The soft doctrines of Desdinova, a bedtime story for a C30

[71Dually]

Greetings everyone, a noob member here. I hoped to share my first Chevy Truck with everyone. A class C motorhome purchased to become a pampered hauler.

A little back story: Needed a hauler and after a $600 deal fell thru for a 1990 Ford F150 that hadn't been started for 6 years I started searching. Realizing I needed something beefier than a 1/2 ton to haul steel and fabricated products I started looking at 3/4 tons. Wanted something affordable that was smog exempt so I was looking at 71-72 F250's.

On day looking at my 1978 Dodge 1 ton dually class C van/motorhome that had 66,000 miles I realized a low mileage motorhome would be easier to find and more reliable than a worn over beat to death 41 year old work truck, but I didn't want a van. I recalled in the late 60's and early 70's chassis cab trucks were used for motorhomes albeit in smaller numbers than the van chassis so the search began anew.

Side note: When I was a cocky teenager I fabricated sand rails in my fathers shop. In 1971 my fathers best friend and business partner purchased a new Hugger Orange Chevy Cheyenne Super C10 SB from Cormier Chevrolet In Garden Grove California. I was with him when he took delivery of the truck and rode in it quite often as their new sand buggy business was established. I always liked the truck and grew quite fond of it and was sad to see it sold in 1975.

During my tenure at my father's business they purchased a white 71 C30 stake bed that I drove quite often on pick ups & deliveries.

Back to the story: My fondness for my fathers friend and his truck lead me to contemplate a 71 Chevy for my hauler so they were included in my searches.

I scoured CL for hours on end everyday for over a month like an addiction. One day a 1971 26' Motorhome popped up that was local enough (110 miles away) that caught my eye.

Here is the ad I answered.


With 38,651 miles listed it looked hopeful and the $2,500 price seemed reasonably within reach. I called within 45 minutes of the listing post and spoke with a very nice gentleman regarding the vehicle. I asked his bottom line price and he said he'd take $1,800 for it. I arranged to drive out and inspect the vehicle.

Within 26 hours of the ad post this girls potential was before my eyes on the sellers rental property. The cab chassis surely was a low mileage rough diamond but the camper section severly suffered from wood rot due to water leakage. The seller was the 3rd owner and possessed documentation from the 2nd owner showing the housecar had logged just under 1,000 miles since April of 1990.

After looking her over I negotiated a deal that was within my abilities and agreed upon the $1,800 price as long as the vehicle would start and run for 10 minutes. The PO accepted my terms and a $100 non refundable deposit was left with the balance to be paid within 14 days. The PO agreed to delete the CL ad and did so within 2 hours of my departure.

These are the photos that appeared in the original ad:
Image #1


The image after #1


The image after #1 (part 2)


The bonus image after #1


The image after #1 (reprise)


The image after #1 proving way to much emphasis on the motorhome


The image after #1 (the redundant edition)


The image following #1 (the burned out franchise version w/ alternate ending)


The return of image #! (the alternate angle backwards masked edition)


And for some extra bonus fun here are some google map images of the big girl.
View from space, X marks the spot where she appeared in the CL pictures


And the exclusive street view privacy invasion option


I returned home to raise the funds and research what was needed to do to get the 402 big block properly prepared to start up after a 6-8 year hiatus. I used many sites for information and fell upon the 67-72chevytrucks site and it's wealth of information.

I regularly stayed in touch with the seller regarding my fund raising status on the deadline. By the 12th day I had acquired the balance due and the additional monies needed for the supplies for the initial restart. I called the seller and made arrangements to come out the next day to start the truck.

With 2 quarts of Marvel Mystery Oil, 5 gallons of motor oil, 2 gallons of Prestone full strength coolant, 2 gallons of Dexron III, 1/2 gallon of gear oil, 2 tubes of chassis lube, a Purolater oil filter, a TH400 trans filter and pan gasket, 2 gallons of acetone, 2 cans of gumout carb cleaner, a pint of seafoam gas treatment, 3/8" fuel hose, an in-line fuel filter, a 2 gallon gas can, a declining fully charged 10 year old side post battery, a spool of 14ga. electrical wire, 2 quarts of DOT 3 brake fluid, a 20 ton bottle jack and all the tools necessary to perform the task at hand I headed for the girl of my dreams.

Engine prior to wrench application (photo courtesy of the PO)


The SPID


The odometer when purchased


After a little tinkering I had MMO in the cylinders, the cam and top end lubricated, all the vital fluid levels topped off and a couple wires repaired that some malnourished opossum or bulimic raccoon nibbled on (I presume they were in poor health and not very hungry as they didn't chew on much).

With the oil pump primer installed it was now time to turn the crankshaft with the harmonic balancer bolt as oil was sent thru the galleys and the bearings. Well being a BB with heavy duty cooling it was not possible to get a socket and ratchet on the bolt without removing the fan shroud and/or radiator so the decision was made to prime the pump without turning the crankshaft and develop pressure in the oil system for a couple of minutes. After reinstalling the distributor to the reference marks made prior to its removal the weak battery was installed to use the key to turn the motor without the spark plugs installed.

After checking the lights for power the seller turned the key on and the gauges showed life. Turning the key further to start made the illuminated brake warning light go out but nothing further happened at the starter. Crawling under the beast I jumped the solenoid with a screwdriver but with nothing more than a few slight clicks it was obvious that this was not going to spin the starter.

The seller was disappointed the engine wouldn't turn and determined it may have seized from sitting to long. He then asked if I would pay $1,000 for the truck. I told him my wife would freak out and perhaps even begin divorce proceedings if I dared drag another non operational vehicle home. I quoted the "in motion staying in motion" and the "at rest staying at rest" stuff and told him a junk yard would not give him more than $400 so I would offer him $500 and have the truck gone in 3 days. However I still had to think it over and speak with the wife first.

It was decided that I would continue to tinker and then spend the night in the motorhome and we would discuss the situation further in the morning.

We pulled the motorhome from behind his rental properties locked automatic gate to a concrete foundation of a burned down house in the front portion of his property. His tenant didn't want me sleeping in their yard and the owner was supposed to be getting his multiple vehicles stored on the property out of the yard for the tenant anyway so that was the option we took.

