

My understanding is the fix stole about 5hp, 10ftlb and 2 mpg. Since I never had those, I have not missed them! My son has a 2016 Audi Allroad which has a 2.0 220hp/250tq gasser, and he said my TDI felt punchier in normal driving than his with 100k less miles. I’m actually super impressed with the power, and it’s plenty fast enough for around here. The DSG transmission is brisk, and crisp too. My personal best is 52.1 mpg on a trip to Huntington Beach, and an Los Angeles run it did 47.5. Certainly the most economical vehicle we own, eclipsing our other 2 diesels by 15mpg, and the gassers by about 30mpg.
Just a few bugs to work out on it, like the widescreen is being replaced today, after a wheel bolt took it out on the freeway.
Gearing up for an Airstream day next week.

[Keyair]

Yesterday was Airstream day.


The new DD, VW acquitted itself perfectly as I hoped it would!
In the trunk space I fitted my two large "Go Boxes", the HF genset, my portable Craftsman tool box, and a bunch of miscellaneous parts.


The Go Boxes came about when I realized I was taking an hour or more to get ready to drive out there.

The Electrical Box has wire, connectors, crimpers, multimeters, testers, and the like.
The Bodywork Box, has rivets, rivet guns, drills, sealant, tape, etc.
Works for me, as I it makes sense to store the MH where its half the price as locally, even tho its a 100 mile round trip.

The VW made it feel easy, and did 44mpg average.

After 4 days of rain, the view from the Toll road was spectacular, and we even had a solid frost!




The view from the storage was sweet too!





Everything was as I left it last time, except the House batteries were oddly dead. Maybe I left the isolator on.
I tried to use the HF generator plugged into the cable reel and it stalled out as soon as I connected it, so I have to assume something is wrong with the way I disconnected the Kohler onboard unit...
That debacle is still haunting me..

Lucky, I had brought my battery charger with me anyway, so I plugged that into the little HF Generator and let it boost the house batteries at 15a and they were reading 12.6v when I left, but I suspect they are mortally wounded.
The Chassis Battery was still hanging in there, and started the 454 easily on the second try.
After warming it up, I am still running too rich, so I will be focused on that for the next visit. Idle rpm is 12.5/1 and 2500 rpm is 14.2/1, so closer to the ideal 15/1.

I test fitted the HVAC scoop, and its close to perfect... now to adapt a cabin filter to the scoop!

[bkahler]

Steve, I'm glad to hear you're back at it again

If your old Kohler has been disconnected is it possible the old wiring is laying against metal somewhere?

What's the purpose of the hvac scoop?

[Keyair]

The scoop is there as standard, and a vac formed plastic piece.


My guess is its there to protect the HVAC intake from ingesting tire spray in wet weather maybe?
This is how that area looks without it.


Mine was cracked badly and hanging off, so it seemed logical to make it from aluminum... I would like to maybe adapt a cabin air filter to fit in there somehow, to keep dust and pollen out of the intake air....


On the Kohler genset, I disconnected the main wires from the junction box inside the motorhome, and retighted the connections before pulling the umbilical back into Generator compartment.

There should be nothing shorting or touching.

My best guess for now is somehow I reconnected a wire wrongly, or maybe there is some kind of feedback needed for the transfer switch or something?


I also had a quick look at my Tail Lamp prototype..
Before...



After..
Because the lights are bigger, they cover more surface area/width.
They wont fit in the original recess, even tho the lamps are slim, so I have to space them out somewhat. My guess is about 1" at the inboard side and 2" at the outboard edge.

I'm happy with the way they look in principle.
Now I have to figure out the transition box..

[WayneG]

For the air intake cover, my 84 did not have anything, I went to lowes and found a standard vent fitting that was almost a perfect fit. I added some flex host to the grill and done.

[Keyair]

That works too!
I have a tendency to overthink stuff...

[Keyair]

Seems like my 2000 and 2500 rpm mixture might not need much adjustment after all...




Those are the speeds they check the emissions at, for the record.

