'90 W250--'89/91/92 Ramcharger

[Tacoclaw]

Ran the valves and threw some new gaskets on while I was "working" late tonight.


Also gave it a Gunk bath the night before, cruised it in and coated it while it was still hot. Let it sit for aboit 15 minutes and I couldn't believe how clean it came out, even with me just holding my finger over the garden hose to make a spray. Turns out that grease was doing some good, which I always knew it was, because now my injectors are all leaking fuel around their hold down nuts.

[ellis93]

Guess it's doing well then?

[Tacoclaw]

I love the thing, the only real trouble it gives me anymore is that the compressor switch-thing isn't quite right. Worked great until the old compressor sthi itself. Now I have to wiggle the wires around to get it to kick on at first. Driving down the road shakes it around enough to get it working, but if you're parked and it isn't kicking on you're in for a warm session.

I'm also fist fighting the wipers, but I may have solved that little problem tonight. I'll post that in chit chat.

[Tacoclaw]

The old lady and I took the whole week off to cruise the Monongahela Natl. Forest (more my idea than hers), and see how it went.

Very smoothly, IMHO, until she demanded shower-only campsites after the first night. Not only are those tough to find, but they're a pita to get into(apparently) and full of other people. Next year we'll be bringing our own shower.

No beautiful, scenic pictures or anything, but here's some proof!



Typical "primitive" site, aka "no shower". We stopped at one beside an awesome rapid and as I was sitting there sucking down beers a warden showed up. She was closing down the site just down river due to flooding and told me, essentially, if I had a brain I'd move to higher ground for the night. This is the higher ground.


Our luxurious sleeping accommodations. (Talk trash all you want, we stayed dry while those tent turds laid on the wet ground and got rained on.


Our kitchen accommodations, since it rained literally every time I got some kindling lit.

[Tacoclaw]

Climbed 1000ft just to get a picture of the old turd.

[Tacoclaw]

Plans have settled themselves during this trip.

#1: OD trans. I've got it laying around, time to put it in. These interstates are brutal with a 727, even with 35"s.

#2: Front springs. Something has got to give, I'm running my old, completely blown out 250k+ W250 springs. They're folded over backwards an inch easy, and though I love the ride height I can't take the ride. I'm willing to allow an inch or so in height to get them flat, but I don't want any arch. I also would like to see them physically thinner than stock for crossover steering clearance, but also ride better in general. I'm warming up my wallet for these, I figure they'll be a custom Alcan order or something.

#3: rust. My driver's side body mount rusted through right after we started. Oddly enough, the more I drove, the more it seemed to pull away from the rubber instead of settling into it. I can tell my door doesn't like it though so I'll be fixing it and looking for a good donor body.

[PToombs]

Nice pics Levi. I can't believe you didn't put the sleeping bags together to cuddle for heat.
I can't see the truck in the looking down pic, so I'll take your word for it.

[Tacoclaw]

Iphone zoom was struggling in that pic, it's the farthest left vehicle in the middle pic.

I tried to get a shot of the platform from the ground, but that was pointless. It mixed in with the mountain. It's in the bottom pic somewhere.

[Tacoclaw]

Saw this thing at the intersection of "Smoke Hole Rd", kinda funny seeing it in the middle of nowhere.



Near the flooded river we were going to camp at a deer must have got sucked in somewhere upstream, he finally caught a break on the other bank from us and got out. Poor thing didn't even try to hide, climbed onto dry land and collapsed.



About all I shot otherwise were waterfalls and a fraction of the streams we passed. There was constantly water babbling down the mountainside, I found out I apparently have an unnatural attraction to mountain streams. I had to look at every one we passed.

[Tacoclaw]

I also saw two 1stgens on my trip: one was on some remote backroad, 91/93 with a flatbed. Body was trashed and it had "farm abused" spray painted on the door.

Second was a 89/91 flatbed dually in, I'm wanting to say Harman WV, dunno if it was a swap or dude just re-fendered it but it didn't have cummins badges on the fenders. It was a stick though, with a big chrome exhaust tip.

[PToombs]

There was constantly water babbling down the mountainside, I found out I apparently have an unnatural attraction to mountain streams.

I had to piss in every one we passed.

Probably all that beer!

I can see the platform, just to the left of the tall tree.

[dazedandconfused]

So have you done anything else to the trucks? Haven't seen you on in a while.

[Tacoclaw]

Not a thing, work is insane for us this time of year.

I bought a new floorpan for the RC so I can replace it while I fix the rusted body mount, but I just haven't had time.

I'm actually looking into my next project. A mini-Ramcharger, if you will. My research involves what diesels will fit under the hood of a bronco 2.

No 4BTs though, things are too heavy and too expensive.

[dazedandconfused]

The little Isuzu 4BT engines are great little motors and would do great in a bronco II

[PToombs]

PICS PICS PICS PICS!