The seller went home and I went to dinner to contemplate the purchase. I determined a used short block would get the truck operational for under $1,000 and a tow home wouldn't run over $500 so I felt comfortable with the $500 purchase price. After dinner I sat in the cab and concluded I had to buy the truck as a $500 price was to good of a deal to pass up. In addition if I didn't purchase the vehicle I would lose my deposit.

The next morning the seller showed up just as I was finishing loading up all my tools and supplies. He got out of his truck and asked if I had made a decision. I told him I had thought about it and asked if he was OK with my $500 offer. He replied that was acceptable. I asked if the price included my deposit and he responded that he thought that that was the fair thing to do after all the work I had done. I asked if he had the title on hand to which he responded "yes". The transaction was concluded with a $400 cash transfer and the sellers ink stain on the document.

I told him I'd be back after I titled and registered the vehicle and found a transporter home. He headed home and I too departed, the new owner of a 1971 Chevy Custom Camper/30 motorhome and a pocket full of unexpected cash.

I've been an auto club member for 24 years so I went to the local contract tow company to check the towing charge discount for members and was told there was no discount and the rate was $285.00 per hour. Well it's about 2 hours back home so that was a little over the $500 I figured it would cost to get the behemoth home but was still OK with the price. Then the operator said it was actually a $1,200 tow as I had to pay for the drivers round trip. Well screw that budget busting deal so I headed off for the auto club office to do the title transfer and registration stuff.

Back in 1975 when I rode a 1974 Honda XL350 (and still do) I went to the local repair shop and saw their $35.00 per hour labor charge. Well I only made $4.50 per hour at that time so I bought a $10 Clymer repair manual instead and fixed the problem myself. With that kind of frugal experience behind me I knew I could easily figure out a way around a $1,200 towing charge

My first stop was at Faxon Auto Literature in Riverside, CA to pick up a factory service manual. I believe a proper manual should always be the first thing someone buys when they get a new vehicle. I then headed off to the auto club and decided to upgrade the membership to premium as that included their 200 mile emergency towing service. With the new motorhome being 110 miles from her new home she was to be added to the membership. Well after forking over $200 at the clubs cashier's desk I walked out of the club with vehicle title, current registration, insurance and a financially reasonable manner to get the big girl home. Accomplished all that club business within 30 minutes too. Now I just had to exceed the "3 days" specified on the deal as the motorhome would not be effective on the membership for 7 days. Oh well, all was still good being $1,122.00 ahead over the tow charge.

After talking with the overpriced towing company I figured that I needed to replace the dry rotted tires and make sure all the maintenance items, belts, hoses, fluids etc… should be done just in case I was questioned by "the club" about them when I utilized the emergency services to get home so a new parts quest began.

And I bought it all, belts, hoses, filters, thermostat, brake master cylinder (to replace a seized one), distributor cap, rotor, points, condenser, spark plugs, carb rebuild kit, carb float, fuel pump, fuel additives, front brake pads.

On CL I hunted down a decent set of tires and wheels from an 86 Chevy dually in Taft, CA. Well that was just as local as the motorhome (albeit 110 miles away in the opposite direction) so I made the day trip and picked em up and scoured the local Bakersfield pick your part yards for the new truck.

By this time I almost had the master plan all in place, I'd spend 2-3 days doing all the work, push her out on the street to park, come home and then have someone take me back out so I could call "the club" for the tow home. With all the part receipts dated prior to my "emergency" and the parts installed I figured I had any questions covered that may arise from the club.

I determined for the ride out I'd pay a friend $100 for their time, buy them lunch and/or dinner, pay for the gas and fill up their tank when they got home. All told I estimated this would cost $225, but being the frugal miser I proclaim to be I figured there had to be a cheaper way to make this trip. I decided to get a $45 Greyhound bus ticket and leave the driving to them. Score again with a $180 savings

On the third day with parts, tools, repair manual, vittles, the "new" used tires, the 10 year old weak battery and my $45 bus ticket I headed off to the far off land where the truck awaited. However this time I wisely took some blankets and pillows as the previous sleep over didn't go so well. With nighttime temps in the low 40's I had a tough time sleeping in the cold.

Being it was the third day the PO eventually showed up to check on my progress. I stopped working and laid out my big master plan to him. I told him I had already titled and registered the truck in my name, I'd do all the maintenance work, move the truck on the street, go home, catch a Greyhound back and then tow her home. Unfortunately, due to the clubs time restrictions, I was not going to get it out for another 4 days. I showed him the bus ticket and he smiled and said the extra few days and sleep overs would be no problem. He was just happy the big green monster would finely be gone.

While he was there he commented about the truck previously running and stated he'd really like to hear her run again and didn't understand why she wouldn't turn over. I told him I was not giving up hope as the MMO had been doing it's magic going on 5 days now. I told him I'd continue to see if she would turn after I got all the other work done. The PO again stated he'd really like to see her run again. We concluded our conversation and the PO headed home as I continued to work.

I did it all. I replaced a seized master cylinder, a brake fluid change, bled the brakes, a brake inspection, a lube job, etc… Everything that needed to be done for a full maintenance service was done less a tune up and carb rebuild.

After 2 days (I say I may be slow but I'm not sloppy) I completed all the work and sat in the cab with the key in the ignition. I looked at the key and thought "why not" and turned the key to on as the gauges jumped to life showing promise, I turned the key to start. Nothing!!! Oh well, everything was in place to get her home with a tow. I knew the truck had sat for a long time and electrical gremlins could be a factor. I jiggled the shift lever in park and turned the key again and a heard familiar rrrrrr, rrrrrr come from the starter. I eagerly peeked thru the cowl and open hood, hit the starter again and observed the fan turn.

Awesome, she turned over. I joyfully jumped out of the truck and removed the loosely installed spark plugs poured some more MMO in the cylinders and jumped back in the drivers seat. I hit the key observing the fan again and quickly turned my attention to the oil pressure gauge. I continued cranking and watched her rapidly develop oil pressure. Spewing MMO out the open spark plug holes I continued cranking for about 15 more seconds until the weak battery finely gave out all it would. Life was good and I knew she would fire up.