Theoretically, the ideal stoichiometric A/F mixture (the chemically ideal mixture of air and fuel that is required to provide a complete burn) for a properly tuned engine running on pure gasoline is 14.7:1; that is, 14.7 lbs. of air to 1 lb. of fuel. However, because of operating losses in the induction system due to intake runner and cylinder wall wetting, plus the fact that fuel may not fully vaporize in the combustion chamber, a 14.7:1 A/F mixture is often too lean for actual operating needs. A more realistic light-load, cruise A/F mixture for a stock carbureted engine running on reformulated unleaded gasoline is in the 14.1:1 range.

From here...
https://www.enginebuildermag.com/200...fuel-equation/


Idle will need some work tho, but I think that might be easy, as its 2 screws on the front of the carb..

[Magnet18]

Glad to see the engine is running well, might make it hard to justify that Cummins under the bench though!

Probably a better idea to put the Cummins in the alfa then...

[Keyair]

Originally Posted by Magnet18

Glad to see the engine is running well, might make it hard to justify that Cummins under the bench though!

Probably a better idea to put the Cummins in the alfa then...

The Cummins was always a backburner project. As I stated, I snagged it mostly because the price was right. I sold off some parts I don’t need, so my total investment in the Cummins is now about $300... I am slowly amassing parts for it as I see them at the right price. Picked up a sleeve for that #1 bore, in case I need it, and a bunch of other bits and pieces so far.

Yes, the 454 is healthy from what I know and see. Based on my info, I believe there is about 8,000 miles on the Jasper rebuilt motor.
I did notice some fresh drips of engine oil from the front seal after I started it up tho, so I made a mental note to keep an eye on that. Not unusual given the motor was built maybe 18 years ago. Seals maybe hardening up.
My plan for the next visit is to warm the motor up, then pull the plugs and do a compression test. Once I have those numbers, assuming they are good, I have new spark plugs to go it, topped off with new plug wires.
I really want to doublecheck the ignition timing before I get into the detailed carb tuning, but I’m not sure if I will be able to see the timing marks from above and I don’t have the original lower ones yet.

[WayneG]

Originally Posted by Keyair

I did notice some fresh drips of engine oil from the front seal after I started it up tho, so I made a mental note to keep an eye on that. Not unusual given the motor was built maybe 18 years ago. Seals maybe hardening up.

Back here on the East coast, with lots of salt on the roads, we call that the auto chassis anti corrosion lubrication system

[Keyair]

Yup, I grew up with cars having rust holes in the bodywork within 5 years!
Don't miss that at all!


Nobody has commented on the Tail lamp project...

I just don't like the originals... too dim, even after my LED conversion, and never liked the square lamps on an organic shaped Airstream!
Also my surrounds are cracked... they are just chromed plastic.



Love em, Hate em, all opinions are valid!

[Magnet18]

I like the circular taillights better than square in theory, waiting to see how you finish them out and make them look natural

[Smartstream]

If you like round how about some 59 Caddy bullets.

[Keyair]

Oh, I looked at those Caddy tail lamps to start with!
That "Flash Gordon" spaceship feel appealed to me!

However, I came back to earth... but if I can figure out the housings, I could try that look later!

[WayneG]

Originally Posted by Keyair

Oh, I looked at those Caddy tail lamps!
That "Flash Gordon" spaceship feel appealed to me!


However, I came back to earth... but if I can figure out the housings, I could try that look later!

I have a pair of them, but never installed em, a bit to gaudy

[Keyair]

Yeah, I kinda agree.... plus they are expensive, so I went with these lamps. Visibility is more important than looks!


I figured that rather than try to reinvent the wheel, I would take an existing lamp(theoretically legal), and build around it to my tastes.
I wanted LED, and I wanted amber turn signals... these were the ones I liked the best. Not worried about a lack of reversing lamp, as the originals were horrible anyway. Some slim LED will be easy to put below the bumper anyway.

Also, I hoped I could incorporate some kind of sequential flasher unit.. and I will see if the $20 I found work/last...


The next prototype will do away with the chrome trim ring, and screws that are kinda fussy. I will also try to move the lamp spacing closer together.