I went to the gas station and got a gallon of gas. Arriving back I mixed up some MMO to the fuel and hung the can from the open hood with some wire. I gravity fed the carb, installed the spark plugs and wires and got the fire extinguishers ready. I pulled up next to the truck with my SUV and hooked up my jumper cables. Now I was all in and it was time to show my cards.

With one press of the accelerator pedal (like your supposed to do with a carburetor) I lightly pressed the pedal and turned the key. She immediately breathed life, no starter crank crank crank, no pedal pump pump pump, just pure fire up bliss. I was stoked.

I kept her at about 1,500 RPM and there was no expected lifter clatter as they pumped up or other odd noises from the big block. I let her drop to idle and everything sounded and acted fine. I toggled her between idle and 1,800 RPM's checking the hoses for leaks, coolant flow and general correct operation under the hood. Firmly holding the brakes I shifted the transmission into reverse and she smoothly engaged, Put her into 1st with another smooth engagement. Put her into 2nd and Drive with no problems. I put her back in Park and took my firm foothold off the brake pedal. I let her continue to run for about 10 minutes until she coughed, sputtered a little and died. I jumped out and checked the fuel tank, the hose had vibrated out of the fuel so she just ran out of gas. Cool no problems.

I closed the hood and headed back to the gas station for more go-go mix juice. I made my way back to my new love via a detour to the parts store for a new battery. Arriving back I installed the fresh power box and poured the 91 octane mystery oil mix into the clean holding tank. Turning the key on and flipping a floor mounted toggle switch engaged the electric fuel pump. The pump vigorously whirred as the float bowl filled and the needle valve capped off the flow. Again, one pedal pump and a flick of the switch she fired right up. I tested the transmission once again but this time slowly easing off the brake pedal. Finely, after her 6-8 year "nap" this big girl was once again moving her 8-ply designer shoes under her own power.

What a rush, all the blood, sweat and toil paid off. I had my hauler, my very own highway star.

I closed her bonnet and chained her down with a key operated latch mechanism for security. I packed up the tools, old tires, old parts and headed home.

The next day was torture, the E-ride ticket was for the following day and I had to wait for the journey. Time moved slowly as the minutes ticked into hours but the moment finely arrived for my departure. I was ready, with ticket, club card, registration, insurance documents and a few tools in a sealed orange home depot pail I boarded the bus for the journey back to my new lady.

Arriving at my destination I began the hike to my big lady. The PO called my cell and asked if I was in town and offered a ride to the big girl. Man what service, this seller was so nice, understanding and accommodating. I've never met a seller like this gentleman.

Arriving at our destination we talked for a while and I told him I got her running. He had a big smile and was excited to hear she ran. He eagerly watched as I fired her up. I anticipated he was going to ask for more money since "she ran" but he never did. Instead he was glad I bought the truck and gave her the TLC she needed. He said I had done a lot of work to get her running so no further monies were necessary. He was happy to have sold me the truck as my commitment to her and efforts showed him I would cherish her rather than just take a opportunistic quick flip for a fast buck.

And some more fun photos to document it really happened
Ready to come home #1


The son of ready to come home


Even more ready to come home


The return of the son of even more ready to come home


Interior view #1


Interior view (from the other side edition)


The instrument cluster


Gonna have to plug that big hole in this girl


The PO & I shook hands and piled into our separate vehicles. I fired her up and headed off to the gas station. The PO followed me to the station to make sure I made it and smiled as he waved goodbye. Me and the big girl were on our own.

I drove her around town for a few miles to determine how she would act. Her trans started slipping after she warmed up so I stopped and had to top her fluids off. That was actually the one thing I didn't do was properly check the trans fluid. She was 1-1/2 quarts low and straightened right up with the top off.

After cruising the boulevard for a few miles she ran like a top so I jumped on the interstate for the 110 mile trip home. Hey, what did I have to worry about, I had cash and that premium club membership card in my wallet so together we merrily pressed on without concern.

Now the big girl had 2 fuel tanks and she had a floor toggle switch (next to the fuel pump switch) for the separate fuel level senders. I cleaned the smaller of the 2 tanks as the main tank had a large amount of antique fuel in it. I had bypassed the tank selector valve with rerouted fuel hose so the only tank I had was the small 11 gallon auxiliary tank. The small tanks sender didn't work properly so without an operating gauge I figured I'd stop for gas after 50 miles if she got that far.

Well she drove like a dream. No constant steering correction from a loose worn steering system. She went where I pointed the wheel with no odd thumps, bumps, clunks, whirrs or whines. With 38,615 miles she felt like a brand new 1971 vehicle. Without even a tuneup she purred like a kitten all the way and after 2 fuel stops we safely arrived home with an average 8.2MPG.

I loaded up my other half, Mrs. Dually, and she couldn't believe I got this huge motorhome for the monies I paid (I couldn't either really). My efforts were met with the wife's amazement and approval. Initially when she heard I was going to drag home another old vehicle she wasn't very eager as she wants a new Mercedes. When she saw and then rode in the new girl she was rather impressed.

I've had her home now for about a month and have started on my plans for the big big girl. My goal is to transform her into a pampered stake bed hauler. I'll replace all the 42 year old rubber and get her all sharpened up. I'm basically gonna leave her stock with an HEI upgrade, some Alcoa classics and a decent sound system but nothing to far over the top. I don't think a couple 12" subs, some component speakers, two 600W amplifiers and a way to play some 24/96 FLAC files is to far over the top. Just have to figure out how to hide everything so it all looks stock inside. There are some great ideas on this site for that though. She may even get some new "Hugger Orange" sparkle as a tribute to my father's best friend.

Well that's enough rambling for now, sorry for the long winded posting but there's just so many details to share. I'll update in a few days on where I've gotten on the big girl.

Been contemplating giving her a moniker and I decided upon a name from a song lyric. Just call her, Desdinova, she's sure to be, the lucky one.

Thanks everyone, hope you will enjoy sharing in my journey.

[darkhorse970]

Very cool ride and story. I feel like I'm reading the automotive version of "A Christmas Story", the movie. I am tuned in to see where the rest of the journey takes you!

[sdewolfe]

Read this with my first cuppa' this morning. Entertaining and enlightening. I am anxious for chapter two. ;-)

[71Dually]

Greetings everybody, thank you all for your input and welcome back. I've got some catching up to do as this was all done in late October / early November. I'll do the catching up in a few different segments in the next week or so.

After getting her home safely on October 16th she sat for a week before I got to phase two of project Desdinova.

As previously stated I purchased this 9,000 pound beast to be a hauler. She was a very big girl with her 18' roofline, 14' floor length and 8' wide girth she was a 144 sq. ft. monster sleeper. With the wife's car and one of our other eight vehicles parked in front of the house parking the 26' 4" long monster was a bit much to contain within our property lines but 12' of our neighbors curb space helped fill the bill. I can't say the neighbor was real happy since local street parking has become extremely inconvenient in the past few years. It was inevitable with increasingly more individuals occupying the surrounding houses and the corresponding decline in available parking spaces. But that's another rant altogether.

Getting back to the thread, project housecar removal was needing to begin. Living in an overcrowded urban area with the only spot to to demolish the behemoth being a busy 20' wide public alleyway behind the house I contemplated how to do the project. Priority one was that the vehicle had to remain intact and fully operational under it's own power. This was dictated by only being able to park in front of the house and it not being a bigger eyesore in the neighborhood than the community might already think she was.

The options were to (1) unbolt the giant from the frame, lift her in a safe and reasonable manner, drive out from under her and then set her on the ground, (2) randomly sledgehammer the thing into a million pieces without a care in the world (the fun way) or (3) disassemble the beast piece by piece the way she was assembled back in 1971.

Well human resources were at a minimum and I only had two other helpers (me and myself) so the jack and drive was out of the question as I would have a really big hunk of weight with no way to move it in the alleyway. Since this might irritate my neighbors and most likely bring the wrath of city hall upon myself for illegal dumping and unsafe conditions in a public thruway option one (1) was out.

While stress release with a sledge hammer can be quite relaxing, fun and entertaining it is also potentially hazardous and with no one around except my two helpers to call 911 if I screwed up, hurting myself and perhaps even killing me left option two (2) indeed highly questionable.

The optimal route taken was disassembly so me, myself and I began the journey of our trucks massive "bed" removal project.

On October 23rd with cordless drill driver in hand myself started removing all the cabinet doors, hinges and hardware he could find that were held on with screws. Next came all the curtain rod hangers, medicine cabinet, mirror clips and anything else I could find that had a screw. Well everything was going along real great for about an hour when me hit the first snag in the adventure.

The battery died on the drill driver so it was time to break out a new tool while the portable power pack sat in a charger. Well me found a flat pry bar in the toolbox, myself grabbed it and started on the kitchenette cabinet and I grabbed the sledgehammer to help. Well let me tell you, motorhomes may resemble houses and contain the same fixtures but they are not actually built the same way. There are no nails to shake loose from road vibrations whatsoever. Everything is securely held together with hex and phillips head wood screws. Now screws don't come out as easily as nails with a pry bar so it was a PITA but still doable and at times the extensive wood rot gave some welcomed assistance.

After more tool gathering for hose clamps, propane gas line fittings and plumbing fixtures the battery showed fully charged so it was now time to progress with more screw removal.

By the end of the day the refrigerator, one rear dining area seat, dining table, under table support platform and storage area, water tank, all the cabinet doors, kitchenette counter and storage cabinet , medicine cabinet, and the passenger side storage cabinet / seating / bed had been removed.

Documenting day one:

A little bit of wood rot in her life...




Everything but the kitchen sink?




No more bedtime for Bozo!




Totally trashed

Day two started a little late. We didn't have any proper exterior pics of the big girl and wanted some for posterity before it was to late. So Desdinova and I started out our day with a proper photo shoot at the local park.

After the photo op and the mandatory glamour shots it was back to the business at hand: "project extreme bed removal".

By the end of the day we had removed the heater, stove, oven and cooktop hood, the 120V electrical panel, the remainder of the kitchenette cabinet and started on a few of the exterior wall panels to assess what would be needed prior to exterior siding removal.

Progress continues thru day two:

A room with a view




Still no bedtime for Bozo (featuring a guest disappearance by the carpeting and overhead cabinet)




Kitchenette's outta there




Demolition binging gets the beast even more trashed

Day three was getting exciting as real progress was really starting to show. When it was all over the bathroom was gone, the closet was extinct, more exterior wall paneling and insulation was history and the roof paneling and insulation was coming out.

The overhead was supported and stripped out as far as we dared take it so its rotted frame wouldn't fully collapse. The overhang appeared to be resting on the cab already so I removed as much weight as I could so it would not cause further damage to the truck roof. Up to this time I really couldn't tell if any truck body damage had occurred since you could not actually see the cab roof.

The only problem at the end of the day was ALL the trash cans were close to overflowing and the wood pile was getting huge. We had to come up with a solution pretty quick. The resolution was actually pretty hot.

The end of day three progress:

The view gets better




Needless to say but after 3 sleepless nights Bozo decided to pack his bags




Nothing left but the essentials




Really moving forward




Trashed to a whole new level




Overhead rot




Even more overhead rot




More rot above the entry door and Bozo's former sleep spot



After the 3rd days work we celebrated with an official housecar warming party

Thanks for your time now it's off to do more work and progress further on the truck. So don't touch that dial, stay tuned for the next exciting segment, we'll really raise the roof with that one (or bring it down!!!).

Cheers everybody

[71Dually]

Greetings Everyone

Picking up where we last left off it's now on to demo day 4.

Got a late start so didn't get a whole lot done. I did get the one remaining dining area bench seat, the bathroom shower tray, the gray and black water holding tanks, the rest of the interior paneling, roof paneling and insulation out. So it was a productive day after all.

Progress continues on demo day 4:

The rear view




The rear view (another angle version)




The rear view (yet another angle version)

Demo day 5 started mid afternoon and worked into the early morning hours. Got the overhead dismantled, tucked the roof panel inside and removed the large rear picture window.

Approaching the light at the end on demo day 5:

Supporting the cursed overhead angle




The cursed overhead (the right angle view)




The cursed overhead (the other angle featuring the slipped in overcrowded garage view)




The room with a view (the outside looking in with even more slipped in overcrowded garage version)




The truly rotted out overhead (the total view)




The truly rotted out overhead (the alternate angle view)




The truly rotted out overhead (just another alternate angle view)




The truly rotted out overhead (the alternate outside looking in view)




The truly rotted out overhead (yet another alternative outside looking in view)

Demo day 6 fell on Halloween and I removed the water heater, exterior windows, access panel doors and all the siding. Then came the tricky part. How to drop the roof and the walls.

After many days of contemplation it was time to finely walk around it and assess the best way to do it. I like watching them explosive building implosions but didn't have any dynamite on hand so had to come up with alternative means. Well I still desired the implosion method and knew all the vertical wall studs would fold in whatever direction they were moved.

My priority was to avoid any contact with the cab roof so forward and sideways was out. This left the only direction to fall was to the rear. I decided to cut the rear corners at the base of the rear picture window and "pull" the roof and wall studs towards the back. I figured this would enable the roof weight to promote the collapse of the wall studs and they would collapse straight back onto their pivot and lay the roof right on top of the motorhome floor.

Seeking to protect the cab I placed two 4' X 8' sheets of 3/4" plywood on an angle thru the hole where the overhead was gone and nailed them to the floor. That way if something was to move forward it would catch on the plywood and slide backwards away from the cab.

Everything was all set so I made one more walk around and noticed 2 horizontal studs attaching the front vertical studs to the forward wall and cut those clear. Now it was totally free of any reinforcement so the time had finely arrived to drop the structure.

I tied a 20' rope to the rear corner and while my neighbor documented the action on video I tugged on the rope. I pulled once and she shifted to the rear. I pulled a second time and she shifted a little more but the rear corners were still resting on the rear wall. Well they say the third time is the charm so I tugged again only this time with a constant pulling pressure. As I pulled the corners came clear and she then gently started shifting backwards on the wall stud pivots. I stopped pulling and as slack developed in the rope she gently came crashing down to rest straight back on herself.

I checked both sides of the truck and very little debris had fallen on the ground, 99.999% of everything was contained all within the floor structure. It was truly a thing of beauty and worked exactly as I had anticipated (or at the very least hoped). It couldn't have been more perfect. It never came close to the plywood cab protectors. It was awesome perfection, the feeling of pride and accomplishment was almost overwhelming.

I then spent the rest of the night until around 4:30AM dragging all the wood to the house car warming pile and stripping everything from the 18' aluminum roofline so I could roll that up and drag it into the yard.


The light at the end of the tunnel nearly blinded me on demo day 6:

Getting Closer (tucked in overhead version)




Stripped out windows and access panel doors




Stripped out windows and access panel doors (rear view version)




Skeletal remains (the gotta obscure the overcrowded garage version)




Skeletal remains (The light at the end of the tunnel peeking thru version)

When I cut the wall stud supports to lower the roof I cut 2 of the verticals on the outer rear window frame, 2 verticals in each corner of the rear and 1 horizontal on the very front on each side for a total of 6 cuts to facilitate the collapse. The picture collage below highlights the wall studs in blue lines, the approximate location of the cuts in green lines and the violet line is where I tied the rope to pull the entire structure to the rear. A few tugs later and she came cleanly down.

Structure compromise cutting location details

So over the course of a little under a week I was able to dismantle nearly the entire motorhome by myself. Well almost, I did ask for a neighbors assistance to remove the 150 pound refrigerator from it's cabinet. I also requested a little help (from a different neighbor) on the front window (so I wouldn't drop it and damage the hood) and the rear window (because it was just so large and intimidating). Everything else was all me and my 2 other helpers, Myself and I.

During this venture I was extremely careful to work in a cautious and controlled manner. With the exception of minor scrapes and scratches I came thru this project without any bodily injury or damage to any personal property with the natural exception of the motorhome structure. On my projects I always try to think ahead and work in a structured manner. I try never to put myself in a position where "I'm in over my head" and always place personal safety priority one.

Thanks everyone for checking on the progress and in our next little segment of "The Soft Doctrines of Desdinova" we'll journey further into the C30 saga post demo days.

Cheers everybody, see ya all soon

[mrolds88]

Cool project!!! Keep us posted!!

[Bishops Trucks]

Welcome to the board. I'll be watching this build.

[JointTech]

cool story. Sounds like you do some writing. Good luck on your build. sounds like its been an adventure so far.

With your attention to detail and interesting story this should be a good thread.

i would have gone to the junkyard and unbolted the camper and jammed the gas... hehehe. saved 5 days right there

[Low Elco]

Fantastic writeup! Can't wait to see where this goes.

[WIDESIDE72]

I have been watching the local clist for something similar for a while now!

[WIDESIDE72]

Are you done yet???

[71Dually]

Well it's been a long time coming and a computer crash in May (I fried the video card in my Macbook) sure didn't help. So after several long months (and finely figuring out I could actually use the video output into the TV to see what I was doing) I'm once again able to get back to the build writeup I was doing just as the computer failed. So now between Fox News broadcasts, "My Name Is Earl" reruns and scouring all the posts here on the truck forum we'll get back on track with the build.

The following is what I was putting together to post last May 18th when the computer decided to become uncooperative.



Post destruction the saga continues:

I've been sidetracked with lots of little projects in life and on the truck. Well I've ripped a hole in my pants, stained the worksheet with grease and paint, my fingers are sore, my knuckle joints click from "trigger finger", my hands and arms are lacerated, scratched and trying to heal over, I bashed my shin on a pipe, my elbow bothers me and I'm just plain worn out over all the small stuff from the last several months of "little projects."

So now for a little less hazardous duty (and the subsequent drop in pay) and a tiny bit of R'n'R. (That's Rock 'n' Roll for all you uninitiated, what, with a truck this old you think I can afford rest and relaxation, no way. Even if I did start that resting kind of stuff the wife would just come up with a whole big list of honey do's to occupy my newly acquired free time). Anyway, that should give me a chance to pick up where we left off last "O' Hallows Eve" in the build.

Well the videographer who captured the walls crumbling' down when I tore the roof off the sucker hasn't coughed up the video captured on his phone after several requests. That was the main reason for the delay as I wanted to post it on youtube for everyone to enjoy. I believe it is now deleted and lost forever never to be seen or heard by the masses. It's too bad, it was a genuine thing of beauty to behold watching the motorhomes implosion.

So on with my builds destruction. After cleaning up the debris from the roof collapse demo phase 2 (the recycling) was ready to begin. I spent the next week or so circular sawing and burning off the wood, disassembling window frames, stripping copper wire and removing staples from the aluminum siding. I continued trudging thru the recycling by separating the brass from the copper and the steel from the aluminum. Got down to cleaning all the seam sealer from the siding and the window frames and that sure was a pain. Discarded all the textile, plastic and fiberglass items like the holding tanks, drain pipes, shower pan, toilet, curtains and seating cushions.

Recycling continued with cleaning out the fire pit and salvaging all the staples, screws and metal parts from the ashes that were not removed prior to burning off the wood. With all the scavenging completed it was time to load the motorhomes floor with the remnants of reclaimed booty. The scrap yard run went well and went off without a hitch. The trip yielded 120 lbs. of steel, 185 lbs. of aluminum and 39 lbs. of copper. The weigh ticket didn't have any brass so I must have left that at home but oh well. The return of my initial $500 purchase price and 3 weeks of blood, sweat and turmoil along with all the distractions, sidetracks and water breaks yielded a $208 return for the run.

In the grand scheme of hourly wages I got it figured I need a new job. But I further figured it's not just a job, it's an adventure and a passion with bragging rights, correct? After all, how many of my friends, co-workers, associates or family can even say they totally dismantled a motorhome. Not a one that I've heard, their all claiming to be smarter than that. I calculated up all the facts and realized that my tired, sore and broken body wasn't doing it for profit, I was doing to relax and have fun. It was a series of me time accomplishments and that was when everything fell into place.

I added the money to the truck slush fund and figured I would adjust my initial investment accordingly. I initially invested $500 for the truck and got a $208 return on the same, so now my investment was not only $292 but a whole lot of Advil, Salonpas, Tiger Balm and Ben Gay. Now thats a fair trade, I feel better now. After all It's all just my frame of mind. Least I mention that I was also a little smarter than I was getting credit for. After all, none of those aforementioned "smart" folks own a $292.00 38,000 mile heavy hauler.

The makings of a road trip:

While all the aches and pains makes it hard to move I am still able to do it slowly, albeit very. That made it a little awkward to quickly snap back into reality but it was eventually accomplished. I began scouring the forum for a short break. That was when I stumbled upon a post by fellow board member budnikguy.

Budnikguy was offering to sell the sheet metal I needed to repair the walk thru cut out in the back of the cab. Now this member was kind of a local guy (90 miles one way) and the price was more than fair so I figured I'd give the big stripped down girl a little shakedown run. That way I could figure if she had a new and improved MPG, pick up some needed parts, lighten my freshly filled wallet, meet a fellow board member and show off the large lady a little bit.

Well showing off meant a fresh bath so the soap, bucket and rags came out. After some Karate Kid type training moves, some sharply pungent blue windex and a few broom bristle swipes on her "custom house car flat bed" she was ready for an official pre-trip photo session. After a few megapixals of memory storage, a clean up of the alley wash bay and the surrounding area with a quick twist of the key the 402 cubic inch rat motor breathed to life eager to make her road trip rendezvous in Riverside, CA.

Ready for her first bath, "look Ma, no markers"

"That's a pretty long flat bed ya got there"

The custom spare tire mount and not quite "truck style" tail lights

Unless you count the numerous gas station breaks to feed the thirsty girl the ride out went off without a hitch. With only the former motorhomes 11 gallon auxiliary tank available for fuel, a previous 8.27 MPG average and an inoperable fuel gauge I stopped every 50 miles or so to keep her from runnin' on empty and safely keep her gulping refined dinosaur oil down the highway. She ran real good but I still had yet to do a tune up.

After about 2 hours of cruising at 55MPH, a thumbs up from an enthusiast in an early 30's rat rod truck and some big smiles and energetic waves from some big eyed gawking youths in the back of a mini van fit for a soccer mom I came to a stop and placed her in park in front of our destination.

Immediately greeting me at the gate were 10 month old sisters Harley and Nova. The twin pair of Great Dane puppies exuberantly announced my intrusion of their territorial domain with a number of loud woof's and even more tail waggin' as Adam followed closely behind to settle the excited big girls down. I'm really glad Adam showed up as them dane tail wags can be pretty painful if you're not careful.

Adam spied the plus size girl sitting in front and the 67-72 Chevy truck enthusiast in him could not be contained. Asking lots of questions as he walked around examining her more closely as he was smitten with her charms. Opening the driver door for a closer look her white saddle color combination came as a surprise being previously unseen in his experiences. Glancing at the rockers Adam exclaimed "Man, look at those rockers" as they were void of any damage, rust or even paint wear.

After the interior examination Adam quickly turned his attentions to the exterior spotting the emblems fastened underneath the fender marker lights. He quickly proclaimed "Nice, she's a big block." I opened the hood and Adam quickly craned his neck giving the power plant a thorough once over. After the engine bay inspection a quick proclamation of "She's all there" left me gratified as the bone stock drivetrain sat proudly in place.

Adams inspection led to further curious inquiries. "Where did you find her?", "How does she run?", What are you going to do with her?" etc… I told him the story of her acquisition and that she was found on Craigslist just over the hill in Banning. I told him I really liked the plus size lady and that she ran like a dream and without the motorhome baggage she rode like a truck.

With Banning being about 20 miles from his house Adam further inquired how I found her in his "backyard." I told him the seller listed her with a very strong emphasis as a motorhome and very little mention of her truck cab chassis heritage. Adam explained that every time he searched for motorhomes on CL all that ever came up were those big full body "Class A" type monsters so he didn't search them much anymore for classic Chevy trucks.

I was pretty lucky or perhaps the stars were aligned just right in my favor. With Banning so close if Adam had spotted her she would have become part of his wonderful collection. Adam proclaimed "I won't say I'm jealous but I am envious on your score." "She's a really nice truck and a real great find, I'm happy for you." Needless to say with Adam being an avid 67-72 collector and missing out on this one I'll give odds he's now spotting a lot of those "Class A" motorhome behemoths on Craigslist.

I was quite overwhelmed with pride and joy for the appreciation Adam displayed for my big girl. Thank you Adam, I'm pretty envious of your collection too.

Getting down to brass tacks Adam and I started talking parts. He led me to a horses stable (literally) of Chevy truck parts which included cab gas tanks and said take your choice, whatever you need. I grabbed one I liked and helped Adam shift a cab around so he could begin cutting the panels I needed for the cab walkthru fix. He then invited me to peruse the parts he had organized around his acre of outdoor man cave. He has lots of goodies and cool projects so I started freely ogling the collection. I scrounged up a set of cab marker lenses, a set of Cheyenne interior knobs and a set of deluxe pedal stainless trim.

Going all in with my budget I had to make a wish list for a future visit. Adam gave me a really great deal on the panels, tank, lenses, knobs and pedal trim. He even threw in all the brackets and bolts to mount the tank and even dug up a 3/8" fuel line to complete the in cab tank installation. After an exchange of dead presidents we loaded the booty up and secured it to the custom flat bed. Adam and I agreed upon a future visit for more goodies and cheerfully parted ways. He was off for a dinner gathering with some friends and the big girl and I headed out to the highway home.

The whole trip went real well with four gas stops. The first stop was at 54 miles and with mostly highway driving at 55-60MPH she got 9.31 MPG. A bit of an improvement over the 8.27 average previously recorded with the full motorhome attached. The best mileage I got was 10.791MPG on a 48.4 mile leg from Corona, CA to Pasadena. Now this reading really gave me hope that I might be getting closer to an acceptable consumption level. Then reality set in.

On the last leg from Pasadena home I waited 2 days after I got home to fill her up again so I logged a total of 33.8 miles. Now some of these miles were putting around town and when I did finally check the MPG it averaged a whopping 6.57. Overall the entire trip averaged 9.57MPG so she shows promise but that last drop for the city driving really shows how much red lights and start and stop driving can affect gas consumption. Of course all this was done without a real tuneup.

As progress continues aka one step forward and two steps back:

Like a kid on Christmas day I could hardly wait to play with the goodies I got from Adam. The first thing I grabbed were the dash knobs as they were easiest to install and providing a little bit of "instant" gratification were the biggest bang for my buck. With the Cheyenne knobs in the next new toy would prove to take a little more effort. Regardless I still dove headlong into the cab marker lights with an overabundance of enthusiasm.

Now I'm unable to positively say why the PO removed the original markers but I presume it was to provide clearance for the motorhomes sagging overhead. I also presumed it was in fact a PO since the cab mount pads appeared to simply be covered in electrical tape, not something I think the original MH manufacturer would have done. Expecting a worse case scenario on a previous pick a part run I obtained a marker light wiring harness and the rubber base gaskets albeit the base gaskets were pretty worse for wear. I was expecting to remove some electrical tape perhaps pull some wire or fish it out of the roof holes, hook up an electrical connector and slap down the beat rubber bases before screwing all the lenses down. I wasn't really expecting to find what I did.

Pulling up the electrical tape on an outside marker pad I was met with a big splotch of butyl rubber sealer covering the entire top of a base gasket. And it didn't stop there, the butyl tar oozed out over the top of the base onto the painted cab base. Now I don't know if you are familiar with these rubber bases but the lenses seat down inside the base and the bulb holder pops into a grooved hole in the center. I don't know if anyone has ever worked with butyl rubber but to say that stuff is sticky is an understatement. And it gets into more cracks and crevices than the micro fine grain red sand found at the pink sand dunes in Utah. To top it all off whomever slopped this impenetrable gooey thick rubber tar like substance on pulled the bulbs out of the holders. Needless to say it was all oozed into the bulb holders and electrical terminals like compacted mashed potatoes. What a mess.

Well after about 4 hours of using anything I could find to help remove this sticky mess out of all the crevices I was finely able to get a bulb back into the holder and install a marker lens. Well, one down, four more to go.

Now this gooey butyl stuff is tougher than sloppy wet bubblegum in a full head of hair and it don't really freeze to well. Still I decided to move to the other side of the cab and start working on the other outside marker as it also was easier to reach than the 3 markers in the center of the roof. I pulled up the electrical tape and guess what I found. Yep more of the same dreaded concoction. Well the first bases torture session helped to figure out what was best to use to remove this mess but it still wasn't an adventure but rather another big black sticky mess. What a job even though this time it was only like 3-1/2 hours to get this one all de-gooeyified. Another bulb in and lens fastened down. So, two down and only three left to go.

Not really being a masochist and one who abhors pain I slowly peeled back the tape on the more difficult center lights. Well the gods smiled down upon me as this base was free and clear of any goo. So on to the next one. Still reluctant from the agony of the first two I again peeled the black tape back slowly. Alas I was on a roll, another goo-less base, yippee. Alas, with new found hope and excitement I ripped the last remnants of black tape from the remaining marker base. Yes!!! the goo was gone!!!

It appears my pain was over and luck would have it that perhaps the PO was just a little to short or lacked a tall enough ladder to reach the inside markers with that putty knife full of evil black splotchy sealer. Or perhaps they simply ran out of the tar like rubber substance, who knows. Anyway, after three more bulbs and the same amount of lenses my mission was finely completed. Well almost, I still had to take pictures to document the progress.

Documented proof, shining brightly

After testing everything, standing back for a few minutes to admire my accomplishment while draining the battery I managed to snap a sufficient amount of pictures to document the progress. Now it was time to turn off the lights off, gather up and wipe off the tools, and lock everything up.

They say you take 5 steps forward and one step back. How prophetic that is, whoever came up with that one must have owned a C30. I shut the door to button every thing up and when I did that double sided tape on the convex mirror really showed its age as the mirror fell to the ground landing on it's face.

Disaster Strikes!

Here you can see the round convex mirror on the ground. It looks like I need to finish up changing the faded front marker lenses also.

Well the luck of the short PO must have still been with me as the mirror didn't break. Fortunately I could retain my period correct convex blind spot mirror. I chuckled a little as I picked it up knowing that now I had something else to do. Eh, I'll get to it tomorrow. Needless to say, the mirror is still sitting in the glovebox and I miss it every time I want to check my blind spot.

With the cab marker lights done and shining brightly it was time to move on.

Just take a little off the rear please:

With the marker lights proudly marking atop the cab it was now time to rid the girl of the extraordinarily ugly motor home taillights. I had hastily fastened them to the rear of the motor homes floor to keep her cop friendly with her rear lights. But first I had to keep my word and shorten up the overall length a little so I could rid my neighbors curb space of the "over hang" like I'd promised him I would.

So out came the hammers, pry bars, tin snips, circular saw and sharpie to mark the cut off lines. After marking the lines, tin sniping the aluminum siding, pry baring hammering and circular sawing the wood floor it was time to remove the 40 gallon main fuel tank with the old gas out from under the rear. After some fancy funnel work, some diagonal cutter snips on the rubber fuel lines, a few wrench turns on the mounting bolts out came the tank. Now I was finely ready to break out the big boy toys.

While most garage techs will break out their 4-1/2" angle grinder cut off wheels and hack saws to shorten their frames but that simply isn't me. I save the angle grinder for the small jobs. I've watched to many Tim Taylor "Tool Time" reruns to settle for anything less so I needed , well, you know… more power. So I broke out… that's right…. wait for it… it's common' right up… yep you got it… it was time for… the big hot wrench kit. That's right I chose to give my trusty old cutting torch a little spin.

Now most of the time my torch set sits neglected in the corner of the garage. It's buried under lots of garage clutter like fenders, rear cab panels and the like. Ole Victor is often seen peering out from underneath the clutter begging to come out and play. So he was pretty excited for the chance to play with the C30.

Play time for Victor

With a quick open of Victors gas valves, a flick of the spark striker, a little bit of adjustment and Victor was ready to rock. Now I don't know if Victor was trying to show off in order to shorten his next state of exile but he made real quick work of snippin' off the rear 5 feet of the now ex-motorhome.

Gone in 60 seconds, well, almost. The obligatory "hide the overcrowded messy garage" shot

Notice Victor's hoses emerging from under the cluttered garages closed door

With a little chopped off the back it was now time to rid the girl of the funky faded old motorhome lights and get the required marker lights present. Now I had a long way to go before I would have the ability to do a final installation on the rear lumens. But I still wanted to keep her legal and drive her around. My plans had a flat bed installed on the girl and I didn't even have a line on one yet. And the big girl was going to go thru at least a couple more incarnations first before I was even able to finalize the rear lenses.

I knew I was going to need something that was "self contained" and could easily be swapped onto whatever configuration she was in. I decided a light bar would fit the bill. For some reason I didn't get any shots building this bright idea but I did cut the material welded the brackets, drilled the holes, tapped the light base mounting holes, rattled canned her a nice and pretty satin black, built the wiring harness and pulled the same thru the new assembly. After all that work I mounted the lights and hooked up all the wiring. Her rear end shined real nice.

The lightbar project completed (The afterthought photo version)

More afterthought (version 2, the alternative angle)

Will the wife really join the adventure?

I spend perhaps a little bit to much time scouring the net and junk yards for parts for the big girl (the truck, not the wife). One day I ran across a CL ad for a 71 Chevy dually that was being parted out that caught my attention. I called the guy and found that the parts I was looking at were available. I was looking at a set of Alcoa Classic dually rims with tires and he was asking $300. I inquired if the truck had a flat bed and he said it did and it was 12' long. He was asking $200 for the bed.

Well I needed to make a 70 mile trip to check it all out. So you know what I wanted to do but how could I get the wife involved? Fortunately the truck was located about 10 miles from my other half's favorite hobby so I convinced her she wanted to go visit the blackjack and pai-gow tables and together we headed out to the horizon. I think the moral of that story is I usually have to bribe the wife to join me in doing some of the things I want to do.

I got there and inspected the wheels and they looked acceptable but they didn't have any lug nuts or hub covers. I negotiated the price down to $250. I looked over the bed and found it acceptable but needed a couple weeks to get the funds together. I also had to do a couple minor repairs and get the remaining motorhome floor off the truck before I could pick up the bed. I told him I was interested in the bed but had to wait and told him I'd be in touch with him within the week about it. I packed up the wheels & tires and delivered the wife to her favorite reward at the indian casinos.

"Hey Mom, Dad brought brought home more shiny stuff to clutter up the back yard again" "I know son, go play at Billy's where it's safer and you wont get hurt falling over any junk"

Well this little segment takes us from Nov. 1st to Dec. 10th of 2013 so we've still got a little more catching up to do. But being a little long winded I need to catch my breath and hopefully you will all agree, to let you all also do the same.

But first, before you go, please pardon our little series of photos from mid December 2013. A three picture mini series you can say.

Can you imagine that little door sliding open, someone jumping out this hole and then doing a little dance during rush hour traffic? Crazier things have happened here in California

Thanks everyone for watching, In our next segment we prepare for another road trip and may even have a trick or two up the proverbial sleeve. So stay tuned for the next exciting action packed adventure and find out if this last picture will really be the motorhomes final photo shoot here on the soft doctrines of Desdinova.

Is this really the motorhomes parting shot? Find out next time!

[darkhorse970]

I'm very happy to see you posting again, I enjoy reading of your truck adventures!

[Xeen]

I just spent the last hour reading this story, what a great find.
It looks like the old girl is in very good condition.
It might be the buy of the decade.

[Katrina/10]

Interesting story and progress.

[flashed]

Im in ,nice rig.

[CRees]

Nice to see another C-30 being rescued, cool truck!

[Low Elco]

Excited to see you back and the big girl doing so well! Eagerly awaiting the next installment!

[litew8]

You must be a writer. Making great progress. Get rid of the remaining wood and your mileage will improve.

[Low Elco]

FYI, Meguiar's sells a DA attachment for a drill with a foam pad that with some #7 compund would bring that paint back to shiny for not much cost or labor.

[knomadd]

I'm loving the stories you're telling with your progress. I'll be following along. I can't wait for the next episode!

[cooperhw]

Updates ???

I am really digging reading that I am not the only crazy person out there who sees the potential of a project of this magnitude.
I have a very similar project started with my newly acquired 68 Chevy C30 called "Homer". (The Former Motorhome)
any updates on the project? Send some pics. I get motivated when I see someone elses progress.
Here's Homer;